The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, organizer of the World Championship event in Sochi in February 2017, has decided to move the event from Russia due to a potential boycott by countries and athletes concerned over Russian doping.
Moscow Wants to Block Those Suspected of Extremism from Leaving the Country 2016-03-22 19:58:24 Staunton, VA, March 21, 2016 – For five centuries, Russian leaders have been obsessed about emigres, defectors and others who have gone abroad and broken with the Russian regime, fearful of the ability of such people to influence Russians within Russia and […]
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were supposed to highlight how Russia has become a 21st-century leader in the international community. In reality, they spotlighted how Putin’s rule had encouraged corruption and human rights violations to become the new-old norm. The Games also drew criticism for Russia’s new “anti-gay propaganda” law, widely seen as license for […]
Staunton, June 26 – Many “natural” disasters are in fact man-made, the direct result of thoughtless, irresponsible or even criminal actions by specific individuals and organizations. The disastrous flooding of Sochi this week is one of those: it is the result of the actions Vladimir Putin took in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in […]
According to the Levada Center’s latest public opinion poll, President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating is at an all-time high of 89%, Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. UPDATES BELOW Russia This Week: […]
Staunton, May 21 — No nation more skillfully used an international event than did the Circassians during the Sochi Olympiad to call attention to the Russian-orchestrated genocide of their people 150 years earlier. Despite Moscow’s best efforts, few independent reporters talked about Sochi without talking about the continuing crimes against the Circassians. In the past […]
No sooner did John Kerry leave Sochi than did Moscow announce that it would not support an provision calling for an automatic re-imposition of sanctions on Iran should it violate the treaty now being negotiated with the P5+1 states. A Russian veto would mean that there is no “snapback” provision as President Obama called it. […]
The US State Department has announced that Secretary of State John Kerry is travelling to Sochi to meet with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Staunton, October 12 – In a development that some will see as encouraging but most as an indication of more troubles ahead, the officials who handled the development of the transportation network for the Sochi Olympics have now been given the task of improving transit between the Russian Federation and Russian-occupied Crimea via the Kerch […]
Staunton, August 21 – Photographer Aleksandr Belensky has documented what many observers feared: despite spending more than 50 billion US dollars on the Sochi Olympics, Vladimir Putin has left Sochi not the vital place he promised but a ghost town where there are almost no tourists and where much of the infrastructure is already decaying. […]
