Drugs, lies, and spies – For the love of game in Russia

An official letter made its way through the Kafkaesque corridors of the Kremlin – delivered in the middle of a stack of government documents to ensure the messenger a head start to escape the coming wrath. The recipient was sprawled out on the trophy of his most recent conquests, a fresh tiger skin rug, 2 liters of vodka and half of the Moscow ballet company. Vladimir Putin was having a good day, that is until he opened the letter from the International Olympic Committee (IOC,) and without thinking he took action.

President Putin, letter in hand sprung forth and charged through the corridors of his lair on a beeline to the Gosduma, calling forth his staff as he sprinted forward. There, from the central podium, he announced, “Screw these guys, we’re going to have own Olympics – with blackjack and hookers!‘

It may not have actually happened like that, but if you’ve spent some time in the East; you know that my idealization of the events is most likely not too far off target.

In Russia, and despite a detailed report released by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA,) which distinctly identifies the Federal Security Service, of the Russian Federation (FSB) as a key facilitator of the recent scandal, as well as similar tactics in the Sochi Olympics – with 15 Russian medal winners from the Winter 2014 Olympics bow being implicated,

The State had the ability to transform a positive analytical result into a negative one by ordering that the analytical process of the Moscow Laboratory be altered. The Ministry of Sport (“MofS”), RUSDA and the Russian Federal Security Service (the “FSB”) were all involved in this operation.

and

The FSB developed a method to surreptitiously open the urine bottles to enable sample swapping. This keystone step cleared the way for the development of a clean urine bank as a source from which to draw urine samples for swapping.”

Russia versus the world,

Following the report, a host of bans and lost appeals were set to cripple the Russian Olympic bid. Putin then set in motion a quick and easy fix for a nation in recession and that has fallen in love with the Olympics again, and at Soviet-era levels. In the 2000s, Russia was becoming a bit like America in regards to the Olympics, and that honestly it’s like the World Cup – we know it’s going on and the rest of the planet loves it, but we don’t really care. Yet the golden years for Russia were short-lived and is becoming again as it once was; a heavy nationalist focus, strong military presence, xenophobic actions, and an extremely sharp wealth gap. If you think your life is unfair and want to cry about the 1% in the West – I encourage you to go live like a regular person in Russia, away from the comfort brands and wealth.

Things are looking dismal in the real Russia, and the temperament is becoming Russia against the world, again, as a means of control-normalcy for Russians. In Russian culture, the culprits of a negative life are often perceived as the result of the influence of outsiders, foreigners, international cabals, and conspiracies. There is often very little personal or national acceptance of responsibility –  along these lines, if Putin can give the people a television screen full of Russian Olympic wins, he is a savior and great defender of Russia.

This Olympiad, Putin has found it difficult to deliver the global televised might of Russia on the homefront.  Yet a thirty year KGB veteran who turned his post-USSR career into a de-facto dictatorship won’t be so easily defeated on his home turf. After all, it’s Russia against the world, and Putin is an extremely clever man.

Russian domination may be a bust at the Olympics; but who needs a bunch of foreigners judging the Russian people when you can run your own games. In a cunning move to appease the public and simultaneously flip-off the world – the Kremlin orchestrated their own games on the 28th of July and titled it Stars 2016.

The grand hip-fired production was swiftly organized and brought in a modest crowd, to the traditionally exclusive, Znamensky Brothers stadium. The track and field of the stadium featured many of the disgraced Russian athletes, but most importantly for Putin is that the cameras were there to broadcast the event across the Russian Federation. Additionally, an assembly for event coverage by the international press was curated; to tell the world – Russia doesn’t care what you think.

Dope on the track,

The facts are that on the 24th of July, the IOC released its decision on the fate of prospective Olympians of the Russian Federation. In short, the IOC put the hammer down on the dopped-up and subversive  ‘athletes,’ who were once earmarked as the national pride of Russia. A majority of them were now destined to sit out the games in Moscow – about 7,000 miles and 90% less sunny from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Russia’s Olympic dreams were shattered, via a wordy disposition and five-point mandate issued by the IOC in response to Russia’s overt bastardization of the Olympics. An immediate impact was the ban of 105 Russian perspective Olympians, 80 more are up for review – leaving nearly half of the nation’s team at home. It currently appears that only 205 Russians will make their way to Rio and will lopsidedly compete against the globe in the 28-event games.

I cannot help but reflect upon the Afroman song, “Because I Got High.” The song is not a realistic reflection on this scandal, although it is just as dumb as the title and lyrics suggest . . . And you may be thinking to yourself – it was only a blood doping thing – Although, it was not and the Spyjinx that came in tow with this infamous morality check belong in a late-night Comedy Central, D-Budget film. Try to imagine that you’re on the Olympic Team and a CIA agent with a reckless amount of unchecked power is handing out three-drug cocktails of human growth hormones, steroids, and alcohol to the entire team, and it is your turn. The agent is also falsifying all the drug tests for the nation – the agent isn’t rogue but is acting on the orders of the government. You can play armchair Ethics Ph.D. all day and tell yourself that you’d report it. Albeit, I’m fairly certain that 99% of people would do what the Russian Olympians did. They took the drugs and kept their mouths shut . . . Just consider nearly any time in Russian history, how easy it is be considered a threat to national security and the terrible price to pay for being simply implicated as a threat.

That threat has also reemerged in Russia under the Yarovaya anti-terror package, a Draconian set of unrealistic and compromising anti-terrorist laws.

Mr. Alexander Zhukov, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President knew that this situation dead in the water on the 21st. When Mr. Zhukov had literally, phoned in his obligation to explain what was happening within the Russian Olympic program to the IOC. Via phone, he made lots of guarantees on compliance and then left the conference call as soon as he finished his presentation.

Albeit there is little Alexander Zhukov, could have realistically told the IOC at the hearing. Forget the public apology charade guidelines; how could he even begin to explain disappearing samples from athletes, which were set to be tested? Let alone that Moscow hindered the investigation to this point, only weeks before the torch is set to be lit on the 5th of August in Brazil. This move provided Russia with sufficient time to completely bypass an official hearing and any long-term repercussions for their diabolic vodka-soaked attempt at Machiavelianism. Yes, Russia escaped justice via scheduling legalities and is no more suspect than usual, but they’re no better off that O.J. Simpson. The glove may not fit, the investigators played by intellectual superiors and the oversight committee was bound in politics, procedure, and quite sincerely – a situation outside of their scope.

Bureaucrats, three are eaten daily by any healthy spy,

An assembly of overworked bureaucrats, which were already struggling with construction issues, civil unrest, rampant crime, political upheaval amongst a host of other issues including direct threats by Daesh (ISIS.) The overworked team of paper-pushers and overseers who once dreamed of a tropical vacation as a reward to their administrative duties now faced international scandal from the world’s most belligerent nation.

On the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro – amidst the steady climate of instability that is Brazil. The IOC was destined to unknowingly square off in a pre-Olympics game of espionage and subversion against the FSB. And the FSB, came to town to win. That is winning by disrupting the situation just enough to avoid any lasting damage the Russian Olympic program.

For a spy, the bureaucrat is the typical target, a cakewalk, and the FSB were set to have just another day the office. Meanwhile, the IOC was unwittingly hurled into David’s 2nd cousin versus Goliath match but had no idea that the giant was lingering and had cut the rope on the sling and light fires along the villages to keep the underdog busy long enough to achieve the goal. Even if the IOC knew, they were too busy to worry about such nonsense, at least from their perspective. Who has time for spies, when the regulatory board is set to meet tomorrow and the zoning commission is demanding bribes from the emergency international construction teams, and the garbage collectors are threatening to strike?

Albeit, the FSB wasn’t called in for this job. They were cleaning up their own mess. The concept of the operation was along the lines of current times as the escalation of the Second Cold War continues to pick up steam . . . Step out from under the terrorist bubble for a moment, and easily realize that Russian global aggression has been apparent for the last ten years. Nevertheless, and as cited by Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin in a mid-July address to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

America is the only super-power and we accept that,

Nevermind the rhetoric, because that’s what Putin’s statement was. His speech was geared around relief on sanctions earned through Russia’s KASKAD operations in Ukraine, or ‘Hybrid Warfare’ in the event that you study history with the news as Russian proxy warfare is old-hat from their Soviet Union’s failed Afghanistan campaign. Even so, Putin’s superpower remark toward the US beyond kissing European ass to foster a balance of economics and power alliances amidst chronic European disillusionment. Is that Russia and the US has been grinding the Cold War ax for over a decade, and an Olympic win – by way of cheating was just another move on the board of that great game.

Pawn to pawn ExF5 – This encounter was part of the game

The doping scandal was top-down – that is except of course for the Putin inner-circle who was proxy exonerated in the Russian “Press,” Aleksey Venedikov, editor-in-chief, of the popular Echo of Moscow radio released a statement on Putin’s involvement, “He did not know about the ban when he spoke.” Regardless, the sheepishness stopped shortly after and swiftly turned sour. Aleksei Pushkov, the State Duma, department chief of the International Affairs Committee called the scandal the, “Result of an aggressive international campaign.” A string of followers emulated his opinion and has gone as far claiming discrimination against Russians.

The nationalist rhetoric is unlikely to deteriorate from within Russia as report after report against anything the Russia Federation has done wrong is viewed as an attack on Russia.

The world is well on its way to fully a developed Cold War Two, and it is highly unlikely that this eventually will be derailed. Our current global climate from economics to terror has pushed Russia back onto itself from the post-Cold War mafias that turned into oil and tech barons whom are now struggling to keep hold of their faltering wealth through sanctions and deflated financial markets. Money is not moving in Russia, and the sanctions – despite how much I hate admitting this – sanctions against Russia are backing a feral animal further into the corner. The rabid double-headed eagle that is Russia has stuck it’s talon into Georgia, the North Pole, Moldova, Syria, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and the Caucasus in blind and unnerving attacks of distraction and opportunity.

Russia is already living the reality of the Second Cold War against America and the West. Ignoring a bully only works on TV, and this bully is damned active and has much less to lose as Spy bases, ‘accidental’ targeting of American and allied forces, sea incursions, air intercepts, annexations, resources grabs, ‘misplaced’ nuclear material and so on continue to challenge American and NATO borders and stability.

Meanwhile, my elders simply dismiss these matters as things that used to happen all the time – yet that have not in quite some time. You can’t wish away the bad guy. Russia is not the Boogey Man – meaning that you cannot simply not believe in it and it will go away . . . How’d that strategy work out with terrorism, by the way? Yeah, thanks for ignoring that as well and dumping it on the lap of me and my contemporaries.

It’s time to look beyond the unrealistic future of blowing up sand dunes halfway across the world via computer. The DoD has identified the Russia threat, yet politicians and media find it is easier to whip the populace into a fervor about a potential threat around every corner “No ISIS, No Crisis”. . . Yet, Hillary and the DNC were able to fabricate blame on the hacking of their servers on Russia.

Featured Image – Russian President Vladimir Putin, Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bache enjoying a game together. – The Russian Government