09.10 Pro-Kremlin Movement Slams Olympic Torch Snags
MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) A pro-Kremlin movement criticized the Russian organizers of the upcoming Winter Games late Tuesday, and called for a criminal investigation into the unreliability of the Siberian-made Olympic torch that has repeatedly gone out during the opening stages of a nationwide relay.
The assurances of the organizers, [who say] that it is an ordinary situation when the flame is not lit, are unconvincing, said Mikhail Starshinov, a State Duma Deputy and senior member of the Peoples Front movement, which is headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Any normal person would have several questions. Why were 16,000 torches made? How much does each torch cost? Is this price reasonable? And, finally, why do they work badly?
The Olympic torch first went out Sunday as it was being carried through the Kremlin, moments after the relay was officially launched by Putin in a televised ceremony on Red Square. The flame was re-lit by a nearby official with a cigarette lighter.
