 In the past, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and other government officials had stated that it would be a humiliation for Russia if its athletes were not allowed to compete at the Olympics under the Russian flag.However, despite rumours to the contrary, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov later revealed that no boycott had been discussed leading up to the IOC's announcement.After the IOC decision was made public, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of Chechnya, announced that no Chechen athletes would be allowed to compete under a neutral flag.