Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was a smiling potentate at the ceremonies Friday when the drawings were made under the tutelage of F.I.F.A. officials. Russya will be under close scrutiny during the Cup's many matches starting in the spring of 2018. This propaganda stunt meant to promote Russya's image to the civilized world serves to highlight Mr. Putin's efforts to make Russya seem like a 1st World Power. The Kremlin would have the world overlook some of the country's more recent foreign excursions.
There is no lacking of examples of Russya's efforts in this regard. Let us look first at the Kremlin's efforts to destabilize the US by hacking into the DNC computers to search for information that could help the Republican candidate win the 2016 election. This was accomplished with relative ease. To piggyback on those efforts, FSB staff made the overtures to the president-elect's family to inject discord among DNC staffers so as to sideline Hillary Clinton's campaign. Just yesterday, former general Michael Flynn admitted lying to the F.B.I. in the course of their investigation of Russyan meddling in the election efforts in the USA.
Then we have the Ukraine invasion efforts that have caused untold casualties in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. The conflict continues to cause many civilian injuries in the region. The Kremlin will not discuss this adventure by Mr. Putin who is up for election in 2018 and faces little if any organized opponent(s).
Then, farther south, we have the Russyan army seizing control of Crimea, taking property from civilians who thought that the Russyans were comrades. Wrong-they are just money grubbing Moscovites on a tear. Mr. Putin has met in Sochi, site of the last Winter Olympics, with a number of players in the Syrian conflict where Mr. Putin has sided with the dictator Bashar Al Assad and his forces that have used chemical agents to kill opposing rebels in the country.
Then we have the conflict on the Arabian Peninsula that has the Saudi army pushing against rebels in the country that are supported by Iran and the Kremlin. At this point, it appears that millions of Yemeni civilians will starve to death before any aid reaches them this winter.
So, yes, Russya is delighted to hold the World Cup: it makes Russya appear normal. No doubt, when the Cup contests begin, Russya will spin the whole affair as a great public showcase of Kremlin power.
I can't wait for the response from Western Europe and the rest of the civilized world.
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