Russia: Spectacular Ceremony Kicks Off Sochi Games, Marking Momentous Day for Russia - by Ivan Nechepurenko, Yekaterina Kravtsova and Ezekiel Pfeifer

President Vladimir Putin declared the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics officially open on Friday night after a grandiose 2 1/2-hour show that told the history of modern Russia with dazzling lights, giant installations and hundreds of dancers, in an event that marked the end of more than six years of fevered preparations by the Russian government.

In the midst of an economic downturn and largely negative international media attention on Russia, the Olympics were envisioned by the Kremlin as a demonstration to the world of the country’s transformation into an advanced nation.

The opening ceremony, viewed by tens of thousands of spectators in Fisht Olympic Stadium and millions more around the world, showed that transformation in song and dance numbers that featured enormous inflatable samovars, a ballet scene from Leo Tolstoy’s iconic “War and Peace,” machines illustrating the start of the Soviet era, and cosmonauts and hipster dancers from the hopeful period after the death of Josef Stalin. Classical music by famed Russian composers from Tchaikovsky to Stravinsky provided the soundtrack.

Viewers were on the alert for political symbolism in the proceedings. Social media users noted the fact that World War II, a watershed moment in Russian history, was not depicted in detail, and some saw significance in the playing of a mash-up song by faux-lesbian duo t.A.T.u. and the band Queen, whose lead singer was gay, when the Russian Olympians filed into the stadium, arguing that it could be a pro-gay gesture amid international criticism of Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law.

Read more: Opening Ceremony Kicks Off Sochi Games, Marking Momentous Day for Russia | News | The Moscow Times

Russia: Sochi Winter Olympics: President Putin's Message to Gays in Sochi: ‘Leave Children in Peace’

Gay people should feel comfortable at the Sochi Olympics but “leave children in peace,” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

In June, Putin signed into law a bill forbidding the promotion of homosexuality to minors, sparking months of controversy ahead of the February 7-23 event in Sochi.

The law’s proponents argue that it is aimed at protecting children from harmful influences, but critics allege the move restricts freedom of speech and is part of a broader crackdown on Russia’s gay community.

Gay sex is not a crime in Russia, so gay people can “feel calm, at ease, but leave children in peace, please,” Putin said at a meeting with Olympic volunteers in the mountain village of Krasnaya Polyana, the base outside Sochi for Olympic snow sports.

The remarks come a day after Putin repeated his vow that there would be “no discrimination” at the Games. He has previously said that Russia will “do everything” to ensure a warm welcome for Sochi guests “regardless … of sexual orientation.”

Russia's Interior Ministry, which controls the police, has vowed to enforce the controversial anti-gay law at the Olympics. There will also be tight restrictions on protests, which are confined to a park in a small town that lies more than 12 kilometers from any Olympic venues.

U.S. President Barack Obama will not attend the Games, and his nomination of two gay former athletes to his country’s delegation has been widely interpreted as a comment on the Russian law.

Note EU-Digest: Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill . Gay sex is not a crime in Russia, but promoting sex  - whatever kind of sex - involving minors is not acceptable in any country.  

Read more: Putin's Message to Gays in Sochi: ‘Leave Children in Peace’ | Russia | RIA Novosti