generalspeaking

Is Russia Ready for the Sochi Olympics?

Vladimir Putin's unwise choice of Sochi with its proximity to areas of Muslim-majority geographies that present as a perennial problem in social order and conflict aside, it would appear that security at the February Winter Olympics are more technologically advanced, elaborate and costly than at any other venue at any other country of the world. Terrorists are nothing if not determined to demonstrate their capacity for hatred and violence, and they revel in demonstrating their ability to hit hard, anywhere they choose, but if any are able to infiltrate the network of sophisticated security operations put in place by the Kremlin, it will seem like a miracle of disastrous proportions.

Russia is using drones, robots, a massive cyber surveillance system in their unprecedented operation to ensure complete security reigns at the Sochi Olympics. The person leading the Sochi Games security for the Kremlin is Col.-Gen. Oleg Syromolotov, head of counter-intelligence for the Federal Security Service. "It's quite a thought-provoking appointment, because it should have seemed logical to give that job to an antiterrorism specialist, but instead [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gave it to a guy who's spent his entire career hunting down foreign spies", said journalist Andrei Soldatov.

And how's this for international co-operation, something not normally seen by the Kremlin authorities and their security apparatus? Russian authorities have taken the intelligent step of liaising with foreign agencies such as Britain's MI6 and the American FBI. Matthew Olsen, director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, advised that his agency was "co-ordinating and integrating the intelligence community's support ... to the Winter Olympics in Sochi".

"High-profile attacks by female suicide bombers cast doubt on the Russian government's ability to protect its citizens. "Black Widows" have become a high-value franchise, and it would be strategically unwise for terrorists to give them up entirely. The fear they inspire, at least in the immediate aftermath of an attack, is so strong that there have been reports of Russian travellers refusing to fly in the same plane with women wearing a veil, as chosen by some observant Muslims. Female suicide bombers are all but unstoppable."
Russian journalist Nabi Abdullaev

Since June 2004, 48 female suicide bombers have staged a total of 25 attacks in Russia, claiming 847 lives. Chechen rebels took about 1,200 children and adults hostage in 2004 at the Beslan school massacre where a total of 334 people were killed, among them 186 children. That same year, 90 people were killed when two Russian airliners were blown up. A suicide bombing at the headquarters of the Chechnya government in December 2002 killed 80 people.

For the games, however, security is as tight as it can possibly be conceived to be. "Travellers should be aware that Russian federal law permits the monitoring, retention and analysis of all data that traverses Russian communication networks, including Internet browsing, email messages, telephone calls and fax transmissions" advises an official statement from the U.S. State Department.

Fears that terrorists posing as construction workers to infiltrate the Sochi site throughout the building period, resulted in all those workers brought in from outside the region being sent home by December. Vehicles entering construction sites passed through giant scanners checking for traces of explosives. Even buses go through scanners; those on them passed through a monitor similar to airport types, then were subjected to a "patdown" by security personnel. A CCTV control Centre is monitoring Olympic venues and perimeter fences.

"From the entrance to the cable car at the foot of the mountain to the slopes at the top, security guards and volunteers checked credentials every step of the way. During a single journey, it wasn't unusual for a badge to be meticulously scrutinized at least a dozen times", Gian Franco Kasper, president, international ski federal FIS, member of the IOC's co-ordination commission for Sochi said. There are also multiple checkpoints before anyone can enter the athletes' mountain village.

Russian special forces in counterterrorism have been shadowing "every person in every family in the North Caucasus region for years", for the purpose of singling out "suspicious characters", tracking their movements in a concerted effort to prevent the mere planning of attacks. Over 5,500 video cameras in Sochi have been installed, with 309 cameras manned by the FSB. The FSB is set to fly the Gorisont-Air S-100 drone, able to be missile-fitted. "There will be 24-hour drone surveillance. The main thing is that you cannot see or hear a drone", explained Nikita Zakharov, deputy director of Zala Aero.

The Defence Ministry has contracted for the purchase of 20 sonars to detect and identify submarines. Sochi is on the northeast shore of the Black Sea. One hundred "Plastun" scout robots were purchased by the FSB to patrol the "urban landscape". Self-propelled, the robot operates on a system similar to Google cars and is equipped with cameras for thermal imagining and comes complete with special equipment capable of detecting a sniper's scope, suspicious objects, and testing for explosives.

A "security zone" around Sochi encompasses approximately 100 km along the Black Sea coast and up to 40 km inland with 600 facilities within the zone receiving special protection. That is inclusive of bridges, railway tunnels, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and stores.  At the Sochi International Airport, screening at the terminal building and "passenger profiling" have been introduced. Over 550 video surveillance cameras work non-stop. Airport workers have security clearance; software "is capable of identifying a person on the walk, in hats or sunglasses."

Questions, anyone?

Labels: Islamism, Olympics, Russia, Security, Terrorism

posted by Pieface @ Monday, January 06, 2014