“Everything’s for fucking sale.”
Secret Sochi
Sochi has become Russia’s second capital. In the balmy seaside resort built by Stalin, Vladimir Putin can escape Moscow’s maddening crowds, swimming in the Black Sea, meeting a world leader and hitting the slopes all on the same day. This blog, which first appeared on Medium, looks at the changes Sochi experienced in the run-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Olympic Land Grab
Officials in Sochi introduce a new Olympic discipline.
Skating in a Swamp
The Olympic Park has sprouted up on a drained wetland that until a few years ago was a state farm.
The Pearl of Sochi
Fleecing tourists is the name of the game.
At Putin’s Dacha
Putin’s love of Sochi is the sole reason that Russia’s only subtropical city will host the Winter Olympics.
Russian Riviera
Sochi was just a provincial backwater when I first visited.
