By Vitaly Ivanov, vice-president of the Center for current politics in Russia
Some days ago Russia, Russian government and personally Vladimir Putin carried the palm. The International Olympic Committee decided to hold Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi. This event naturally aroused a tempest of sincere glee. We haven’t had such a striking reason to demonstrate our national solidarity and patriotic senses.
Wellaway, not everybody was glad. Some month ago the so called voting patented liberals, “opposed journalists” and other patriots of the overseas” launched a campaign to discredit the very idea of the Sochi Olympic Games. Campaign is heavy stressed, because this public was either edged out or shot in all the proper mass media. Nevertheless people tried hard.
They vied with each other that Russia supposedly wasn’t able to manage such a complicated project. We won’t build anything because we can’t handle anything, in return we vandalize. In case we build something we won’t be able to provide security and organization. As a result we will shame ourselves.
This “traditional” self-castigation was supported by blubber about perished democracy that has become a humdrum. Must one make such presents to the “Putin Russia”? No, one mustn’t! By no means! It didn’t deserve this! First of all Russia must repent errors at all the progressive mankind and every estonia in particular. Let it meekly back home, place liberals in Parliament, get back UKOS to its previous owners and allow gay-parades in all the cities. Only then we may speak of the Olympic Games.
Adequate claims to the Olympic project sank in liberal and Russophobe masses. Any great project has its disadvantages. Anxiety about future of the Sochi national park or perspectives of price advance for realty in the area of housbuilding is quite appropriate. But who will discuss this? Any who touches the problem will automatically find himself in the group of “creepers”, from morning till night hissing about “dictatorship” and “empire”. His is dolefully, but nothing doing.
I can only imagine how those rascals would be glad if we loose. “Wiped our eyes”, “brought to our level” – these would be the comments, together with humor and giggle. The dispute would about the reasons of such treatment. For Putin? Or simply for the very Russia?
Someone started talking about bribery of the IOC. Our victory in this way wasn’t such. Others are crying about the foremost “treachery of the West”. They again sagged under Putin! Someone is anxious about presidential authority on the eve of the election campaign. Someone is not shamed of feeling with the Koreans (!). There is no shortage in the new predictions about carve-up, common whore-house and disgrace.
We have democratic state, so pluralism is not only permitted but also cultivated. But from the other side the story with the Olympic proposal turned out to be a perfect test that allows us to share good people from the bad. That’s so: good people from the bad. Those blowing their cork must nick down, that this country is our country. Russia will never be yours.
Published: newspaper “Izvestia”, 9th of July 2007.
