Putin Eases Protest Ban in Sochi for the Olympics

In my view, it is a case of too little too late and it certainly will not change my mind about not watching any of the 2014 Winter Games or avoiding the products of its advertisers who are putting making a buck ahead of human rights, but Hitler-like Vladimir Putin has eased the bans on protests at the Sochi Olympics.  The change is more form that substance since any protests must (i) first be approved by the Russians and (ii) must be staged at a location 9 miles from the Olympic venues.  Meanwhile, the Russian anti-gay laws continue to create an environment that encourages hate and violence against gay Russian.   The only ones benefiting are Putin and the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church - long a supporter of despots and violence against non-believers - who are prostituting themselves to one another.   The New York Times has coverage.  Here are highlights:

President Vladimir V. Putin on Saturday eased a sweeping ban on public protests in Sochi, Russia, starting on Tuesday and continuing through the Olympic Games next month and the Paralympic Games in March. However, any demonstrations will require approval in advance from the authorities.

The ban, which Mr. Putin ordered in August, had prompted criticism from rights groups and concern from the International Olympic Committee. The new order, posted on the Kremlin’s website, seemed to be an effort to burnish Russia’s reputation before the Olympics. It followed the release of some of the nation’s most prominent prisoners, including the tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, two performers from the punk band Pussy Riot and 30 Greenpeace activists. 

The announcement completed plans that had been in the works to allow approved protests at a park in the Khosta district, about halfway between central Sochi and the Adler district, where the main Olympic Village is.

The protest zone, about nine miles from the nearest Olympic site, is similar to three created by the Chinese government during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In China, however, the authorities refused to grant permission for any rallies and harassed or arrested those who applied. 

Tanya Lokshina, Russia director at Human Rights Watch, said the easing of the ban was part of Russia’s “efforts to convince critics that it’s a democracy where freedom of expression is respected within reasonable limits.”  “I suggest they shouldn’t let themselves be convinced that easily,” Ms. Lokshina said.

Beginning on Tuesday, the authorities will ban unregistered vehicles in Sochi and increase security in public places. Russia’s equivalent of the National Security Agency is reported to have created a system to intercept any phone calls or emails to or from people in the area. Visitors to the Games, which begin Feb. 7, will have specially encoded passes in addition to tickets for events. Anyone seeking to hold a demonstration will have to get approval from the mayor’s office and the Federal Security Service, the domestic successor to the K.G.B.