The 2012 London Olympic Games champion, Belgorod Oblast Regional Duma deputy Taras Khtey, was elected as a senator to the Federation Council, Russian online media reported.
The nomination took place at the seventh session of the Belgorod Oblast Duma. The deputies unanimously supported the former volleyball player's candidacy.
During his sports career, Khtey played for clubs such as Dynamo, Iskra, Belogorie, and others, and became a two-time Russian champion. As a member of the Russian national team, in addition to the Olympic gold in 2012, he won the World Cup in 2011 and the World League (2002, 2011), was a silver medalist at the 2002 World Championship, and a bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Taras Khtey, an alumnus of the MSTU (Moscow State Technical University) club, is also the club's sports director. We remind you that in May, MSTU became the winner of the Higher League A and returned to the Super League after a 19-year hiatus. The team will once again play in the Druzhba universal sports hall, where it became the champion of Russia in 2001. In addition, the team reached the Champions League quarterfinals twice (2002, 2003). Since 2019, MSTU has been supported by the state corporation Rostec. Among the club's sponsors is also the state corporation Roscosmos. Due to his workload as a senator, Khtey will serve as the club's vice president and will be responsible for external relations.