According to an article from the BBC, the 2014 Olympics in Sochi are creating conflicts in all sectors of the population. From the land owners that are being displaced by contruction of new resorts, to the environmentalists who want to protect the pristine mountainside. There are those who view the expansion of the city as a bad move which will have a negative impact on the residents as well as the land for years to come.
According to a resident of Sochi, who recently lost his home, which has been in his family for four generations, says he finds it hard to imagine Sochi bieng turned into the Russian Riviera. There are many concerns for the residents.
Land had shot up in price around here, he said, after the Olympic bid. But the levels of compensation being proposed by officials do not reflect this. The villagers, he complained, were being robbed. Some say they will refuse to leave; there have already been violent stand-offs with bailiffs.Environmental groups fear that government officials, in their drive to promote Sochi as a jewel of Russia, will compromise the environment.
Dmitry Kaptsov, from local environmental group Ecological Watch, said the promised economic benefits were "fantasy". His organisation has won a number of court cases against developers, and has attracted much international attention and support. Mr Kaptsov insisted that Sochi had the resources to develop economically without the Winter Olympics. Their cost, he said, would be environmental and social damage.Rumors of government corruption and incompetence also abound.
Whatever the real level of corruption, politics in Sochi is far from calm. The local mayor has recently been suddenly dismissed, part of what residents said was a battle for influence and lucrative posts. Sochi, and the wider Krasnodar Region, have promoted themselves as a modern-day Russian success story. And in many respects, they are. The region has high rates of investment, new roads and industries, flourishing agriculture. It is open, hospitable, and incomparable to the troubled republics (Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya) lying just a few hundred kilometres to the east.Whatever the situation in Sochi, plans to expand the city for the 2014 Olympics will move forward. It's still five years away, and a lot can happen, maybe some of these issues can be reconciled.