On 7 August 2016, the Russian Paralympic Committee was banned from participating in the
2016 Summer Paralympics and the
2018 Winter Paralympics due to
the doping scandal in Russia, although in 2018 they were allowed to compete as the
Neutral Paralympic Athletes. The decision to ban the entire Russian team contrasts the treatment of the
Russian Olympic team during the
2016 Summer Olympics, whose members could compete if they were allowed by their sport's respective governing body. On 9 December 2019, the
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years, after it was found that data provided by the
Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities with a goal of protecting athletes involved in its
state-sponsored doping scheme. Russian athletes would be allowed to participate in the Paralympic under a neutral flag and with a neutral designation. Russia later appealed against the WADA decision in the
CAS. On 17 December 2020, the CAS announced its decision, reducing the suspension to two years and allowing Russian athletes to participate under the flag of the Russian Paralympic Committee, rather than under a neutral flag, and use the Russian national colours. For all victory ceremonies,
Pyotr Tchaikovsky's
Piano Concerto No. 1 will be used in lieu of the Russian national anthem. ==Impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War==