Olympic Flame Arrives At The Kremlin, Promptly Extinguishes Itself
Moscow celebrated the arrival of the Olympic flame today. It did not go as planned.
The Olympic flame traveled to Moscow today, as Russia gets ready to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February. It had its own seat on the airplane.
Via 1tv.ru
Dmitry Kozak, a deputy prime minister, carried the flame from the plane. He didn't make any more comments about Russia's anti-gay law.
Via 1tv.ru
The flame got a military welcome.
Via 1tv.ru
And a motorcade comprising dozens of motorcycles.
Via 1tv.ru
Really, dozens of motorcycles.
Via 1tv.ru
Vladimir Putin walked solemnly to meet the flame on Red Square.
Via 1tv.ru
"It is natural that sport is so loved in Russia and that it values everything that is connected to it," Putin said.
Via 1tv.ru
"Til we meet in Sochi," he said, with verve.
Via 1tv.ru
Then the flame was carried down Red Square to inside the Kremlin's walls.
Via 1tv.ru
And then everything went wrong:
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Miriam Elder is a political reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York. Her secure PGP fingerprint is 5B5F EC17 C20B C11F 226D 3EBE 6205 F92F AC14 DCB1
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