Trains and railways have had such an outsize role in Russia's history that an opening ceremony won't be complete without a train zooming across the stage. Trains have been integral in uniting the sprawling regions of Russia, from the Trans-Siberian railroad carved into Russia's eastern frontier during its imperial days, to Sochi’s new rail line connecting the city to the mountain resort town of Krasnaya Polyana.
The latter, in combination with the road that runs alongside, cost the state-run Russian Railways a staggering $8.7 billion to construct, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, more than the entire cost of Olympic preparations in Vancouver in 2010.
