Since the rise of Vladimir Putin, Boris Nemtsov has emerged as one of Putin’s most articulate and prominent critics. Last year, on the eve of the Sochi winter Olympics, Nemtsov published a lengthy report examining why the cost of the Olympics reached a staggering (US) $53-billion. In 2007, Putin said the Sochi games would cost $12-billion. “Hence, we can draw an important conclusion,” says Nemtsov’s report “The … cost of the Sochi Olympics is an anomaly and can only be explained by banal thievery, corruption, embezzlement, and the complete lack of professionalism of those in charge. The cost of the Sochi Olympics, based on the global average, should have been (US) $24-billion (i.e., Putin’s $12 billion, multiplied by two). The remainder – (US)$26 billion – consisted of embezzlement and kickbacks.” The report documents how a close circle of Putin’s friends received the bulk of the contracts to build the Sochi facilities. 16x9s The Man Who Took on Putin airs this Saturday at 7pm.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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