The Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia was supposed to be the
country’s moment in the sun, an opportunity for strongman President
Vladimir Putin to bask in the glory of having the world’s eyes on his
country.
The
world’s eyes are certainly on Russia, as hundreds of athletes from
around the world travel there to compete in sports ranging from
freestyle skiing to ice hockey to figure skating. But instead of
acknowledging Russia’s achievements, the Sochi games have sparked a
deluge of negative press aimed at Putin’s regime. (The U.S. is only
somewhat better on gay rights and other issues than Russia. As
,
eight U.S. states have provisions similar to Russia’s anti-gay
propaganda law.) From virulently anti-gay laws and corruption to
crackdowns on dissent, Putin’s Russia is a dark place for many of its
citizens. Here are 10 of the worst things to come out of Russia
recently.
Russia’s
brutal targeting of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
population has attracted the lion’s share of press coverage and activist
initiatives around the world related to the Olympics. The first
anti-gay law passed in the Russian legislature last year and was signed
by Putin on June 30. The bill bans “propaganda” about “non-traditional”
sexual relations around children. It is written so broadly that it
effectively bars any positive discussion of gay rights or any action
labeled as gay around children. The legislation imposes fines of up to
$156 for an individual and $31,000 for media organizations, and could
also lead to the arrests of LGBT people.
The
law also applies to foreigners. If non-Russians are seen as spreading
pro-gay messages, they could be fined and detained for up to 14 days and
then expelled from the country. On July 22, the first foreigners
were taken into custody for violating the bill. Four Dutch citizens were arrested for filming a documentary and interviewing Russian youth on gay rights.
As
Jeff Sharlet wrote in a GQ magazine cover story this month,
the bill is a way of bolstering Putin’s populist credentials. The
Putin-backed initiative is as much about gays as it is about “the
unstable price of oil and Putin’s eroding popular support…The less
prosperity Putin can deliver, the more he speaks of holy Russian empire,
language to which the Russian Orthodox Church thrills,” wrote Sharlet.
2. Russian Adoption Law
On
July 3, Putin signed into law a bill barring gay couples from adopting
Russian-born children. In addition, the legislation bans the adoption of
Russian children by any parents who live in a country where marriage
equality is the law.
In a statement released after
the bill was passed, the Kremlin said: “The measure is aimed at
guaranteeing a harmonious and full upbringing for children in adoptive
families.” The legislation was supported by
right-wing American evangelicals like the National Organization for Marriage president.
3. Foreign Agents Law
In
2012, a law was passed targeting non-governmental organizations that
receive money from abroad. It forces NGOs in Russia working on issues
ranging from LGBT rights to corruption to register as “foreign agents”
with the government. Since its passage, Russian authorities have
investigated thousands of nonprofits suspected of being “foreign
agents.” Some organizations have suffered hefty fines. A few groups that
could not withstand the fines were forced to shut down over the law.
4. Anti-Gay Violence
The
anti-gay laws have contributed to an environment in Russia where being
gay is seen as a crime. The legislation has institutionalized
homophobia, and LGBT activists say the bills are encouraging violence
against gays.
In September 2013, the Guardian reported that
activists told the newspaper, “the legislation has emboldened rightwing
groups who use social media to ‘ambush’ gay people, luring them to
meetings and then humiliating them on camera—sometimes pouring urine on
them.” Gay teenagers have been particularly targeted.
5. Environmental Destruction
The
building of the Sochi Olympic village has thrown a spotlight on the
deleterious effects to the environment that often come with large-scale
projects. Forget Russia’s claims that the Olympics would be “green.” The
Russian Olympic Village, the accommodation center for the Olympics, has
led to the loss of wetlands that were home to 65 species of birds.
Parts of the national park in Sochi, known for its diverse animal and
plant life,
has been destroyed. A large forest was completely wrecked.
The
quality of life for residents in Sochi has decreased, with some 2,000
families forced to resettle. The dumping of construction waste and
building of power lines have caused landslides, and in one village,
drinking wells were destroyed. Pollution and construction have damaged
the Mzymta, Sochi’s largest river. On top of all that, there’s the usual
negative impact from travel, massive construction and hospitality
services.
The Sochi Olympics are no anomaly: Russia’s general environmental record is nothing to praise.
Oil and gas development in the Arctic have threatened indigenous people and contaminated rivers. Russia’s air is thoroughly polluted, much of it due to factories.
6. Corruption
Corruption, including bribes, vote-rigging and abuses of power, is a major problem in Russia. Its
rank on the Corruption Index,
published by Transparency International, is 127, out of 175 countries
ranked. Bribery is the main form of corruption in Russia. Businesses pay
extra cash to the government to grease the wheels for their projects.
Bribes are also used to stave off the inquiries of the government.
Individual Russians are forced to bribe higher-ups to get into
universities, shoo away cops or obtain passports.
The
Sochi Olympics process has been laden with corruption. In January, Gian
Franco Kasper, a member of the International Olympic Committee,
estimated that
a third of the $50 billion spent on Sochi has been siphoned off. A
former Russian government official estimated that between $20-$30
billion went to embezzlement and kickbacks.
Oligarchs close to Putin have received government contracts to build facilities like the ice rink and journalist center.
7. Targeting Journalists
Russia
is no haven for the press. Since Vladimir Putin assumed power in 2000,
dozens of journalists have lost their lives on the job. Many were slain
by contract killers, and the Russian police and judiciary have done a
poor job at catching the culprits. Since 1992, at least 56 journalists
have been killed.
Beyond the killings is the general
harsh climate for the press in the country. Opposition bloggers have
been arrested. Journalists fear gathering information from organizations
the government dislikes. Visas have been denied to journalists critical
of Putin.
Thousands of journalists have traveled to
Sochi to cover the Olympics, but they are confronting a government bent
on obstructing the press. A presidential decree made clear that
“journalists will be central targets of the extensive surveillance
program introduced by Russian authorities in Sochi,” as the
Committee to Protect Journalists notes. Local
Russian journalists “prefer to cover Sochi the way they would cover a
deceased man: in a positive light or not at all… both official
repression and self-censorship have restricted coverage of sensitive
issues in the run-up to Sochi,” the
committee reports.
8. Crackdown on Dissent
The
jailings of members of the band Pussy Riot and Greenpeace activists
have made international headlines over the past year. Both cases
highlight Russia’s relentless crackdown on activism and dissent. The
recent release of Pussy Riot members, Greenpeace activists and the
tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, widely thought to be moves made to improve
Russia’s image before Sochi, are deviations from the norm.
In
June 2013, Putin signed a law mandating prison time for anybody who
“insults” the feelings of religious people. Protesters who participated
in a 2012 demonstration in Moscow have been targeted for jail.
In the run-up to Sochi, Human Rights Watch said
Russian authorities have intimidated and harassed “organizations,
individuals, and journalists who criticized the local government.”
9. Abusing Migrants
Since
2009, thousands of migrant workers from Central Asia and other
countries have traveled to Sochi to assist in the building of facilities
for the Olympics. But
hundreds of them have been denied pay and
were expelled back to their countries after they finished their
construction jobs. Bosses cheated workers out of their money by
underpaying them. Employers also required migrant workers to work long
hours with few days off, and took away passports and work permits.
The
abuse of migrant workers is part of a larger crackdown. In July 2013,
authorities in Moscow started detaining people who looked non-Slavic.
Thousands of people were taken into custody. Some were expelled, while
others were held in prisons under inhumane conditions.
10. Russia’s War on Terror
For
over a decade, Russia has been engaged in its own war on terror against
separatists in Chechnya and Dagestan, two mostly Muslim federal
subdivisions of the country. After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
separatists in Chechnya renewed their struggle for independence. Violent
attacks on Russia have become an inseparable part of that struggle. The
roots of their grievances lie in attempts by Russia to incorporate the
republics, which are ethnically and religiously distinct from much of
the country.
The first Russian war on Chechnya against
separatists lasted for two years. Though the first war ended in 1996,
the conflict was transformed into one between Islamist militants and
Russia. The second war in Chechnya, which eventually encompassed
Dagestan, was also brutal. Thousands of people, many of them Chechen
civilians, were killed. Russian security forces’ conduct has been
characterized by torture, executions and forced disappearances.
The
large-scale wars are over for now, but Dagestan and other Northern
Caucasus regions still have active Islamist groups operating, which have
carried out attacks on Russia. In response, Russian authorities
continue to deploy a heavy hand, especially in the run-up to Sochi.
The Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia was supposed to be the
country’s moment in the sun, an opportunity for strongman President
Vladimir Putin to bask in the glory of having the world’s eyes on his
country.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered