games according to the russian president latina who you are intended to showcase the new post soviet russia to the world and the price tag doesn't seem to matter alexander's two cup is the head of the russian olympic me. soon she has had to start from scratch. we have had to complete all the construction projects in six years including new stadiums roads power stations airports and hotels. in the distance between each stadium is the smallest ever people can get to the stadiums by the seaside in only forty minutes on buses or trains from downtown or more. sixty years the area around the beach town of sochi of assembled a huge construction site. it now boasts new state of the art stadiums roads and hotels providing forty thousand new rooms. this new road and railway through the mountains to the ski resorts across the titanic lost over eight billion dollars one off magazine calculated that for that amount of money the entire load the bases by a layer of black caviar several opposition leaders including anti corruption over a lake scene of bali accused the government of rampant corruption durin

i do not think it is a soviet bloc. -- russia is a major power without question, i do not think it is a soviet bloc. this is a country in the middle and it has to be treated accordingly. if the eu just pushes all of the way, the ukraine, you are hours. >> this is going to come with a price tax. the big question, how likely is a ukraine default? issue wast think the they were really going to default and the absence of a civil war. our assessment was when the the shooting started, it was at least a good time to start stepping in this kelling. -- scaling. we did not predict they would escalate. >> that is somebody else who would know. the debt restructuring committee for greece and played a key role in argentina. hans tribble his state and ukrainian bonds last week -- triple his stake in a ukrainian bonds last week. >> agrees in argentina, unsustainable debt load. the ukraine was purely political. the gdp ratio was 40. this is really a matter of liquidity not solvency. argentina and greece, it was solvency. when you talk but a bailout, it'll be financing. in the case of argentina and gre

he moved the capital to moscow and decided the cultural heart of russia would instead become an industrial center. then, in 1989, the soviet era ended. st. petersburg regained its original name. since then, russia has gone through a wrenching transition from the old communist system to the new free-market enomy. the changes in this city of five million people have affected everyone. the first time i was in st. petersburg was in the late '80s, a few years before the breakup of the soviet union, and i was amazed when i landed at the airport, because as soon as i got in the terminal, i felt that i was in this completely foreign place. i was really an outsider. going back just a few years later, everything seemed to have changed. there were signs welcoming us in english, and it really seemed like st. petersburg once again was reaching out to the outside world. i think the most visible evidence of that really is in the commercial landscape of the city. i noticed in the late '80s, there just weren't goods anywhere. if you did come across anything that you needed to buy, it was probably either in a touristy state store or it was

started when unesco which ditched the eu treaty deal in favor of closer ties with its former soviet master russia. now let's talk about the eu and united states can help ukraine meet its financial obligations over the next three years the average ukrainians going to get rid of corruption and symbols of the old regime ukraine could be making a break with its text links chicken the democrats don't think gold is the longest serving congressman in us history and fifty eight years in office has announced his retirement from the house of representatives often to see it. our single first and to congress to finish his late father's time in nineteen fifty five even before preston brock obama was born in his heyday phd city road shape to make tools for cleaning and rewards of protecting the pages species and provide healthcare for four children expressed disappointment in today's congress. i think in this life time to just enjoy their retirement. you want. woohoo a pillar of wounded. peace and quiet and content. we know and love for so long dingell has sent on to live in preston's i made was to be shown co

in the united states is that russia is an imperial power that russia wants to take over the ukraine and reestablish an reconstitute the soviet union which is of course an absurdity ukraine and russia are economic partners ukraine is integral to the russian energy delivery infrastructure and conversely ukrainian industry is very much dependent upon russian energy and russian investment so all of these nuances to that relationship are of course completely ignored solely for the purposes of making into the bad guy the russians into the big bad former soviet union and making it the responsibility of the west to swoop in on their you know the proverbial white horse and save the ukrainians mark how do you reflect upon what's going on in your head steve. and please do. well what eric says is completely true but then it poses a question everybody has known for decades that ukraine is at least two different countries one leaning toward the west poland in the way one toward russia it's been a ticking political time bomb for decades the question is who provoked this current political civil war in ukraine which may be the most fateful i

russia relations. she said that the offer of financial aid is part of a bigger strategy, to make ukraine part of a collection of nations that were once part of the soviet union with russia in charge. >> it's the biggest country, and without ukraine this project is not going to succeed. and the precaution is to make sure that the there ar are no me inroads to the soviet state. >> the russians see this as a classic geopolitical struggle with the united states. our president and secretary kerry have all said we don't view it like that. which is true, neither do the europeans but in fact, we're in a situation where you have the u.s. and it's allies on one side. russia on the other. >> reporter: a more oppressing concern for russia is whether the movement for democracy in ukraine could inspire russian activists to take to the streets. russia has seen protest movements in the past, and the government has always prevailed but since then moscow worries about ukraine setting a precedence. >> if the ukrainian people succeeded in getting rid of a corrupt democratic leader and having a leader more responsive to the people and more democratically that has direct re

soviet union. he came to the rational view, which i, by the way, think should resonate today as we talk about the future of russiaat the only way the soviet union could survive and become what he called a normal, modern state, was to give up the big , jamaica,e iron fist get a story fairly short -- and to take a complicated story fairly sure, that was true, but the soviet union could not survive without the big lie on the iron fist. and there was the falling out between gerber chuck and yeltsin thomas and yeltsin comes in as an anti-communist, a former communist who was an , and who really did buy into the idea that russia was a great country that could finally manifest its greatness at the end of the 20th century by joining the international community with universally accepted norms, including norms of how to govern your own country. and while i think president clinton has a good deal to be proud of and what he was able to period,sh during that he had a huge advantage that his successors, president bush 43 and barack obama, and probably presidents to come, will not have. and that is that there was not an operati

>> well, if you go back to their history they have been defending this soviet union, russia, ever sincethis is a nice cudgel with which to attack the united states. its idea is to expose it as hypocritical, maybe not a belief in putinism. after all, who can actually believe in that kind of thuggish upset, a guy who dismantles the very idea of democracy, the rubber stamp parliament, there is no democracy there, it is a one-man rule. so who would want to defend that? for example, putting people in jail if they say nice things about homosexuality. so why if you were a man or woman of the left would you defend it? it seems to me, the only plausible reason might be, and here i have to play psychiatrist because you're forcing me into this, as a way to sort of expose the west for its hypocrisy. >> you like putin, you like the united states less than you like putin. it was interesting in the article that ukraine right now is trying to get more freedom. i mean, they don't like the -- putin's heel on their neck. but cohen says that we are undermining a quote, democratically elected government in

. >> and they also, do they also look at the soviet -- at russia, former soviet union, and are they concernedreedom of expression and free speech? >> i think that they are. and i think that they have learned from the experience of 2004, when there was a chance for a break from the past, and now there is widespread and shared disgust with the corruption across the board, different political parties and hopefully now 10 years later, the opposition and the public can seize the opportunity that they have now to move in a better direction. >> does the country have to clean house to get rid of that corruption? >> country is going to have to take a lot of movers. you know, one of the things that has really driven ukraine's interest in moving west is looking at the example of its neighbor to the west, poland. at the time of the transitions in 1989, poland and ukraine had almost the same gdps, in fact ukraine's was higher. and now 20 years later, poland's gdp is almost three times that of ukraine which is a smaller country and that's because of the decision, the hard decisions that poland took to buil

russia, freedom of speech is nonexistent. where peaceful protest is met with police brutality, where being gay is a crime. the political crackdown led by putin himself is the worst in the country's post soviet no politics or real discussion of views. almost two years ago, pussy riot sang a song of protest against putin. it landed the band in prison for 22 months. they're in new york this week on a human rights tour. appearing on the kolbert report last night, they reminded america of their distaste for the guy in charge. >> what do you have against vladimir putin? >> we have different ideas about a bright future, and we don't want a shirtless man on a horse leading us. [ applause ] >> vladimir and i get together shirtless and go hunting all the time. sometimes we don't even get around to the hunting. >> you should take some handsome boys with you. >> this is shirtless vladimir putin on a horse. it's a reminder of his arrogance and the audacity to which putin has conducted himself in russia and on the world stage. the only problem with laughter is it masks fear. as gays and lesbians and journalists and activists can tell you, vladimir putin is a very, very scary man. that is all for now. "th

soviet union. he came to the rational view, which i, by the way, think should resonate today as we talk about the future of russiaat the only way the soviet union could survive and become what he called a normal, modern state, was to give up the big , jamaica,e iron fist get a story fairly short -- and to take a complicated story fairly sure, that was true, but the soviet union could not survive without the big lie on the iron fist. and there was the falling out between gerber chuck and yeltsin thomas and yeltsin comes in as an anti-communist, a former communist who was an , and who really did buy into the idea that russia was a great country that could finally manifest its greatness at the end of the 20th century by joining the international community with universally accepted norms, including norms of how to govern your own country. and while i think president clinton has a good deal to be proud of and what he was able to period,sh during that he had a huge advantage that his successors, president bush 43 and barack obama, and probably presidents to come, will not have. and that is that there was not an operati

confrontation. >> it is so reminiscent of the battle days and the collapse of the soviet union and president putin of russiating like the old soviet leaders. and giving signals and egging on the ukranian president to crack down on protestors and he knows that the ukraenians don't want police firing on ukranians. russians pushing to be more aggressive, and the united states until recently completely uninterested this this situation or crisis that was obvious when i was there back in the fall, and now we have the mess and the crisis and the deaths and sufferings that you pointed out and our viewers are now seeing. >> when you were there in the fall was there a fear it could get to this? >> absolutely. there was great concern that the european union and the united states was uninterested in russia's aggressive tactics to them. the russians wanted them not to sign the european trade agreements that would have brought them closer to russia. the russians said no, join our customs union. they cooperate join both. russians put on the pressure, and the ukranians basically gave in and now the americans are creaming t

of the nine judges, four are from former soviet bloc nations. russia, ukraine, estonia and slovakia, and heading up the technical panel in charge of scoring spins and jumps, the vice president of the russian figure skating committee. how is it possible that the technical controller is the vice president of the russian skating federation? >> this sport is full of conflicts of interest, and every four years it bubbles to the surface and everyone is just shocked at what they see. but this is business as usual for figure skating. >> reporter: from controversy in one rink to agony in another. the u.s. men's hockey team dreams of gold dashed by the canada's hockey team. canada edging out the u.s. women yesterday. watch this gut-wrencher. a lucky shot that sends the puck skittering towards an empty net and a u.s. victory, but no, it bounces off a post. >> half an inch one way, maybe this would be a different story. >> reporter: but a silver lining on the slopes tonight with a golden outcome for the u.s. 18-year-old american mikaela shiffrin, one of the few ph

but also russia had suffered a disgrace during the 1980 boycott of the soviet olympics. >> right. , that 1980 is when the u.s. boycotted the games. they were in russia and it was kind of half olympics because the u.s. wasn't there and it's sort of an asterisk next to those. >> right, and the u.s. and several other countries -- >> right. >> -- i believe boycotted the olympics in response to russia's invading afghanistan. this was russia's answer to everything. through the humiliation the soviet union suffered. the 1980s. the mess of the 199 0s. now vladimir putin resurrected russia and almost restored the soviet union and finally held the olympics and everybody came. >> jeff, you write about gay life in russia at this moment. when you went to russia to do this reporting, what were your expectations and what surprised you about what you found about the reality of gay life there right now under putin? >> i think what was really surprising was the pervasiveness of the fear and the perversity of the law, gay propaganda law. you know, one of the items in the law is this idea that same-se

to the gold that they'd already won in the two man competition that was russia's first pope's leggo since the fall of the soviet union they very quickly added that second elsewhere today there was a first for russia at these games they secured a one two three gold silver and bronze they completed the podium in the men's cross country skiing in the fifty k. must start alexander left called finishing faster more proved to be another thrilling climax so let's see what all of that has done to the medals table as you say russia outright lead is the talk the hosts ladies that best display since the fall of the soviet union an even more surprising turnaround is four years ago russia put in one of their worst ever displays winning only three golds but it seems that the investment in coaching and facilities in the last four years has paid off thirteen gold medals now on thirty three. but of course that is a fine line between success and failure and a fine line between a joy and despair my colleague andre fama now takes a look at the highs and lows of such a twenty four team. the longest of the tool sri lanka igniting th

if there is any conflict in the former soviet union in russia or in belarus or in armenia and there may be a lot more conflicts who will view the e.u. and the united states as arbiters a centimeter eous this is awful and i would say that coups are not a new thing in the former soviet union they have been happening since one thousand nine hundred one and even before but the problem was that before the united states in the you were never very quick in supporting coups ok he. was toppled in one thousand nine hundred one. you know was toppled in a zero by two hours later all was the united states and europe always took a somewhat detached attitude they've waited for a few days they never said that we're happy about what happened and here they guaranteed a game going hungry again here we're going to when you're going to go to a short break and after that we'll continue our discussion on ukraine stayed with r.t. . leave immediately. i. fly a transit route to vnukovo report your best way to the heart of moscow. the comments which we hear from the readers and radicals they sound like ukrainian

but it's very important to russia, because before the soviet union broke up, ukraine produced about aer of all agricultural products for russia. that's why russia doesn't want to see this go the way of the e.u. and other people who want to see ukraine more independent do. wolf? >> good explanation, tom. thanks very, very much. >>> up next, what are the republican candidates in texas doing on this day after reports of ted nugent's controversial comments coming to light? >>> and later, works of art looted by the nazis. george clooney and matt damon bringing the story to the big screen. we'll talk to the man who specializes in recovering stolen art. >> so you can have a getaway from what you know. so you can be surprised by what you don't. get two times the points on travel and dining at restaurants from chase sapphire preferred. so you can taste something that wakes up your soul. chase sapphire preferred. so you can. yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm lo

. >> a few hundred feet behind her, the pro soviet camp outside of russia. >> to that russia that is only 20 miles away. a former city official, his entire life he looks east with price. pride, now he can't bear to look across the street where people have taken over a building where he worked. if you crane is going to unite, it must overcome those that look east and those that look west, that bridge will need to be built. they say that ukraine is a bridge from east to west, and this is a bridge within ukraine, from the western ukraine that looks to europe, and an eastern ukraine that still looks toward russia. >> how does it feel to you on the ground? does it feel like the people are coming together? >> there's about a few dozen also to my left throughout this day. we have been harassed. a lot of journalists are here, and a lot of beam that are pro russian are saying that the journalists are redding lies that they are encaging the protestors that have taken over the administration building. at the same time, no one is going beyond that, no one is going beyond that harassment. but we

russia. if ukraine is not in europe right now what continent is it on? >> well, it's part of eurasia but part of eastern europe and the former soviet bloc. basically robin to russia's batman. and the challenge here, the challenge here is to try to attract it to the west, to get it to flip sides. >> so the rebels in the streets what are they fighting for. >> they're fighting for a better future. >> stephen: that sounds leak a political speech, what really -- >> countries have to develop over time. and ukraine basically after the end of the soviet union faced two tracks, it could stay as a stagnant, corrupt, authoritarian country tied to russia or it could essentially join the west. it commod earnize, liberalize, become a democracy. at the last minute when it looked like it was going to trade up permits, abusive relationship with its boyfriend from the hood to a nice upie-- . >> stephen: you're not loading these choices in anyway whatsoever. >> it's actually truth. when it looked like it would trade up to a better environment, at the last minute putin offered a bribe. >> stephen: how much. >> $15 billion. >> stephen: that's a lot of cash.

the russia of today different from the soviet union of yesterday. how does the country now view that withdrawal 25 years ago. well, most of the russian public most likely does not remember or tries not to remember this day. it does not see something by most russians, not a day that we should be proud about. this is a very important date for the veterans of that war, and there are many present in russia. but more or less the public ignores that war, and what happened afterwards. >> now, there are some parallels between what happened 25 years ago and today. after the soviet forces withdrew, afghanistan fell into chaos this year. we are about to see u.s. forces stand down. the security situation unstable in afghanistan. are we about to see the country fall back into the same chaos we saw 25 years ago. that's what many or most observers here in moscow and specialists believe might happen. there's a fear that, yes, afghanistan will again form into chaos, it may fall into the hands of radical jihadists. of course, there is some comfort by - for some russi

there is just so much we can do to get involved in the post-soviet state and russia's neighbors but there's a limit to that because many other foreign policy priorities and in the bush administration at one point, the bush administration wanted nato membership for

russia and its leader were now lean and mean. the sporting extension of politics. different perhaps from the old soviet days when the country was a major sports player that used the olympics as a propaganda tool but not that different. sochi's message is that russia is back. but there are risks. >> they have exposed russian corruption. they have focused international attention on russia's disciminatory ways against gays. >> russia and its leader will be perceived around the world by how thes >>> some high clouds now streaming across our skies, maybe not too long and we're talking about a little rain. but for today, just some high

russia. expulsions of entire populations by the government. first the russian empire then the soviet union then russia today after the cold war. again and again, atrocities and violence and opresentations. we have a long history of vial frenches the state and resistance against the state in this area. not just in chechnya which a lot of people have heard about. and a lot of anger against russia. for some very good reasons. are these ethnic hatreds. different communities? >> so a lot of the news articles you are seeing about this focus on jihaddism and that jihaddism is a terrorist threat. but there is a deeper source of the anger. jihaddism came in after the first and second chechen war as a fuel to the fire. but the fire was there beforehand. chechnya tried to become independent. the russians destroyed grozny and killed an enormous at of chechens during the fight and this radicalized people and led them to jihaddism. but there is a huge ethnic and nationalist component here which is the seed bed for this anger. and if you look at where terrorism has been happening in russia, the sta

russia. the 2107, really the people's car of the former soviet union. 1.6 liter engine.his car was everywhere in the '70s in the soviet union. you still see a bunch here. this is the 2 x 2 model. the niva is the 4 x 4 version. that's the base model built in the '70s. the owner of this one got ahold of it and tricked it out with big tires and has a carburetor stack on the right-hand side. he's very proud of this version. one of the cool offroad cars here in sochi. i like it. he's got the aftermarket steering wheel. you can see it's a very basic interior. this car was built in the '70s in the former soviet union but they have tricked this out to really make it more appropriate for modern day russia. then one step up from that would be this. this is known as a wazik. they make brands like vans. this is a true 4 x 4. nowhere in the united states. then you probably remember the images of the russian diplomat, they were probably in this. this is an upper class car, four door, bigger engine, slightly more amenities. you can see not much in the styling but if you were anybody ba

really russia is the soviet union 2.0. >> go ahead, john. >> if you're against this, then you should have advocated for its converse, for americanism, for its liberty. they used to say, many russians used to joke that america's streeteds were paved with gold. they weren't actually paved with gold but we had those ideas of real capitalism, not cronyism like in russia. individual liberty and rights. that's what makes us a super power and the only thing that will keep us as a super power. >> there's a shortage of pillows in sochi. in america that wouldn't have happen. capitalism is so strong that if we were holding it in salt lake city and there was a shortage of pillows, there would be a mi million pillows the next day. >> there's no free market under the totalitarian government. by the way, we've got to be careful because that's occurring more and more in this country. we're tending more and more to a fascist economy where the government and private sector are getting hands and hands together where you can't necessary will have a competitive market. competition is what makes the free

so certainly russia has been having this very wrenching internal discussion since the collapse of the soviet union about what it means to be a vush shan citizens and russia's role in the world. but i don't think it's unique today. i think few people have more at stake and will qualify to talk about the russian neighbors from kazakhstan. which i have to say uniquely successful in maintaining their independence and their tsh they need to make a choice between russian and europe. >> thank you for joining us. thank you very much for giving the floor up. actually, i agree with dimitri saying we lack optimism here. listening to the pentations i think we have a gloomy picture of what is happening bilateral relations and about the olympics. i would actually turn this around and say why don't we think in a positive way? why don't we have positive ideas to work on and incorporate them? because just take the example of kazakhstan. i remember the first years of our independence when all the experts were saying that kazakhstan is the least of the country of the former soviet union which could survive. we

connection between the fate of the post-soviet order in ukraine and the strength of the post-soviet order in russia itself. this is vital to the kremlin. even a lot of the kremlin's opponents fear that if ukraine leaves russia's other, that ukraine becomes a more asiatic or european country. it's course and future development as possible. >> james sher thank you very much for speaking to us. he is an associate professor of russia and eurasian studies. >>> road bhoks in several advertise, rubbish disrupted many cities, 11 people have been killed in two weeks of protest over fuel and food shortages and high crime. for more we're joined by daniel shiner. how bad are things today? good it's a great day of tension today. as you mentioned these roadblocks in caracas and other cities, a move by the opposition, to let the government know, the people know that they're still there. there was no violence surrounding these roadblocks and traffic is again moving in most areas but i think it's a sign of the tension we're seeing here. a short while ago we spoke to lillian the wife of the opposition leaders leopol

agreements after the soviet union broke up about what russia's role would be in the ukraine. line there. >> a this information and weighing it. my friends on "the five" are going to take you through that and what the president of the united states does on this. that's up next. >>> this is a fox news alert. breaking news in washington where president obama is about to address the crisis in ukraine. ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych surfaced today after a week on the run. we're going to go to wendell goler at the white house with the latest. bring us up to speed, please. all right. do we have wendell? wendell, can you hear us? >> i can hear you now. >> thank you. bring us up to speed, wendell. >> the announcement came down maybe 15, 20 minutes ago, the president would speak to us here in the white house briefing room. it came after ukraine's u.n.

he populated that area forcibly with russians so he could claim it was part of russia or soviet spaceer, vladmir putin, the president of russia, former kbg guy, he lamented, liz, the downfall of soviet union and loss of ukraine and baltic regions there. is concerns if he could invade here he plight invade other parts of the old soviet union which are now independent like the baltics. liz we have waiting but we understand that the ambassador to the u.n. will be speaking momentarily. the president of the united states will trump him. we'll get everybody's comments to you. stunning developments in crimea, just in the southern part of ukraine where all kinds of military aircraft have been landing and they are russian. david: gerri willis will take you right to the president. stay with us. .. dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities >> horsehide, bullet. right where it needs to be. coach calls it logistics. he's a great passer. dependable. a winning team has to hav

president turned away a trade deal with the european union and accepted a bailout from russia, their former soviet ruler. the international community is condemning the violence. european politicians are meeting to discuss sanctions. president obama is considering steps that would cut off military relations between the u.s. and the ukraine. as politicians try to work out a truce, the interior ministry says protesters have captured about 70 police officers during violent clashes. back to you. . >> a diplomat says the ex-u's foreign ministers have decided today toim pose sanctions against officials in ukraine who are held responsible for the violence there including a travel ban to the 28 nation bloc and freezing the officials assetses in the eu countries. >>> a new shoe bomb warning has airlines on alert. u.s. intelligence officials say terror groups have been chatting lately about possible new designs for a shoe bomb. they're warning airlines with international flights now sphru. to europe to be vigilant. the department of homeland security says at this point there is no specific threat. >>> new de

soviet union collapsed. >> host: if your view of foreign-policy is the view of henry kissinger and brent -- he referred to henry kissinger and brent scowcroft in your book then perhaps a more bold partnership with russia after all the united states certainly does not share the views of saudi arabia but saudi arabia is considered one of america's closest allies. i was warned in the soviet union and i remembered vividly in 1959 i was still quite small but i remember on russian tv i saw vice president richard nixon appearing with nikita khrushchev the soviet leader at the first american exhibition in moscow and there were very interesting exchanges between khrushchev and nixon. nixon said to khrushchev at that time he said mr. prime minister i understand that you believe that americans are going to live under communism and that is what khrushchev had stated. he said this is fine as long as you accept that you have your system, we have our system and we don't have a right to change them by force of coercion. you are aware and 2013 sometimes you get an impression that the american position is that they are not under good relations. it would actually require other countries to move closer to our political s