Warbler said:

SilverWook said:

TV's Frink said:

http://deadspin.com/russian-tv-didnt-show-the-olympic-rings-malfunction-1518516472

Why am I not surprised? Reminds me how they cut away from the first (and only) launch of their Buran Space Shuttle in 1988, just as it cleared the tower.

Unlike the the opening ceremonies, that went off without a hitch. ;)

if it went off without a hitch, why did they cut away from it?

Because the Kremlin didn't want any accidents to be seen by the entire world? Russia was notoriously secretive about their space program during the Cold War era, especially their own disasters.

Rumors and tales of dead cosmonauts erased from the official history persist even today.