Tajik Team at Olympics Opening Ceremony Included a Russian “Tourist” · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Following the Olympics opening ceremony, many people in Tajikistan were shocked to find out [ru] that one of the individuals who walked into the ceremony in Sochi alongside Tajik athletes under their nation's flag had little to do with the country. Vladimir Vladimirov, a Russian entrepreneur and member of a municipal assembly, wore the Tajik team's outfit and waved the country's flag as he walked into the stadium where the event was held with an athlete and several officials from Tajikistan.
In an angry outburst on LJ, Icekandar writes [ru]:
Pardon my French, but this is a total f**k-up!!! Letting some foreigner walk with our country's athletes behind our flag is much worse than all that crap that everyone ridicules us for. Only a very miserable country could stoop so low. We always feel insulted when they laugh at us, and when Russian media portray us as uneducated savages. But perhaps we deserve such treatment? Which other country showcases foreign tourists instead of its own athletes at the Olympic Games? Which mother-f**ker gave a Tajikistan team's outfit to this Russian? And why the f**k did this all happen under the president's nose as he waved his hand at our athletes with a happy smile?..