This decision  takes the total number of subsidies for Sochi 2014 to more than 13.6 billion roubles (£250 million/$420 million/€300 million).

But these contributions still amount to just a tiny fraction of the total bill which, when everything is taken into consideration, is esimated to amount to 1,661 billion roubles (£31 billion/$51 billion/€37 billion).

The makes the Games comfortably the most expensive in Olympic history. 

The Torch Relay, welcomed to Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, has provided impressive evidence of this lavish spending on Sochi 2014
©Kommersant/Getty Images


This extravagance has been an integral part of the appeal of Russia's Games, as the world's largest country aims to show the world its return to prosperity and the international spotlight through a sporting field.

Most venues in Sochi were built from scratch while there has also been considerable spending in infrastructural improvements to make the region ready to host a major event.

Another way by which this spending has been illustrated is through the ongoing Olympic Torch Relay, which at the midway point through a mammoth four month journey has already reached the North Pole and Outer Space as well as the bottom of the world's deepest lake at Baikal.

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