09:59, 31 January 2014

70,000 thousand to guard the Olympic Games in Sochi, law enforcers say

Policemen on duty in front of the Orthodox Church. January 7, 2014. Photo by Svetlana Kravchenko for the "Caucasian Knot"

Around 70,000 law enforcers will ensure safety at the Olympic Games in Sochi; more than half of them are policemen, the "Vedomosti" reports, citing its source from power agencies.

Starting from January 7, when Sochi was put under the enhanced security regime, 40,000 policemen were deployed in the area of Greater Sochi; 10,000 of them are soldiers, the source said.

According to the "Vedomosti", apart from policemen, at least 1000 FSB agents will work in the capital of the Olympic Games. Their main functions are to combat terrorism and control over law enforcers.

The edition has calculated that the total number of law enforcers in the Olympic region will make over 70,000, but does not specify the origin of the remaining 39,000. The "Vedomosti" notes that it is not the largest army of securities involved in protecting similar events: by this parameter, the Sochi Olympics stands between the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008) and London (2012).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 5, the US Department of Defence offered help to Russia in preventing terror threats on the eve of the Olympics. On January 29, the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia does not need any NATO's help in securing the Sochi Olympics.