Even a Peaceful Olympics Could Turn Into a Failure for Putin

[JohnR! 5,495]

"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." –Olympic Charter

The Sochi Winter Olympics opening on Friday are supposed to showcase the prosperous, dynamic, and confident nation that Russia had become under Vladimir Putin’s leadership. Instead they risk turning into a public relations fiasco, highlighting the failures of Putin’s nearly 14 years in power.

Most ominous is the threat of a terrorist attack, which Putin is trying mightily to avoid by locking down Sochi and deploying some 40,000 troops there during the games. Even if he succeeds, the extreme security measures will be a constant reminder to visitors and foreign news media that Russia has failed to contain escalating violence in the nearby North Caucasus region. “They have built temporary barracks all around the Olympic park, and everything is surrounded by fences, double and triple fences, with lots of security cameras,” says Ivan Nechepurenko, a reporter for the Moscow Times newspaper who has been in Sochi since late January.

It already looks as if many fans have decided to skip the games. The Sochi organizing committee told the Associated Press late last month that only 70 percent of an available 1.1 million tickets had been sold, raising the prospect that television broadcasts will show sparse crowds at some events.

more at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-04/even-a-peaceful-winter-olympics-in-sochi-could-turn-into-a-failure-for-putin

Edited February 7, 2014 by Gegel