On January 30th, the Institute of Modern Russia presented a mobile website entitled “Sochi 2014: The Reverse Side of the Medal,” (sochi2014.imrussia.org) dedicated to the violations that plagued the preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Russia.
From the moment that Sochi won the Olympic bid in 2007, concerns about the development of this area, spending procedures, and project implementation grew exponentially. It is a known fact that Vladimir Putin considers the Sochi Olympic Games to be the crown jewel of his achievements as a national leader and a strong international player. In a sense, the Sochi Games are Putin’s personal “vanity fair.”
It came as no surprise that billions of dollars were allocated from the state budget to implement this project. The official cost of the Games was formally announced as about $6.7 billion, but various independent sources have indicated that in reality, expenses amounted to $50 billion. And it is no surprise that most of the excessive costs were caused by the mind-bogglingly corrupt practices employed by Putin’s closest friends and loyalists.
Six months before the Games, the Institute of Modern Russia embarked on a research project to study the key issues of the Olympic preparations, such as excessive spending, deadline delays, corrupt practices, and human rights violations. A list of 26 sites associated with Olympic construction was compiled. According to IMR, these sites deserve special attention because of the scale of corruption and the acuteness of other violations related to them. In an effort to raise awareness on these abuses, IMR decided to present the collected data in an unconventional way—as an interactive online guide.
The results of the research are summarized and presented in the form of a mobile website entitled “Sochi 2014: The Reverse Side of the Medal,” which provides an opportunity to explore the reality of the most expensive Olympic Games in history. This site is available in both English and Russian.
