Carnegie Moscow Center
Since Vladimir Putin’s image has deteriorated in Germany, that of Russia has as well. What would help would be serious changes of policy.
Russia’s Eurasian Union project aims at integrating much of ex-Soviet Eurasia into an economic, political, and security unit. Before that can happen, however, Russia needs to better manage what it already has.
Just as any grand event, the Sochi Olympics will soon be over and Russia will remain with itself. Its prospects are uncertain since the economic growth has dropped and the Kremlin’s policy has shifted toward social conservatism.
Though Sochi is located in the Caucasus, the planners of the Sochi Olympics failed to give the games any Caucasian flavor. It looks as though the North Caucasians have been factored into the planning of the games only in so far as they present a security headache.
The Sochi Olympics are the Kremlin’s attempt to create the fairy tale myth of Russia that does not exist.
The Sochi Olympics expose the rift between Moscow and the West. At the same time, they highlight Russia’s pivot to Asia and Eurasia.
The absence of several Western leaders and the presence of Asian luminaries at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics highlights the rebalancing of Moscow’s foreign policy toward Asia-Pacific.
The aggravation of the human rights situation in today’s Russia is impossible to deny. What makes things worse is that in Russia the political power is above the law.
It has been clear from the beginning that the Sochi Olympics would be a likely target for the terrorists. The contest between the terrorists and the forces of the Russian state is one contest that Russia absolutely must win.
The Sochi Olympics turned out to be a trap for Vladimir Putin. Instead of being a symbol of his glorious leadership, Sochi is becoming a symbol of corruption and instability.