RUSSIA & the Sochi Olympics: Gold medals for some

HOSTING the Olympic games has long come with the extra attention–some welcome, some not–that the world’s largest sporting event naturally brings. In July 2007, when Russia won the right to host the 2014 Winter Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, President Vladimir Putin and other officials celebrated the decision as a victory for Russia and, as Mr Putin said, “a judgment of our country”.Once the home of grand but faded Soviet-era sanatoria, Sochi has been transformed into a gleaming showpiece of a revitalized, confident Russia—some even term it the country own “little Monaco”. Most of the Olympic projects are nearing completion, and Mr Putin is set to meet with IOC officials in Sochi this week as they mark the official countdown to the start of the Games next February.The tens of thousands of migrant workers toiling at the Olympic venues and other sites have less to celebrate, according to a 67-page report published today by Human Rights Watch. It documents multiple cases of workplace abuse and exploitation: non-payment of promised wages, 12-hour shifts with few or no days off, confiscation of travel and identity documents, and breach or withholding of employment contracts.Most of those interviewed by HRW researchers worked on Sochi’s “coastal cluster”, site of the main 40,000-seat stadium, five ice arenas, the central Olympic Village, hotels and other ...