 Botvinov emigrated from Russia to Austria in 1996 and was forced to sit out both the 1996–97 FIS World Cup Season and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano until he could his citizenship status clarified, but returned to form in 1998.He also encountered controversy with his teammate Christian Hoffmann regarding blood doping in 2002, though both were cleared by the International Olympic Committee on 9 April 2002.Botvinov retired after the 2006–07 World Cup season.