The Olympic flame for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi has ended its relay around Greece and has arrived in Moscow. On Monday, the flame began its travel through all 83 Russian regions, from the enclave of Kaliningrad in the west, to Chukotka to the east before arriving in Sochi for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games on February the 7th.

The Olympic flame arrived in Moscow aboard an Aeroflot plane. The plane was met by the Russian honor guard, consisting of all the branches of the Russian armed forces.

Russian deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Kozak carried the flame in a lantern. He was accompanied by the six-time Olympic champion speed skater Lydia Skoblikova and the President of Sochi 2014 Olympics Organizing Committee Dmitri Chernyshenko.

"Russia, for the first time in its history, receives one of the most important, well-known symbols in the world - the Olympic flame, and we are proud that our Russian torch relay will be unique: days, 65,000 kilometres. The flame will be carried by 14,000 torch bearers." Dmitri Chernyshenko, President of Sochi 2014 OOC said.

The Sochi torch was first lit at a traditional ceremony in Ancient Olympia in Greece last week.

The first stage of the flame's journey through Russia was a tour of the Kremlin involving 11 torchbearers. The tour got off a rocky start – the flame briefly went out as the torch bearer ran towards the Kremlin through a long passageway. A man standing along the route helped to bring the flame back to life with a lighter.

"The Olympic flame will make 130 stops as it travels across Russia by car, train, plane, reindeer and dog sleds. The Russian torch relay will be the longest in history, covering 9 time zones."

After two days in Moscow, the relay will go north to St. Petersburg, then to Russia's Far East and around the Kamchatka Peninsula, then to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, and then back west across southern Siberia via Lake Baikal.

I am sure – the relay will light up a fire in the hearts of many people, and the Olympic torch will bring joy and luck to millions of people in Russia. So, good luck and let's go forward to the 22nd Olympic Games. Vladimir Putin, Russian President said.

The relay will also include a trip up Russia's highest mountain, Elbrus – and will be carried even highter, to the International Space Station in November. That same torch will end up in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 7.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)