AP PHOTOS: A decade ago, the Sochi Olympics saw Russia’s soft power collide with hard realities
AP PHOTOS: A decade ago, the Sochi Olympics saw Russia’s soft power collide with hard realities
FILE - Artists perform at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, watches downhill ski competition of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Roza Khutor mountain district near Sochi, Russia, as Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko stands behind him on March 8, 2014. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Bobsledder Alexander Zubkov carries the Russian flag next to model Irina Shayk holding the country’s identification sign at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The Sochi Olympics were a pet project of President Vladimir Putin as he sought to project Russia’s global clout, boost its prestige and impress the world. But the Kremlin’s attempt at soft power soon collided with hard realities. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Fireworks explode over Olympic Park at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE - Russian families gather and wave the flag during the national anthem as they watch the telecast of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort of Sochi, where most facilities, including 11 sports venues, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure for athletes and spectators. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - A police officer detains a gay rights activist in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. Police quickly detained LGBTQ+ activists who waved rainbow flags on Red Square, according to Russian news reports. Even before the Sochi Olympics, President Vladimir Putin had set the country on an increasingly repressive and isolationist course, intensifying a crackdown on opposition activists, stigmatizing civil society groups as “foreign agents,” and approving laws that curtailed LGBTQ+ rights and banned adoption of Russian children by U.S. parents. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)
FILE - Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 18, 2014. Thousands of police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked an opposition camp that was the center of nearly three months of anti-government demonstrations that played out as Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at an Olympic reception in Sochi, Russia on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Despite the costly effort by the Kremlin to make the Sochi Games a symbol of Russia’s power and prestige, global attention soon focused on clashes between police and protesters who rallied against Ukraine’s Moscow-backed president in the streets of Kyiv. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Armed pro-Russian activists pose for a photo after they occupied a police station in the eastern town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 12, 2014. The Kremlin threw its weight behind separatist rebels in the east, triggering eight years of hostilities that set the stage for Moscow to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022. (AP Photo/Maxim Dondyuk, Russian Reporter magazine, File) MAGAZINES OUT
FILE - People gather at a square to watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Shortly after the closing of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia responded to the collapse of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow government by illegally annexing Crimea. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov, File)
FILE - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. Russia sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige by hosting the expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla leads Norway’s Marit Bjoergen in women’s cross country at the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. When Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, it sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - An anti-aircraft missile base sits outside the cross-country skiing venue in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, center back, poses with the Russian team in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Russian security forces shake hands with a Cossack as they patrol the streets of the Rosa Khutor ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE - A Cossack militiaman attacks Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, left, and a photographer as she and fellow members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Maria Alekhina, right, in the pink balaclava, stage a protest in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. While the Sochi Olympics were under way, members of the hard-line Russian nationalist militia beat and whipped the protesters who demonstrated in Sochi. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
FILE - From left, silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin, gold medal winner Alexander Legkov and bronze medal winner Ilia Chernousov, all of Russia, pose on the podium during the medals ceremony for the men’s 50K cross-country race during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - The Russian team jumps onto the podium during after placing first in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A man walks past a sign reading “doping control” at the biathlon and cross-country ski center at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 21, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Olympics (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
FILE - Anne Rogge, former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Claudia Bach, IOC President Thomas Bach and Russian President Vladimir Putin, from left, applaud at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. When Russia hosted the Sochi Games, it sought to impress the world and expand its global clout with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - One of the rings forming the Olympic logo fails to open during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The glitch marred a majestic show of Russian history and culture during the opening ceremony. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Haas driver Nikita Mazepin of Russia, left, and Haas driver Mick Schumacher of Germany compete at the Russian Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, later served as a venue for other international sporting events, including Formula One racing, until the event was pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
Tourists rest at the former Olympic ski slope in Krasnaya Polyana outside Sochi, Russia, on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
Two women walk past a sign marking the 10th anniversary of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in central Sochi, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Sochi has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. The Sochi Games were the most expensive in Olympics history. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
A view of the empty bobsled track used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The nearby Black Sea resort of Sochi, which hosted the Ganes, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
FILE - Artists perform at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
FILE - Artists perform at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, watches downhill ski competition of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Roza Khutor mountain district near Sochi, Russia, as Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko stands behind him on March 8, 2014. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, watches downhill ski competition of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Roza Khutor mountain district near Sochi, Russia, as Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko stands behind him on March 8, 2014. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Bobsledder Alexander Zubkov carries the Russian flag next to model Irina Shayk holding the country’s identification sign at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The Sochi Olympics were a pet project of President Vladimir Putin as he sought to project Russia’s global clout, boost its prestige and impress the world. But the Kremlin’s attempt at soft power soon collided with hard realities. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Bobsledder Alexander Zubkov carries the Russian flag next to model Irina Shayk holding the country’s identification sign at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The Sochi Olympics were a pet project of President Vladimir Putin as he sought to project Russia’s global clout, boost its prestige and impress the world. But the Kremlin’s attempt at soft power soon collided with hard realities. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Fireworks explode over Olympic Park at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE - Fireworks explode over Olympic Park at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort, where most facilities, including 11 sports arenas, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE - Russian families gather and wave the flag during the national anthem as they watch the telecast of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort of Sochi, where most facilities, including 11 sports venues, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure for athletes and spectators. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - Russian families gather and wave the flag during the national anthem as they watch the telecast of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. It cost Russia an estimated $55 billion to prepare and host the Olympics in the balmy Black Sea resort of Sochi, where most facilities, including 11 sports venues, were built from scratch along with highways, rail lines and other infrastructure for athletes and spectators. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - A police officer detains a gay rights activist in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. Police quickly detained LGBTQ+ activists who waved rainbow flags on Red Square, according to Russian news reports. Even before the Sochi Olympics, President Vladimir Putin had set the country on an increasingly repressive and isolationist course, intensifying a crackdown on opposition activists, stigmatizing civil society groups as “foreign agents,” and approving laws that curtailed LGBTQ+ rights and banned adoption of Russian children by U.S. parents. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)
FILE - A police officer detains a gay rights activist in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. Police quickly detained LGBTQ+ activists who waved rainbow flags on Red Square, according to Russian news reports. Even before the Sochi Olympics, President Vladimir Putin had set the country on an increasingly repressive and isolationist course, intensifying a crackdown on opposition activists, stigmatizing civil society groups as “foreign agents,” and approving laws that curtailed LGBTQ+ rights and banned adoption of Russian children by U.S. parents. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)
FILE - Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 18, 2014. Thousands of police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked an opposition camp that was the center of nearly three months of anti-government demonstrations that played out as Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 18, 2014. Thousands of police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked an opposition camp that was the center of nearly three months of anti-government demonstrations that played out as Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at an Olympic reception in Sochi, Russia on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Despite the costly effort by the Kremlin to make the Sochi Games a symbol of Russia’s power and prestige, global attention soon focused on clashes between police and protesters who rallied against Ukraine’s Moscow-backed president in the streets of Kyiv. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at an Olympic reception in Sochi, Russia on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Despite the costly effort by the Kremlin to make the Sochi Games a symbol of Russia’s power and prestige, global attention soon focused on clashes between police and protesters who rallied against Ukraine’s Moscow-backed president in the streets of Kyiv. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Armed pro-Russian activists pose for a photo after they occupied a police station in the eastern town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 12, 2014. The Kremlin threw its weight behind separatist rebels in the east, triggering eight years of hostilities that set the stage for Moscow to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022. (AP Photo/Maxim Dondyuk, Russian Reporter magazine, File) MAGAZINES OUT
FILE - Armed pro-Russian activists pose for a photo after they occupied a police station in the eastern town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 12, 2014. The Kremlin threw its weight behind separatist rebels in the east, triggering eight years of hostilities that set the stage for Moscow to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022. (AP Photo/Maxim Dondyuk, Russian Reporter magazine, File) MAGAZINES OUT
FILE - People gather at a square to watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Shortly after the closing of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia responded to the collapse of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow government by illegally annexing Crimea. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov, File)
FILE - People gather at a square to watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Shortly after the closing of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia responded to the collapse of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow government by illegally annexing Crimea. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov, File)
FILE - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. Russia sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige by hosting the expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. Russia sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige by hosting the expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla leads Norway’s Marit Bjoergen in women’s cross country at the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. When Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, it sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla leads Norway’s Marit Bjoergen in women’s cross country at the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. When Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, it sought to impress the world and expand its global prestige with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - An anti-aircraft missile base sits outside the cross-country skiing venue in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - An anti-aircraft missile base sits outside the cross-country skiing venue in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, center back, poses with the Russian team in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, center back, poses with the Russian team in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Russian security forces shake hands with a Cossack as they patrol the streets of the Rosa Khutor ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE - Russian security forces shake hands with a Cossack as they patrol the streets of the Rosa Khutor ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Fears of possible attacks loomed over the Sochi Games but didn’t materialize amid sweeping security measures. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE - A Cossack militiaman attacks Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, left, and a photographer as she and fellow members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Maria Alekhina, right, in the pink balaclava, stage a protest in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. While the Sochi Olympics were under way, members of the hard-line Russian nationalist militia beat and whipped the protesters who demonstrated in Sochi. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
FILE - A Cossack militiaman attacks Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, left, and a photographer as she and fellow members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Maria Alekhina, right, in the pink balaclava, stage a protest in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. While the Sochi Olympics were under way, members of the hard-line Russian nationalist militia beat and whipped the protesters who demonstrated in Sochi. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
FILE - From left, silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin, gold medal winner Alexander Legkov and bronze medal winner Ilia Chernousov, all of Russia, pose on the podium during the medals ceremony for the men’s 50K cross-country race during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - From left, silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin, gold medal winner Alexander Legkov and bronze medal winner Ilia Chernousov, all of Russia, pose on the podium during the medals ceremony for the men’s 50K cross-country race during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - The Russian team jumps onto the podium during after placing first in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - The Russian team jumps onto the podium during after placing first in the team figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Games. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A man walks past a sign reading “doping control” at the biathlon and cross-country ski center at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 21, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Olympics (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
FILE - A man walks past a sign reading “doping control” at the biathlon and cross-country ski center at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 21, 2014. A subsequent doping scandal tainted the success of the Russian team at the Sochi Olympics (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
FILE - Anne Rogge, former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Claudia Bach, IOC President Thomas Bach and Russian President Vladimir Putin, from left, applaud at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. When Russia hosted the Sochi Games, it sought to impress the world and expand its global clout with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - Anne Rogge, former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Claudia Bach, IOC President Thomas Bach and Russian President Vladimir Putin, from left, applaud at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. When Russia hosted the Sochi Games, it sought to impress the world and expand its global clout with the most expensive Olympics ever. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - One of the rings forming the Olympic logo fails to open during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The glitch marred a majestic show of Russian history and culture during the opening ceremony. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - One of the rings forming the Olympic logo fails to open during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The glitch marred a majestic show of Russian history and culture during the opening ceremony. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Haas driver Nikita Mazepin of Russia, left, and Haas driver Mick Schumacher of Germany compete at the Russian Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, later served as a venue for other international sporting events, including Formula One racing, until the event was pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
FILE - Haas driver Nikita Mazepin of Russia, left, and Haas driver Mick Schumacher of Germany compete at the Russian Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, later served as a venue for other international sporting events, including Formula One racing, until the event was pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
Tourists rest at the former Olympic ski slope in Krasnaya Polyana outside Sochi, Russia, on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
Tourists rest at the former Olympic ski slope in Krasnaya Polyana outside Sochi, Russia, on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
Two women walk past a sign marking the 10th anniversary of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in central Sochi, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Sochi has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
Two women walk past a sign marking the 10th anniversary of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in central Sochi, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Sochi has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. The Sochi Games were the most expensive in Olympics history. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. The Sochi Games were the most expensive in Olympics history. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
A view of the empty bobsled track used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The nearby Black Sea resort of Sochi, which hosted the Ganes, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
A view of the empty bobsled track used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The nearby Black Sea resort of Sochi, which hosted the Ganes, has continued to serve as a venue for winter sports and some international sporting events until they were pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine. (AP Photo)
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were President Vladimir Putin’s pet project as he sought to expand Russia’s global clout, boost its prestige and impress the world.
But the Kremlin’s attempt at soft power soon collided with hard realities.
It became the most expensive Olympics ever — summer or winter — with costs that ballooned to $55 billion and fueled suspicions of rampant corruption. Critics pointed to environmental damage from construction projects and abuse of migrant workers who built the 11 sports venues, railways, roads and other infrastructure for athletes and spectators.
Even before the world descended on the balmy resort where the Caucasus Mountains meet the Black Sea, Putin had set Russia on an increasingly repressive and isolationist course. He intensified a crackdown on opposition activists, stigmatized civil society groups as “foreign agents,” approved laws that curtailed LGBTQ+ rights, and banned adoption of Russian children by U.S. parents.
Trying to assuage Western criticism, authorities freed imprisoned oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who had earlier challenged Putin’s authority. Also given amnesty were Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, members of the Pussy Riot punk collective who were jailed for their anti-Putin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral.
The Olympics kicked off on Feb. 7, 2014 with a grandiose opening ceremony watched by billions worldwide that offered a majestic show of Russian history and culture, marred only by a glitch: Only four of the five snowflakes designed to become Olympic rings before erupting in fireworks actually worked.
Fears of terrorist attacks that loomed heavily over the games didn’t materialize amid tight security measures that included placing air defense assets near Olympic venues, but Russia’s repressive side showed through on Feb. 19 when a hard-line Russian nationalist militia broke up a protest in central Sochi by members of Pussy Riot, beating and whipping them in an incident that drew international scorn.
Russia’s quest for Olympic glory resulted in 33 medals, but those successes became tainted after international officials later uncovered a state-sponsored scheme to provide athletes with performance-enhancing drugs -– a scandal that sullies the country’s reputation to this day. Russia had to compete without its flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“No one can take away our victories, although they have tried,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, who headed the Sochi Olympics organizing committee and is now a deputy prime minister, speaking at Tuesday’s opening of an exhibition marking the 10th anniversary of the Games.
As the Sochi Games wound down, violence escalated on the streets of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Scores of people were killed by sniper fire during a showdown between police and protesters rallying against a decision by the pro-Moscow government to cancel an integration deal with the European Union.
Just as the Sochi Olympics were closing, protesters in Kyiv forced President Viktor Yanukovych to leave the capital and flee to Russia. Putin saw those demonstrations as part of a U.S.-orchestrated plot to humiliate Moscow.
Russia eventually responded to the ouster by illegally annexing Crimea. Later, it threw its support behind separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, triggering hostilities that set the stage for the full-scale invasion that began on Feb. 24, 2022 — eight years and one day after the close of the Winter Olympics.
The resort city later hosted other international sporting events, including Formula One racing, until the event was pulled from Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin still blames the West for Yanukovych’s downfall. In December, he described it as a U.S.-led coup, adding: “Our American friends did it. We haven’t forgotten it and we never will.”