Before the Sochi Olympics, Western observers assessed the process of preparation for the Games quite critically. They wrote about corruption, unjustified spending, doubted the correctness of the choice of venue for the Olympics, were concerned about the safety of the athletes and guests of the Games, stating that "terrorism can undo all Putin's attempts to restore the image of Russia in the world." However, after the Olympics, the assessments of the mass media have become much softer.
Vestnik Kavkaza offers excerpts from an article published in the American daily newspaper the Washington Post.
"Many Russians rate the Olympics highly, they are proud of the record haul of their team's medals, new stadiums and the ability of the authorities to turn Sochi from a decaying Soviet resort to an outpost of the IOC world march. And foreign guests, whose minds are still filled with the stereotypes of the Soviet period, got rid of some of them, while some got even more entrenched in their perceptions during the first Winter Olympic Games in Russia," the correspondent of the Washington Post writes.
According to him, "Putin's government believes that the Olympics have strengthened Russia's image abroad. Therefore, it flung open the treasury and with the support of oligarchs sponsored Putin's pharaonic winter miracle in subtropical Russia. Now you can swim with dolphins or (following the example of the American skier Julia Mankyuso) go surfing in the Black Sea in the morning. You can take a ride on the new train or by car via the new highway in the snowy Caucasus mountains to ski on artificial snow."
The Washington Post writes hopefully about Alena Zavarzina and Vic Wilde: "The young Russian snowboarder and her American husband, who took Russian citizenship, won medals in the same day. Their smiles are a symbol of the new reality that emerged after the Cold War."
Immediately the newspaper notes: "But those who do not trust Russia are not seduced by precious Olympic medals. After the intimidation and detention of fighters for gays' rights and environmentalists who reported pollution due to the Olympic Games, the IOC left Russia, leaving questions about how they pick Olympic hosts - must they guarantee human rights? The IOC keeps saying that the Olympics are above politics, while the facts say otherwise."
"The weather was great - just not suitable for a Winter Games. "Skiers wore tank tops and male athletes were topless," writes The Washington Post. "Security checks were sometimes thorough, sometimes lax, but they were ubiquitous - as one would expect after to the east of Sochi, Islamists admitted responsibility for suicide bombings in December and threatened the Games. If the purpose of your visit to Sochi was not protest, you could feel safe."
The "gold medal for whining," according to the American edition, "rightfully belongs to the journalists from around the world who settled in mountain hotels in varying degrees of undress. Their complaints before the competition harmed the image of Sochi. The Twitter account @ SochiProblems quickly gained more subscribers than the official feed of the Olympic organizers. But the protagonists of the Olympic Games - athletes - were very happy with their rooms and stadiums, all worked well and looked good on TV. Especially good was the ice hockey stadium, shaped as a spaceship, with the flags of the teams and their score lighting up on the roof. It is a pity that this stadium saw no gold for the hosts: the Russian team lost to Finland in the quarterfinals ....
After the Olympics in Sochi, "Formula 1" and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 are planned. Critics of sports mega-events will monitor closely if the new Olympic venues elapse into disrepair."
