The enormous scale of Russias Olympic security apparatus has been well documented — 40,000 armed forces, 11,000 closed circuit cameras, and an all-powerful electronic surveillance system, all designed to prevent terrorist attacks and domestic unrest at the Winter Games. So far, though, the forces making headlines out of Sochi arent armed policemen or military guards, but Cossacks: a group of deeply traditional militiamen who are seen as both Olympic mascots and vigilante crusaders, enforcing the kind of conservative moral code that has become a cornerstone of President Vladimir Putins domestic agenda. On Wednesday, at least 10 Cossacks and suspected plainclothes officers attacked members of the punk collective Pussy Riot in downtown Sochi, where the group was shooting a music video for a new protest song. A member of Pussy Riots entourage later said that the men told them to shut their mouths and that they sold themselves to the Americans.
Meet the Cossacks handing out vigilante justice in Sochi
21
Feb
2014
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