Window on Eurasia: Sochi Countdown -- 43 Weeks to the Olympiad in the North Caucasus
Note: This is my ninth 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 knowledge or information about this subject to send me references to the materials involved. My email address is paul.goble@gmail.comAllow me to express my thanks to all those who already have. Paul Goble
Unlike China Before Beijing Games, Russia is Becoming More Repressive. Many had expected Moscow to moderate its repressive course if it received an Olympic bid, an American journalist writes, but the Russian government has cracked down further. Nonetheless, Joshua Foust suggests, "an Olympic boycott movement which would affect Russia’s much-beloved national pride might actually spur some reconsideration. Absent that movement, it’s likely Russia’s behavior will continue unmodified” (undispatch.com/why-arent-the-sochi-olympics-moderating-russias-human-rights-crackdown).
Circassian Organizations in North Caucasus Demand Inclusion of National Symbols at Sochi. Timur Tenov, a scholar at the Kabardino-Balkaria State University, says that "a majority of social organizations” in the Circassian republics "demand the inclusion of Circassian symbols” at the Olympiad, while a minority are calling for boycotts or other forms of protest (hekupsa.com/publikatsii/kavkaz/694-olimpiada-2014-vernost-traditsiyam-i-aktivizatsiya-islamskikh-tsentrov).
Abkhazia Plans to Highlight Its Stability at Sochi. Nikolay Trapsha, an Abkhaz historian, says his republic plans to use the Olympic Games as an occasion to attract attention to itself as an island of stability and progress in the North Caucasus (hekupsa.com/cherkesiya/obzor/693-abkhazskij-rakurs-olimpijskaya-problematika).
People Seeking to Visit a Beach Near Sochi Charged with Holding ‘Unsanctioned Meeting.’ A group of visitors who only sought to use the beach have been charged with trying to organize an "unsanctioned” meeting, a measure of the level of the nervousness of officials in the region about such a possibility (bellona.ru/articles_ru/articles_2013/1365669036.06).
Circassian MuftiatesWant to Open a Mosque in Olympic Village. Religious leaders from Adygeya, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachayevo-Cherkessia are pressing officials for the right to build a mosque in the Olympic village at Sochi (adygvoice.ru/newsview.php?uid=10754).
Sochi Mayor at Risk of Being on US Magnitsky List. Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of Sochi, may be among those prevented from entering the United States by being listed on the Magnitsky List of officials who have violated human rights, according to Yury Mosha, an émigré Russian businessman (mediazavod.ru/shorties/133201).
Sochi Being Sacrificed for Olympics, Visitor Says. Tatyana Cherkezyan says her visits to Sochi have convinced her that the interests of the people of Sochi are being sacrificed in order to put on a good show for the Olympiad just as the interests of the people of Moscow were sacrificed for the Olympics in 1980 (journal.liberty.su/multimedia/sochi/).
Kremlin Might Free Khodorkovsky to Distract Attention from Sochi Failures. A Moscow commentator has suggested tha the Kremlin might decide to free imprisoned Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky in order to district domestic and international attention from failings at Sochi (publicpost.ru/blog/id/28454/).
Adyge Khase Leader Urges Tougher Stance on Sochi. Murdin Teshev, the honorary chairman of the Adyge Khase public meeting, says that Moscow has not responded to Circassian demands and that the Circassians must adopt a tougher stance regarding the upcoming Olympiad (natpress.ru/index.php?newsid=8169).
Circassians Form Group to Protest Exclusion from Games. A new movement, called "Right to a Motherland,” has emerged among the Circassians and is directing its efforts for the inclusion of their co-ethnics in the Sochi games "which are taking place on an ancient Circassian land” (facebook.com/groups/351047254906986/permalink/585329354812107/).
Sochi Construction Projects Face Labor Shortage. Sochi construction projects are being held back by a shortage of skilled labor in the region, according to Russian specialists (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/222552/).
Putin Should Lead Russian Team at Sochi, Supporters Say. The Russian National Committee 60+, which was put together to plan for Putin’s 60th birthday, says that the Russian president should lead the Russian team at Sochi as a master of sports and notes that he will have the chance to carry the Olympic torch on his birthday (vesti-sochi.tv/olimpiada/16204-putinu-prochat-post-kapitana-olimpijskoj-sbornoj).
US Geological Survey to Help Predict Problems at Sochi. Officials of the US Geological Survey will help provide technical expertise about possible natural disasters that may occur in advance of or at the Sochi Olympiad (vesti-sochi.tv/olimpiada/16131-amerikancy-v-sochi-lrazygrajutr-stihiju).
Warm Weather May Threaten Competitions. Even the warehousing of snow may not be enough if Sochi suffers from anomalous warm weather next year, officials say, because high temperatures could make it impossible to keep venues in shape for competition (hekupsa.com/mnenie/blogi/500-olimpiada-2014-ya-idu-po-asfaltu-v-lyzhi-obutyj).
Sochi Olympics ‘Shame’ Russia, Writer Says. Commenting on an article that suggested that those building the Olympic venues are real professionals, a reader of "Novaya gazeta” says that corruption and other forms of official malfeasance about the games are "shameful.” He suggested that the builders should have been employed to put up housing for ordinary Russians (novayagazeta.ru/sports/57580.html).
Moscow May Put Off Protesters’ Trials Until After Sochi. One Russian activist suggests that in order to avoid international embarrassment, Moscow may delay trials for those charged will illegal activities in the course of peaceful demonstrations in the Russian capital and elsewhere until the Olympiad is completed (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=515DB222E1B05).
By Delaying Issues Until After Sochi, Moscow Will Face Bigger Problems. Dmitry Kovalyev, a Russian commentator, says that the Kremlin is seeking to put off efforts to resolve problems in the Caucasus until after the Olympics but that doing so will only make those problems still worse (lenta.ru/articles/2013/04/09/twotowers).
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