Up until this point I realize that I've
often mentioned political issues in Russia, but I've never actually taken the
time to talk about them. Now half way through this blogging project I think I
should start tackling this major obstacle that has affected the Sochi Olympics.
The next two posts will focus on the terrorism and security issues in Sochi as
it pertains to the safety of the Olympians and those who are participating in
the Olympics. I will discuss this topic in two parts as it is such a large and complicated
topic. In this blog I will be elaborating more so on the historical terrorist activities
in Russia, and in the following post I will talk more about its direct impact
on the Olympics this year.
The history of the Olympic Games shows evidence of
terrorist attacks including the bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Games where two
were killed at the Olympic Park (1)
and the massacre at the 1972 Munich Games where 11 participants and 5
terrorists were brutally killed (2).
Thus, with the current political tensions in Russia and the terrorist incidents
near Sochi not long before the Games (I will elaborate more in the following
post), it was a huge risk to travel to Sochi and participate in the 2014 Olympics.
Sochi is located near Chechnya which has been a war zone in Europe, and the
Republic of Dagestan. Chechnya has been in conflict with the rest of Russia for
decades and there is a dangerous terrorist group called Caucasus Emirate that is
based in Dagestan. Putin’s so called safe and morally proper Russia didn’t
appear very true to his description, with such a bloody history in proximity to
this worldwide gathering. Russia feared that at least three “Black Widows” have
managed to get in to the supposedly protected Olympic area weeks before the
arrival of the athletes, spectators and journalists. Black Widows are female
suicide bombers, also known as “Living Bombs” who have killed hundreds of
people in the past decade (3).
 |
| Caucasus Mountains |
To paint the full picture, Chechnya escaped
Moscow’s rule in the late 1900s through a war, however in 1999, Russia fought
to regain control of Chechnya. The Russians destroyed the cities of Chechnya
(including its capital, Grozny) with bombs and in the process thousands of
Chechens were killed. A few Chechen rebels escaped to the Caucasus Mountains,
and what was left of Chechnya was forced through a “cleansing operation”. In
other words, the Russians sent thousands of Chechen men to a “filtration camp”
where they were tortured and many killed. This incident stimulated the
surviving Chechens to commit suicide attacks which began in 2000. This
terrorist group is called the “Black Widows” because many of these women are
widows due to the fact that the Russians killed their husbands and other loved
ones. This group may have begun to commit such acts to revenge their losses,
however it now appears that suicide bombing has become an act of faith to their
cult. In fact, Chechen women are apparently indoctrinated into this terrible
lifestyle at an early age (from age 16) (3).
 |
| Black Widow |
These dangerous women have blown up everything from
buses and trains to planes and metros, therefore it was not only necessary to
watch Sochi itself, but all modes of transportation were also potential targets
for this terrorist group. The Black Widows hate Russia and President
Vladimir Putin (became president in 1999 after destroying Chechnya) so much
that Russia needed to carefully keep watch over Sochi because this group would go to great lengths to cause trouble and wreak havoc.
 |
| President Vladimir Putin |
After researching about terrorist
activities that have occurred over the past couple of decades in Russia, it appears the Russian
government policy was always at the center of these conflicts. I think it comes
down to one’s moral choices and many of the decisions made by the Russian government
seemed to be in my opinion questionable at best. Russia shouldn't have
destroyed Chechnya and tortured and killed Chechens. These actions did not
resolve the situations but they triggered the actions of the Chechens to retaliate
with even more violence. The Russian government’s main goal seems to be the total
control of its people, and seeing the result of their actions and the means they
used to achieve this level of control certainly warrants a morality check, in
my opinion. I really cannot understand how the IOC, knowing Russia’s recent
history, could have given Russia the opportunity to host a worldwide event when
the Russian government obviously can’t even handle running their own country
without resorting to extreme measures.
Amanda, I never really noticed how dangerous Russia could be until I read your blog post. I find it shocking that they would choose to hold such a large and demanding event in country that is not known for its safety. In my opinion, hold the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia was a huge risk based on what you have discussed. It's unfortunate to think that large events such as the Olympics often attract terrorists. Thankfully, there were no major incidents during these Olympics and hopefully they'll choose safer host countries in the future!
ReplyDeleteYes thankfully the threats and risks didn't come of anything. However, I’m afraid they did not seem to choose a much safer location for the 2018 Winter Olympics. It will be held in South Korea and with the extreme tensions between South Korea and North Korea, this does not seem like a promising location for safety.
Delete