Will the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Ensure Security?

The Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi on Feb. 7-23 while the Winter Paralympics will be on March 7-16 in 2014.Sochi is located on the outskirts of the mountains separating the North and South Caucasus and stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. It has been an important tourism destination along the Black Sea since the Russian imperial period. The coastal area of the city has a sub-tropical climate. The decision to hold the Olympics in Sochi, despite the fact that Sochi is located in the northwestern Caucasus, that there were conflicts in the North Caucasus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and that campaigns were organized by Circassians in Sochi against the Olympics, created discussions around the world. There is no need for the countries participating in the Olympics to worry over Sochi.
 
The concerns that Sochi may be an unsafe city are groundless. The argument that Abkhazia, which is located along the southern border of Sochi, is a source of potential instability is not true. Abkhazia is secure and stable. For this reason, a potential attack on Sochi will not come from Abkhazia. The second concern that there are radical religious groups in the west of Sochi is not true. Chechnya, the source of concern, is hundreds of miles away from Sochi. In addition, Chechnya is now a safe and stable republic. The mountains to the east of Sochi are not easy to pass. The third concern that there is a possibility of an armed attack by Circassians is not likely. More than 90 percent of the Circassian diaspora youths holding campaigns against the Sochi Winter Olympics have not even made a single visit to the North Caucasus.
 
More than 50 percent of these young people do not even know that Sochi is a coastal city. The reason for the campaigns against Sochi by these young people is not the Olympics. It stems from their desire to preserve their identity in big cities in countries with a diaspora with whom they share the same religion and sect. There is no issue of security or stability in all the three Circassian republics in the northwest Caucasus (Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkar). The protests are being held in accordance with the laws in effect. Of course, there is the possibility of attacks against the athletes or visitors coming to Sochi for the Winter Olympics in order to undermine the image of Russia in the world. However, the probability of a terrorist attack in Sochi is less than the probability of a terrorist attack in any other city in Russia because Moscow has increased security measures in Sochi. Travels in and out of Sochi will be severely restricted from January to mid-March. Travels will not be allowed with the exception of extraordinary situations. Vehicles, with the exception of locally owned or specially accredited cars and those used by emergency services, will not be permitted into Sochi at all. There are historic reasons for disagreements and tension between Moscow and the nations of the North Caucasus. Russia forcibly exiled 80 percent of the people in the southwestern Caucasus following the 1878 Ottoman-Russian war and 95 percent of the people in the northwestern Caucasus after the 1864 Caucasian wars to Ottoman lands.
 
The Russian armies annihilated the Wubih people who lived in Sochi and the surrounding cities. This eliminated the culture and language of the Wubih people, who were intellectuals engaged in trade activities in Sochi. Likewise, the Adygea people, who spoke the Sapsıg dialect, were killed; the survivors fled to the Ottoman state.Moscow's efforts to take physical security measures should be understood. But if efforts to heal the historic wounds are added to the physical measures, Sochi's security will be ensured more easily. Besides, it will cost less. Kuban Kazakhs are taking center stage in the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Wubih and Adygea peoples, who are now called Circassians, are ignored in the official photos and advertisements of the Sochi Olympics. Instead, greater attention should be paid to the Wubih and Adygea people in the Sochi Olympics; Russian President Vladimir Putin should make speeches and statements that embrace these people. A monument of peace which places emphasis on a historic apology to Sochi will be more significant than physical security efforts.