ABOVE: Journalists and athletes are now arriving in Sochi – and have discovered the accommodations are somewhat less than luxury. Here are some of the funniest tweets and photos.
TORONTO – As athletes around the world continue to arrive in Sochi ahead of the 2014 Olympics, the criticism around some of Russia’s strict rules continues.
We take a look some things that aren’t allowed—and are—during the Winter Games.
WHAT ISN’T ALLOWED:
Gay rights.
Despite seven months of international outcry, Russia’s law restricting gay-rights activity remains in place.
READ MORE: Protests over Russia’s anti-gay law focus on IOC, Olympic sponsors
Over the past two weeks, two major sponsors, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, have seen some of their Sochi-related social media campaigns commandeered by gay-rights supporters who want the companies to condemn the law.
READ MORE: Rights group releases video of Russia anti-gay attacks ahead of Sochi
Several activists plan to travel to Sochi, hoping to team up with sympathetic athletes to protest the law while in the Olympic spotlight.
Doing anything unusual with a toilet.
If you have the need to puke, squat or fish, you better leave that toilet alone.
Earlier this week, Canadian snowboarder Sebastien Toutant shared a bizarre chart showing what he said were “Sochi rules in the bathroom”:
WHAT IS ALLOWED:
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The slaughter of stray dogs:
A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years told The Associated Press on Monday that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.
READ MORE: Sochi city hall orders killing of stray dogs
Alexei Sorokin, director general of pest control firm Basya Services, said his company is involved in what he described as the “catching and disposing” of dogs. Sorokin refused to specify whether they shoot or poison dogs or say where they take the carcasses.
Sorokin says his company is doing an important job because thousands of stray dogs are roaming the streets of Sochi, some of them “biting children.”
The stroking of leopards (if you want to win over the IOC and you’re Vladimir Putin):
Basking in the glow of support from International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began his stay at the Sochi Games by promoting a cuddly image, visiting a group of endangered Persian leopard cubs born last summer in the mountains above the Black Sea resort.
READ MORE: Putin strokes leopard, wins IOC support
Putin entered the cage and petted the leopard on the head. “We liked each other,” he said.
WHAT IS SORT OF ALLOWED:
On Feb. 4, Putin rescinded a blanket ban on demonstrations in and around the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi.
Putin last year ordered a ban on any demonstrations in Sochi not connected with the Games from Jan. 7 to March 21. The move was widely criticized by human rights organizations.
READ MORE: Putin backs off blanket ban on Sochi demonstrations during Olympics period
According to the New York Times, however, any demonstrations will require approval in advance from the authorities.
And on Saturday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to indicate that protests would be allowed only in one place.
“The organizers of the Olympic Games together with the leaders of the Krasnodar Region and Sochi City Hall have been ordered by the president to choose a square in the city where rallies, demonstrations and other events – including of a protest character where necessary – could be held freely,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the R-Sport news agency.
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