NPR Story: Are the 2014 Winter Olympics Hurting the Beach Town of Sochi, Russia?

This NPR story sheds light on what exactly is happening to Sochi, Russia as they prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.  Sochi isn’t what we think.  It’s not a ski resort town.  It’s a beach resort town (luckily they’ve stored 450,000 cubic meters of snow for 2014) on the Black Sea that is getting a winter make over for the Olympics.  And an expensive one at that.  Sochi will be the most expensive Olympics in history at $50 billion.

In the process of making Sochi over, it appears the Russians aren’t treating their workers very well.  They don’t appear to be treating the residents very well either.  Workers aren’t being paid and people who were moved to create room for Olympic venues are often not properly compensated:

Read the full NPR story here:  “Despite Critics, Russia Promises a Grand Olympic Spectacle”

“The Human Rights Watch report quoted workers who said employers often withheld their wages, made them work 12-hour days with few days off, and sometimes kept them from leaving by confiscating their passports and documents.” – Corey Flintoff/NPR

“The Olympic venues gobbled up land where people had been living for generations. Many say they haven’t been fairly compensated for the land or the quality of life that they lost.” – Corey Flintoff/NPR

2014 SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS EXPENSES:

– Will be the most expensive Olympics in history at $50 billion

– More than double the cost of the 2012 London Summer Olympics

“Even critics of the government say that the world will get a spectacular show next February, but they say the hidden cost is a story of reckless development and corruption.” – Corey Flintoff/NPR

Read the full NPR story here:  “Despite Critics, Russia Promises a Grand Olympic Spectacle”