The zone will be a park in the town, which has a population of about 20,000 people and is on the road between Sochi and the Olympic Park.

The location complies with the Olympic Charter, Article 50 of which says: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

The nearest Games venue is about 12 kilometres away.

"At the park in Khosta, people can freely express their opinion [there], while not breaching the rights of other citizens or the Olympic Charter," Russia's deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told R-Sport.

"At the sports stadiums, at the sports venues, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, expressions of political opinions are banned."

Protests against the introduction of Russia's controversial anti-gay propaganda legislation last year is likely to be the subject of protest at Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images

Vladimir Lukin, the Human Rights Commissioner of Russia and President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, welcomed the choice of Khosta and claimed it is easy to access.

"It's possible to travel there by car, by bus or on the train from the centre of Sochi, or from the sports centre," he explained.

"So if people want to exchange opinions and express their views on any topic, they can do it easily."

It is not yet clear whether there will be a similar zone near the Mountain Cluster of snow sports venues.

Russia confirmed the creation of dedicated public protest zones for during Sochi 2014 last week when President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing demonstrations, pickets and marches to be held in specific locations from January 7 until March 21 if previously agreed with authorities.

The U-turn came after the nation had originally banned any political protests as part of a security crackdown, but the move seemed to be aimed at trying to diffuse international criticism of Russia's human rights record and the anti-gay propaganda legislation introduced last year.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomed the creation of protest zones saying that the decision was "in line with the assurances that President [Vladimir] Putin gave us last year and part of the Russian authority's plans to ensure free expression whilst delivering safe and secure Games".

Similar protest zones were set-up during the Beijing 2008 Olympics but were hardly used as they were located so far from venues.