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All eyes on Sochi
Sochi Olympics Heal
The Olympic Cauldron, left, is lit during a test between the Bolshoy Ice Dome, top, and the Iceberg Skating Palace, foreground, early Thursday morning in Sochi, Russia, prior to the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics. - photo by Associated Press
SOCHI, Russia — They're designed to celebrate a millennium of Russian might and this country's modern rebound, and kick off two weeks of extraordinary human endeavors and planetary sportsmanship. But the ceremony opening the Sochi Olympics on Friday, more than anything, will be about one man: Vladimir Putin. He charmed and strong-armed his way to hosting the games at a summer beach resort that he envisioned as a winter paradise.