There is a synonym for the Sochi Winter Olympics: Russian President Vladimir Putin's games. The Russian president sees in the games, which are the most expensive in history at $51 billion, an excellent chance to send a strong message to the world that Russia is such a great power that it can hold the Winter Olympics in the country's unofficial summer capital.
Additionally, we must remember that over the last three years, masses of Russians protested against their president. Putin lost much of his popularity at home. He wants to take advantage of the Sochi Olympics to show his nation that only he is capable of undertaking such a big and complicated project for Russia's prestige -- and if possible -- for that of its president as well.
Originally, in 2007, when they won the bid for the games, they spoke of an $11.7 billion budget, only a bit higher (by $2 billion) than the games in London. But in Russia, in Czar Putin's kingdom, anything is possible. By 2010 the budget was already $30.6 billion. As Putin visited Sochi this month to personally oversee preparations, it climbed to $50 billion.
According to reports from the first journalists to arrive in Sochi, the condition of the hotel rooms, the color of the water and the number of toilets in the bathroom stalls give the impression that a few billion dollars disappeared on their way to the games. But usually, once the games start, everything becomes as clear as the snow.
There's no doubt that for the next 17 days the world will watch as 2,501 athletes (2,500 plus Putin) compete for the gold. Putin cannot allow himself to get any other medal. Fifty billion dollars is worth gold, isn't it?
Meanwhile, in the Caucasus, there are those who want to ruin Putin's spectacle. The two recent bombings in Volgograd set off the warning bells in Moscow. A terror attack could rob Putin of his gold medal. We wish Putin -- for the sake of the games -- victory!
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו