The flame that will burn at next year's Sochi Winter Olympics was handed over to Russia on Saturday in the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896.
President Vladimir Putin dismissed a senior Russian Olympic Committee official on Thursday because of delays in construction work for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The International Olympic Committee has no doubt Russian authorities will be able to provide security at the Winter Olympics, a spokeswoman said on Monday after two bomb blasts killed tens of people in the Russian city of Volgograd.
Russia must explain how it will implement its controversial anti-gay propaganda law and detail its impact on next year's Sochi Winter Games, Olympic president Jacques Rogge said on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on Friday determined to prove his doubters wrong after militant attacks, a row over gay rights and ballooning costs overshadowed preparations.
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