“Whatever you say it is, it isn't.”

Been out of the loop for a while, but I wanted to touch on a report that came across the wire (and in English).It is report from state-owned Russian news agency ITAR-TASS on the state of Russian preparations for 2014.  In a meeting at Roza Khutor, Russian President Dimitri Medvedev announced that preparation has "actually entered its final phase."

The president drew attention of the participants in the meeting held at the Roza Khutor ski resort to the fact that slightly more than three years remain before the opening of the Olympics. “This project is super large-scale for our country. Not because any Olympics is a very big project, not because we have not the easiest conditions here. The project is ambitious - in terms of the construction volumes and financing, as well as the organisational complexity,” Medvedev explained.

It is unclear, what, exactly, is meant by "final phase."  Medvedev has previously promised that all Olympic venues will be completed by 2012, so that may be it.  Aside from that, Sochi is certainly not even close to having all the necessary infrastructure completed which, ultimately, is just as important. 

So, I guess if you narrowly define the term "final phase" to mean we expect to have all venues complete by 2012, then there's your answer.  I guess you could also say I'm in the "final phase" of my life.  Oh well.