Sochi Olympic Winter Games at root of residents' housing woes

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-sochi-dark-side-20140207,0,1802689.story



"There is nothing I hate so much as these Olympic Games, which made me and my family a miserable bunch of bums," said Sochi resident Nina Toromonyan, 63, whose family lost its home and land.

Sochi Olympic Winter Games at root of residents' housing woes
By Sergei L. Loiko
February 6, 2014, 5:00 p.m.

SOCHI, Russia — Half a mile away, thousands of people waved flags, held balloons and cheered Thursday as the Olympic torch passed by. Nina Toromonyan stood in the gray rubble that remains of her home and cried.

She recalled her elation in 2007 when her city was selected to host this year's Olympic Winter Games. She imagined that wonderful things were coming. She didn't think that riot police would throw 13 family members out of their three-story home to make way for a new highway two miles away. The compensation they received wasn't enough to reestablish themselves, she said.

"There is nothing I hate so much as these Olympic Games, which made me and my family a miserable bunch of bums," said the small, frail 63-year-old.

Yuri Maryan, head of Sochi's nongovernmental anti-corruption coalition, said dozens of people suffered similar fates in the years leading to the Olympics, which open Friday. Legislation known as Law 301 allowed the seizure and demolition of privately owned plots of land and buildings in preparation for the Games. It never took into account the consequences for people living in Sochi, he said.