Winter games begin with hopes for glory
A crowning achievement of Vladimir Putin’s Russia kicked off Friday with a celebration of its past greatness and hopes for future glory, most especially for a raucous group of Russian athletes who marched into the rollicking opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics with a message.
To the Olympic athletes, who they have invited to the edge of the Black Sea to compete on ice and snow amid concerns about terrorism and criticism of intolerance of gay people, they sang: You’re “not gonna get us.”
It also was a message for all those worried the games will be a target for terrorism.
Friday’s show opened with a hiccup, as the lighting of the five Olympic rings overshadowed the singing of the Russian national anthem. Five snowflakes also were supposed to turn into Olympic rings, but the fifth failed to light.
Also missing from the show was Putin’s repression of dissent as well as those worries of terrorism and inconsistent security measures at the Olympics, which will take place just a few hundred miles away from the sites of an insurgency and routine militant violence.
Complete coverage on Page 6C.
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/08/2014