Russia

6e57ace618ba4f044a0f6a7067004ab5.jpg

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles while ceremonially lighting the Olympic flame with a torch at Moscow's Red Square prior to the 123-day torch relay to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. For President Vladimir Putin, the Winter Olympics he brought to Sochi have always been about far more than sports. The benefits he sees from holding the games range from improving Russia’s international standing and instilling a sense of national pride to turning around the country’s demographic decline. And of course Putin wants to be seen, at home and abroad, as the man who made this all possible. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

a5bb5e2a18bb4f044a0f6a7067008d13.jpg

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center outside the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia. For President Vladimir Putin, the Winter Olympics he brought to Sochi have always been about far more than sports. The benefits he sees from holding the games range from improving Russia’s international standing and instilling a sense of national pride to turning around the country’s demographic decline. And of course Putin wants to be seen, at home and abroad, as the man who made this all possible. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)