Translated material
"Know problems"
Viktor Zubkov convinces IOC experts that Sochi is preparing for the Games as planned
A large landing party of Russian government officials, led by Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, descended on Sochi to meet the International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission , which was inspecting the city’s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics for the first time. Yesterday, Mr. Zubkov visited Krasnaya Polyana to personally answer to the IOC representative commission.The first thing Mr. Zubkov did was to privately settle the emerging unpleasant environmental and security problems with the head of the commission, Jean-Claude Killy, before they complicated life for the Russian Olympic project. Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev, who was appointed responsible for environmental support for the Games, made it clear that everything is not so bad. He announced yesterday: “There will be no transfer of Olympic venues. Neither for environmental reasons nor for safety reasons.”
Viktor Zubkov, in turn, promised Mr. Killy “to fulfill the Olympic task 100%.” The head of the commission received all the words of the Russian Prime Minister with gratitude. Having looked at the model of the Olympic complex for the tenth time, Mr. Killy, a former famous alpine skier, asked, pointing to one of the mountains: “Olympics? Skis?". “No problem,” responded Mr. Zubkov. And he himself, pointing to a mountain river on the same model, said: “It’s called Laura. In honor of President Bush’s wife,” the prime minister recalled President Putin’s joke.
Mr. Killy, at a meeting of his commission, addressing Russian officials, demonstrated his friendly attitude in every possible way. “You have amazing natural conditions!” - he praised. And our people, it turns out, are just as amazing and wonderful. According to Mr. Killy, our people are extremely devoted to the Olympic movement. “And we must not disappoint him,” said the head of the IOC commission. Mr. Killy outlined his task simply - to show the whole world that the IOC's trust in the Russians is justified. “We are one team,” he never tired of repeating. And yet he insistently noted that Russian officials must strictly implement all the IOC’s comments. “And we must learn your habits,” promised the head of the commission.
Mr. Killy also complimented Mr. Zubkov regarding the progress of preparations for the Games: “We were impressed by your speed.” At the same time, the Olympic official expressed himself in the spirit that IOC representatives have seen many different difficult situations in preparation for the Olympics, but the current construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi is special.
Even judging by the words of Russian ministers, so far the construction of these facilities seems not just difficult, but some kind of supernatural task. Several federal programs will be required for transport infrastructure, energy supply, and environmental support, the cost of which is still difficult to even estimate. So far, the construction of Olympic facilities has not been completed even on paper. The design is planned to be completed by the end of 2008 - beginning of 2009. The first facility will be commissioned in 2009, the other 12, as our ministers promise, no later than 2011-2012.
One of the most difficult problems remains the purchase of land for Olympic purposes. In 2008, the budget already defined a certain reserve for redemption in the amount of 29.7 billion rubles. In total, it is expected that about 82 billion rubles can be spent for these purposes. Following President Putin, Russian officials constantly assure that the state will take into account the interests of the owners as much as possible, will pay the market price for the plots, and will purchase the minimum amount of land itself.
The newly appointed head of the Olimpstroy state corporation, Viktor Kolodyazhny, who was appointed to this position at the end of last week, said that there are no plans to resettle anyone from Krasnaya Polyana. For now we are talking about the purchase of land from the front part of the Imereti Valley. Minister of Regional Development Dmitry Kozak swore that the price of the purchased land would be market and fair. 30 companies will be involved in its assessment. If the owner does not agree, he will be able to challenge the assessment in court, which will appoint another appraiser. “We will use rules adopted throughout the world when seizing land for state needs,” the minister explained. “We are ready for sacrifices,” Mr. Kozak expressed an ambiguous thought, but immediately explained that “the state is going to be sacrificial - to its own detriment.”
Yesterday in Sochi, Mr. Zubkov held a meeting on the fate of the coastal strip. After the meeting, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Alexandra Levitskaya gave comprehensive explanations. The Prime Minister decided to transfer to the ownership of municipalities those areas of the coastal strip that are free from the rights of third parties. According to Ms. Levitskaya, legislative changes facilitating this will probably be adopted by the Duma in the spring session and will come into effect in the summer, in June-July. The deputy minister immediately dismissed suspicions that someone in the government was making plans to privatize the beaches: “We don’t know anything like that.”