By Justinas Valutis
Sochi Winter Olympics is just around the corner and apart from being one of the main sporting events of 2014, it is also destined to become the arena for global political competitions.
Without a shadow of doubt, the right to organize the Olympic Games not only gave Russia the boost of self confidence and an opportunity to present itself to the world, but saddled the country with huge responsibility as well. As a result, truckloads of money were spent on building and repairing the infrastructure of Sochi which will soon become a showcase for the whole country.
But as a heartbeat of the athletes' are getting stronger, and fans of winter sports are getting ready to cheer their countrymen, others are doing their best in order to dampen the mood of the forthcoming celebration.
Among them there are not only the brainwashed and Saudi influenced wahhabi terrorists, but also those who are supposed to lead when it comes to building bridges between cultures.
Thus far the leaders of USA, France, Germany and the whole bunch of other 'flyweight' politicians from the so-called "Free World" decided to boycott the Russia-organised games. The common explanation for their absence is alleged Russia's disrespect of human rights, and in particular the rights of sexual minorities. This is, of course, a smoke screen. But even here, Western Russophobes cannot get things right. By lecturing the world's largest country on what it should and should not do, Western leaders themselves show disrespect to the Russian Constitution and laws.
In the Russian Federation, sexual minorities are not persecuted by the state apparatus for being a sexual minority per se. However, unlike in many Western European states, where societies are starting to show clear signs of moral degeneration, Russia introduced certain legal safeguards that prevented prophets of non-traditional sexual orientation from disseminating their 'way of life' to minors.
The vast majority of the Russian society, which is well-educated and encompasses many different faiths, supports these measures. Therefore, attempts by foreign leaders to impose their alien worldview on Russians and use Olympics as a tool in their blackmail, will win no friends. On the contrary, it will only strengthen Russia's obstinacy.
Quick peep in recent history will also show that the whole "human (gay) rights" thing is only a mask that hides faces, deformed by chronic lying. In 2008, nobody dared to elevate the rights issue to the level that would lead to boycott the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
By contrast, when it comes to basic freedoms of a human being, modern Russia looks like a guardian angel when compared to the reputation of People's Republic of China.
The real reason why some of global policy makers are staying away from Sochi this year is that they already received enough of heavy flak from Putin on international stage during the course of 2013. It seems that the likes of David Cameron, Barack Obama and others were outflanked by the Russians almost on every issue of global importance, from striking a deal with Iran to blocking "The Coalition of the willing" from completely destroying what's left of secular Syrian state. Western leaders also found out how unpleasant it was to stand at press conferences long-faced and see themselves being shredded to pieces by Putin's straight-forward speeches.
Now they want revenge. They are poised to prevent Russia from starting the year with another triumphal accord by not attending the opening ceremony at Sochi. The some of Russia's international "partners", as Putin likes to call them, think that their absence somehow will help this stubborn country find its way on to the path of true democracy. It goes without saying that in West's dreams 'democratic Russia' stands for a country, which is barely functioning due to internal conflicts and is in no way capable to defend itself, let alone safeguard its interests. This is why the Yeltsin years are always presented in a positive light by Western politicians.
But the Russian people are no fools any more. If their current life in a more or less politically stable country and in relative prosperity is called oppression - then so be it. They've seen the worst days and learned their lesson. They certainly won't miss few absent snobs in the event that celebrates peace.
Justinas Valutis