The Media Mirror, 05.07.07. What's in today's Russian newspapers?

The main news of the day is Sochi winning the 2014 Winter Olympics race.

At the time when the good news came newspapers were already being delivered, so their tone is more expectant than celebratory.

IZVESTIA quotes President Putin's speech before the International Olympic Committee:

“Sochi will become a new world class resort in the new Russia.”

These words were pronounced hours before the decision of the Olympic Committee sealed the future of the city on the Black Sea. With the three-fold difference in funds between an Olympic and non-Olympic Sochi, the resort is going to get there long before the 2014 Games.

Some say, the Polar Bear in the picture has a chance of becoming the mascot of the Sochi Olympiad. Why not, when his brown cousin did it once already.

The 1980 Olympiad figured prominently in the presentation of the Sochi team in Guatemala, reminding the audience of the two Olympic weeks in Moscow 27 years ago which became a truly historic event for the people of the Soviet Union, remembered for generations afterwards.

Now, with the choice having fallen on Russia this just hinted at what the 2014 Olympics are going to become for Russia where from now on time will have a new meaning: every day will be bringing us closer to the Games.

Olympic champion Evgeny Plyushenko who played the role of the Ambassador of Russia's Olympic Bid Committee in Guatemala says, also in IZVESTIA, that this unusual job has made him even more of a patriot than he used to be in the past. He adds:

“We are campaigning for this Olympiad not for ourselves but for the country and for our children.”

Pliushenko himself has a slim chance of participating.

Now back to bears. TRUD writes that the live version of the Olympic mascot of 1980 is now disturbing life in Siberian cities. We have always laughed at foreigners thinking that in Russia bears walk freely in the streets. Now it's coming true. An unprecedented boost in bear population happened in Siberia and today, in the Krasnoyarsk region alone there are over 2,000 bears, and those of them who live not far from the city, make frequent visits downtown.