With the 2014 Winter Olympics right around the corner, Russia’s Sochi region is starting to look more and more like what is expected of an Olympic Host.

We can see that construction is almost complete in many areas, but barely started in others. With all the money being invested in the region, and some claiming that Russia is strong arming the builders to keep building without paying them to do so, there is little doubt that everything will be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Not all are happy with the situation, though. Many people living in the region have been forced from their homes with little or no payment for their existing properties. Those who didn’t receive payment were virtually squatting on land, but now without any shelter they are left cold and hungry on the streets of Sochi.

This Olympic Construction Project has multiple benefits to Russia. For starters, bringing the Olympics to any country is a boom both in terms of tourism as well as infrastructure. But, it also helped the country dispose of many of the less useful homes in the area. While people are complaining that they are being forced out, Russia sees it as a way to clean up the trash of the region. Many people who are dirt poor managed to grab incredible pieces of land by the sea, and Russia doesn’t like it. They want all the good land to go to the rich, and this latest move more or less guarantees it.

Here are a series of photos of the region as construction is well on its way. There is no doubt that the might of Russia can be seen, but is it at a cost that is beneficial to all? The Russian rich think so, but the natives of Sochi are of a different opinion.