The Adyg People are known to be the first inhabitants who populated Sochi. This time they are going to share their culture and traditions with the world at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Having a language, traditions and national identity of their own, this ethnic family is getting ready to give a performance of their lifetime.

It’s a fact that the Adyg people are part of the big ethnic Circassian family, who are among the first inhabitants of the Caucasus. Song and dance are in their flesh and blood, and an integral part of life and culture. And in less than four years, they would like to share their culture with the whole world, in Sochi.

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With the coming 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia has started the search for a mascot for the sports event.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the organizing comittee even mentioned that “Every citizen of our country can submit their work”.

To select the mascot, an online vote will be held on February 7th, 2011, 3 years before the start of the games.

Russia’s most famous mascot was Mishka the bear, mascot for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games.

Who knows if the new mascot will achieve such fame ?

MegaFon and Rostelcom, Sochi 2014 general partners, have run successful tests on the Fourth Generation (4G) wireless data network that is scheduled to be used for the Games. By the first quarter of next year, a full scale test will be executed at the major Olympic area.

Tests showed that data transmission rates reach 100 Mbps which indicates that the Sochi 2014 Games will benefit from 4G networks, which have over 10 times more capacity than 3G.

The system was tested close to the major Sochi 2014 site, Roza Khutor, and operates on LTE (Long-Term Evolution) protocol. Given the location in the challenging mountainous region this proves that the Russian telecom firms are ready to develop the most advanced communication technology in preparation for Sochi 2014.

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Sochi 2014 has revealed its plan to introduce a revolutionary education plan, which will be focussing on promoting long term benefits for the Russian society and the rest of the world. This education plan contains two education plans that include public and specialist education. Read the complete Post.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in a reception that was held in Kremlin to celebrate the success of the Russian Paralympic team at the Beijing Paralympics, declared that the Paralympic Games is one of the best sporting concepts of the twentieth century.

Having bagged a total of 18 gold, 23 silver and 22 bronze medals at various events this year; the athletes did fare much better than they did at Athens in 2004. While only 61 athletes participated in Athens, the strength of the Russian team in Beijing was a remarkable 145.

President Dmitry, who incidentally is also the head of the Presidential Council for Sochi 2014 and Paralympics Winter Games, believes that they would definitely inspire thousands of physically challenged individuals across the country.

The athletes of the Beijing Olympics were joined by the president for a photography session to honor the occassion, sealing the spectacular event in history.

Hertz International, the leading car rental company, will begin operating in Sochi from three locations - Sochi Adler Airport, railway station and in the center (which will be opened for International business travelers and regional visitors).

You can select from a wide array of vehicles at these locations that also offer chauffeur services and long term rentals.

The AirUnion alliance of airlines in Russia continues to face numerous problems, with over 1500 passengers stranded in most Russian airports. AirUnion reported that the delays in  departure and arrival of flights in several airports was largely due to the aviation fuel crisis.  Dalavia Airlines informed airport authorities that two of its flights which are due to arrive in Sochi, would be delayed by over three days. Most passengers have had to book tickets with other available airlines to reach their respective destinations.

Vanderlande Industries, a prominent supplier of baggage handling systems has been awarded the contract for managing the baggage handling system of Sochi International Airport. The 7 million euros contract will enable the airport to have the capability of catering to the expanding number of passengers in the existing terminals more efficiently. Being the largest of the four airports in Southern Russia, it is undergoing various transformations and developments in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Just in time of the summer of 2008, VIM-Avia airlines opens a number of new scheduled flights on the new routes, including Sochi - Moscow.

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International Airport Sochi between January-November of 2007 increased passengers at 11.7% compared with the same period in 2006, up to 1,530,167 people, reported head of the airport press service Elena Chernyshova.

In November passenger traffic grew by 14.9% to 62,394 people, including domestic flights carried 55,712 travelers, international 6,682 people.

Sochi International Airport is one of the largest aviation complexes of Russia. Flights from the airport covers the regions of Russia and countries near and far abroad.

Source: ИНТЕРФАКС