I’m Canadian. I love being Canadian, and I imagine most of you love it too. I just don’t show it very often. For me, Canadian pride has always been very passive. I have the pride, but I just don’t show it very often. It takes a very special moment to get me excited about being Canadian. One of those moments was when Sidney Crosby shot the gold-winning goal in overtime against Team USA in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Four years later, the Winter Olympics, in its 22nd incarnation, are upon us again. As most of you know, this time we are not on home turf. This time, the setting is Sochi, Russia, located on the coast of the Black Sea near the border with Georgia. This will be the first time Russia has hosted the Winter Olympics, and the first time it has hosted any Olympics since 1980, when Moscow was the host city for the Summer Olympics.
The Moscow Olympics was one of the most controversial games. As it took place at the height of both the Cold War and the Soviet War in Afghanistan, most of the Western world boycotted the games in Moscow. Thankfully, we live in somewhat less polarized times now, and nothing as major as mass boycotts have marred the celebration of unity and competition that is the Olympic Games. However, that is not to say that there has been no controversy over the Sochi games. In fact, Sochi has raised the most controversy in years.
The most major controversy is definitely the situation of LGBT rights in Russia. Homophobia is notoriously prevalent in Russia, and a poll by the Pew Research Center held last June indicated that 74 per cent of those surveyed in Russia were against homosexuality. There have been calls by LGBT groups to boycott the Olympics due to Russia’s stance on these issues, as well as recent anti-LGBT laws which have made it illegal to demonstrate and protest in favour of gay rights. Russia itself has been indecisive on these issues, with some reports saying that Russia would not enforce its anti-gay laws during the games, and other reports indicating the exact opposite. The safety of openly gay athletes competing at the games is at risk.
To further complicate matters, the International Olympic Committee will be enforcing Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which forbids political protest. Ostensibly, this means that they will use Rule 50 to stop athletes from showing support for LGBT rights. Some have found certain loopholes around this. For example, Germany unveiled their rainbow-coloured Olympic uniforms several months ago. The rainbow has historically been associated with the LGBT community, and many are saying that the uniforms themselves are a form of protest against Russia’s homophobia. However, Germany itself maintains that the uniforms have nothing to do with gay rights, as one would expect.
Another issue that has come up recently is corruption. Russia is a country that has struggled with corruption since the Soviet collapse in 1991. During the ensuing power vacuum, a handful of people were able to snag very lucrative contracts and came away with control over the majority of the USSR’s vast economic power, and Russia has been dealing with the consequences of this ever since. Corruption has naturally reared its ugly head in the massive amounts of construction that lead up to an Olympic Game. A businessman, Valery Morozov, revealed to the world the extent of the corruption plaguing the Olympic construction. Many projects have gone way over budget, and have faced numerous delays since construction started. Morozov also claims that the reason for this is that well-connected businessmen and officials pocketed Olympic funds for themselves. In addition, he claims that he has received death threats for revealing this. Rampant corruption reaching into the upper echelons of the Russian government appears to have affected the construction leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.
To go a little further back, it appears Russia’s past is coming back to haunt it. Some of you may remember back in 2008 that Russian armed forces invaded the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, to support separatist and independence factions within these two regions. Russia handily won the war, but territorial disputes between the regions and Georgia continue to this day, and the entire region is still very violent and unstable. The war and its legitimacy may be coming back to pester the government. As stated earlier, Sochi is located near the Georgian border on the Black Sea, and its proximity to Abkhazia and the instability there has prompted security concerns. Add in numerous bombings and terrorist attacks in Russian cities within the past year, and many begin to question Russia’s ability to keep the games safe.
Despite all the controversy, it appears that the games will be proceeding as planned, and athletes have started to arrive in Sochi to prepare for the games. Hopefully the games will be peaceful and we will be able to celebrate what they represent: unity and diversity, competition and cooperation. So make sure to cheer on our athletes next week as they go for gold at the XXII Sochi Winter Olympic Games!
Leave a Reply