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Out of sight: Communists stage 1st Sochi protest

By John Pye
Published February 1, 2014 4:23pm ET
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Out of sight: Communists stage 1st Sochi protest
Igor Vasiliyev, head of the local branch of the Communist Party, adjusts his scarf decorated with a hammer and sickle, a symbol of the communist movement, as he leads a protest in the 50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War Park to hold the first official demonstration in the designated Olympic protest area for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The protestors were members of the local branch of the Communist Party demonstrating for government benefits for Russian children of World War II born between 1928 and 1945. (AP Photo/David Goldman) | David Goldman

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — In the shadows of an elevated highway, inside an out-of-the-way park, a hardy band of local Communist Party members staged the first formal protest of the Sochi Olympics.

Miss it? That’s not surprising. About 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the nearest Olympic venue, a handful of curious onlookers, a few mothers pushing young children in carriages, two TV cameras and a sprinkling of uniformed and plain-clothed police were there to witness Igor Vasiliev, leader of Sochi Communist Party Branch, and six supporters stage a peaceful rally on Saturday.

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Olympics Sochi World