The site of the Winter Olympics, the southern Russian Sochi, is changing before our eyes

Sochi - In the central park of Sochi in southern Russia, Nikolai Biryukov does not hide his satisfaction with the gigantic transformation of this city, which will host the XXII Winter Olympic Games in 100 days - and Biryukov is very proud of it. "Everything has changed, the appearance of the city, the people, and the ambitions," said the gray-haired man who has lived in Sochi for 15 years to the AFP agency.
    After Russia was awarded the right to host the Olympics in this resort on the shores of the Black Sea in 2007, it embarked on a massive project. In terms of sports infrastructure, Sochi was practically pristine.
    The result is evident immediately upon landing at the brand new airport. Five gigantic Olympic rings stand out against the backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains on the terminal. The roads are new as well. Buildings have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. There is still a lively construction boom.
    Without a doubt, the Olympic Park built on the shores of the Black Sea at a site where no buildings previously stood makes the biggest impression. Now there are five ultra-modern sports venues for hockey players, figure skaters, and curlers, surrounding the only unfinished building, the central stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place.
    The apartments for athletes, hotels, and restaurants that have risen here on an area of 256 hectares will be able to accommodate more than 70,000 people. Workers and construction equipment are currently completing the final touches, mainly on roads and green areas.
    Opposite the Olympic Park and near the airport, a new impressively glazed train station has also been built.
    Fifty kilometers away, in the village of Krasnaya Polyana, there is a complex of mountain sports venues where the skiing events will take place. All the Olympic facilities, such as the ski jump and bobsled track, are completed. However, many buildings, especially hotels and other accommodations, are still under construction.
    A new road and a new railway connect the seaside sports venues with the mountain facilities located 50 kilometers away, which are already partially in use, although they are set to be ceremonially opened to the public at the end of the year. They will allow access to the foot of the mountains in just half an hour, while the old road takes two hours.
    The uniqueness of Sochi lies in the fact that it is a compact zone, a connection between the sea and the mountains, all in a small space, explains urban planner Oleg Kozinskiy. "I do not know another place in the world where they have managed to create such a massive sports and urban infrastructure in such a short time," he claims, admitting that this creates problems for the nature surrounding the city of 400,000 inhabitants.
    Residents and environmentalists indeed criticize the significant damage that the construction of 77 bridges and 12 tunnels has inflicted on the environment and ecosystem of the Northern Caucasus. The very rapid urbanization of these areas has created a "understandable social shock," Kozinskiy admits.
    The massive construction work carried out in the name of the Olympics has dealt a serious blow in the eyes of some residents to the resort that was established in Sochi during the Tsarist era at the end of the 19th century, developed further under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, and survived through the rest of the Soviet era.
    "It used to be beautiful here. Sochi was really a spa town and because of that, many people came here," claims eighteen-year-old Mikhail Karamanjan. "But now it is truly terrible. They have turned Sochi into a big city. It used to be much prettier here," he says. Nevertheless, he simultaneously assures his pride that the Olympics will indeed take place in Sochi.