 According to "Komsomolskaya Pravda", a popular Russian tabloid newspaper, 86% of the Russian population opposed participation in the Winter Olympics under a neutral flag.Many Russians believed that the IOC was retaliating against Russia for their discriminatory anti-gay law which provoked considerable controversy with the IOC during the 2014 Winter Olympics when it was hosted in Sochi, Russia.In January 2018, it was reported that all leading Russian athletes avoided meeting doping officers and passing anti-doping tests in a track and field competition in Irkutsk.