Putin's Olympics : the Sochi games and the evolution of twenty-first century Russia /

Putin's Olympics is an examination of the legacies of the 2014 Sochi games alongside the growth and development of Russia. The authors thoroughly focus on Putin's megaprojects as a reflection of priority and power. The games were to be the premier example of Russia's growth and return to power, but as the book suggests, the immediate aftermath may have undone whatever good came with the games. The invasion of the Ukraine and the doping scandal from the games raised the question of whether Russia was simply returning to past practice and not moving forward. The authors illustrate that what happened after the games was not a break from the Olympics but rather a logical outgrowth of the way the games were run inside Russia. Due to the way the games were conducted, corruption grew and competition fell by the wayside, as only a small number in Russia seemed to see any real benefits from hosting the games. The games did not turn out to be the force of regional economic growth that many thought they could be, as all decisions were centralized and there was little opportunity for new ideas and opinions beyond Putin's "inner circle." Though the book focuses on the 2014 Olympic games, it still tackles timely topics. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals. --Leslie A. Heaphy, Kent State University