At the start of this year, Russia —a country that had recently banned gay “propaganda,” harassed and imprisoned political dissidents, and was run by a man who appealed to imperialist traditions and fear of foreigners —turned a seaside summer resort not far from a hotbed of separatist and terrorist activity into an impregnable military zone, and hosted the Olympic Games.

What We Saw

In 2014, we saw things we've never seen before — things we were never intended to see, things we didn't want to se...