Russia: Volgograd blasts: Terrorism threat at Sochi Games nagging at Russia - by Graeme Gill

The Olympic Games is no stranger to political controversy.

The 1972 Munich Games will forever be remembered for the massacre of Israeli athletes, while the 1980 Moscow Games saw significant Western boycotts in protest against the invasion of Afghanistan.

The Sochi Winter Games seem destined to follow in these footsteps, with the widespread reaction against recent anti-gay laws in Russia and, much more tragically, this week's bomb blasts in Volgograd.
The bomb blasts, at the main Volgograd station and on a bus, show how vulnerable society is to such acts of terrorism, but what sort of threat do they pose to the Games?

Russia has invested heavily in security, and at an event such as the Sochi Games where national pride is on the line all efforts will be made to ensure the safety of participants.

Security plans involve an effective exclusion zone around Sochi. There can be no guarantee that any such zone will be 100 per cent effective but it should ensure that the possibility of any threat is greatly reduced.
But the problem is less Sochi and the Games - rather, how people are to get there.

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