The Follies of Sochi

We love Olympics. And culture of Mother Russia. Putin is great entertainer too. But IOC's decision for Sochi to host 2014 Winter Olympics shall live in infamy. You will see... We are your source for real #SochiProblems. Sometimes funny. Always for real.

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What happens to a city after the Olympics are gone? (via The Olympic City)

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Rights groups have blamed local authorities for what they describe as a campaign of harassment and intimidation against activists and independent journalists in Sochi who have been critical of the preparation for the Winter Games. (via Sochi activists detained ahead of closing ceremony)

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One of many chair casualties at Sochi (via Twitter / cathalkelly: As Crosby scores, lean back ...)

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Map of 16 Lenin monuments that went down just today all around Ukraine (via Twitter / MaximEristavi: 16 Lenin monuments went down ...)

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should carry out a series of reforms to avoid the human rights abuses that tainted the Sochi Winter Games, 33 human rights groups said today in an joint letter to the IOC president, Thomas Bach. The IOC should reform the host city selection process and amend the Olympic Charter’s nondiscrimination principle to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, the groups said.

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Meet Arkady Rotenberg, Russian vodka oligarch and beneficiary of more than $7 Billion in Sochi contracts (via In Sochi, the Mark of a Russian Vodka Oligarch : The New Yorker)

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Interesting round up of the security forces deployed at Sochi. (via Security At The Sochi Olympics In Russia - Business Insider)

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Incredible photo from today's violence in Kiev (via (18) Twitter / Search - kiev)

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If it can happen in Kiev, in other words, it can happen in Moscow.

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For those who care about democracy, can we, by pulling out of Sochi—or at least by boycotting the closing ceremony on Sunday—ensure that the XXII Winter Olympics will not go down in history as the Games that were the shame and defeat of Europe? (via Bernard-Henri Lévy: Pull Out of Sochi to Protest the Kiev Massacre - WSJ.com)

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A very useful primer about what motivates the protestors in Kiev (via The Origins of the Antigovernment Protests in Ukraine : The New Yorker)

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Video of Cossack militia attacking Pussy Riot with tear gas & whips as they try to perform under a sign for the Sochi Olympics. Cossack militia attacked the Pussy Riot punk group with horsewhips on Wednesday as the group staged an impromptu performance under a sign advertising the Sochi Olympics. 

Six group members — five women and one man — donned their signature ski masks and were pulling out a guitar and microphone when at least 10 Cossacks and other security officials moved in. One guard appeared to use pepper spray, another whipped several group members while others ripped off their masks and threw the guitar in a rubbish bin.

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IOC Refuses Black Armbands for Ukrainian Athletes after Kiev Violence (via IOC Refuses Black Armbands for Ukrainian Athletes after Kiev Violence | Sochi 2014 | RIA Novosti)

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Russia’s early elimination in hockey makes Olympics a failure for hosts. Russia was booed off the ice after their surprising loss to Finland. For many in Russia, the Games are essentially over. (via Russia’s early elimination in hockey makes Olympics a failure for hosts: Toronto Star)

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Ukraine crisis felt among athletes at Olympics. Shadow cast over Sochi as Ukraine violence shatters Olympic truce. (via Shadow cast over Sochi as Ukraine violence shatters Olympic truce - The Globe and Mail)

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In a new low for the Winter Olympics, Cossack militia members attacked the Pussy Riot punk group with whips and teargas in the host city of Sochi on Wednesday. (via Pussy Riot attacked with whips by Cossack militia at Sochi Olympics | Music | theguardian.com)

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Hopes for the gold medal collapse under the weight of enormous expectations. Finland just walloped Russia with a 3-1 loss in the quarter-finals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Putin had wanted his team to do well and was standing behind them every step of the way. Even when he visited Canada House, he said he wished the Canadians well, except in hockey. But then Russia lost to Finland. This was the Putin face: (via Putin’s poutin’: Sour-faced Vladimir Putin reacts to Russian hockey loss | 2014 Winter Games)