Got a Problem With Olympic Construction in Sochi?
In the days leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia the press was writing about . . . well . . . the press.
Specifically, the state of their hotel rooms. Oh, and stray dogs.
I’m sure Russian Olympic officials were also cursing the timing of Twitter’s roll out just a few weeks earlier of the ability to tweet photos:
This is the one hotel room @Sochi2014 have given us so far. Shambles. #cnnsochi http://t.co/RTjEkmyan3
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Harry Reekie (@HarryCNN) February 04, 2014Ok, doorknob karma. My apologies, Sochi. http://t.co/OBV8cR3uDA
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Barry Petchesky (@barryap1) February 04, 2014Think more creative, athletes! @adagamov @wylsacom: This… IS.. SOCHI… http://t.co/eh3Jfwz0Js
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Russian Market (@russian_market) February 04, 2014Olympic athletes bonding Sochi Style! #SochiProblems http://t.co/K58vzYiJBp
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Dave Mercer (@FactsofFishing) February 06, 2014At least I didn't have to share. #SochiToilet #Sochi2014 http://t.co/Vt8BnECCcg
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Rob Elgas (@RobElgasNBC) February 05, 2014My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014
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Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 04, 2014Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered http://t.co/sQWM0vYtyz
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Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 04, 2014Also on the bright side: I just washed my face with Evian, like I'm a Kardashian or something.
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Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 04, 2014Well that's interesting... Sochi rules in the bathrooms!! #haha #olympics http://t.co/xacSVimwXY
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Sebastien Toutant (@SebToots) February 01, 2014How does water take urine away after I use it? #SochiProblems #Sochi2014 http://t.co/L88YjpQJTD
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Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 05, 2014I was rushing to catch an elevator down today but my options were limited #SochiProblems http://t.co/Y8LEC6nnEA
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MoniKa Platek (@MonikaPlatek) February 09, 2014...With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out. #SochiJailBreak http://t.co/apZRefgvCO
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Johnny Quinn (@JohnnyQuinnUSA) February 08, 2014Hopefully none of these Tweeters (Twitterers?) live in Russia. Yevgeny Vitishko, a Russian environmentalist, who unfortunately does, was sentenced this past week to three years in a penal colony. (yup, not prison, but a “penal colony,” which sounds very Escape From New Yorkish)
Vitishko, an outspoken critic of the Olympic construction work at Sochi, was co-author of a report chronicling the ecological consequences of the 2014 Winter Olympics. According to officials, he was sentenced for allegedly spray painting the word “thief” on the fence of a pro-Putin regional governor, which he denies.
Why an apparently prominent environmentalist would spray paint the word “thief” on a fence, I don’t know. “Polluter” maybe or “Raper of Mother Earth” perhaps. But “thief”? Sure, I get it that “thief” could be shorthand for stealing or wasting natural resources, but you would think he would have been a bit more descriptive if he did it. Plus, the guy looks like he’s pushing 50 which, when I last checked, is way above the median age range of taggers. Many are saying that the case is politically motivated.
And then there’s the sentence itself. I’m no expert in Russian law so I don’t know whether a three year sentence for graffiti is typical or not in Russia, or whether there’s a criminal enhancement for spray painting the fence of a Pro-Kremlin governor, but three years, ouch! Here in Oakland it’s called street art.
California Construction Law Blog | Nomos LLP 
3 Responses to “Got a Problem With Olympic Construction in Sochi?”
[…] As long as we’re ribbing each other perhaps the Australians can share some photos like we saw on Twitter during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. […]
This is a sweet post. I have seen a few of the pictures above but all in different places. I am stunned that they were so unprepared. Don’t they decide the olympics about 7 years in advance? It seems like everything should have been in the stage about a year before they started in order to make them ready on time. I do road construction so I do know about planing ahead and what meeting a deadline means.
Thanks Jonathan!