# Sochi Olympics Horror Stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755 "2014-02-07T15:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/21 "2014-02-07T21:02:59Z")
At least none of the athletes has dug a bug out of the floor and dropped a chandelier on the folks below. (Old, oft-repeated tale.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/22 "2014-02-07T21:03:24Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Expect what you want, but you and I both know you are unlikely to find that in Russia. It’s an ultra corrupt middle income country, and I’m not sure why “poor country has crappy hotels” is front page news. Because Russia just spent $51 billion trying to convince the world that it can put on a huge international sporting event, and it doesn’t seem to have finished the job. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/23 "2014-02-07T21:06:24Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Anyone who considers not having a pillow to be a “horror story” lives a blessed life. And how fortunate we precious few, the true cosmopolites, content to rest on our makeshift futons of masticated banana leaves and bushbaby dung. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/24 "2014-02-07T21:06:49Z")
Actually, Russia is not a poor country and Russians would have a higher standard of living if it wasn’t for widespread corruption and an autocratic government that prioritizes staging the most expensive olympic games in history over taking care of the basic needs of its citizens and ensuring they have basic human rights. Given that the games cost $51 billion, it is surprising that the hotels are shitholes and it is reasonable that the corrupt and repressive government get mocked for what is a publicity stunt for their illegitimate regime. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/25 "2014-02-07T21:47:32Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Actually, Russia is not a poor country and Russians would have a higher standard of living if it wasn’t for widespread corruption and an autocratic government that prioritizes staging the most expensive olympic games in history over taking care of the basic needs of its citizens and ensuring they have basic human rights. Given that the games cost $51 billion, it is surprising that the hotels are shitholes and it is reasonable that the corrupt and repressive government get mocked for what is a publicity stunt for their illegitimate regime. Go ahead and mock Putin. I am all for that. But the whole “OMG how will I live without a shower curtain!” thing is just embarrassing and makes our press corps look like a bunch of prima donnas. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/26 "2014-02-07T22:06:36Z")
A missing shower curtain is kind of a pain in the ass if you consider the time you’ll have to spend drying off your bathroom and the potential for leaks. No running water in a hotel is kind of a big deal. And it’s really not just a press thing since a lot of people are traveling to Russia to attend the games. Russia basically promised they would build a whole city to host the games, which isn’t normally what happens. It’s a tremendous project and it looks like they couldn’t finish the job on time. It’s also true that there’s always a pattern to these Olympics: first there’s a rash of stories about how the host city may not be ready on time, then that gets forgotten and everyone writes that the games are incredible, and then some time later we hear about all the decaying and unused stadiums and the lost money. I’m guessing Russia won’t let us hear quite as much about that last one. It’s possible that the accommodations really aren’t up to snuff this time, and don’t forget that a lot of people are already predisposed to be critical of Russia because of the anti-gay laws. [That story won’t go away, of course.](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-arrests-4-gay-rights-activists-on-opening-day-2014-sochi-winter-olympics-opening-ceremony/) I guess if there are lots of complaints about the hotels and nothing else, it’s not so bad. But it could get worse. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/27 "2014-02-07T22:15:59Z")
Why would anyone go there and not expect to be spied upon? Where was the media person who left the water running all day from? No matter the reason, it was a asshat thing to do anywhere. IMO ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/28 "2014-02-07T22:17:37Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Where was the media person who left the water running all day from? You think it really happened? How charming. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/29 "2014-02-07T22:23:39Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > To hell with pillows. Imagine being subjected to this: > [Sochi Hotel Guests Complain About Topless Portraits of Putin in Rooms](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2014/02/sochi-hotel-guests-complain-about-topless-portraits-of-putin-in-rooms.html) > > Saw an item on CNN a little while ago, bet it makes the Daily Show tonight. Have to admit I found it totally plausible and had to google “borowitz report” to confirm it was satire. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/30 "2014-02-07T23:28:56Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Have to admit I found it totally plausible and had to google “borowitz report” to confirm it was satire. In my weak defense, I saw CNN report it as a real news story this morning and thought that’s a little bizarre, and then thought of it when I saw this thread with the hotel stories and threw in my Google hit as a cite before hitting submit. CNN recycles the same stories throughout the day, but I haven’t seen this again for some strange reason… ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/31 "2014-02-08T00:37:37Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > From the stories I’m seeing in the media, the moment someone turns on a smart phone or laptop computer in Sochi, it’s going to be “instantly hacked”. I know there was an Olympics of Computer Crime, Russian “athletes” would win gold, silver, bronze, copper, steel, iron, and pot metal. Still, I have a hard time believing that unjailbroken/unrooted mobile devices, or laptops with appropriate security settings and accounts with strong passwords, are going to be pwned upon receiving their first native dot-ru TCP/IP blocks. Besides, how would _any_ normal Russian be able to use a mobile phone or computer if it’s always going to be hacked within seconds of being turned on? There are people questioning the NBC story about the laptop hijacking - [http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/02/nbcs-claim-you-will-be-immediately-hacked-sochi/357834/](http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/02/nbcs-claim-you-will-be-immediately-hacked-sochi/357834/) - most notably that he was in Moscow, not Sochi. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755/32 "2014-02-08T16:40:02Z")
Here’s a Sochi horror story for you: The Ministry of Internal Affairs Police choir [performed “Get Lucky”](http://www.nbcolympics.com/king/video/russian-police-choir-performs-get-lucky-opening-ceremony) before the opening ceremonies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-horror-stories/680755.md?page=1)