Paris Olympics face backlash from Russia, with the country embracing scandals and controversy.

• Despite being banned from participating in the 2024 Olympic Games due to invading Ukraine, Russia seems determined to undermine this year's international sporting event in Paris.
• Russian athletes were prohibited from competing in the 2024 Olympics unless they did so as "Individual Neutral Athletes."
• Only 15 Russian athletes are competing at the Summer Games.

Russia, which was expelled from the Olympic Games due to its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, seems determined to undermine the Paris Games.

In the 2024 Games, Russian athletes are allowed to participate as "Individual Neutral Athletes" if they want to compete, and there are only 15 Russian athletes competing in France this year.

Numerous Russian media outlets, most of which are affiliated with the Russian government, have seemed to delight in reporting on the various misfortunes and controversies that have emerged during the competition, including issues with the catering in the Olympic Village and the gender controversy in the women's boxing event.

Russia's media coverage of the Olympics has consistently been critical of the competition, host France, and the IOC, with no incentives to be positive.

A 'disgrace' off the blocks

The Russian media's tone was immediately set after the opening ceremony, with the press focusing on the "scandal" and "disgrace" caused by a segment of the pageant featuring drag queens, which was accused of mocking Christianity.

The Russian media ridiculed the claims by organizers that the segment was intended to represent a pagan feast, calling it the "Olympus of Hell" and reporting that "the world" had condemned the "blasphemous" opening event.

The Russian media has criticized the Olympics, highlighting issues such as crime, controversy, and pollution, and accusing France of being careless about the athletes' well-being.

The discovery of worms in fish served to athletes in the Olympic Village and the Covid-19 outbreak affecting more than 40 athletes are both topics of discussion.

The River Seine in Paris has been the subject of much attention from Russian media due to the cancellation of training sessions and postponement of a race due to bacterial readings.

"The 2024 Olympics in Paris have been marred by numerous scandals, beginning with the opening ceremony. However, the organizers' decision to hold water competitions in the Seine River has set a new record for lack of common sense. In response, Moscow-based Moskovsky Komsomolets ran Tuesday, seeking an expert's advice on the diseases that Olympians may contract in the polluted river."

The IOC has defended the use of the river for sporting events, even though the water quality has caused disruptions to competitive events and resulted in athletes being hospitalized.

On Wednesday, Komsomolskaya Pravda's main sports feature in Moscow focused on the latest news from Paris.

"On day 11 of the Olympics, dozens of athletes became ill with Covid, American gymnast Simone Biles indulged in a fast food binge, police lodged complaints about bedbugs, and a champion discovered worms in fish."

The gender controversy surrounding boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ning was also a topic of discussion in the Russian media. However, unlike Western outlets, Russian networks linked to the Kremlin did not mention the allegations that they used online disinformation and propaganda to spread claims about the gender eligibility of the boxers and the Games, according to a report by AP.

CNBC has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.

Sour grapes

Russia's press coverage of competitive events has been muted due to the country's lack of official involvement and strained relationship with Western countries, which have mostly supported Ukraine in the war.

Russia is not broadcasting the Games for the first time since 1984 due to the lack of a possibility to win medals as in previous tournaments. The Kremlin and state media's anti-Western rhetoric has also dampened Russian public interest in the competition.

The World Anti-Doping Agency's decision in 2019 to ban Russia from international sports competitions for four years due to a large-scale, state-sponsored doping scheme, which Moscow denied overseeing, left Russia already smarting.

Due to the ban, Russian athletes competed under the "Russian Olympic Committee" banner at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2020, and at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, held just days before the invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC has banned athletes from Russia and Moscow's ally Belarus from competing in the 2024 Olympics unless they agree to participate as "neutral individual athletes" and do not actively support the war against Ukraine.

The IOC has ruled that no official venue or function at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will display any identifications of Russia or Belarus, including flags, anthems, colors, or any other markings. Additionally, no government or state officials have been permitted to attend the tournament.

The IOC released a list of Russian and Belarusian athletes who agreed or declined to participate in the Olympics. Some initially accepted invitations but later withdrew, possibly due to the restrictions imposed on Russian athletes by some sports chiefs or the description of Russian participants as "traitors."

Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, the first Russians to win a medal at the Paris Games, took silver in the women's tennis doubles last Sunday. Despite this, they have refused to answer questions about Russian politics.

Moscow has portrayed its exclusion from the tournament as evidence of Western "Russophobia" and an attempt to isolate Russia from the sporting community.

Russia's foreign ministry urged the IOC to abandon its "destructive anti-Russian course" as the 2024 Games began in late July, stating that the right to participate in sports competitions is an inalienable human right, according to Tass.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on Monday that the U.S. was planning to fabricate another doping scandal involving Russian athletes. The SVR did not provide any evidence to support its allegations, stating that the U.S. was planning the next stage of its campaign to isolate Russia from the global sports movement. CNBC has reached out to the U.S. State Dept. for comment.

"The Westerners' impudence, pettiness, and shortsightedness are on full display in their unsportsmanlike behavior, which is increasingly rejected by the global majority."

The secret service stated that Russian athletes and coaches will continue to be admired by fans worldwide for their authentic sports performances, free from political interference, according to Tass.

NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics holds the U.S. broadcast rights to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.