By Vestnik Kavkaza
No additional security measures will be launched in Olympic Sochi because of the terrorist attack in Boston. The official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry Andrey Pilipchuk officially stated about it. According to him, the security system of the Games has been developed together with international experts. It is absolutely suitable with the requirements on security at such arrangements. From the June 2013 improved security measures will be launched in Sochi.
All practices and details will be considered in May during the second all-Russian Hockey Festival “Night League”, the Student Games in Kazan in July, and the World Track-and-Field Championship in August in Moscow.
At the same time, Sergey Goncharov, president of the International Association of Veterans of Alfa, the anti-terrorist unit, thinks that “Sochi is located near a restless territory of our Russia – the North Caucasus. We should be honest that militants and terrorist organizations still act there, and the level of tension confirms that there would be a lot of security problems in Sochi…The North Caucasus has so-called Shakhids, who are not controlled by anything or anyone. They are the most dangerous. These people, if we can call them people, are not able to think. They are obsessed with hatred toward the current regime, toward Russia, and they will do their best to ruin the Olympics in Sochi. This fact cannot be denied by anyone. Probably the security services which deal with the problem would confirm it as well.
Today the efforts and resources allocated to providing security are significant. As for the financial side, about 2 billion rubles have been allocated for security. About 40 thousand employees of the Interior Ministry are involved. Military swimmers and forces of the Black Sea Fleet will provide security at sea. Moreover, people who deal with mountain training will participate in it. All the necessary structures have been composed. But I repeat that the problem is theoretical. In practice we have established a working group, together with international colleagues who will provide us with certain information on activities of foreign terrorist groups or those who would want to spoil the Olympic Games. I think under cooperation with the special services of the West, the USA, we are ready to prevent any emergencies at the Sochi Olympics.”
Yuri Nagirnyak, first deputy chairman of the Committee on Transport Security of the Transport Union of Russia, noted some peculiarities of the security system organization in Sochi.
The first one is that Sochi is really situated in a zone of high terrorist risks. This definitely influenced the whole work on security.
The second specific feature is that in Moscow and London the Games were held within one city, while in Sochi the territorial diversity of the facilities is wider. This raises specific issues as well, especially in the sphere of transport security.
The third moment is the time gap. Moscow’s experience is rich and useful, very effective. As you remember, there were no incidents at the Moscow Olympics. Minor clashes which took place were quickly and effectively prevented. But the Moscow Games took place 40 years ago. The world has changed. Terrorism and counter-terrorism are developing, gaining new sides and features. This has to be considered.
The fourth important moment is that the situation will mainly depend not on the situation in the North Caucasus, but on the international, foreign political situation. I can say that if the Games took place at the moment, the developments in Syria would most probably influence the position of some states which, unfortunately, sometimes use terrorism as an instrument of struggle for their political interests. I believe corresponding bodies will do their best to prevent these influences, but they must not be ignored.”
