Images show Sochi’s race against the clock ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics

Despite Russia's $50bn investment, the Games could still be an embarrassing flop

Russian President Vladimir Putin has staked his personal and political prestige on February’s Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi, yet despite the $50bn price tag, the Games could still be an embarrassing flop.

If all goes to plan, the costliest Games in history will be a showcase for Russia’s achievements under Mr Putin, the vindication of a six-year vanity project on a truly Soviet scale.

But his dream could yet be shattered – if venues on the subtropical Black Sea are not ready on time; if protests break out over a new Russian law that critics say targets gay rights; if Chechen or other Islamist militants attack the Games.

Four months before the Games open on 7 February, cranes still tower over muddy construction sites, freshly laid pipes lie exposed to the weather and walkways are churned up around them. At ski resorts above the seaside city, huge segments of metal piping and cable lie strewn around near hotels.

The blow to Mr Putin’s pride and political standing would be immense if the Games fail because he has invested so much personally in what some see as the folly of turning a palm-lined summer beach resort into a 21st-century winter sports hub.

“He considers this project his baby,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee.

Reuters