I don’t know when this happened, but it appears that some not-too-long time ago Google Maps updated their sattelite images of Sochi. Previously they did not have high resolution pics of anything but parts of Central district. Now they do.

I found a couple more photos of tornado over sea in Sochi! :-)

These were taken by lav-elena in Khosta district on July 28, 2009.

Another one » Read the rest of this entry »

By the year 2010 approximately 1000 families will be relocated due to the Olympic construction development. Over 2500 hectares of land will be bought out from private owners for Olympic projects in Imeritinskaya Valley, Krasnaya Polyana, Vesyoloe village as well as Khosta and Central districts. Central district is affected by road infrastructure project.

– information from Vice Minister of Russia Dmitry Kozak via Interfax and Lenta.ru

Other Sochi quick facts »

As was promised during the Olympic bid, Russia is trying to reintroduce Persian leopards in Sochi national park — the area they inhabited long time ago. The program is being supported by WWF-Russia, private companies and a number of Russian government agencies. You can read the details in WWW article and in press release on olympic.org.

I’ve heard we have bears, and wolfs in our forests… imagine meeting one of these kitties there :)

photo source: daylife.com

photo source: themoscowtimes.com

“Yota” started testing its WiMAX network in Sochi. “Skartel” operator, owner of Yota brand, have launched WiMAX networks (IEEE 802.16-2005, 2.5-2.7 GHz) earlier this year in Moscow and St.-Petersburg (where they now cover up to 70% of city), and in Ufa in the beginning of this month.

The beginning of beta testing in Sochi and Krasnodar was announced two weeks ago. Yota selected 250 testers in Sochi, and 350 people in Krasondar – the capital of region where Sochi is located. Network coverage in Sochi is already available on Yota’s website, and according to it they currently cover only most of Central district and center of Adler.

So, soon Sochi will join very small number of cities in Russia where hi-speed wireless internet is available.

Btw, WiMAX Forum – Russia will take place in Moscow next month.

Last month Sochi hosted finals of the Beach Volleyball European Championship Tour 2009. Here’s slide show from the event.

(c) piratenergy

I a few amazing lightning-over-the-sea photos taken by other people in Sochi, and wanted to share with you.

The photos are clickable, and lead to the large size originals.

Taken in Dagomys district of Sochi (c) v_kryukov53

Taken in Adler district of Sochi (c) pmirosevic

More amazing photos » Read the rest of this entry »

Landline telephone code of Sochi is 8622, and all numbers are six digits. Telephone code of Russia is 7, so to call a number in Sochi you dial +7-8622-##-##-##.

Mobile operator’s codes are all different, and the numbers consist of three digit code and seven digits number. Here are telephone codes of major mobile operators in Sochi:

MTS (МТС): 918, 988
Megafon (Мегафон): 920, 930, 928, 938
Beeline (Билайн): 903, 905, 906, 909, 960, 961, 962, 963, 964.
TELE2: 902, 908, 952

Calls between operators in Russia are always more expensive than inside operator’s network, and there are no such thing as free long distance calls. So, if you’re planning to get local number, consider this: absolute majority of people living in Sochi have MTS numbers. This is due to the fact that several years ago MTS acquired major local operator «Kuban GSM».

Other Sochi quick facts »

Nissan Russian Adventure 2010 (formerly known as Nissan Caucasus Classic) is once again coming to Sochi on January 21, 2010.

Nissan Russian Adventure will take place at the ski resort Krasnaya Polyana in the Western Caucasus. Krasnaya Polyana is the host of the alpine and nordic ski events of the 2014 Winter Olympics with Sochi as host city. Sometimes called the “Russian Courchevel”, Krasnaya Polyana is the most sophisticated ski and snowboard resort in Russia, located just 45 minutes from the Black Sea, and well known as President Putin’s favourite holiday resort. It is also famous for its awesome heliskiing in the spectacular Caucasus mountain range.

The contest is organised by renowned Russian extreme skier Nikolay Veselovskiy, who is also chief heliskiing operator in the area and pioneer of heli-skiing in Kamchatka. For the qualifying run the contest will take place at the actual Krasnaya Polyana Mountain very accessible for the public. The final run with 22 riders will be held on another peak with heli access. The exact peak will be determined depending on where the best snow conditions are to be found. The snow quality is quite unique in the area as the great proximity of the sea produces a characteristic snow that sticks to the steepest angles.

— nissanrussianadventure.com

Here are couple of photos by E. Vasenyov from last year’s event:

(c) 360sca