Sniper shooting becomes official sport in Russia
The Russian Ministry of Sports has recognised shooting with sniper rifles as a new official sporting discipline.
A ministerial decree states that “military precision shooting” has been included in the official Russian register of sports.
The decree was signed by Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev on 24 February 2026.
The date also marked four years since Russia launched its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.
Several categories are included in the new discipline, among them shooting with rifles weighing more than 12 kg at distances of up to 3,500 metres.
The introduction of the new sport is strongly supported by the Russian Combat Sniping Federation.
“We are confident that the combination of cutting-edge combat experience and the highest standards of sporting professionalism will form a solid foundation upon which a new, widespread culture of sniping will grow and flourish in our country,” a statement from the Federation reads.
Sniper shooting will now be introduced in sports schools, and high-quality competitions will be organised at various levels, the Federation says.
The federation is headed by Yaroslav Yakubov, a so-called “Hero of Russia” following his participation in fighting on occupied Ukrainian territory.
The recognition of sniper shooting comes amid a broader wave of militarisation in Russian society.
The state-supported military youth organisation VOIN, which cooperates closely with the Sniping Federation and the FSB, introduced sniping into its education programme for children and young people in May 2025.
According to VOIN, shooting ranges belonging to the Armed Forces will be used for parts of the training.
“What is the purpose of this? It is very simple — to enable cadets at the ‘VOIN’ Centre to develop further in this field and, later on, to undertake military service or serve in the security forces in this specialism. It is a form of career guidance,” the organisation explains.
Sniping is also strongly supported by Yuri Trutnev, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy. Trutnev is one of the initiators of VOIN and now serves as chairman of its supervisory board. He is himself an avid sniper.
Reportedly, he was at the front line on occupied territory with a sniper rifle in 2025. In an interview with one of Russia’s leading war propagandists, he described how he fired at Ukrainians from a bombed-out building in Vuhledar.
Among the sniper rifles used by the Russian armed forces is the ASVK large-calibre rifle, which was adopted by the Ministry of Defence in 2013.
The effective range of the 12.7 mm ASVK rifle is approximately 2,000 metres. At this distance, an experienced sniper is capable of engaging not only enemy personnel but also lightly armoured vehicles, the 80th Motorised Rifle Brigade has reported.
The brigade, which is based in Alakurtti on the Kola Peninsula, received the rifles in 2016. The unit, also known as Russia’s Arctic Brigade, has several hundred personnel fighting on occupied territory.
