Trouble in Paradise The 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi

The vacation spot Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast has been a swimming resort since 1915 and enjoyed great popularity in the Soviet era. With the break up of the Soviet Union and the decline of the Socialist form of tourism, the region plunged into a crisis, from which it has been freeing itself only slowly. The planned holding of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi offers the opportunity for an urgently needed upgrade of infrastructure. But there is a risk of excessive demands. Because of the limits on freedom of the press in Russia, problematic aspects, such as opaque decision making or environmental strains, are hardly discussed in public.