Drivers of the Regional Economic Growth and the Problem of "White Elephants" of the Russian Olympic Megaproject "Sochi 2014"

For Russia the Olympic megaproject "Sochi 2014" became the largest international investment and construction project and the country has not seen similar events during several decades. The mission of the Olympic megaproject went far beyond the limits of getting profit from the Olympic games organization and the creation of a favourable image of Russia in a global social and economic space. It included the build up of global competitive advantages of the Black sea zone of the Southern macroregion of Russia in such spheres like tourism, hospitality and entertainment industry, recreation and sports business. However the impact of the Olympic games on the economic development of the territory where they took place would be evident only after 3 or 5 years and the economic effect of investments would be displayed after ten years and more. The authors of the article study the problem of the post project use of the Olympic constructions. Some of them will serve as drivers of the regional economic growth and others like so called "white elephants" will only generate losses. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s2p26