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05.07.07
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Sochi Reaches The Peak
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By Paul Abelsky
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“This is one of the most important days in Russia’s history” – that was the reaction of Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 chief executive officer, after Sochi was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics on Wednesday evening. In the second round of voting by the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala City, Russia’s summer capital on the Black Sea bested Pyeongchang of South Korea by four votes. The Austrian city of Salzburg, the third shortlisted finalist, was eliminated in the first round.
Despite misgivings at home and experts’ questions about the viability of Sochi’s Olympic ambitions, the Russian bid combined a vision of a far-reaching regional overhaul with an ardent political commitment at the highest government level. The 80-strong Russian delegation to Guatemala, which included key government officials in addition to President Vladimir Putin’s own appearance before the vote, seems to have been at least partly inspired by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s performance two years ago in support of London’s 2012 bid.
“Although the IOC usually refuses to acknowledge this, there are certainly political issues involved in these decisions,” said Anthony Th. Bijkerk, secretary general of the Netherlands-based International Society of Olympic Historians. “Because of the support by the Russian government, as shown by Putin's availability in Guatemala, the certainty of making everything possible and ready in time for the Games is rated much higher.”
Bijkerk also notes that the Russian proposal was probably helped by the bitter memories of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, held soon after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and boycotted by many Western nations. “There might also be something of a 'sentimental reasoning' behind this choice,” Bijkerk said. “The 1980 Games were hampered by the boycott of quite a few nations, including one of the most important – the United States. This might also have been a reason why IOC members did make the choice to vote for Sochi.”
And if the country woke up today in a particularly exuberant mood, it may be because of the special role sport plays in post-Soviet Russia. “With the country lacking any unifying ideology or symbolism, sports and athletic achievements are one of the chief remaining factors of nationwide consolidation,” said Valery Tishkov, director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology in Moscow.
Considering President Putin’s well-publicized involvement with Sochi’s plans, and his fondness for the nearby skiing resort of Krasnaya Polyana, the centerpiece of future Olympic infrastructure, the president was credited with tipping the scales in Russia’s favor. His impassioned speech in Guatemala City on the eve of the vote, conducted in English and some French, was particularly effective in swaying the audience. A consensus opinion among Russian public figures in the immediate aftermath of the announcement was that Sochi’s victory represented a political triumph for Putin and a watershed for Russia’s global image.
“This conveys, in fact, a high estimate of Russian sports and for the country’s role and place in today’s developing world,” said Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov at the start of a government meeting on Thursday. St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, in a statement distributed by her press service, singled out Putin’s personal role and his compelling presentation in Guatemala, praising Sochi’s achievement even though it means St. Petersburg’s own 2016 Olympics bid will not go forward. “I think that holding the Olympic Games in Russia will serve as a strong factor in raising the national spirit and national pride,” she said. “Sochi’s victory in the competition to host the 22nd Winter Olympics is a victory for all of Russia. For the first time in many years, Russia attained such a success. It has great significance not only from the point of view of the victory itself, but also as recognition of our country as a new democratic state.”
President Putin learned of the decision when flying back to Moscow from Guatemala. Speaking to journalists at Vnukovo-2 airport upon landing, he concurred with the political importance of the decision and its likely effect of boosting infrastructure renewal in the area. According to Putin, the IOC decision is a “recognition of Russia’s growing capabilities, most importantly in the economic sphere and in managing social challenges. This is a statement of clear support on the part of an authoritative and independent international organization.”
Despite Sochi’s pristine location on the Black Sea coastline and its long-held status as a favored domestic retreat for the country’s political elite, the city is also one of Russia’s outposts in a volatile region, located close to Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia. For now, officials and experts sounded an optimistic note on the likely consequences for the surrounding region. Dmitry Kozak, presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, said the Olympics would become a “strong impulse in the development of the south of Russia.” Abkhaz officials seemed equally enthused. De-facto President Sergei Bagapsh sent a congratulatory telegram to Krasnodar Governor Alexander Tkachev and Sochi municipal administration offering support and cooperation in organizing the Olympics.
In the opinion of Sergei Markedonov, head of the department of international relations at the Institute of Political and Military Studies in Moscow, Sochi’s selection may not necessarily lead to any breakthroughs in Russian-Georgian relations, but it is likely to bolster today’s relative stability in the region and discourage both sides from any political and rhetorical excesses. The restoration of a railroad between the two countries through Abkhazia may finally go forward as part of the regional infrastructure facelift.
In addition to the ongoing construction of resorts and sporting venues on the slopes of Krasnaya Polyana, backed by such Russian corporate giants as Gazprom and Interros, a federal target program plans to allocate $12 billion in financing Sochi’s development as a year-round destination. The Russian government has committed $1.5 billion for the Olympics, the same amount as Salzburg and ahead of $1.2 billion earmarked for Pyeongchang. Besides the political and financial guarantees marshaled by Russian authorities, what may have swayed the opinion of IOC members is Russia’s status as a major power in the Winter Olympics. “Russia is counted to be among the most important winter sport nations, like Germany and the Scandinavian countries,” said Bijkerk. “Austria in this respect is also important but more for alpine skiing only, while Russia has a much broader basis.”
Time will show if the promised facilities are delivered and ready to welcome the athletes seven years from now. Other, more immediate concerns remain to be fully addressed, however. Greenpeace and the WWF have warned that the wide-ranging construction plans threaten the protected ecology of Sochi National Park and the Caucasus Nature Reserve. Greenpeace has filed a suit against the Russian government, petitioning to overturn the federal program of financial assistance for Sochi, but Russia’s Supreme Court ruled in early June that construction was legal. |
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