There are no shortage of news stories on the corruption, security peril, and ineptitude of Russia as it hosts the Olympics. But is Western media giving the Ruskis a fair shake?
Russian government and business leaders have been crying foul — noting that the lead-up to the Olympics has been rife with negative stories that seem to reveal Russophobic Western bias. It's no secret that the West continues to have a tense — and often hostile — relationship with the country, and the head of the Russian rail monopoly (who, granted, isn’t exactly a pillar of morality) has asserted the coverage is unfairly “feeding hysteria about Russia.”
Here’s the thing: every Olympic games is a clusterf*ck to some extent. To name a few, London and Athens were criticized for being underprepared; an Olympian was killed in Vancouver due to course problems, and China—like Russia—exhibited human rights abuses, restricted journalists’ activities, and had a looming security threat from separatist groups.
Le sigh.
The difference in coverage of Russia — critics claim — is the dogged focus on the negative, and the tone of mockery rather than fact-based or social criticism.Though it’s indisputable that preparation for Sochi has been dysfunctional in plenty of ways, so far there has been no major catastrophe (despite the close call from a would-be hijacker today).
Are we suffering from a Western superiority complex (and perhaps even hoping to find problems in Sochi?) or are we simply observing a top-notch bungling?
(Image: commons.wikimedia.org)
