Note: This is my 22nd special Window on
Eurasia about the meaning and impact of the planned Olympiad on the nations in
the surrounding region. These WOEs,
which will appear each Friday over the coming year, will not aim at being
comprehensive but rather will consist of a series bullet points about such
developments. I would like to invite
anyone with special knowlege or information about this subject to send me
references to the materials involved. My
email address is paul.goble@gmail.com Allow me to express my thanks to all those
who already have. Paul Goble
‘Mounting
Concerns’ in Moscow about Impact of Anti-Gay Law on Sochi. The Moscow Times reports that “concerns are
mounting” in Moscow over the impact on the Olympics of Russia’s new law against
“homosexual propaganda.” Some fear that an international boycott is a possibility
while others are concerned that there will be some LGBT demonstration at the games(http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/detentions-intensify-fears-over-gay-rights/483623.html).
Putin
Won’t Back Down on Anti-Gay Law Because of his ‘Self-Promoted Masculinity,’ US
Coach Says. Charley Sullivan, an American rowing coach, says that Putin won’t
reverse Russia’s anti-gay laws because “to acquiesce would call his
significantly promoted masculinity and power into question. Even if the laws
were changed, by some miracle, we would still need to keep in mind the
possibility of this being temporary and for show, a modern Potemkin Village of
tolerance.” Consequently, there are only two possible responses: not a boycott
but a demand that the games be “removed from Russia entirely,” and a program to
“take the gay to Sochi,” sending openly gay diplomats and politicians and …
openly gay elite athletes and coachs … to press this question” inn Moscow and
using the games themselves to demonstrate international support for LGBT rights
(outsports.com/2013/7/25/4553862/sochi-2014-winter-olympics-russia-gay-athletes).
Moreover, the Russian president knows that the new law enjoys overwhelming
support among Russians and among conservative groups in the US and elsewhere (one-europe.info/gay-rights-in-russia-a-miserable-issue#.UelgBW00EUM).
Olympians Should
Demonstrate Support for Russian LGBTs at the Games. Tom Ziller says that Olympians can give
Russia “a big ol’ dose of reality” that “being homosexual is not a sin.” The games themselves “provide a stage for
individual athletes and teams. There's really very little that Putin can or
would have the stomach to do to censor Olympic champions from making their
statements about gay rights, however subtle or obvious those statements may
be.It strikes me that the best way to protest a ban on gay pride parades is to
turn the Parade of Nations into an hours-long message of support to the Russian
gay community. If it's pervasive enough, there's nothing Putin's regime can do
to stop it from reaching the very kids his government would like to quarantine
from anything to do with homosexual acceptance.” (sbnation.com/2013/7/24/4548656/sochi-winters-olympics-2014-russia-boycott-gay-rights).
Olympic
Committee Must Demand Repeal of Anti-Gay Laws, NY Times Writer Says. In an oped in
the New York Times, Harvey Fierstein, an actor and playright, says that “the
Olympic Committee must demand the retraction” of anti-LGBT laws. He notes that “In 1936 the world attended the
Olympics in Germany. Few participants said a word about Hitler’s campaign
against the Jews. Supporters of that decision point proudly to the triumph of
Jesse Owens, while I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is
a price for tolerating intolerance” (nytimes.com/2013/07/22/opinion/russias-anti-gay-crackdown.html?smid=tw-share&_r=3&).
Canadian Writer
Warns of Repeat of 1936 Games at Sochi.
Sarah Connor, who writes on hockey and other sports, says “Sochi, we
have a problem,” adding that the question now is “Will we see a repeat of 1936,
in which the Olympics in Germany ignored the huge issue occurring right under
their noses, or will we actually see some sort of heinously unjustifiable
action taken against Olympians and their supporters? Either way, it's
disgusting and in direct violation of the Olympics' mission statement, and it's a shame
that it has to be a focal point of worry for certain athletes rather than what
they SHOULD be focusing on -- representing their country to the best of their
ability. There's no NHL boycott, but maybe there should be” (stanleycupofchowder.com/2013/7/22/4545668/sochi-2014-you-can-play-or-can-you).
Canada Must
Consider a Sochi Boycott, Writer Says. Russia’s new anti-gay law “is an
affront both to the people in that coutry and around the world,” a Canadian
writer says. “It’s been condemned by the European Union and by groups such as
Human Rights Watch, but for Canada, it stands in direct contrast to the values
for which we are internally lauded.” And
consequently, while Canada failed to stand up for Canadaina values at the time
of the Beijing games, “in this case we must give serious consideration to our
participation at the Sochi Olympics in2014” (theglobeandmail.com/commentary/russias-anti-gay-law-is-incompatible-with-olympic-values-should-we-boycott-sochi/article13318097/).
Reasons for
Sochi Boycott Seen Mounting. Moscow’s
behavior in the Snowden case, its treatment of political opponents and NGOs,
its inability to pacify the North Caucasus, and its support for Syrian dictator
Bashar al-Asad are all being cited by Western and Russian outlets as reasons
for boycotting the Sochi Games, according to one Olympic portal (2014.info/news/prichiny-nachat-bojkot-olimpiady-v-sochi/).
Russian
Officials Raid Rights Group in Sochi … Police raided the Sochi offices of
Memorial the day after that office handed in complaints about serious
violations of worker rights by Olympic contractors. “Instead of bullying the
messenger,” a senior Human Rights Watch official said, “the Russian authorities
should investigate the allegations of abuse” (ifex.org/russia/2013/07/25/russia_rights_group_targeted/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/227522/
and hrw.org/ru/news/2013/07/25/rossiya-v-sochi-prishli-s-proverkoi-k-pravozashchitnikam).
… And Threaten
to Close Environmental Group. Meanwhile, Russian prosecutors warned
Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus that it would be closed unless it
registers as “a foreign agent” (facebook.com/notes/environmental-watch-on-north-caucasus/police-deliver-foreign-agent-warning-to-ewnc-in-a-sting-operation/10151828466253833).
Online Petition
Calls for Boycotting Sochi Games.
An online petition to world leaders is gathering signatures calling on
them to boycott the Olympics in Sochi because of “the anti-human
anti-democratiic, homophobic policies, acts and politically motivated court
cases by Vladimir Putin’s regime” (change.org/en-CA/petitions/world-governments-and-leaders-boycott-sochi-olympics-over-human-rights-violations-by-putin-s-regime).
Putin Says
Critics of Universiade Should ‘Take Viagra.’ Upset that so many people have
criticized the Kazan Universiade where Russian professionals defeated amateurs
from other countries and where the Kremlin’s public relations campaign was in
overdrive, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that those doing the criticism
should “take viagra” and find happiness some other way (sports.ru/others/athletics/151423768.html
and grani.ru/Politics/Russia/President/m.217060.html).
Kazan
Universiade Leaves Sports Writers, Athletes, and Fans Upset, Disappointed. Putin’s comment came as reports surface that
the fake and boring quality of the Kazan Universiade has infuriated and
disappointed sports writers, athletes, and fans (tatar-centr.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post_9130.html,
echo.msk.ru/blog/zhurova/1118484-echo/,
tataram.ru/article/4772/9/, and profile.ru/article/izbienie-mladentsev-pobeda-rossiiskoi-sbornoi-na-universiade-v-kazani-ostavila-dvoistvennoe-).
Sochi Residents
Angry about Electricity Shutoffs, Watermain Breaks, and Potholed Roles. As Olympic
construction continues with little attention to the needs of the local
population, residents of Sochi and environs are increasingly upset by daily
electricity shutoffs, construction-related breaks in water mains and impassable
roads and are turning their anger against both local officials and Moscow
itself (blogsochi.ru/content/sochivodokanal-prodolzhaet-vosstanovlenie-setei-povrezhdennykh-stroitelyami
and http://blogsochi.ru/content/prezidentu-gk-%C2%ABolimpstroi%C2%BB-sergeyu-gaplikovu).
Illegal Drugs
Sold So Openly in Sochi that Standard Prices are Now Published. A broad range of
illegal drugs are now so readily available in the Olympic city that residents
say there are standard prices for different kinds; they further complain that
they have no confidence that the police are doing anything about this plague (blogsochi.ru/content/narkotorgovlya-v-olimpiiskoi-stolitse-optom-i-v-roznitsu).
Without Being
Asks, Tatarstan Not Moscow Paid for Universiade and Part of Sochi Too, Editor
Says. Rashit Akhmetov, editor of the independent Zvezda Povolzhya, says that the people
of Tatarstan not the central government in Moscow paid for the Kazan Games
because their republic for years has sent more taxes to the center than it has
received aid back. And he says that this pattern is continuing with Sochi as
well. Consequently, Akhmetov says,
Tatars and Russians should not be expected to be grateful to Moscow given that
it is spending their money (zvezdapovolzhya.ru/obshestvo/universiada-24-07-2013.html).
Sochi
Costs Continue to Rise. Despite
costing more than five times what was planned and becoming the most expensive
Olympic competition in history, the Sochi Games are online to cost even more as
costs for medical services and other support activities that Moscow did not
originally budget for come in (2014.info/news/rasxody-na-olimpiadu-prodolzhayut-rasti/).
Some
Sochi Gold Medals Will Contain Chelyabinsk Meteorite Fragments. Russian officials say that they will embed small
pieces of the meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk last February in the gold
medals awarded at Sochi to honor the 1600 victims of that event (en.rsport.ru/olympics/20130724/675853604.html).
Prosecutors Send
Case against Crusading Sochi Journalist Back for Investigation. In what may be nothing more than a
bureaucratic snafu or an effort at delay, Sochi prosecutors have returned the
case of journalist Nikolay Yarst for further investigation. Police have charged Yarst, who exposed
criminality and environmental depradation, with drug possession (blogsochi.ru/content/prokuratura-vernula-delo-nikolaya-yarsta-na-dorassledovanie).
Russian
Political Prisoner Backs Blocking Sochi Games By Any Means Necessary. Boris Stomakhin says that the crimes of the
Russian government and the failure of Moscow to respect the deaths of
Circassians at Sochi in 1864 means that the Olympics must be stopped by any
means necessary, including, he says, violence (ros-boloto.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post_7419.html?spref=fb).
Moscow’s
Problem: Even Upbeat Stories about Sochi Mention Enormous Problems. An overwhelmingly positive story about Sochi
in Men’s Journal highlights a problem
Moscow faces in getting its version of events out. Even journalists who write upbeat stories
that reflect the Russian point of view feel compelled to mention all sorts of
problems incudinig human rights violations, labor abuse and extraordinary costs
(mensjournal.com/magazine/olympics-putin-style-20130723).
Moscow
Photoshops Picture of Russian and Georgian Patriarchs with Sochi T-Shirt. Numerous viewers have concluded that Russian
officials photoshopped a picture of the leaders of the two Orthodox churches to
make it appear that they were holding a Sochi Olympiad t-shirt between them,
conclusions that if true are the latest turn in the old story of “The Commissar
Vanishes” (facebook.com/groups/antisochi/?hc_location=stream).
Cossacks to
Patrol Sochi Olympiad. Three hundred Kuban Cossacks will be paid
25,000 rubles (800 US dollars) a piece to patrol Sochi during the Olympics,
something their leaders say is appropriate because in their words the Cossacks
are “representatives of the indigenous population” (izvestia.ru/news/554180).
Kavkaz Uzel
Sums Up Sochi Olympiad Problems.
The editors of the North Caucasus news agency sum up what has been
reported so far about the ecological problems, the protests of the Circassians,
spending and corruption, and the mistreatment of workers and the environment in
and around Sochi (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/221252/).
Khloponin Says
North Caucasus Federal District Will Remain Unchanged After Sochi. Responding to suggestions that Moscocw is
waiting until after Sochi to make fundamental changes, Aleksandr Khloponin,
presidential plenipotentiary for the North Caucasus federal district, says that
no changes will be made even then and that the idea has not even been discussed
among officials (sochinskie-novosti.com/2013/07/23/%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8B-%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85-%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5-%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%8B-%D0%B2-%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B8-%D1%85%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD/).
Moscow Ministry
Admits Money for Sochi Being Diverted and Misused. The Regional Development Ministry says that
funds for projects in Vladivostok and the Sochi Games have been diverted and not
spent as intended, but it says that the fault lies not with its officers but
with those in other bureaucracies, an indication that officials are now being
forced to defend themselves and are seeking the usual cover of blaming others (regnum.ru/news/polit/1686772.html
and vedomosti.ru/realty/news/14358351/gosstroj-ostalsya-bezfundamenta).
Artist Behind ‘Welcome
to Sochi’ Series Defends His Work, Says Ban has Made It Profitable. Vasily Slonov, the artist who produced the
controversial and ultimately banned series of “Welcome to Sochi” posters, says
he was entirely within his rights and that the ban has made his posters so
popular that he could easily make a fortune licensing them for t-shirts (rusrep.ru/article/2013/07/12/slonov).
Sochi Mayor
Wants ‘Stability at Any Price.’ Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov has indicated
that as the world famous mayor of the Olympic city, his task is to ensure
stability regardless of what it takes, a message that is leading to violations
of the law and increasing anger against him personally among Sochi residents (blogsochi.ru/content/udalennaya-statya-pakhomov-i-teplyakov-stabilnost-lyuboi-tsenoi).
Moscow Now Plans
to Deploy 50,000 Troops at Sochi Games.
Nezavisimaya gazeta reports
that Moscow is now planning to deploy 50,000 members of the Russian armed
services in addition to police and FSB security officers, an indication of
Russia’s security concerns and commitment to ensure that there will not be any
violence there (ng.ru/armies/2013-07-22/2_sochi.html and indrus.in/news/2013/07/20/emergencies_ministry_ready_for_2014_sochi_winter_olympics_-_puchkov_27301.html).
Russian Sports
Minister Says Boycott Would be ‘Absolutely Stupid.’ Vitaly Mutko,
Russia’s minster for sports, says that “sports should be separate from politics”
and that it would be “absolutely stupid” for anyone to boycott the Sochi
Olympics because of “the conviction of a Kremlin opponent or Mosco’s refusal to
extradite fugitive Americann Edward Snowden” (chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-sochi-olympics-russia-snowden-20130719,0,6356019.story).
Moscow
Commentators Suggest Kremlin Released Navalny Because of Sochi. Several Russian commentators have suggested
that concerns about a boycott of the Sochi Olympics played a major role in the
Kremlin’s decision to release opposition leader Aleksey Navalny (www.kcblog.info/2013/07/blog-post_9334.html).
Sochi Residents
Demonstrate in Support of Navalny. Despite heavy rains, several hundred
Sochi residents came out to a demonstration in support of Kremlin opponent
Aleksey Navalny (blogsochi.ru/content/zhiteli-sochi-proveli-pod-dozhdem-aktsiyu-v-podderzhku-alekseya-navalnogo).
Sochi Olympic
Chief Says Birth of Leopard Cubs ‘Proves Success’ of Sochi’s Environmental Plan. Dmitry
Chernyshenko head of the Sochi Organizing Committee says that the birth of
Persian leopard cubs in the Sochi National Park “for the first time in 50 years”
demonstrates “the success” of his organization’s commitment to environmental
protection, PR Web reports (prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10946477.htm).
Russian Athlete
Accuses Foreigners of Planning to Cheat at Sochi. A Russian bobsled competitor says that his
team faces an uphill battle in Sochi because some foreign teams, including the Germans,
have demonstrated that they are prepared to cheat to win (vesti-sochi.tv/olimpiada/18436-rossijskie-olimpijcy-gotovjatsja-k-nechestnoj-borbe).
New and Rushed
Reconstruction of Sochi Infrastructure Highlights Lack of Planning. Sochi residents are outraged that only a few
months before the games, contractors are tearing up the city to rebuild the
infrastructure of the city, a pattern, the residents say, reflects the absence
of planning and the danger that in a rush to finish not everything will be done
to a high standard (sochinskie-novosti.com/%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%8F-%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C/).
Despite
Official Promises, Sochi Still Far from Handicap Accessible. Russian officials claim they living up to
Olympic requirements and are making Sochi “the first city in Russia completely
accessible for invalids,” but photographs posted online show that their claims
are overstated and unlikely to be realized before the Sochi Games (russia.ru/news/society/2013/7/21/14097.html and blogsochi.ru/content/dostupnaya-sreda-govorite).
Moscow Not About
to Change its Policy toward Circassians, Activist Says. A Circassian activist says Moscow”will hardly
change its policy toward theCircassians because the ‘Circassian issue’ is a
moral question above all,” one that Russian officials have shown they do not
want opened (hekupsa.com/mnenie/intervyu/1057-andzor-kabard-rossiya-nikogda-ne-pojdet-nam-navstrechu).
Official
Malfeasance in Sochi Can No Longer Be Ignored. In addition to being corrupt,
Sochi officials routinely violate the law in other ways, including impeding
investigations into high-profile crimes, and that is leading ever more
residents to demand that something be done, with many now planning to vote out
the mayor at the next election (blogsochi.ru/content/chi-eshche-prava-narushila-nonna-karadava-nachalnik-upravleniya-po-voprosam-semi-i-detstva-a and blogsochi.ru/content/kardava-narushila-zakon). Many of them
now say the only way out is for a wholesale restructuring of the city
administration. Just replacing one set of criminals with another won’t be
enough (blogsochi.ru/content/nezavisimyi-vzglyad-na-upravlenie-yuzhnoi-stolitsei).
Sochi will be ‘A
Harder Test,’ Medvedev Says.
At the closing ceremony of the Kazan Universiade, an event viewed as a
test run for the Sochi Games, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that “Sochi
is oing to be a harder test still.” He was referring to Russian prospects for
victory in the athletic competition, but many are likely to see his words as
having a rather broader meaning (en.ria.ru/sports/20130718/182301817/Russia-Finishes-Its-Dry-Run-for-Olympics.html).
