The International Olympic Committee late Wednesday announced in Guatemala City that the Russian resort town of Sochi will host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Sochi, a Black Sea resort that is a favorite of Russian President Vladimir Putin, beat the bid for Pyeongchang, South Korea, by four votes. Putin traveled to Guatemala to lobby voters and lead Sochi's presentation, speaking French and English with each delegation to secure Russia's win. Putin fought hard for these Olympics, which will be only the second in Russia, though he has a lot to do to pull them off. After the announcement, Putin said, "This is, without a doubt, not just a recognition of Russia's sporting achievements, but it is, beyond a doubt, a judgment of our country." Putin spoke only of Russia's recent successes in its growing economy and its resurgence onto the world stage. People are once again looking at Russia as a noteworthy country. But now that Russia has the games, it faces the task of turning Sochi into a venue capable of holding the Winter Olympics. Russia is expecting a surge of foreign investment into Sochi, which will boost the Russian economy. Most of the sporting facilities will have to be built from scratch, as will Western-class hotels, and the Soviet-era Sochi airport will need an overhaul. The federal government has officially budgeted $7.2 billion to upgrade Sochi's infrastructure, with another $5 billion expected to come from private sources. However, it is expected that the actual reconstruction cost will far exceed these initial estimates. Russia's politically weighty oligarchs have already started to donate funds for the Olympics — most likely to Putin's delight and at his insistence. Private investment company Interros’ president, Vladimir Potanin, is pumping $1.8 billion into a new resort and ski center; aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska is throwing in $2 billion for the airport and a sports venue; U.K.-located Roman Abramovich, who partially owns steel giant Evraz, also has pledged a few billion dollars. Russian natural gas behemoth Gazprom has already started building some of the ski slopes, and is expected to be the largest contributor after the Russian government. It will be good publicity for the Russian energy giant, which already enjoys its name all over tents and slopes when Putin is photographed in Sochi. But the Russian heavyweights will get much back aside from the obvious good graces of the president. Most of those throwing their money into Sochi are in construction, commercial real estate, steel manufacturing, transportation services or energy — all of which are expected to skyrocket with the demands of building and hosting the Olympics. Shares of Mechel and Evraz already soared Thursday with the news. Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said Russia will collect more than $11 billion in taxes from the Olympics, which will help with the costs it is fronting. But the Olympics will not be all fun and games for Russia — it also must prepare for security. Sochi is located on the border of Georgia. It remains unknown as to whether Moscow will be forced to ease diplomatic tensions or impose a forceful hand on Tbilisi to ensure a secure and stable region over the next seven years. And directly across the Georgian border from Sochi is the secessionist region of Abkhazia, which is relatively pro-Russian but has a history of instability and conflict with Georgia. If the tense relationship with Russia continues, Georgia could be prone to push for flare-ups in the region, putting Russia in a difficult political situation. The other large security concern comes from Sochi's close proximity to Chechnya. Putin has worked hard on stopping militant activity in Chechnya since Chechen militants pulled off a series of attacks — such as the Moscow theater incident and the crisis in Beslan. Putin and his group are experienced in security and will no doubt tighten their hold on Russia, Georgia and Chechnya. Putin, even after he leaves office in 2008, will assuredly keep his hand in all the preparations for the Olympics he fought so hard to secure.