THE SOCHI PROJECT

In: FP, Issue 203

Abstract

In 2007, when Sochi won the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen were battled. It rarely snows in Sochi, and the subtropical city -- or what they call: the Florida of Russia, but cheaper -- sits on the coast of the Black Sea, near a restive border in a conflict-ridden region. Hardly an ideal location. Their incredulity inspired a slow trek of adventure and investigation to document the effect of the games, which open February 7 and are expected to cost $50 billion. When Hornstra and van Bruggen returned in 2011, they saw that bulldozers had plowed all the way to the front of Kuks house to build a sewage plant; a pipe funneled foam into the river. Adapted from the source document.