Russia brushes aside funding worry over 2014 Olympics - (Reuters: Putin) UK
SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday brushed aside concerns that a deepening economic crisis could scupper billions of dollars in state funding for the country's 2014 Winter Olympics.
Russia has pledged to spend as much as $12 billion (8.3 billion pounds) in private and public money on developing the Black Sea resort of Sochi where the Games will be held.
But cash is becoming increasingly hard to find as the Russian economy contracts for the first time in a decade and companies slash spending.
"Despite the crisis, we will have to finance those volumes which were planned," Medvedev told a meeting of officials, who were called to discuss preparations for the Games. "These clauses in the budget are secure (from cuts)."
Hosting the Games has been presented by the Kremlin as a symbol of national pride and an sign of Russia's revival under former President Vladimir Putin.
Russia now faces the headache of building dozens of venues and bringing the region's crumbling infrastructure up to date by building roads, airports and sewage plants.
The Kremlin said in a statement it was even all in all using student brigades to help finish off building work, harking back to Soviet times when the authorities used special student crews for cheap labour.
Russian officials refuse to give exact spending estimates for the Games but the original 2007 bid for the Games mentioned a $12 billion figure for developing the entire region.
Russia has pledged to spend as much as $12 billion (8.3 billion pounds) in private and public money on developing the Black Sea resort of Sochi where the Games will be held.
But cash is becoming increasingly hard to find as the Russian economy contracts for the first time in a decade and companies slash spending.
"Despite the crisis, we will have to finance those volumes which were planned," Medvedev told a meeting of officials, who were called to discuss preparations for the Games. "These clauses in the budget are secure (from cuts)."
Hosting the Games has been presented by the Kremlin as a symbol of national pride and an sign of Russia's revival under former President Vladimir Putin.
Russia now faces the headache of building dozens of venues and bringing the region's crumbling infrastructure up to date by building roads, airports and sewage plants.
The Kremlin said in a statement it was even all in all using student brigades to help finish off building work, harking back to Soviet times when the authorities used special student crews for cheap labour.
Russian officials refuse to give exact spending estimates for the Games but the original 2007 bid for the Games mentioned a $12 billion figure for developing the entire region.
