News Article: Malkin: I Assured Crosby Sochi Will Be Safe

[Darth Vitale]

He's no Ryan Hardy.

 

[GnomE]

As you see in the quote, Malkin never mentioned Crosby.

The question was:
Have you discussed the Olympics with Crosby? My he or others asked something. It seems foreigners feel a little weary about the games being in Russia.

Malkin:

It's true that they feel weary about the games being in Russia because of the recent events. That's the question they are most interested in--will it be safe in Sochi or not. Otherwise they are really excited about coming to Russia and playing, but are worried about the safety. I told them that everything will be fine so that they don't worry too much.

Can't Malkin be optimistic about issues?
Singers come to Russia all the time and have huge shows at stadiums and nothing happens. I think at these type of big-scale events, it should be safe. The terrorist acts are pretty constant in Russia, but they are all relatively small scale. Relatively.

 

[Michael8771*]

As you see in the quote, Malkin never mentioned Crosby.

The question was:
Have you discussed the Olympics with Crosby? My he or others asked something. It seems foreigners feel a little weary about the games being in Russia.

Malkin:

It's true that they feel weary about the games being in Russia because of the recent events. That's the question they are most interested in--will it be safe in Sochi or not. Otherwise they are really excited about coming to Russia and playing, but are worried about the safety. I told them that everything will be fine so that they don't worry too much.

Can't Malkin be optimistic about issues?
Singers come to Russia all the time and have huge shows at stadiums and nothing happens. I think at these type of big-scale events, it should be safe. The terrorist acts are pretty constant in Russia, but they are all relatively small scale. Relatively.

I'm not worried, of course I'm not attenting these olympics so.......

 

[GnomE]

Truer words... to tell you the truth I doubt if he even said anything. Russian media is completely unreliable and very much tied to the interests of the state (by threat or otherwise). If the state wants the media to report good tidings about the Olympics, they'll report good tidings. If they want a Malkin story, they make up a Malkin story.

It could be said they're even worse than Rossi and Yo-he. Maybe.

Russia's g-vt is extremely corrupt and ineffective but that is just false. Russia's basic TV channels and and maybe a couple of newspapers are state owned. But otherwise, it's all independent (of course it's because everything but the basic TV channels reaches a very small audience, so they don't care).

There is also no direct censorship even on those channels. It's all producers (just like Murdoch at FOX but here it's state owned) and some self censorship. No threats have been reported AFAIK. By even very opposing newspapers like the New Times.

Radio Echo Moskvi reaches 2 million and is independent.

 

[Kshahdoo]

It might have something to do with Russia having 2 very recent deadly terrorist attacks in it, the ongoing turmoils with Chechnya, Chechnya's proximity to Sochi and a Chechen Rebel(who apparently was just announced dead...) vowing to attack the Sochi games.

I bet it's safer to live in Chechnya than in 90% of American cities... And as far as I remember there was a bomb attack in Boston, but nobody has any concerns about USA safety.

As to those attacks in Volgograd, they for certain happened because there was a local terrorists' group in the region, since it's not that easy to organize such an attack. It'll be much harder to do it in Sochi on account of all those security measures there.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Russia's g-vt is extremely corrupt and ineffective but that is just false. Russia's basic TV channels and and maybe a couple of newspapers are state owned. But otherwise, it's all independent (of course it's because everything but the basic TV channels reaches a very small audience, so they don't care).

Radio Echo Moskvi reaches 2 million and is independent.

Thanks for making my point, and if I'm ever in Russia and learn to speak the Russian, I'll definitely listen to Radio Echo Moskvi only.

What I'm saying is, there's not much chance these other papers are going to go rogue and start reporting things that would shed a negative light on safety at the games. While they may not all be state owned, that's different than the state having no influence over them during a time like this. People can be pressured, monitors can increase scrutiny in ways that they previously did not, etc.

The media situation in Russia, from what I've seen (media watching is sort of thing for me as many around here can attest), is far from being so reliable (especially about matters of national pride like national hockey team where in the past exaggerations about player status and other things were common) that you could take their word for it when they say "Geno says Sochi is safe!". And what's Geno going to do, contradict them two weeks before the games? "No I never say that; Sochi is not safe! Be careful!"

I think not. He's not going to say anything, whether he told other players it was safe or not. In Mother Russia, Department of Player Quotes attribute you!

 

[DegenX]

I bet it's safer to live in Chechnya than in 90% of American cities... And as far as I remember there was a bomb attack in Boston, but nobody has any concerns about USA safety.

As to those attacks in Volgograd, they for certain happened because there was a local terrorists' group in the region, since it's not that easy to organize such an attack. It'll be much harder to do it in Sochi on account of all those security measures there.

Bombings aren't that common of an occurrence in the US. Our home-grown crazies prefer to go on shooting sprees ... but your point is well made.

 

[T1K]

There's only one man who can keep the Olympic games from blowing up. We're gonna need to call Michael Scarn out of retirement...

 

[Darth Vitale]

Bombings aren't that common of an occurrence in the US. Our home-grown crazies prefer to go on shooting sprees ... but your point is well made.

It is a valid point. To be clear (for my part), I'm not trying to criticize safety in Russia etc. I'm sure the security in Sochi is going to be very good, as well as at the airports that service Sochi. Also not trying to say "Americuz is SAYFER ya'll!" Plenty of places to get killed / ways to die unnaturally in the US of A. No denying that.

My points were mostly about the quality of the newspapers / quotes, where reporting on hockey matters is concerned.

 

[DegenX]

It is a valid point. To be clear (for my part), I'm not trying to criticize safety in Russia etc. I'm sure the security in Sochi is going to be very good, as well as at the airports that service Sochi. Also not trying to say "Americuz is SAYFER ya'll!" Plenty of places to get killed / ways to die unnaturally in the US of A. No denying that.

My points were mostly about the quality of the newspapers / quotes, where reporting on hockey matters is concerned.

Russian news outlets get painted yellow a lot. Granted, some of what they put out is pretty questionable, but the same can be said for every news organization. Journalistic integrity is scarce as hens teeth everywhere on the planet. Everyone has their own version of the truth. See: Rossi, Rob

 

[od71]

Thanks for making my point, and if I'm ever in Russia and learn to speak the Russian, I'll definitely listen to Radio Echo Moskvi only.

What I'm saying is, there's not much chance these other papers are going to go rogue and start reporting things that would shed a negative light on safety at the games. While they may not all be state owned, that's different than the state having no influence over them during a time like this. People can be pressured, monitors can increase scrutiny in ways that they previously did not, etc.

The media situation in Russia, from what I've seen (media watching is sort of thing for me as many around here can attest), is far from being so reliable (especially about matters of national pride like national hockey team where in the past exaggerations about player status and other things were common) that you could take their word for it when they say "Geno says Sochi is safe!". And what's Geno going to do, contradict them two weeks before the games? "No I never say that; Sochi is not safe! Be careful!"

I think not. He's not going to say anything, whether he told other players it was safe or not. In Mother Russia, Department of Player Quotes attribute you!

In fact, I think that players words are more controlled in the NHL than in Russia. Most recent, Seguin in Dallas or Tyutin in Columbus. PR-managers are always on guard. And I think it is right way because in Russia players frequently say not good things in media and nobody controls them.
As for Malkin I don't think that he was told what things to say, but he said what he actually thought. I think too that in Sochi nobody will approach sportsmen camps unnoticed, even mices. It's simply impossible. On Ice Palace in Sochi during the First Channel Cup (which was held in December) it was time consuming for people to enter through several security posts. That's the reason why the stadium was filled only by well after the the beginning of the games

 

[TheStatican]

This is right up his alley.

Unfortunetly hes been replaced by this;

 

[Sorry]

I think it is likely there will be at least one bombing somewhere outside of Sochi / near Sochi (perhaps in Volgograd, or even Moscow or St. Petersburg if the objective is to strike where no one is looking), in the days leading up to or during the games... but far less likely anything will happen in the Olympic Village or at one of the events. There is going to be security up the ying-yang in those places. Enough that people will probably complain about it / the US media will make a fuss about it in one of their BS "interludes" between events.

If I were an athlete, I would not leave the village / venues for any reason. Last thing I would do is go to some bar the next town over or something like that, or go sight-seeing where a bunch of athletes are gathered.

On the other hand, the way terrorists work, indiscriminately killing a bunch of people from many different countries or cultures can backfire. They're always looking to find new recruits and new friends. You kill a bunch of people who are perceived as "not evil westerners" and you not only might lose some recruits, you might create some new enemies / informants. Sorta twisted logic but I believe it comes into play [with the Olympics, having so many people of all cultures present].

That's the case with Islamic extremists and the west, but not so much the conflict creating concern over security at the games in Sochi.

i wonder why malkin specifically told crosby that sochi will be safe. what about the other olympians on the penguins roster? is it because of the anti-gay laws that russia has recently passed?

Lol that's exactly what my friend who's a Flyers fan insinuated when I told him what Malkin allegedly said. "Wow, that must be the biggest admission of Crosby's homosexuality to this point.". I laughed.

 

[Darth Vitale]

That's the case with Islamic extremists and the west, but not so much the conflict creating concern over security at the games in Sochi.

Time to read up. The concern is the long-standing feud between the Russian government and the Chechens. Chechnya is especially relevant in this case because of its geographic proximity to Sochi (roughly 300 miles from Grozny and all points Chechen). And last but not least check the Ethnic Groups and Religion section... 95% of the population (over 1M) is ethnic Chechen, the large majority of whom practice Sunni Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechnya#Ethnic_groups

 

[edog37]

And as we all know, when Evgeni Malkin speaks about major international security threats, the world listens.

 

[gopens66]

Bombings aren't that common of an occurrence in the US. Our home-grown crazies prefer to go on shooting sprees ... but your point is well made.

Except that time when an American set off a bomb at the Olympics in America.

 

[DegenX]

Except that time when an American set off a bomb at the Olympics in America.

I didn't say they never happen, just that generally speaking US crazies are more likely to go on shooting rampages.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Time to read up. The concern is the long-standing feud between the Russian government and the Chechens. Chechnya is especially relevant in this case because of its geographic proximity to Sochi (roughly 300 miles from Grozny and all points Chechen). And last but not least check the Ethnic Groups and Religion section... 95% of the population (over 1M) is ethnic Chechen, the large majority of whom practice Sunni Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechnya#Ethnic_groups

Yep, good post. ...and this is a huge opportunity for the Chechens to give Russia a black eye on the international stage. It is an amount of exposure that could be tough for them to pass up. On the other hand, it goes against the practice of going after soft targets.

As long as Geno says it's safe

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

I'm sure the headline only mentions Sid so that it will get more clicks than if it said something like "Malkin says Sochi will be safe".

 

[sovietsanta87]

Sochi is just a few miles from the Georgian border. Why would they ever consider that area to be safe for the Olympics? Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia is the gateway to the middle east.

 

[Darth Vitale]

It's as close as they could get to Armenia and its excellent people and food, without leaving Russia. Armenians are predominantly Christian btw. No Armenian terrorist groups that I know of, although the Turkish government probably considers the people who demand an acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide to be "terrorists". That's how Turkey rolls. If people forget something, it never happened.