The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay (AFP PHOTO / SOCHI 2014 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE)

En route to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the torch relay through Russia passed members of the Nivkh ethnic group.

Playing kalni pipes, the musicians welcomed the torch to the island of Sakhalin, 4,500 miles east of Moscow. Torchbearers will visit each of Russia’s 83 regions, including the turbulent Caucasus and the European enclave of Kaliningrad.