AND NOW TO RUSSIA...
PREPARING FOR ITS FIRST-EVER WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES.
BUT THE RUNUP TO THE CONTESTS IN THE CITY OF SOCHI HAS BEEN MARRED BY TERRORISM CONCERNS.
THE CONCERNS ARE CENTERED ON SEPARATISTS IN THE NORTHERN CAUCASUS REGION, WHO HAVE WAGED
A WAR OF INDEPENDENCE AGAINST RUSSIA.
VOA MOSCOW CORRESPONDENT JIM BROOKE TALKED WITH ON ASSIGNMENT'S PHILIP ALEXIOU ABOUT
THAT THREAT AND THE PUSH TO KEEP THE OLYMPICS SAFE.
SIX MONTHS AGO DOKU UMAROV WHO IS HEAD OF THE RADICAL ISLAMIST GROUP IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA
THREATENED TO DISRUPT THE OLYMPICS IN SOCHI WHICH IS TRADITIONALLY A ETHNIC HEARTLAND
AND FOR PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA, MUSLIMS IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA.
NOW, NOTHING HAPPENED UNTIL LAST MONTH UNTIL TWO BOMBS WENT OFF IN VOLGOGRAD KILLING 34
PEOPLE.
THE STRATEGY SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN TO HIT THE SOFT TARGETS -- THERE WAS A BUS STOP AND A
TRAIN STATION.
SO FOR THE PEOPLE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA VOLGOGRAD IS AS I UNDERSTAND IT PRETTY MUCH
A MAJOR HUB TO GO THRU TO GET TO THE OLYMPICS, IS THAT RIGHT?
WELL, IT'S WHAT I CALL A SOFT TARGET BECAUSE IT'S IN A LARGELY SLAVIC, CHRISTIAN AREA SO
IT'S NOT UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE BY THE POLICE AND SO IT'S EASIER TO HIT.
THE SOUTHERN MUSLIM AREAS ARE VERY MUCH VIRTUALLY UNDER MARSHALL LAW.
NOW SOCHI ITSELF, AS I SAID, IS UNDER HUGE LOCKDOWN.
TWICE AS MANY POLICE AND SECURITY PEOPLE AS SAY THE BEIJING SUMMER OLYMPICS.
STARTING JANUARY 7TH THEY STARTED TO BAN ALL NON-SOCHI CARS, THEY'VE CLOSED THE BORDER
TO ABKHAZIA WHICH IS A BREAK AWAY REGION OF GEORGIA, THEY JUST SHUT IT DOWN FOR A MONTH.
NOW THEY ALREADY HAVE CIRCULATED FLYERS OF THREE WOMEN THEY ARE AFRAID MIGHT BE SUICIDE
BOMBERS WHO MAY HAVE ENTERED THE AREA TO THEY'RE SEARCHING FOR THESE THREE PEOPLE AND ONE OF
THEM IS A SO-CALLED BLACK WIDOW, BASICALLY HER HUSBAND WAS A SUSPECTED TERRORIST AND
WAS KILLED AND THERE'S A HISTORY IN THE SOUTHERN ISLAMIC PART OF RUSSIA WHERE THE WIDOWS OF
MEN KILLED OFTEN BECOME SUICIDE BOMBERS AND HAVE TAKEN OUT SUBWAYS, HAVE TAKEN OUT EVEN
AIRPLANES.
SO, RUSSIANS ARE VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT THIS.
BUT THERE'S A SECOND FEAR IN THAT THESE COULD BE SLAVIC TERRORISTS.
RUSSIANS OFTEN FALL VERY EASILY INTO A PROFILING WHERE THEY LOOK FOR THE KIND OF PERSON THAT
HISTORICALLY ETHNICALLY COMES FROM THE MUSLIM PART OF THE COUNTRY, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN A
LOT OF CONVERSIONS BY ETHNIC SLAVS TO ISLAM AND SOME OF THEM ARE A VERY SMALL MINORITY
AND TEND TO BE EXTREMISTS AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT COULD SLIP BETWEEN THE CRACKS HERE.
THERE'S ALSO, THE UNITED STATES HAS OFFERED TO HELP RUSSIA WITH ANYTHING THEY MIGHT NEED
OR REQUEST, IS THERE ANY INDICATION AT LEAST AT THIS POINT THAT RUSSIA IS WILLING TO ALLOW
THE US TO HELP THEM?
PHILIP, THE US OFFERED TWO NAVY SHIPS IN THE BLACK SEA.
NOT REALLY SURE WHAT CONCRETE HELP THAT WILL BE.
MORE IMPORTANTLY STARTING ABOUT A YEAR AGO THE FBI OFFERED TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE AND
GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW NOW ABOUT THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY THAT COULD BE VERY USEFUL
. YOU KNOW THERE WAS AN ARMY OF MAYBE A HUNDRED THOUSAND WORKERS; IT WAS CALLED THE LARGEST
CONSTRUCTION SITE IN THE WORLD.
MANY OF THEM WERE FROM THE OVERWHELMING MUSLIM REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND THE FEAR IS
THAT DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD EXPLOSIVES COULD HAVE BEEN PLANTED IN SKI LIFT PYLONS,
TRAIN TRACKS OR WHATEVER AND THEN JUST BE DETONATED A YEAR LATER DURING THE OLYMPICS.
AND THIS HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN THE CAUCASUS.
THE LEADER OF CHECHNYA WAS KILLED BY A BOMB THAT HAD BEEN PUT IN A STADIUM AND HE WENT
TO INAUGURATE A STADIUM AND THIS BOMB THAT HAD BEEN PLACED THERE SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER
WENT OFF AND KILLED HIM.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THE FEARS THAT WE'RE CONFRONTING TODAY.
WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING IN THE AREA, HAVE THEY BEEN MOVED OUT, HAVE
THEY BEEN MISTREATED?
WHAT ABOUT, AT LEAST THE RUSSIAN CITIZENS AROUND THE AREA.
WELL, THEY'VE BEEN KICKED AROUND A BIT TO BE FRANK.
ON ONE LEVEL THE PEOPLE IN THE DIRECT PATH OF THE OLYMPIC AREAS HAVE BASICALLY BEEN BOUGHT
OUT AND MOVED TO LESS ATTRACTIVE PLACES, OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THAT.
THERE HAVE BEEN SERIOUS COMPLAINTS THAT SOME OF THE [OLYMPIC] WORKERS WERE NOT PAID AND
THEN THE WHOLE SOCIETY HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH HUGE TRAFFIC JAMS IN THIS AREA OF FOUR HUNDRED
THOUSAND PEOPLE FOR SIX OR SEVEN YEARS...IT'S REALLY BEEN A NIGHTMARE.
BUT HOPEFULLY ALL OF THIS WILL BE OVER AND ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7TH THE SHOW WILL GO ON.
VOA'S MOSCOW CORRESPONDENT JIM BROOKE.
THESE WINTER GAMES IN SOCHI WILL BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE OLYMPICS IN HISTORY, AT 50 BILLION
DOLLARS -- 10 BILLION MORE THAN CHINA SPENT ON THE BEIJING SUMMER GAMES IN 2008.
THAT'S A QUITE A LOT OF MONEY...
OH, YEAH..