Updated Feb. 6, 2014 12:59 p.m. ET
Russia
deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, left, and Russian Olympic Committee
President Alexander Zhukov, right,smile ahead of a ribbon-cutting
ceremony at the opening of a center for fans of the Russian national
team in Sochi on Thursday. Mr. Kozak dismissed complaints that hotels
built for the Olympics weren't ready in time. ZUMAPRESS.com
SOCHI, RussiaRooms
without doorknobs, locks or heat, dysfunctional toilets, surprise
early-morning fire alarms and packs of stray dogs: These are the initial
images of the 2014 Winter Olympics
that foreign journalists have blasted around the world from their
officially assigned hotels—and the wave of criticism has rankled Russian
officials.
Dmitry
Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic
preparations, seemed to reflect the view held among many Russian
officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage
Sochi's big debut out of bias against Russia. "We have surveillance
video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the
nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," he said.
An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned
further on surveillance in hotel rooms. "We're doing a tour of the
media center," the aide said.
A
spokesman for Mr. Kozak later on Thursday said there is absolutely no
surveillance in hotel rooms or bathrooms occupied by guests. He said
there was surveillance on premises during construction and cleaning of
Sochi's venues and hotels and that is likely what Mr. Kozak was
referencing. A senior official at a company that built a number of the
hotels also said there is no such surveillance in rooms occupied by
guests.
Mr.
Kozak toured the giant, gleaming new media center Thursday morning,
marveling at the huge workspace built specially for the thousands of
journalists who have come from around the world to cover the Games.
Asked
about the widely reported problems with hotel rooms not being ready for
guests, he was dismissive. "We've put 100,000 guests in rooms and only
gotten 103 registered complaints and every one of those is being taken
care of," he said. (It wasn't clear what Mr. Kozak was counting as a
registered complaint.)
In
a news conference, Mr. Kozak said he had no "claims against Western or
Russian journalists who are doing their jobs." Most of the critical
views of the accommodations or preparations amount to "small
imperfections in the Olympic facilities and tourist infrastructure," Mr.
Kozak said, noting that it wasn't long ago that the entire Olympic area
was an "open field.".....
Construction
laborers Thursday work on the pavement of an unfinished apartment
building in the mountain media village at the Rosa Khutor alpine resort
near Sochi. michael dalder/Reuters
To
build the facilities for the roughly $50 billion Sochi Olympics, Russia
has built nearly an entire city from scratch. Organizers completed all
the sporting venues, including the hockey and figure skating arenas,
well ahead of time, as well as two villages for the Olympic
competitors—one in the mountains and one by the sea.
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