The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi started with a great display of fireworks and Russian former Olympians lighting the cauldron. The games are one of the world’s most watched sporting events, and those wanting to have the world’s attention, for good or bad purposes, have a great venue to spread their news. Critics called for a boycott of the Olympics or even for the event to be canceled over three issues: 1) the security concerns, such as the recent attacks in Volgograd, which killed more than 30 people; 2) the cost of the Olympics that was more that 50 billion dollars, the most expensive game in Olympic history; and 3) the new anti-gay law passed in Russia banning the spread of gay propaganda among minors. Pro-gay lobbyists attempted to use the Olympics to showcase the cause and to pressure Putin to repeal the anti-gay propaganda law. To take a stand, President Obama sent a delegation of gays to show the liberality of America. This shows that the Olympics have become more intertwined with the political tools of governments, lobbyists, pressure groups, and even terrorists. This year the Sochi Olympics overshadowed the sporting achievements of the games by focusing on politics instead of the sporting competitiveness and talents.
When Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics, it was seen as a significant opportunity for President Putin to show his country of 143 million people that modern Russia is a global leader. Subsequently, instead of working together to make the Sochi Olympics a success, many international commentators seem to wish that the Sochi Olympics would fail, possibly even fanning the flames of fear for attendees. For instance, in the days leading up to the opening they broadcast reports of possible terror attacks aboard planes and on the Olympic site.
It is true that Russia has issues regarding human rights, the environmental, terrorism, and corruption, but all other countries have similar problems; moreover, these are ongoing problems that are not going to be resolved very soon. Putin’s relations with the West and the United States is very complicated because of tensions ranging from the current protest in Kiev, Syria, Iranian nuclear arms, and Edward Snowden. Therefore, Putin is trying to use the Olympic games as a showcase to demonstrate just how far Russia has come in the past two decades. Even though critics criticize the cost of Olympics, for Putin it is a source of pride for him to develop and make the first world class winter resort for people to come to Sochi. Corruption is bad for economic growth because it makes politicians spend more for low-quality infrastructure projects and because it is easy to get more money for new construction than it is to repair existing ones.
Preserving traditional marriage is a moral issue as well as religious one; therefore, the attack on traditional marriage translates into an attack on society. If family structure is needed for the survival of humankind, those taking up the gauntlet for gay rights destroy society. If same-sex marriage is based on moral issues, then a non-religious society, resulting from years of Soviet atheism, should stand against the international campaign to deconstruct traditional marriages based on moral reasons. Instead they support tradition and current law. Now we see that 16 countries have legalized same-sex marriages, and the United States has done so on a state-by-state basis. President Putin has said that gay people can feel free at the Olympics but need to leave our children in peace and then no one will intrude into their bed.
Anti-Putin and pro-gay lobbyists have complained that construction of the Olympic infrastructure is not yet complete and the international press denigrated the quality of accommodations, the lack of Internet, the malfunction of elevators, and the lack of running water, etc. We all know that all kinds of construction are prone to shady dealing because government is a big player in the industry. For example, the government needs to approve permits and do worksite inspections, so the more red tape, the more chance of corruption; consequently, many countries have the same problem not only Russia.
In conclusion, this is not the first time that we have seen the Olympics used as a political tool for governments and activists to get across their messages. The issue for me is would the international community spend millions of dollars on the games while people live in poverty? Why do people think these games are more important than human lives? If people would benefit far more by using the money to help them to get out of poverty, then it would be better to create jobs that would benefit all Russians and not just a few international athletes.
Dr. Aland Mizell is President of the MCI and a regular contributor to The Kurdistan Tribune, Kurdishaspect.com, Mindanao Times and Kurdish Media.You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com