HIGH above the sub-tropical Black Sea resort in which Russian president Vladimir Putin has constructed his glittering Olympic Park, the Sochi ski jump stands in the cooler mountain air as a symbol of the extravagance and alleged waste that has characterised the buildup to these Games.
Putin, whose personal plea to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in 2007 helped win the Games for Sochi, has long wanted the event to showcase his vision of a “new Russia”.
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