Russia scientist fears arrest over Olympic warnings
The Olympic stadium at Sochi is being built to tight deadlines
By Richard Galpin
BBC News, Moscow
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A senior scientist has told the BBC he has fled Russia to avoid
arrest after warning of a possible disaster in the run-up to - or even
during - the next Winter Olympics.
The games are due to be held in the southern Russian city of Sochi in 2014.
Dr
Sergei Volkov, a former consultant to the Sochi Winter Olympics, is in
hiding in southern Ukraine because he fears being detained by Russian
authorities on trumped-up criminal charges.
He says he refused
to keep quiet after discovering that the massive construction programme
was forging ahead without essential research into the region's complex
geology and ecology.
"It's a potentially dangerous area," said Dr Volkov, a geologist by profession.
Dr Sergei Volkov says landslides are a possibility
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He gave the interview in a small room where he now lives with just a laptop, an internet connection and a few books and files.
"There
have been big landslides in the past and there are large deposits of
mercury, uranium and other potentially dangerous minerals. But all
scientific advice is being ignored," he said.
He believes the
government took the political decision to hold the games before they
had thought through how much preliminary work was needed in the area.
Shortly
after arriving in Ukraine, Dr Volkov wrote an open letter to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev warning him of the dangers.
He sent his letter after a storm destroyed a new cargo port being built in Sochi for the Olympics.
"Not a particularly strong storm destroyed this important infrastructure project," he wrote.
"At least $14m [of work] was washed away by the sea, to say nothing of the lives of [three] seamen.
"And this serious catastrophe with the loss of human life is just the start of similar accidents which will follow," he warned.
Warnings 'ignored'
What happened at the port is evidence, Dr Volkov believes, of his worst fears coming true.
He says building work began last year without basic research into local geology and weather patterns.
He had warned that it was not a suitable place for a port, but says he was ignored.
Now
one of his biggest concerns is an $8bn (£5bn) project for a new road
and rail link between Olympic venues being built on the Black Sea coast
near Sochi and venues in the mountains.
It is supposed to be a centre-piece of the infrastructure development in the area.
Pile-drivers,
cranes, bulldozers and cement-mixers are transforming a long, beautiful
valley containing the Mzymta River into a frenetic industrial
landscape.
It is one of the main reasons the Worldwide Fund for
Nature (WWF) warned in February that "preparation for the Olympics is
out of control, construction is of poor quality and vast damage to the
environment has already been done".
But Dr Volkov's main worry is not for the environment.
He
fears the builders are cutting a swathe through the valley up towards
the mountains without taking into account how unstable the area is
geologically.
He refers to a massive landslide in the late 1960s and warns there could be a repeat.
"The road is being built and tunnels dug in this same district," he says.
"This is seriously affecting the mountains."
Active landslide
Driving
along the old road between the coast and the high peaks, we found an
active landslide being cleared by excavators to protect traffic passing
beneath.
Higher up next to the ski slopes Sergei Avdeev, mayor
of Krasnaya Polyana - the village nearest the Olympic sites - told us
he shared Dr Volkov's worries.
He said he had considered resigning over the issue.
"When the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the games to Russia, they
knew full well that Russia did not have enough time to do proper
research and build all the facilities in line with international
environmental and construction standards," he says.
"I pray to God that there will not be any consequences. The only thing we can do is pray and hope."
In answers e-mailed to the BBC, the IOC dismissed these concerns.
"Construction
of the facilities, related infrastructure, and safety issues are the
responsibility of the Russian organisers and the government," it said.
"We are confident in the research they did prior to the start of construction and the work they are undertaking now."
Allegations
that corners are being cut in the rush to meet deadlines are also
strongly denied by the main state-owned Olympic construction company,
Olimpstroi.
"It's not a secret that Sochi has a very tough geological landscape," says Alexandra Kosterina, the main spokesperson.
"But
all necessary research has been done... and we are building everything
in line with international standards and with recommendations from the
IOC."
The Sochi 2014 project is Russia's first experience of hosting the Winter Olympics.
The prestige of the country is at stake and it cannot afford to make any mistakes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8624894.stm