Thread: Sochi 2014 - Olympic Winter Games (official site)

Originally Posted by edvalais

I've noticed that there is essentially a "soviet" attitude to criticism of Russia on this site. Critics are accused of being informed by the biased western media. The absurd "Foreign Agent" tag is symptomatic of this paranoia. It shows that some in Russia still have a foot in the past. This is a shame because you can't move forward properly like this.

We all have a foot in the past, because history is inseparable. Actually I also have question: what do you put into the meaning of the word "Soviet"?
Because today it can have many meanings to many people. To some people it may mean dark past that should be forsaken, to some other people it may mean nostalgia, and to some it may mean neither of it but a legacy they have the right to claim and not be hesitant of it.

Originally Posted by edvalais

I invite you to ask yourselves this question: if the Magnitsky scandal had never happened, if there had been no Magnitsky Law in the US, would Russia have still banned Americans from adopting Russian children?

In my humble opinion it would be done sooner or later. Scandals about Russian orphans being abused by their American adopters had begun long before Magnitsky Law was issued. The latter happened to serve a reason to even out American reaction to Dima Yakovlev Law. The thing I dislike about that is that both these laws gear the names of of two dead people who personally had nothing to do with that.
One more thing, we didn't only ban foreign adoptions but also copied the option to ban certain American officials.

Originally Posted by DrBaldhead

One more thing, we didn't only ban foreign adoptions but also copied the option to ban certain American officials.

Again, another purely symbolic gesture. The American officials will just shake their heads and smile - whereas the Russian chinovniki/judges/police/politicians etc who stole enormous sums of money via the "Magnitsky" fraud and hid it away in the States, in bank accounts and property near to where their children study, will no longer have access to all of that. THAT is why they were so furious at the Magnitsky Law.

Originally Posted by edvalais

Again, another purely symbolic gesture. The American officials will just shake their heads and smile - whereas the Russian chinovniki/judges/police/politicians etc who stole enormous sums of money via the "Magnitsky" fraud and hid it away in the States, in bank accounts and property near to where their children study, will no longer have access to all of that. THAT is why they were so furious at the Magnitsky Law.

I agree. Also, we've all seen Yanukovich's retinue quietly disappeared on its own in an hour after the "asset freezed and visa bans" were declared to be introduced by the EU.