Note: This is my 50th -- and last -- special
Window on Eurasia about the meaning and impact of the Sochi Olympiad. I want to thank all of you who have provided
me with citations, who have offered perspectives, and who have corrected my
mistakes. I very much hope that the Sochi Games, however ill-advised and
ill-prepared they have been, will take place without violence or greater
repression. Many thanks. Paul Goble paul.goble@gmail.com
Circassians in
Nalchik Today Protest Against Sochi; Russian Officials Arrest 25. Police detained 25 people today in Nalchik
who were taking part in a demonstration against the opening of the Olympics on the
site where Russian forces killed and expelled hundreds of thousands of their
ancestors and on the occasion of the 150th
anniversary of this event. Russian
hackers have also blocked several Circassian sites in hopes of limiting news of
this and other events. Circassians have been overwhelmingly opposed to holding
the games in Sochi since that decision was announced in 2007. They have called
for a boycott without success but they have succeeded in two regards. On the one hand, the Circassian movement is
more, not less united than it has been since 1864, despite Moscow’s
exploitation of some small groups over which it has influence, and the
Circassian cause has attracted more intention than ever before, forcing the Russian
authorities to take counter-measures, including repression, the mobilization of
Russian historians to put out Moscow’s line, and active measures to divide
Circassian organizations in the North Caucasus and internationally. Circassian
demonstrations are taking place elsewhere in the North Caucasus and are
occurring or planned for today in New York and other cities. Despite such acts
of repression, the Circassians remain committed to peaceful means to advancing
their cause (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237822,
avrom-caucasus.livejournal.com/327309.html,
unpo.org/article/16805, al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/turkey-olympics-cicassian-identity-ethnicity-chechen.html,
lapresse.ca/international/europe/201206/07/01-4532506-les-circassiens-de-sochi-le-nouveau-cauchemar-de-moscou.php, ft.com%2Fintl%2Fworld%2Feurope#axzz2sDYNPhmZ,
freecircassia.ucoz.com/news/akcii_protiv_olimpiady_na_zemle_cherkesskogo_genocida/2014-02-07-369
and apsny.ge/2014/soc/1391823996.php).
Sochi has Hurt
Putin Because of the Claims He Made for It, Commentators Say. Precisely because Russian President Vladimir
Putin said that the Sochi Olympiad marked Russia’s return to the world stage
and a triumph for his policies, commentaries on the games, the result of
unprecedented media attention not just to Sochi but to Russia as a whole, have
suggested that for the Kremlin leader, the games are anything from bitter
medicine to a complete fiasco. Had Putin
made fewer claims for the games, he and Russia more generally would likely have
been subject to less criticism. Now, those
who hope the games will succeed have lowered the bar and suggest that as long
as there is snow and there are no terrorist incidents, Putin can claim a
triumph. While a few Western analysts have expressed hope that Putin will
change course, most have argued that the Sochi Olympiad and its shortcomings
suggest that Putin and his regime are in trouble and will likely become even
more repressive to remain in power. The
impact of such Western criticism has been far greater in Russia than many
suspect. Not only have Russians been able to read Western reports via the
Internet, but the media in Russia at all levels has been obsessed with Western coverage, reporting it even when it
is the most negative (foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/31/sochi_s_bitter_medicine,
washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-russias-olympics-be-putins-triumph/2014/01/31/0ced08c4-885d-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html, voanews.com/content/sochi-olympics-putin-legacy-liability/1843882.html,
kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237728/, rufabula.com/news/2014/02/05/sochi-will-weaken-putin, forum-msk.org/material/kompromat/10225514.html, worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/vladimir-kara-murza/putin%E2%80%99s-olympic-calamity, chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/197068?dm_i=1TY5%2C25SX3%2CBHZK6Z%2C7T6YB%2C1, sonicweapons.net/post/75479674775/for-putin-the-olympic-games-are-an-attempt-to,
washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-putin-is-losing-the-sochi-olympic-game/2014/02/02/bf69db1a-89cc-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html, nr2.ru/moskow/482845.html, en.rsport.ru/olympics/20140204/720496829.html, cfr.org/russian-federation/russia-after-sochi/p32322 http://dv-gazeta.info/news/nakanune-sochinskoy-olimpiadyi-zapad-izdevaetsya-nad-putinyim-podborka-karikatur.html, washingtonpost.com/world/olympic-dream-in-sochi-internet-in-the-hotel/2014/02/01/8cc5d6fe-8a8b-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html?wprss=rss_world and echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1248876-echo/).
Polls Show
Russians Want Sochi to Succeed but are Upset by Costs. Polls conducted by VTsIOM and the Levada
Center show that a majority of Russians want the Games to be a success and to
show Russia in a good light, but many respondents say they are angry about the
enormous amounts of money and massive corruption preparation for the Olympics
has involved. And most say they have no plans to attend but will watch the
competitions on television( svoboda.org/content/article/25252898.html,
ej.ru/?a=note&id=24347, vedomosti.ru/sochi-2014/news/22319281/olimpiad-bolshe-ne-nado
and gazeta.ru/social/news/2014/02/01/n_5917585.shtml).
If IOC had Known
What It Does Now, It Might Not have Selected Sochi, Former IOC Member says. Els van Breda Vriesman, a former Dutch member
of the International Olympic Committee, says that if the IOC had known that
Russia would violate its pledges on the environment and other issues, it might
not have voted for holding the games in Sochi but instead awarded them to another
city (nos.nl/os2014/artikel/597575-olympisch-comite-betreurt-sotsji.html).
Kozak, in
Condemning Media Complaints about Hotels, Digs Himself into a Deeper Hole. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak who is
overseeing the Olympiad for Moscow and who like many other Russian officials
has been upset by journalistic accounts about in Sochi, said "we have
surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct
the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day." One of
his spokesman then had to backtrack and declare that Moscow has not installed
surveillance camersin hotel rooms or bathrooms in the hotels there (wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304680904579366712107461956). For a survey
of additional Russian complaints about Western media coverage and suggestions
that such treatment is intended to besmirch Russia as a result of Russophobia
rather than to report the facts, see newrepublic.com/article/116507/russians-hit-back-west-cool-it-olympic-schadenfreude).
Sochi Anything
But Ready, Journalists Say. Save for
the decision to hold a Winter Olympics in a subtropical zone near an ongoing
insurgency, no choice that Moscow made concerning the games has had more unintended
and unwelcome consequences than the one to bring hundreds of journalists to the
city in southern Russia a week in advance of the games and to hotels and
facilities which even the Russians acknowledged were either not completed at
all or suffered from serious shortfalls, although the top Russian officials
said that everything was 97 percent ready and that there had been only a few
complaints lodged with them. Not
surprisingly, the journalists had a field day, writing up their travails,
annoying the Russians and prompting the IOC to demand that Moscow take
immediate action to ensure that accommodations for the journalists were fixed
and fixed quickly, a rare example of the IOC making a public demand on the
Russian authorities for anything. What
made these stories so damaging was that they dominated Western coverage in the
week before the games are to start and reports about these difficulties seeped
back into the Russian media as well. Among the many articles that arose from
these decisions and shortcomings are sports.yahoo.com/news/no-light-bulbs--no-shower-curtain--no-hot-water--welcome-to-sochi-202446189.html, businessinsider.com/sochi-hotel-photos-2014-2, france24.com/fr/20140205-jeux-olympiques-sotchi-2014-face-cachee-journalistes-retard-travaux/, foxnews.com/sports/2014/02/05/sochi-squalor-journalists-report-hotel-horror-stories-as-russians-scramble-to/, mobile.twitter.com/StacyStClair/status/430550673977913344/photo/1?screen_name=StacyStClair, sportingnews.com/sport/story/2014-02-04/2014-sochi-olympics-winter-photos-pictures/, washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/, telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/skiing-news/10617425/Sochi-2014-chaos-at-Winter-Olympics-resort.html, nytimes.com/2014/02/04/sports/olympics/sochi-remains-a-work-in-progress-as-games-draw-near.html?hp&_r=3, deadspin.com/staying-in-sochi-is-a-hilarious-adventure-1515722114,
kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237651/, abc15.com/dpp/news/national/Sochi-Olympics-Hotels-report-construction-delays-days-before-start-of-the-Winter-Games, facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=482088698563536&set=a.287739554665119.56204.100002872312116&type=1&theater, usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/01/sochi-oylmpics-preparation-media-hotels/5109567/,
15 Signs Sochi
Isn’t Ready for Games.
The “Washington Post” provided a list of 15 signs that Sochi isn’t ready for
the games and that the Olympics “could get off to a bumpy start.” Among them are the following: “the Olympic
flame went out 44 times,” mass killings of stray animals, blocking political
activists from coming to games, terrorists, online photos of “’Sochi
problems,’” and “gross and hilarioius hotel mishaps,” including one hotel
without a floor but with a large picture of Vladimir Putin. That list could
easily be extended (washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/05/15-signs-that-russia-is-not-very-ready-for-the-olympics/).
Western Media
Shouldn’t Complain about Sochi Corruption as It’s Not Their Money, Voice of Russia
Says. The Voice of Russia has coe up
with a new argument against Western media reports about massive corruption at
the Games: the money involved “is not take out of their pocket, for heaven’s
sake” and therefore can be viewed as “a tax” to compensate other Russian
taxpayers for the wealth of the oligarchs (voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_03/The-media-s-crusade-against-Sochi-where-does-the-whistle-blow-from-8075/).
IOC President
Says Sochi is “Ready for Best Olympiad in History.” IOC President Thomas Bach says that
“everything is ready” in Sochi for the best games in Olympic history and that
he is especially pleased that 80 percent of the competitors will be close
enough to walk to the venues (vesti-sochi.tv/olimpiada/22650-prezident-mok-sochi-polnostju-gotov-k-provedeniju-luchshej-v-istorii-olimpiady).
Trash Heaps
Still Mar Sochi Landscape. Russians have promised to cart away illegal trash
dumps throughout Sochi and have even devoted all-night efforts to eliminate the
largest piles near where visitors to the games will pass. But despite that,
Sochi residents say, many trash heaps still remain, especially in neighborhoods
away from Olympic tourist routes (privetsochi.ru/blog/Vokrug_Sochi/41400.html, svpressa.ru/Olympic2010/article/81544/ and http://blogsochi.ru/content/chisto-ne-tam-gde-metut-tam-gde-garazhi-ne-snosyat).
Having Despoiled Sochi Environment, Russian Officials Harass
Ecology Activists. As evidence mounts as to just how seriously
Moscow’s approach to Olympic construction had on the environment there, Russian
officials have stepped up their efforts to harass environmental activists or at
least ensure that they are not accessible to Western journalists or have court
dates before the end of the Games that might attract more attention (washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/sochi-activist-to-be-detained-during-olympics/2014/02/03/2f7804e0-8ce3-11e3-9ed8-259977a48789_story.html, ewnc.org/node/13527, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237679/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237674/, ewnc.org/node/13496, science.time.com/2014/01/30/sochi-winter-olympics-environmental-damage/, ewnc.org/node/13532, ewnc.org/node/13530, ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/second-activist-3-days-jailed-sochi-area-olympics-091332317--oly.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory,
Security
Measures Make TV Best Way to See Games. Security is so dense in Sochi, with more
police than people in many locations, that some security companies are
suggesting that fans should not go to Sochi but rather watch on television and
leading other security experts like Tyrus Cobb to ask whether, given all the
security that is necessary, such competitions are worth the costs and risks (sportsmanagementdegreehub.com/olympics/, usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/03/sochi-winter-olympics-2014-security-threats-military-police-black-widow/5193141/ and nationalsecurityforum.org/).
US Warns Russia
of Possible Toothpaste Bombs ahead of Sochi.
The US government has warned the Russian authorities and US airlines
that they have evidence, unspecified, that terrorists may seek to carry bombs
hidden in toothpaste tubes from the US to Sochi. US officials said they were
acting “out of an abundance of caution” rather than because of a direct and
immediate indication of a threat (mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/sochi-2014-terror-alert-warns-3116206).
Moscow Officials
Say Circassians Can Only Be ‘Pawn’ for Others. An Israeli specialist on the
North Caucasus says that Russian officials dismiss the possibility that the
Circassians will ever be able to reconstitute their state in that region. “The
most that [the Circassians] are capable of is to be a pawn in the geopolitical
games of the great peoples,” he says they say (avrom-caucasus.livejournal.com/326861.html).
Despite
Objections of Most Circassians, 26 Will Attend Sochi Games, Russian Officials
Say. Numerous Circassian organizations have said
that any Circassian who goes to Sochi will be a traitor to the national cause.
But despite that, 15 will attend the opening ceremony and another 11 will come
later, Russian officials say. Moscow has
not identified them, but Circassian activists suspect they are people who have
business interests in the North Caucasus over whom Moscow has influence or
those who are subject to some other form of pressure (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237714/
and facebook.com/dalal.shaker.73/posts/404590539687339).
Circassian Exhibit Opens in Sochi. A 600
square meter Adygey House opened in Sochi today, Moscow’s nod to the IOC requirement
that host countries acknowledge the indigenous peoples of the area where the
games are held. It is located ten meters from Switzerland House and was prepared
by Krasnodar Kray officials rather than Circassian experts and activists (kavkazoved.info/news/2014/02/04/cherkesskij-kolorit-olimpiady.html).
Visitors to
Sochi Will Be Using Circassian Words Even if They Don’t Know It. While Moscow seems committed to reducing any
reference to the Circassians who lived in the Sochi area before the genocide of 1864, visitors and competitors
will find themselves using Circassian words all the time because most of the
toponyms in the area are of Circassian origin and even some of the venues, such
as Fisht Stadium, have Circassian names (kavkazoved.info/news/2014/02/05/olimpijskie-ozhidania-korennoj-narod-sochi-gotovitsja-k-vstreche-zimnih-igr.html).
Moscow Enlists
Historians, Archaeologists to Present Its Version of Circassian History. Over the past
year, the Russian Academy of Sciences has published selections of documents
designed to spread Russia’s understanding of what occurred in the North
Caucasus at the time of the tsarist conquest and to undercut the arguments of
Western historians and Circassian activists. Now, Moscow had stepped up that
effort, organizing a meeting of historians tasked with coming up with a single approved
version of the events in the North Caucasus and enlisting an archaeologist
working in Sochi to suggest after preliminary work that there is no
confirmation for suggestions that there were mass graves in or near that city
that Circassians have insisted must exist.
The archaeologist in question does acknowledge that ground conditions
there make it unlikely that human remains would survive for very long (mk.ru/social/article/2014/01/30/978147-na-finishe-olimpiyskoy-trassyi-v-sochi-arheologi-nashli-yazyicheskoe-svyatilische.html
and nazaccent.ru/content/10463-eksperty-nauchnomu-soobshestvu-nuzhno-opredelitsya-s.html)
Two Pounds Open in Sochi But Killing of Homeless Animals
Continues.
Following widespread criticism of a program to kill homeless animals,
Russian officials opened one small pound in Sochi, which critics said was
little more than “a concentration camp” for dogs, and Russian oligarch Oleg
Deripaska opened a second. But despite
those steps, Russian officials continued
to defend the program, demanding that critics explain how they would react if a
homeless dog were to run into a competition area, and ae continuing it. In fact, officials have now placed a bounty
for each dead animal, an arrangement that many fear will lead to indiscriminate
killing of pets as well as genuinely homeless animals
(theguardan.com/world/2014/feb03/sochi
-pest-control-stray-dogs-winter-olympics,
livingfreedom.ru/content/novyi-priyut-v-sochi-kontslage-dlya-zhivotnykh, and
the
moscowtimes.com/sochi2014/Dog-Rescuers-Save-Sochi-Canines-Condemned-to-Death).
Olympic
Construction Destroyed Bird Sanctuary.
Despite promises to stage the greenest Olympics in history, Moscow has
destroyed much of the environment, most prominently the Sochi Orthnithological
Park in Imeretia where the Olympic Park
now stands. That site which had been a swampy area populated by numerous
species o f birds has now been paved over, and the birds are gone, never to
return, ecologists say (gazaryan-suren.livejournal.com/123765.html
sports.yahoo.com/news/environment-loses-russia-39-race-sochi-035730067--oly.html and phys.org/news/2014-02-environment-russia-sochi.html).
Toilet Bowl
Story Just Won’t Stop Running. Ever since the BBC posted a picture of
two commodes in a single stall in Sochi, new reports have come in of even more
absurd toilet stories, including but not limited to, a toilet where the seat
was fastened in a way that made it impossible to use the commode, a toilet
stall in which there were chairs facing the toilet, and sets of rules for those
using toilets. Not surprisingly, all these stories and the accompanying
pictures have gone viral on the Internet (twitter.com/OnlyRussians/status/430788946239299584/photo/1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/02/the-story-of-the-sochi-double-toilet-wont-stop-running/
twitter.com/SebToots/status/429546115604938752/photo/1).
Sochi’s Muslims
Still Don’t have a Mosque, Told to Use One 50 Miles Away. Since 1996, the 20,000 Muslims have been
seeking official approval to build a mosque. They haven’t gotten it and
consequently do not have a regular place to pray. Officials have told them that they should use
the single-room mosque in a village of 180 people, 50 miles from Sochi and not
on any rail line (worldbulletin.net/news/128318/still-no-mosque-in-sochi-as-winter-games-approach).
Trash Disposal
in Sochi Threatens Environment, Public Health.
The gasification method that Russian officials are using to dispose of
the massive amounts of construction debris and other trash threatens to
contaminate the environment and thus become a threat to the health of all those
who drink the water in the area, according to Russian and international experts
(ewnc.org/node/13533).
Sochi Officials
Should Focus on Physical Rather than Political Security, Russian Opposition
Figures Says. Security
officials in Sochi are devoting greater efforts to ensuring political stability
– that is, the absence of any dissent or criticism of Vladimir Putin – than
they are to guaranteeing the physical security of participants and fans at the
Games, according to Boris Nemtsov and Dmitry Oreshkin, two leading Russian
opposition figures say. The FSB clearly
understandings, Oreshkin said, that it is responsible for “political security”
and that is why it is using the fan passport system, arrests, and harassment to
keep anyone who might object to the Putin games away from Sochi (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237760/).
Putin’s Press Secretary Says Sochi Security ‘100 Percent
Ready.’
Dmitry Peshkov, press secretary for the Russian president, says that
“the system of security for the Sochi Olympiad is 100 percent ready and all
offers of foreing colleagues for assistance are being accepted with
gratitude.” One hopes that the first
half of this sentence is true, but early reports by Western and Georgian
officials that their offers had been turned down mean that the second is not (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237749/).
‘Second Class
Russian Citizen’ Complains to Putin. Sergey Fadeyev, editor of “Kaluga
Vchernyaya,” who describes himself as “a second class Russian citizen” because
he has been turned down by Sochi officials when he applied for a fan passport,
has written an open letter to President Vladimir Putin complaining about his
fate, noting that he has never been involved in any militant or opposition
activities – although some in the regime may view this letter as an indication
that he now is -- and therefore deeply resents the way he has been
treated. All he wanted was to go to
Sochi and cheer on Russia’s atheletes, but now he can’t (civitas.ru/news.php?code=14489).
Moscow Writer Says Freedom House Using Sochi Games to
Harm Image of Russia.
Freedom House, which receives much of its funding from the US State
Department, plays “the bad cop” in Washington’s relations with Moscow and is
seeking to besmirch the image of Russia as a whole by its comments on the Sochi
Games, according to Stanslav Apetyan, a Moscow commentator (politonline.ru/comments/15232.html).
Moscow Failed to
Live Up to Its Olympic Commitments, German Paper Says. “Tagesspiegel” says that Russian President
Vladimir Putin and the Russian Olympic Committee have failed to live up to
their commitments given to the IOC when they sought and won the right to host
the Sochi Games. The German paper says
that the Russians operated under the principle “We make promises but don’t keep
them” (nr2.ru/inworld/483062.html).
Not All Russian
Oligarchs Made Out Like Bandits at Sochi.
Many of the oligarchs who have been involved with construction for the
Olympics have made enormous fortunes, but others have suffered serious
financial reverses and even bankruptcies, although the latter may be intended
to hide earnings. However, if many of
them are unhappy with the outcome, that could pose a new challenge to the
Kremlin, some observers suggest (online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303277704579346752538115002?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories and http://blogsochi.ru/content/oni-soshli-s-distantsii-ne-dozhdavshis-olimpiady).
Muscovites
Protest Sochi Games. More than 10,000 people assembled outside the
headquarters of the Russian Olympic Committee in Moscow to protest the enormous
sums of money that have been spent on the Sochi Olympiad, an event the official
media largely ignored but that was widely covered in the blogosphere. Some
carried signs saying that “where there are political prisoners, there is no
place for an Olympiad” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=52F21995DEBF1,
kasparov.ru/material.php?id=52F20301EF963, and grani.ru/Politics/Russia/activism/m.224189.html).
Kuzbass Miners
Call for Strike on Opening Day of Olympiad.
Perhaps hopeful that officials will feel compelled to settle lest Russia
get another public relations black eye, the miners in the Kuzbass reigon have
announced that they will strike on February 7, yet another example of the way
people are making calculations about the timing of their actions by taking
Putin’s Games into account (svpressa.ru/society/article/81766/).
Sochi Residents Continue to Suffer from Power Outages and
Water Cutoffs.
Despite official promises, Sochi residents still face power outages,
water and sewage cutoffs, and problems with the city administration and public
utilities. This week, the arrival of large numbers of visitors added to their
travails, cutting off their access to stores, leading to traffic tie ups, and
making it difficult for some to get to work.
Some complained that signs were wrong and that traffic lights and street
crossing buttons weren’t working, and the residents of one district complained
that Putin and his entourage wouldn’t receive their protests and that the
Moscow media didn’t cover their complaints
(http://www.privetsochi.ru/blog/auto_sochi/41271.html,
privetsochi.ru/blog/bred_sochi/41229.html,
blogsochi.ru/content/ikh-k-putinu-ne-pustyat-i-po-pervomu-kanalu-ne-pokazhut, privetsochi.ru/blog/sitiproblem/41539.html,
privetsochi.ru/blog/Flood/41451.html and blogsochi.ru/content/razrukha-v-parke-kirova-v-lazarevskom-za-1-den-do-pronosa-olimpiiskogo-fakela).
‘Terrorists have
Already Won’ at Sochi, Golts Says.
In a commentary in “Yezhdnevny zhurnal,” Aleksandr Golts says that the
terrorists have already won in Sochi because every time Russian officials say
that everything is secure, they call attention to the underlying security
problems of the North Caucasus, something that will be true even if the Games
themselves take place without violence (ej.ru/?a=note&id=24339).
Americans Worried about Sochi Security, Not Human Rights
in Russia, Survey Finds. According to a survey conducted by the Pew
Foundation, 44 percent of Americans believe that it was a mistake to award the
2014 Winter Olympics to Russia, 12 percent more than said it as “a good
decision.” Butof those who said it was a
bad decision, 62 percent said that was because of security problems in the
Sochi area, a number 15 timesmore than those who said that was because of gay
rights or the nature of the Russian regime (washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/americans-dont-want-olympics-in-russia-but-not-because-they-care-about-human-rights/?tid=up_next).
Attacks on Gays
in Russia Continue ... Because the Russian authorities have failed to
protect LGBT people and instead have allowed those who engage in it to get off
without punishment while bringing charges against some for engaging in what
they call ”gay propaganda,” international rights groups and a letter signed by
more than 200 of the world’s most prominent writers say, attacks on gay people
in Russia continue despite Moscow’s promises that everyone regardless of sexual
orientation will be welcome at Sochi (hrw.org/news/2014/02/03/russia-sochi-games-highlight-homophobic-violence, newizv.ru/accidents/2014-02-03/196413-protiv-uralskoj-zhurnalistki-vozbudili-delo-za-gej-propagandu.html and telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/10620893/More-than-200-leading-authors-protest-against-Russias-anti-gay-and-blasphemy-laws.html).
... Sparking New
Protests Abroad ...
LGBT groups have announced that they
will organize demonstrations against Russia’s anti-gay laws and practice in 19
cities around the world over the course of the Sochi Olympiad (rus-obr.ru/days/29322).
... Some
Athletes Plan to Protest but Others Say They’re Afraid to ... Some Olympic
competitors say they will speak out against Russia’s anti-gay legislation but
others say they won’t do anything lest they “jeopardize” their Olympic “dream,”
an indication that Russian policies are intimidating at least some of the
participants http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/winter-olympics/25932270 and bustle.com/articles/14474-sochi-olympics-lgbtq-strife-gets-personal-for-athletes-but-will-anything-change).
... While Sochi
Gay Clubs Plan to Welcome Visitors. Meanwhile, and despite Sochi Mayor
Anatoly Pakhomov’s suggestion that there are no gays in his city, Sochi’s gay
clubs are openly preparing for an influx of customers during the Olympics (ft.com/intl/cms/s/7cecc80e-8a87-11e3-9c29-00144feab7de,Authorised=false.html).
AT&T
Condemns Russia’s Anti-Gay Legislation.
AT&T became the first major US corporation to denounce Russia’s law
against gay propaganda to children, something none of the companies which are
sponsors of the Games have felt themselves able to do (huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/att-russia-anti-gay_n_4724374.html).
Potemkin Village-Style Cover Ups in Sochi Labelled ‘Gift
from Putin.’ Large tarps being thrown over buildings in
Sochi that officials judge to be too ugly for visitors’ eyes have pictures of
beautiful buildings or scenes on one side and the legend “a gift from Putin” on
the other (anonymous.fm/novosti/nepriglyadnyie_chasti_sochi_na_vremya_olimpiadyi_zavernutyi_v_plakatyi).
NBC
Warns about Russian Hacking and Phone Tapping in Sochi. NBC, which will carry the Sochi Games on
American television, told its audience that “if you have sensitive data that
you don’t want stolen, then don’t bring it to Sochi. And if it’s too late for
that, then don’t talk about sensitive topics” while there. NBC reporter Richard Engel says he and his
colleagues were hacked “almost immediately” and malware allowing the Russians
to tap or record phone calls was inserted.
He noted that the US government has said that visitors to Sochi “should
have no expectation of privacy. Even in their hotel rooms. And as we found out, you are especially
exposed as soon as you try and communicate” (businessinsider.com/hackers-in-sochi-2014-2 and
FSB has Made
Eavesdropping ‘an Olympic Event,’ Soldatov Says. Andrey
Soldatov, Russia’s leading independent researcher on Russian security agencies,
says that the FSB has been pleased that the Snowden revelations have distracted
attention from the activities of Russian services, especially since these
services have stepp up their activities in Sochi. He notes that Western rights
activists continue to focus more on what the US is doing than on what Russia
is, despite the fact that Russia at least in Sochi may be playing a far more
invasive game (themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/fsb-makes-eavesdropping-an-olympic-event/494053.html). For a broader discussion of this issue,
see the article by Sufian Zhemuhov and Robert W. Orttung in the new issue of
“Problems of Post-Communism” at metapress.com/content/hq65k7637884/.
Moscow Using Fan
Passport Requirement to Exclude Dissent.
Many had expressed concern that the Russian authorities would use the
unprecedented requirement for fan passports for those who want to attend the
games to gather information about Western visitors for the intelligence
services. That is still a possibility, but it seems clear that the Russian
government adopted this measure in the first instance to ensure that it could
keep anyone likely to criticize the games out of Sochi and thus out of reach of
Western journalists. It has denied such documentation to political opponents
and to members of certain ethnic groups likely to complain, and rights workers
say that there is very little hope that those who appeal their rejections will
win before the games are over, despite rules that say decisions are to be rendered
within 72 hours (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237704/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237593/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237583/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237506/, sochinskie-novosti.com/2014/01/31/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%82-%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D0%B2-%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B8/ and echo.msk.ru/programs/exit/1247672-echo/#element-text).
IOC, Moscow
Struggle to Get on Same Page on Dissent. IOC President
Thomas Bach’s statement that Olympians have the right to express their opinions
freely on any subject at their press conferences prompted Dmitry Chernyshenko,
head of the Russian organizing committee, to say that he didn’t believe Olympic
rules allowed that. The Russian official subsequently backed down, saying that
Moscow is “fully aligned with the position of the IOC.” (theindychannel.com/sports/olympics/2014-sochi-olympics/ioc-to-review-sochis-final-preparations-security and
foxnews.com/sports/2014/01/30/sochi-olympics-organizers-back-track-on-athletes-free-speech-rights/).
Torch Travails
Continue Right into Sochi. As the
Olympic torch made its way to Sochi through the North Caucasus, it continued to
go out on occasion, to spark protests and complaints by residents upset that
they were being ordered to attend or that the routes were being changed, and to
feature a massive Russian security presence. The torch’s problems did not end
when it arrived in Sochi for a three-day run. There people complained they
couldn’t find out about the route – officials said they weren’t releasing it
early out of security considerations – called Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov “a shit
carrier” when he carried the torch (the words are closer to torch bearer in
Russian), and compared the Olympic flame that will burn during the games to an
industrial site or worse because of the dark smoke that came out of it during a
test (http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237474/, navalny.livejournal.com/903195.html, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237737/, blogsochi.ru/content/fekalonosets, sobkorr.ru/news/52EF45F84C2C3.html, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237646/, kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237586/, blogsochi.ru/content/sochi-v-ozhidanii-estafety-olimpiiskogo-ognya and bigcaucasus.com/events/analysis/31-01-2014/88974-olymp-0/).
Latest Storm
Complicates Life in Sochi. Another serious storm the weekend before the Games
are to start flooded low-lying areas, downed trees and caused power outages,
and forced Russian officials to send in additional workers to repair the damage
to roads, sidewalks, and Olympic facilities.
That allowed some officials to complain that weather was to blame for
the failure of some hotels to be ready in time (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237520/, blogsochi.ru/content/plyazh-imeretinskii%E2%80%A6-vernee-chto-ot-nego-ostalos, blogsochi.ru/content/ocherednoi-pozor-za-nedelyu-do-olimpiady and privetsochi.ru/blog/extreme_sochi/41242.html).
Sewage Leaks
Still a Problem in Many Parts of Sochi. Many sewage lines either leak or have
been improperly connected in various parts of the Olympic city, prompting
widespread complaints about the smell and fears about the public health
consequences. Pictures posted online show just how inadequate the system still
is despite official promises that everything would be in order by the time of
the opening ceremony (privetsochi.ru/blog/sochi2014/41241.html privetsochi.ru/blog/bred_sochi/41634.html
Sochi has ‘Perfect
Avalanche Conditions.’ When it does get a large amount of snow, the
International Snow Science Workshop has concluded, the climate and topography
of the region make it a likely place for avalanches” (cbsnews.com/news/sochi-olympics-ground-zero-for-avalanches/).
If
the Grass isn’t Green in Sochi, Paint It. Because construction has run so far behind
schedule, many buildings are surrounded by mud or just patches of grass.
Russian workers have come up with a quick fix: they are painting the ground
green. Pictures of one doing that have
gone viral on the Internet (znak.com/urfo/news/2014-02-05/1017816.html and twitter.com/EvgenyFeldman/status/430970917758697472/photo/1).
English Spellings
on Sochi Signs Leave Much to Be Desired...
Many signs which feature English translations of Russian instructions
recall those in Malcolm Bradbury’s classic satire of Eastern European states
during the Cold War, “Welcome to Slaka.”
One sign, for example, said visitors should not walk with “durdy
shoeses” on the snow. London’s “Telegraph” said “we could comment, but our
Russia isn’t so good” (theinsider.com.ua/lifestyle/kak-v-internete-smeyutsya-nad-olimpiadoi-v-sochi/).
... While Other Signs are Troubling in Any Language. One sign at a checkpoint on the edge of Sochi
asked drivers to “check for guns in tanks” before proceeding further (twitter.com/search?q=%23SochiProblems).
Soviet Sports Art Informs Sochi Opening Ceremony Stage. As any number of
people have already noticed, the backdrop for the opening of the Sochi Olympiad
recalls the monumentalism and stylistics of Soviet-era art. As one commentator put it delicately in a
reporton an exhibit of Soviet sports art, competition “haslong been a key plank
of Russian propaganda, from triumphant medalists ... to mass parades of agile
beautifies and clean-limbed muscle-men ... while Soviet-era architecture
design, literature, cinema and music all command international interest, visual
arts have tended to lag behind” (readrussia.com/2014/02/05/soviet-sport-on-the-eve-of-sochi/).
Terrorism Will
Continue in the North Caucasus.
Even if Moscow succeeds in preventing a terrorist incident during the
Olympiad, there will be more terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus in the
future. According to Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya of the International Crisis Group,
“you don’t need much to do this. You need a committed jihadi and a bomb, which
is quite cheap and you can make it at home. It’s difficult to deal with” (mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/world/europe/an-olympics-in-the-shadow-of-a-war-zone.html?referrer=).
Sochi Builders Install Bricks without Cement. Either
because they are pressed for time or because they want to cut corners for other
reasons, some Sochi builders are installing concrete block walls without cement
between the blocks. Such walls, as a
picture suggests, could easily collapse (youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iEnj3lBENQc).
Human Rights First Calls for US Delegation to ‘Stand for
Equality’ at Sochi. HRF, a gay rights organization,
says that it is not enough that some of the members of the US delegation to
Sochi are openly gay or lesbian. All of them must speak out against Russia’s
anti-LGBT law and it is gathering signatures on an online petition calling for
that (actions.humanrightsfirst.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9182).
ICG
and HRW Say Enhanced Security at Sochi Could Lead Violence in North Caucasus. Russia’s security build up in Sochi could have the unintended consequence
of leading to more violence in the North Caucasus even if it manages to keep
the games themselves safe, according to experts at Human Rights Watch and the
Interntional Crisis Group (sobkorr.ru/infopovod/52EF997B750C4.html).
Doping
Scandal has Alreaady Handed Russia Its First Defeat at Sochi, TASS Analyst
Says. Dmitry Kogan,who writes
commentaries for ITAR-Tass, says that the finding that at least one Russian
athlete had used illegal drugs represents “the first defeat of Russia” in the
Olympiad (http://tass-analytics.com/opinions/1500).
Security Stepped
Up in Moscow as Well for Sochi Games.
Russian officials have stepped up security measures in the Russian
capital in advance of the Sochi Olympics, apparently out of concern that
terrorists might choose to target Moscow in order to get greater attention (izvestia.ru/news/564953).
Tatar
Nationalist Charged for Urging a Boycott of Kazan Universiade Last Summer. In
an action that highlights what may happen to Russian critics of the Sochi
Games, officials have brought charges against Fauziya Bayramova, a leading
Kazan Tatar nationalist, because she urged competitors to stay away from the
Kazan Universiade (ng.ru/regions/2014-02-03/2_tatarstan.html).
‘Faster, Higher,
Funnier’ Entrees Posted. Moscow’s “Novyye izvestiya” has posted online some
of the entries of its fifth international cartoon contest which this time
around is devoted to the Sochi Olympics.
These are available at konkurs.newizv.ru/.
Russian Rail
Completes only 1300 of Promised 3500 Rooms for Olympiad Personnel. Russia Rail, which has built many of the
hotels and support facilities in Sochi, has completed only 1300 of the 3500
rooms it contracted to build for Olympiad personnel, Russian officials say,
adding that the authorities are considering imposing one of a variety of
penalties on the firm (blogsochi.ru/content/vlasti-mogut-nakazat-rzhd-za-sryv-srokov-stroitelstva-zhilya-dlya-personala-olimpiady).
Sochi Police
Suggest BlogSochi Editor Leave Town During Olympiad. The Sochi police have suggested that
Aleksandr Valov, editor of BlogSochi.ru, leave town during the
competition. Valov’s site is viewed by
30-40,000 people each day, 70 percent of them locals, and is a major source for what has gone wrong in the
preparations for the Olympics (blogsochi.ru/content/blogger-v-sochi-issleduet-obratnuyu-storonu-olimpiady-cbc-kanada).
Austrian
Olympians Receive Anonymous Threats. Russian police are investigating
anonymous threats received by two members of the Austrian Olympic team. Officials of the Austrian Olympic Committee
say that the two are confident that they will be protected (bbc.co.uk/russian/rolling_news/2014/02/140204_rn_sochi_threats_austria.shtml).
Rumors
Flying in Sochi that Residents are to Be Drafted to Clean Up Olympic
Venues. PrivetSochi.ru has posted a
letter from one reader who says he has heard from neighbors that the authorities
plan to order local residents to help clean up not only their own areas – that
has been reported and confirmed – but other parts of the city near the Olympic
venues. The latter has not yet been confirmed (privetsochi.ru/blog/grazhdannskoe_obhestvo_goroda_sochi/41453.html
). But
officials have indicated that they will use up to half of the pupils in Sochi
schools to ensure crowds where they want them. The students have a break from
school until the Games are over (blogsochi.ru/content/vneplanovye-kanikuly-v-shkolakh-goroda-sochi-nachnutsya-7-fevralya).
British
Brewery Launches Special Beer to Protest Moscow’s Anti-Gay Laws. The independent BrewDog brewery is producing
a special beer to protest Russia’s anti-LGBT propaganda law. Called “Hello My
Name is Vladimir,” its label shows Putin wearing lipstick and eyeshadow and
states that this is “not for gays” (buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/brewery-launches-anti-putin-beer-in-protest-over-gay-rights).
Only 10 Percent
of Sochi Visitors Will Be from Outside of Russia. Russians will
make up 90 percent of the fans at the Sochi Olympics, with the largest numbers
coming from Krasnodar kray, in in which Sochi is located, and nearby Rostov
Oblast, according to Russian experts (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237670/).
Despite Warm Temperatures, Sochi Will Have Plenty of Snow,
Most Man-Made. Roman Vilfand, head of the Russian Hydrometeorological
Service, says that temperatures during the Games will be mostly above freezing
but that snow cannons and other techniques will ensure that there will be
enough snow for the competitions (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237660/).
Dutch Petition
King and Government Not to Go to Sochi. 35,000 Dutch citizens have called on
their kind and prime minister not to attend the Sochi Olympiad in order to
protest Russia’s anti- gay laws.
Originally, Russian officials said that they expected as many as 60 chiefs
of state and heads of government, but far fewer, perhaps less than a quarter of
that number have said they are planning to attend (kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237652/ and kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/237654/).
Sign of the
Times in Sochi: ‘I’ve Left. Back after the Games.’ Sochi News
published a picture of a sign in one shop in the city which reflects the
feelings of many small businesses there (sochinskie-novosti.com/2014/01/25/%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%87%0%B8-%D0%B2-%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0/).
Kozak Says
Everything Ready and Denies Large-Scale Corruption. In an
interview with “Itogi,” Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak reiterated his
statements that Sochi is ready for the games and that there is as yet no
confirmation of any large-scale corruption among Olympic contractors, although
he added that he could not say there had not been some violations of the law (ria.ru/sochi2014_around_games/20140201/992556885.html#ixzz2s5Fc2Efo and http://www.itogi.ru/russia/2014/5/197650.html).
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Russians
Referring to Sochi Games as the ‘Kickbacktiada.’ Fed up with
the high cost of the Sochi Olympics and reports of massive corruption there,
many Russians are now referring to the Games as “Kickbacktiada,” a word that
combines a word familiar to English speakers with an ending Russians often
use for competitions (http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-sochi-corruption-20140203,0,7720747.story#axzz2sIISwLF3). Some more
Internet savvy Russians have come up with parodies and songs making fun of
the Games (elitedaily.com/humor/russians-create-hilarious-rebuttal-music-video-russias-anti-gay-laws-video/).
Sochi MVD Leadership Replaced Just Before Games. In a
development which some fear may affect security, Moscow replaced a number of
senior officers in the local investigation department of the the interior
ministry administration only ten days before competitors and fans began
arriving (blogsochi.ru/content/massovoe-uvolnenie-v-sledstvennom-upravlenii-uvd-sochi-nakanune-olimpiady).
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Two US Navy
Ships on Station Off Sochi Coast.
The USS Ramage and the USS Mount Whitney have taken up positions in the
Black Sea near Sochi to provide support in the event an evacuation becomes
necessary. Some Russians are angry but the ships have remained outside of
Russian territorial waters (kp.ru/online/news/1648157/).
Sochi Cost More
than All Previous Winter Games Combined.
Jurryt van de Vooren, a Dutch analyst, says that the Sochi Games cost
more than all previous Winter Games combined, a finding that is all the more
striking because the figure he used for Sochi – 40 billion US dollars – is far
lower than the estimates made by other independent investigators who place the
total upwards from 51 billion (ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/02/01/sochi-cost-more-than-every-other-winter-olympics-put-together/ and nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/02/01/sotsji-duurder-dan-alle-vorige-winterspelen-bij-elkaar/).
Saudis
Reportedly Promised to Keep Caucasus Quiet During Games if Moscow Met its
Demands. Russian analysts have picked up earlier
British reports that Saudi Prince Bandar visited Moscow and promised that
Riyadh could keep the North Caucasus quiet during the Olympiad if Moscow agreed
to several unspecified demands, an exchange that has not been confirmed but one
that implies, at least in the Russian telling, that the Saudis have enormous
influence over the militants in the North Caucasus and thus can be blamed if
anything goes wrong (fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/27/the-sochi-olympics-security-could-be-more-influenc.aspx and ru.journal-neo.org/2014/02/02/rus-olimpiada-bandar-bin-sultan-i-mezhdunarodny-j-terrorizm/).
Estonian Olympic
Team Pictured with Huskies as Protest Against Killing of Homeless Animals in
Sochi. Estonian Olympians posed with Huskies for
their official photograph in order to protest reports that officials in Sochi
have been killing rather than rounding up homeless dogs and cats (http://www.bk55.ru/mc2/news/article/1850
and siapress.ru/news/society/29437).
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Russian
Olympic Winners Will Get Prizes from Both Moscow and Regions. Russian officials have announced that
Russian Olympians who win medals will receive money prizes from both the
central Russian government and the regions from which they are from (newizv.ru/sport/2014-01-31/196317-cena-zolota.html).
Half of Police in Sochi from
Somewhere Else in Russia. Approximately half of the 30,000
policemen now in Sochi are from other regions of Russia, and at least some of
them are unhappy with the facilities the authorities have provided them and
as the behavior of a group from St. Petersburg shows very much want to go
home
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Russian
Conservatives Upset by Plans to Have Tatu Perform at Games. Russian conservatives say they are very upset
that Moscow has decided to have Tatu, whose members are openly lesbian, perform
at the games. That may distract
international attention from Russia’s anti-LGBT laws, but it is a concession
the authorities should never have made (via-midgard.info/news/lesbiyanki-na-radost-izvrashhencam-mira-budut.htm).
Experts Say
Terrorist Attack Most Likely Outside of Sochi and at End of Games. Western security experts say that the
physical security now in place in Sochi means that any terrorist attack during
the Olympics is more likely to take place outside the city. They also say that
the most likely time for such an attack would be near the end of the Games
because the closing ceremony coincides with the 70th anniversary of
Stalin’s deportation of the Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia in 1944 (washingtonpost.com/opinions/during-the-olympics-the-greatest-terrorism-threats-are-outside-sochi/2014/01/31/cfa2f87a-8848-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html). Other experts
say that the most likely form of any attack will be that of a suicide bombing (abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/suicide-bombers-called-biggest-sochi-olympics-risk-22308875).
Wage Arrears of
Sochi Workers Still Not Paid Up, HRW Says.
Jane Buchanan, associate director of Human Rights Watch, says that
Olympic contractors still have not paid their workers all that they have earned
and that “the IOC needs to do more to make sure that games aren’t held the
Olympics. The games can’t be a force for good if they come at such a high cost
for people building the Olympics” (travelerstoday.com/articles/8498/20140131/sochi-olympics-2014-workers-security-billions-terrorism-wages.htm).
Australian
Olympians told Not to Make Statements Until After Their Events. The Australian
Olympic Committee has told its Olympians not tomake statements until after they
have competed and appeared on the podium. “Inevitably, therewill be some form
of demonstration on the field of play, but I hope there is nothing
significanton the podium, and if they do they will be dealt with,” one
Australian official said (theage.com.au/sport/winter-olympics/sochi-olympics-john-coates-has-warned-australian-athletes-on-political-protests-in-sochi-20140131-31sp0.html).
Organizer of
Sochi Explosions in 2008-2009 Sentenced to Life in Prison. Underscoring just how tough Russian courts
will be if anyone commits a terrorist act during the Olympiad, Ilya Galkin, a
former Russian policeman, has just been sentenced to life behind bars for his
role in the explosions that rocked Sochin in 2008 and 2009 (blogsochi.ru/content/rganizator-vzryvov-v-sochi-v-2008-2009-godakh-eks-militsioner-galkin-osuzhden-na-pozhiznenny).
Exchanging or
Returning Tickets Could Create Problems.
Those who have purchased tickets and want or have to exchange or return
them must follow careful procedures, officials say, but the process could open
the way for those without proper identification to get into venues, as could
the day passes now being sold (privetsochi.ru/blog/sochi2014/41326.html and
Sochi Volunteers
Over-Doing Enforcement. Some Sochi
residents are complaining that the volunteers working during the games are
taking the rules too literally or are enforcing provisions in a more radical
way than intended. If those who are victimized in this way can get to their
superiors, they are likely to be treated more fairly. If not, they will have
problems as did one woman who was initially deprived of all of her insulin by
the firt-line volunteers (privetsochi.ru/blog/sochi2014/41240.html).
The Only
Prescription in Sochi is ‘Don’t Get Sick.’
Residents say that shortcomings in the medical support system in their
city mean that the only real prescription is “don’t get sick!” (privetsochi.ru/blog/med_sochi/41223.html).
Sochi Games
‘Cancelled,’ According to Satirical Article. A satirical article in the
“Examiner” said that the Sochi Games were cancelled on February 8th
“after Russian authorities arrested almost three-quarters of the athletes.” It
continued “One of the first to be arrested was
a Dutch speed skater whose iPod contained the greatest hits of the Village
People. He is currently awaiting bail.The entire US hockey team was arrested en
masse, because the Russian authorities deemed their jeans too tight. A clear
sign of gayness, according to one unnamed source at the FSB. Every single
competitor in the luge competition was arrested because the authorities deemed their
outfits ‘too kinky’ ... All members of the bobsled teams were arrested for what
the Russian authorities deemed ‘inappropriate touching, and sitting too close.’
All male curling competitors were arrested. When reporters asked why, a Russian
security official just snorted and said, "Men with brooms? Please...isn't
it obvious?" ... And finally, the
Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian teams were all arrested and immediately
shipped to Siberia. When asked what they had done wrong, one Russian official
shrugged his shoulders, sighed and said, "Nothing, old habits die hard"
(examiner.com/article/winter-olympics-cancelled).
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