Stiles, who was key in coordinating the Sochi arrangements and had worked on many Olympic committees, died on August 20. Hence, Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the Sochi, Russia committee, asked John Furlong, the chief executive of the Vancouver Organizing Committee of the 2010 Winter Olympics, to guide and advise his staff.

“He (Furlong) gave me some practical advice and I learned from his experience of building a successful corporate team,” Chernyshenko said after meeting Furlong in Vancouver.

They discussed the intricate protocol of Vancouver’s handing over of the Games to Sochi. Chernyshenko said David Atkins, the producer of the closing ceremonies, has slotted eight minutes for a Russian performance after Furlong officially hands over the Olympic flag.

All three Olympics - Vancouver, London (2012 summer Olympics) and Sochi – have been impacted by the recession. Vancouver has had to cut corners, but for now Sochi is doing okay. It has already signed up about $750 million in sponsorship including a $100 million deal with Aeroflot, the Russian flagship airline.

Aeroflot’s agreement with Sochi makes it a Tier One sponsor. It said it would introduce some new flights and fly directly to the Black Sea resort.

Apart from state-controlled Aeroflot, Sochi has been able to pull in many of Russia’s largest companies, including state-run oil giant Rosneft and Sberbank, the country’s biggest bank and has raised more than $650 million.

Moscow developer BAMO will build a $181 million four-star hotel complex in Sochi’s Imeritinskaya Nizmennost district. The hotel will be ready by 2012 and will have 500 guest rooms, a restaurant, gym and chapel.

It will be named Kamni Armenii meaning Stones of Armenia and will be built in the Armenian style. Its unique design will make it look like a mountain from one side and a hotel from the other.

Stanislav Ananyev of Olimpstroi, which operates Olympic construction projects, said that water treatment and drainage systems in the towns of Adler and Krasnaya for Sochi Olympics will cost $112 million.

Once installed, the treatment systems will process about 75-78,000 cu. m a day from Olympic facilities, whereas current capacity is just 41,000 cu. m a day, Ananyev said.