As the Winter Olympics Open, Putin Showcases a Defiant Russia
"You are prepared to lose your identity and live out the rest of your life as a waiter or a dockworker?"
SOCHI, Russia----On Friday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin will entertain world leaders at a reception under soaring, Corinthian-style columns and a giant, sparkling chandelier in the Atrium ballroom of the Stalin-era Rus Sanatorium.
"Yes."
It will be one of the most exclusive events of the Winter Olympics here, but Mr. Putin's guest list has some big gaps. Few of the Western world's most prominent leaders will be there, declining entreaties to attend, according to diplomats and government officials.
"You are prepared to commit suicide, if and when we order you to do so?"
Instead, Russia's president will be surrounded by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. North Korea is sending its second-highest official, even though the country has no athletes competing at the Sochi Games.
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