RIA Novosti Roundup -- Protest Restrictions; Torch Comes to Moscow

Russia to Restrict Movement, Protests for Security at Sochi Olympics

Russian authorities plan to limit public demonstrations and access to several territories in and around Sochi to secure next year's Winter Olympics, an official with the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday.

The Games will be held in the Black Sea resort area February 7-23, but restrictions on movement and certain activities, including demonstrations, will be imposed over a much longer time, from January 7 through March 21, said Alexei Lavrishchev, an FSB official dealing with Sochi security.

"There will be so-called controlled and forbidden zones in and around Sochi," Lavrishchev said, adding that access to the "controlled" zones would require tickets and ID, while "forbidden" zones would be accessible only to people and vehicles with some work-related connection to the area.

Security at the Games was thrown into the spotlight earlier this year, when Russian officials pledged safety at international sports events to be held in the country after a Chechen militant leader called on Islamist fighters to target the Olympics.

The controlled zones would include Olympic venues and infrastructure, including the coastal Olympic Park and the mountain cluster of skiing facilities, as well as transport hubs, including air, sea and rail, Lavrishchev said.

The forbidden zones, meanwhile, are to include parts of the border area separating Russia from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia – very near the coastal facilities – as well as parts of Sochi National Park, an environmentally protected area, he said.

Lavrishchev said there would be restrictions on protests and demonstrations during the same period, but insisted it was not a response to some gay rights activists’ calls to stage protests during the Games over Russia’s recently passed legislation banning the promotion among minors of "non-traditional" sexual relations.

He said the restrictions stemmed from the importance of preventing the kind of violence that marred this year's football Confederations Cup in Brazil, where rioting over perceived government misspending led to dozens of injuries and hundreds of arrests.

The 2014 Sochi Winter Games are widely regarded as an opportunity for Russia to showcase its economic achievements under President Vladimir Putin.

Sochi 2014 Torch Relay to Bring Downtown Moscow to a Standstill

The Sochi 2014 Olympic torch relay looks set to bring sections of downtown Moscow to a standstill when the flame starts its journey across the country next week.

Authorities in the capital announced Thursday that at least eight central streets, boulevards and embankments would be sealed off for the first leg of the relay, which starts on Red Square on Monday.

The Moscow leg of the record-breaking 65,000 kilometer route across Russia will take two days and involve around 300 torchbearers, before heading north to St. Petersburg and then east towards Siberia.

The flame was lit from the sun's rays Sundayat a traditional ceremony in Ancient Olympia, Greece, where Russian hockey star Alexander Ovechkin was the second torchbearer after Greek skier Ioannis Antoniou. Footage of Ovechkin's run will be shown to Washington Capitals fans on the jumbo screen ahead of their NHL game against the Calgary Flames at the Verizon Center later Thursday.

The flame is currently touring 33 Greek towns and cities before being transported to Moscow on Saturday.

Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov is among the torchbearers for the first stage of the relay, which will eventually loop around the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East, down to Vladivostok and then back across southern Siberia via Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake.

Travelling through more than 2,900 towns in Russia’s 83 regions, the torch will make its way back into European Russia, before heading down to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the opening ceremony on February 7, 2014.

The cauldron is to be lit by a torch that will be taken into space.

Tretiak Worried By Russia’s Hockey Form as Olympics Loom

Legendary Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak admitted Saturday to R-Sport that he is worried by poor performances from the Russian national hockey team in the run-up to next year’s Winter Olympics.

A Russian team without NHL players lost two of its three games on the Euro Hockey Tour last month, going down 2-0 to Finland and 2-1 to the Czech Republic but beating Sweden 2-0.

"This situation is worrying," said Tretiak, who serves as head of the Russian Hockey Federation. "I saw the games and I can say that there’s a lot of dedication but unfortunately not enough execution."

"Unfortunately, those skilled players either aren’t there yet or they’re not yet showing their skills."

Russia’s staff are visiting NHL arenas across North America "watching every match of the candidates" for the national team, Tretiak added.

Tretiak was keen to point out that Russia’s Euro Hockey Tour roster was far from the best available as coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov picked a young team.

"Our coaches are looking at the youngsters," he said. "It’s great that we have the Euro Tour, where we can look at our players."

Russia will host the Winter Olympics for the first time in Sochi from February 7 to 23.

Published by exclusive arrangement with Around the Rings’ Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

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