Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a lighted Olympic torch during a ceremony to mark the start of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay in Moscow October 6, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Olympic torch has been to the North Pole and travelled thousands of kilometres on the relay that will end at the Sochi Winter Games in Russia in February. The problem is, the flame keeps going out.
President Vladimir Putin aims to make the Games a showcase of Russia's modern face to the world 23 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. But preparations have been dogged by delays, cost overruns and criticism over issues ranging from Russia's treatment of gays, a ban on most protests in Sochi and the treatment of migrant workers on construction sites.
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