Olympian Politics
A New York Times article published on May 12, 2016 states that a hidden, carefully-planned, state-run doping program bolstered the performance of many Russian athletes and medal-winners at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. By replacing tainted urine samples with clean ones taken months earlier, Russian laboratory experts hijacked the regulations in an effort to assert Russia’s dominance. In doing so, they lessened the prestige of the event and confirmed the reality of Putin’s regime: a “democracy” with imperialist ambitions.
The Olympics have the potential to spur a positive change in the image of a city and make the citizens’ mindset more open to global ideas and innovation. For example, following the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea transitioned from a military dictatorship to a strong democracy. Putin used the Sochi Olympics to tranquilize other countries in preparation for Russia’s invasion of Crimea and perpetuate a narrative of nationalism. The doping program allowed Russia’s triumph in the Olympics, which in turn justified a Crimean invasion. This invasion led to Western sanctions, which in turn worsened the quality of life. To “make up” for the poor quality of life, Putin launched airstrikes on Syria. In the end, Russian citizens may only feel better.
It’s not surprising that Putin’s approval ratings were at an all-time high following the Sochi Olympics and Crimean Invasion. Before the Olympic Committee even selected Sochi, the town served as a year-round vacation mecca for the Russian elite, who idled on the Black Sea coast in the summer and skied in the Elbrus mountains in the winter. Throughout the construction process, Putin selected high-profile directors, such as the president of major oil companies, to lead the building, thus promoting bureaucracy and corruption in the allocation of money while simultaneously securing his popularity amongst Russian businessmen. As with other infrastructure projects, Putin avoided the involvement of the private sector. After the Olympics passed, many of the hotels in Sochi suffered from low occupancy rates; Western sanctions on Russia, tedious visa restrictions, lack of direct flights to places outside of Russia and the existence of better service and better resorts in Europe discouraged international travel to Sochi. The Olympic Village has become a stagnant destination for Russian tourists, with high operational costs making the maintenance of the sites impossible.
In doing so, they lessened the prestige of the event and confirmed the reality of Putin’s regime: a “democracy” with imperialist ambitions.
There is no doubt that Putin planned the invasion of Crimea long before 2014. Putin had to secure victory and surprise visiting countries with Russia’s infrastructure to establish Russia’s all-powerful image. After what could be described as a failure in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Putin discovered a growing need to prove Russia’s superiority on the global stage. Russia ranked 63rd on the 2013 The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, reflecting its reputation as a cold and unwelcoming country; though the Olympics managed to alleviate the stigma, countries and world leaders continue to see Russia as an unfriendly, selfish nation due to its unwillingness to compromise and disregard for other countries’ sovereignty.
The doping scandal is expected, given the political environment and pressures on Russia at that time. Putin sought to justify a premeditated invasion of Crimea and wanted to redeem Russia after many failed attempts to install pro-Russian governments in Central Asia, Ukraine and Georgia. Nonetheless, the doping scandal ruffles the otherwise calm and pretentious waters of the Olympic games. Drugs were distributed to many Russian athletes and medal-winners, including those participating in endurance events like cross-country skiing. Though still an official, prestigious competition, Russia’s actions show that host countries can manipulate the outcomes to suit their own needs. If enough evidence was assembled to confirm that Russian athletes participated in a doping program, we would have to ask ourselves the question: Can we trust Russia in the upcoming Rio Olympics?