Orkhan Sattarov, the head of the European bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza
Is a boycott of the Sochi Olympic Games a right step by the Western political establishment? European experts have different views, at the same time, more and more serious analysts say that demonstrative ignoring of the Sochi Games won’t bring desirable results.
Austrian political analyst, Innsbruck University Professor Gerhard Mangott expressed his view on the issue in an interview to the Austrian mass media. According to Maggot, criticism of the situation over human rights and authoritarianism in modern Russia is reasonable and fair. “However, there are certain discussion platforms and forums. Sochi is not the forum. Diplomatic contacts between the EU and Russia and bilateral negotiations are more suitable for such purposes,” Professor believes.
“Criticism expressed by a boycott of the Olympic Games won’t improve the situation over human rights in Russia, due to a confrontational character of the approach. Russia fervently treats issues of its sovereignty and any pressure or threats from abroad are a wrong tactics,” Mangott says. It will enable Vladimir Putin to present the countries which boycott the Sochi Games as “arrogant Western countries” which don’t show due respect to the Russian people.
“Despite corruption, environmental problems, and bad attitude to civil population, the majority of Russians are proud of the Olympic Games. Ignoring of the Sochi Games by leading European politicians (Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande rejected invitation to the Games) will be considered by the Russian people as disrespect,” Professor says. The Austrian expert thinks that when President Putin pardoned Pussy Riot and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, he acted due to his own beliefs and interests, rather than under pressure by the West. Therefore, the head of Russia demonstrated his power, on the other hand, and created an image of “a good tsar”, on the other hand.
The Austrian government, unlike its colleagues from Germany and France, will be presented at the top level in Sochi. The Austrian Chancellor Werner Feiman and the Minister of Sport Herald Klug announced their intention to visit Sochi in December.
