Russians offered soccer during Obama conference

MOSCOW — Soccer or statesmanship?

Russians had a choice between the two Monday, with the rebroadcast of a soccer match that had provoked prominent match-fixing allegations competing on television with a live news conference by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama.

Millions of viewers were expected to tune in to the rerun of the June 13 Russian league match on the main state-run sports channel. It started shortly before Medvedev and Obama announced the results of summit discussions on arms control and other issues during their joint news conference on another state channel.

It was unclear whether the soccer broadcast was timed to diminish viewership of the news conference. But Russian leaders have encouraged apathy toward politics, and they have sometimes faced tough questions from foreign reporters on the Kremlin’s democracy and human rights record.

The broadcast also comes as Kremlin-watchers compare the amount of airtime that will be granted to Medvedev and to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, his predecessor and the man many believe still holds Russia’s reins.

In Russia, the main nationwide TV channels are all owned or strongly influenced by the state. The sports channel and the channel the news conference were on are both part of the main state TV company.

U.S. and Russian officials have been looking to the first full-fledged U.S.-Russian summit in years to put badly troubled relations on a more positive track, and Obama’s arrival and talks with Medvedev got prominent coverage on news programs Monday.

But Russian authorities also may be wary about giving too much play to Obama, who is wildly popular in many nations worldwide. Obama’s election is contrasted by Kremlin critics with the closely choreographed succession in Russia, where Putin steered his protege Medvedev into the presidency last year in a vote whose result was widely seen as a foregone conclusion.

Reports of match-fixing in Russian soccer have erupted since the 1991 Soviet breakup, and observers say corrupt elements remain in the game. British bookmakers reported irregular betting ahead of the June 13 game, between Krylya Sovietov and Terek Grozny, which Terek won 3-2.

Figures from a broad social spectrum have joined public discussion of the match, with many reporting suspiciously generous defending on the part of Krylya Sovietov.

The controversial match was originally shown to a limited audience by satellite.