Oliver Stone - The Putin Interviews

VP:You know, when we were preparing the Olympic project in Sochi, we had in mind turning Sochi into a sort of all-season resort. A resort at the international level. And when we first announced that, there were many who were skeptical, who were saying that this wasn’t possible. The transport infrastructure was not ready, they said, the energy infrastructure neither. The environmental considerations were also cited, the sewage system, there were not enough hotels. I’m not even talking about the sport infrastructure that back then didn’t exist there at all. And right now it is an all-season resort. In the winter you can go skiing and you can stay in a hotel on the coast at the seaside because there is a high-speed railroad connecting the mountain cluster and the seaside. There are two automobile routes and it takes around 20-30 minutes. And indeed Sochi has either turned or is now turning into a very good all-season resort at the international level.

OS:Would you live there, if you get to retire in peace?

VP:No, too hot.

OS:They say Russia spent $51 billion—is that right?

VP:I don’t want to give you the wrong number right now—I’ll tell you later. The question is about where the money went. We have built two gas pipelines—one under the sea and the other one through the mountainside. We have built a power plant and a sub-power plant. We’ve built bridges and tunnels, highways through the mountainside and a railroad circling Sochi, and 40,000 new hotel rooms.

OS:Your critics say that a lot of that money went to your friends—oligarch friends.

VP:[laughter] That’s absurd—it’s nonsense. Everything was decided on the basis of merit. And much of this money went to foreign companies which were contractors and they earned more than 1 billion US dollars. In some places we had international teams building tunnels, we had specialists working with us from Canada.

OS:Your defenders say that $44 billion of the $51 billion went to infrastructure. [142] Claim: Oliver Stone asks for confirmation whether Russia spent $51 billion to prepare for the Sochi Olympics. Putin replies that he doesn’t want to give the wrong number, and would tell him later. Supporting: According to the Washington Post , the consensus figure is $50 billion, with qualifications. See, “Did the Winter Olympics in Sochi really cost $50 billion? A closer look at that figure,” Paul Farhi, the Washington Post (February 10, 2014). Retrieved at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/did-the-winter-olympics-in-sochi-really-cost-50-billion-a-closer-look-at-that-figure/2014/02/10/a29e37b4-9260-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html

VP:I don’t remember the exact number or the exact figure, but probably that’s the case.

OS:Okay, we’re landing, but in Sochi you must have some kind of movie theater or screening room. I would like to show you at least 20 minutes of the film Dr. Strangelove .

VP:We will find one.

OS:It’s important for my film because you have talked about this idea of a nuclear hot war. And I’d love to see your reactions to the war room scenes, which are funny. I know you say you don’t have time for movies, but please.

VP:Let me give some thought to a place and time. How long are you going to stay in Sochi?

OS:Well, it depends—until Friday at least.

VP:Do you play hockey?

OS:I don’t play, but we’re filming you. My wife is here too.

[The plane lands.]

OS:Are you okay, Dmitry? [laughter] This is a very funny scene—the press secretary holding the boom.

VP:Yes, from time to time he has to work too.

OS:I saw Mr. Gorbachev was there today. You didn’t stop and say hello. [laughter]

VP:Yes, protocol invites him to official ceremonies.

OS:I know, but I’m saying you did not stop on your way out to say hello.

VP:I didn’t notice he was there. I didn’t see him. Where did he sit?

OS:In the stands—he was right there. You didn’t know he was there? You never see him?

VP:I received him in the Kremlin in my working cabinet.

OS:Many years ago…

VP:Several years ago.

OS:Well, I just think if you liked him you would have stopped to say hi—“Hello Gorby!”

VP:I saw him at a recent event organized by our media.

OS:Did you say hello?

VP:Certainly.

OS:First?

VP:No.

OS:[laughter]

VP:I do not have any prejudices. Gorbachev had very bad relations with the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.

OS:Yes, I know.

VP:But our history is not overshadowed by that. And I met him and I have no problem with him.

OS:But he certainly supports you on the NATO issue.

VP:Yes, NATO, and also on the Crimean issue as far as I understand it. There was a time when he supported the opposition, but he has an opinion of his own and in some things we see eye to eye, in others we don’t. As former president he enjoys the protection of the Federal Protection Service.

OS:That’s nice. I would imagine you protected Yeltsin too.

VP:Yes, certainly. We have a law and certainly we stick to that law.

OS:Maybe next time succession.

VP:Good.

OS:[laughter] Okay, thank you very much.

OS:Well, that was a nice game.

VP:We could have done better, but it’s okay. For me, without a warm-up, that wasn’t very good.

OS:You fell down one time—you were tired?

VP:I just stumbled.

OS:You started playing hockey at 40?

VP:No, two, three years ago.

OS:Three years ago? Really? At age 50?

VP:60.

OS:[laughs] I keep thinking you’re 53 instead of 63. That’s cool. Wow.

VP:I couldn’t skate before that.

OS:I know, I heard that. Skiing too.

VP:And that’s very interesting—it’s always interesting to learn something new.

OS:What’s next at the age of 70?

VP:I don’t know. Bush Sr. went skydiving.

OS:Have you done deep-sea diving?

VP:I’ve done that already. I can’t say that I liked it all, but it was very interesting.

OS:Well, they didn’t hit you too hard—I didn’t expect them to. I mean, you get checked and you could easily break a bone, right?

VP:Well, sometimes that happens, but that’s sport. I played Judo all my life and didn’t have any injuries.

OS:But these are hard hits, these are like football. What if one of the men on the team, on either side, admitted in Russia that he was gay? Would you keep it quiet?

VP:[laughs] I’m fed up with all of that talk about homosexuals and lesbians. There’s one thing I’d like to tell you. We don’t have any restrictions, any persecutions based on gender. We simply don’t have these restrictions in Russia. Moreover, there are many people who have proclaimed their nontraditional sexual orientation and we’ve maintained relationships with them—many of them have achieved prominent results in their fields of activities. They’ve even been awarded state awards for the success they’ve achieved. There are no restrictions whatsoever. This is just a myth that has been devised, saying that in Russia there are persecutions against sexual minorities.