By Nick Butler

Russia will ban protests and introduce controlled and forbidden zones during the Winter Olympics in Sochi next yearOctober 2 - Russian authorities will limit public demonstrations and reduce access to several territories around Sochi in order to ensure security before and at the Winter Olympic Games, an official with the Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed today.


Alexei Lavrishchev, the FSB official dealing with Sochi security, has described "control zones in and around Sochi which will require tickets and ID", as well as "forbidden zones which will be accessible only to people and vehicles with some work-related connection to the area".

Lavrishchev outlined how the controlled zones will include Olympic venues and infrastructure, such as the coastal Olympic Park and the mountain cluster of skiing facilities, as well as transport hubs, including air, sea and rail.

The forbidden zones, meanwhile, are to include parts of the border area separating Russia from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia - very near the coastal facilities - as well as parts of the environmentally protected Sochi National Park.

Although the Games will commence on February 7 these restrictions are due to come into operation on January 7 and continue through to March 21.

The latest measures will add to an already strong security presence around Sochi before and during next Februarys eventThe latest measures will add to an already strong security presence around Sochi before and during next February's event




Over the same period Lavrishchev also conceded that there would be restrictions on protests and demonstrations.

He insisted that they will be introduced in order to prevent riots among locals such as those which marred the Confederations Cup in Brazil where hundreds of arrests were made following accusations of perceived Government misspending.

The call from the Chechen militant leader, from the group who claimed responsibility for suicide bombings on the Moscow metro in 2010 and at Domodedovo airport in 2011, for Islamist fighters to target the Olympics in July is likely to have prompted these measures.

It is possible however that some will construe them also a reaction to recent Russian anti-gay rights legislation outlawing the promotion of "non-traditional" sexual relations among children which has prompted mass opposition and planned protests.

Protests against Russia's anti-gay laws are likely to be curtailed by the new security measures announced today for Sochi 2014Protests against Russia's anti-gay laws are likely to be curtailed by the new security measures announced today for Sochi 2014

Lavrishchev has also downplayed the nature of the counter-measures and insisted that "the city of Sochi will not be like a concentration camp".

"For comparison, take the most recent Olympics in London where there were anti-aircraft missiles and snipers on the rooftops," he said.

"The streets and public areas were crammed with surveillance cameras, even, excuse me, in toilet cubicles - we won't do that either." 

He described how, instead, Russia's security will be "invisible", and that daily life inside the zones will be "no different from normal."

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