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Aware he speaks languages other than russian. he doesn't like to show that off. he's a nationalist after all, right? but that july in guatemala city vladimir putin was like the rosetta stone. jean claude kealy, the famous french ski champion, he was on the ioc and this is what he told the associated press that summer about what happened with that vote. he basically said the ioc was powerless before putin's charm. "he worked very hard at it. he was nice. he spoke french. he never speaks french. he spoke english. he never speaks english. the putin charisma can explain at least four votes." and i...

In guatemala to make a decision about who would get the winter olympic games in 2014. as you can see, guatemala city is lovely, kcosmopolitan place. the international olympic committee likes to do their selections of cities who get the olympics, they like to do it with as much drama and pomp and circumstance as possible so there was really global focus on the international olympic committee when they convened that july in guatemala city to make their decision about where the winter olympics was going to be in 2014. and the top three contenders were salzburg in austria, pyeongchang in south kor...

But that weird period in olympic history had one legacy for right now that's turning out to be sort of interesting. that -- the moscow olympics, that moscow olympic adventure with that weird international intrigue around it in 1980, that was the last time russia gotten a olympics for a very, very long time. for a generation. fast forward to 2007. july, 2007, the international olympic committee met in this city, in lovely guatemala city in guatemala to make a decision about who would get the winter olympic games in 2014. as you can see, guatemala city is lovely, cosmopolitan place. the internat...

The ioc and this is what he told the associated press that summer about what happened with that vote. he basically said the ioc was powerless before putin's charm. "he worked very hard at it. he was nice. he spoke french. he never speaks french. he spoke english. he never speaks english. the putin charisma can explain at least four votes." and i'm sure the putin charisma is considerable, particularly in kgb-accented french. but putin didn't only rely on hipersonal charisma to get sochi the olympic games, to get it done that year in guatemala city. he also had kind of a trick up his sleeve. he ...