While the International Olympic Committee members were chatting on the plane, they suddenly noticed a line of fully armed black armored vehicles rolling onto the airport tarmac. The impressive convoy made it obvious these belonged to one of Russia's special security units.
"Why is the Russian military involved? Shouldn't the city government usually be the one sending cars to pick us up?" the IOC members wondered, staring out the windows in confusion.
They hadn't gotten this kind of heavy-duty welcome in London, Paris, or New York.
"Why don't we head down and see what's going on?" IOC Vice Chairman Anthony suggested. He wasn't sure what the Russian government was playing at, but he figured they wouldn't pull anything crazy.
As over a hundred IOC members stepped off the plane, they saw an officer in black combat fatigues standing alongside Sochi Mayor Barkov and a young Russian man.
This Russian officer was no ordinary guy. He didn't belong to the regular military or the Interior Ministry. He was from the Federal Security Service—better known as the FSB.
The FSB handled counter-espionage inside Russia and took on major organized crime and terrorist threats. Their role was basically a mix of the American FBI and CIA.
Vice Chairman Anthony spotted the FSB insignia on the officer's chest right away. He realized this wasn't the military but national security.
After some quick greetings, Anthony turned to Mayor Barkov with a puzzled look. "Mayor Barkov, why has your government brought in the FSB for our reception? We're honestly a little surprised by the scale of this welcome."
Barkov didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at the young Russian man beside him. As mayor, he didn't have the authority to pull in FSB personnel on his own—different agencies.
Only one person had that kind of pull and respect: the young man standing there. After the Chechen and Afghan operations, Mavi had built some serious connections with the FSB.
When Barkov looked to him instead of answering, Anthony's eyes followed to Mavi, who was dressed in a sharp suit.
"It's quite simple, Vice Chairman Anthony," Mavi explained smoothly. "To guarantee everyone's safety during your visit, we've brought in the FSB to provide a full special operations detail. As we outlined in our bid documents, if Sochi is selected as the 2012 Olympic host city, the Russian government will deploy fifty thousand specially armed personnel to maintain order and security throughout the Summer Games."
Mavi laid it out confidently for the IOC committee. Security and level of government support had always been two of the biggest evaluation criteria.
Security didn't need much explanation—pretty much every Olympics dealt with protests, violence, and disturbances. It hurt the Games' reputation and the host city's image. Some extremists had even targeted athletes from other countries, which was a nightmare the IOC constantly worried about.
Government support was tied directly to funding and security. Strong backing meant they'd go all out on money and manpower. You couldn't see real commitment in paperwork; you had to witness it firsthand.
The presence of the FSB team sent a clear message about how serious Russia was, making a strong first impression.
"Fifty thousand special armed personnel?" Vice Chairman Anthony replied with a smile. "Mr. Mavi, please thank your government for their strong interest and support of the Olympic Games."
The other candidate cities—Paris, New York, London—had only committed to twenty or thirty thousand security people. Russia was offering more than double that. And when it came to the fighting spirit of the Russian people, fifty thousand special forces meant rock-solid security.
Everyone remembered stories of how Russian soccer hooligans, even when outnumbered, had sent British fans scattering during past tournaments...
After hearing Anthony's response, Mavi knew they'd nailed one of the twelve key evaluation points: security. Combined with the detailed bid book Sochi had submitted, the committee members would be forming their own opinions.
Of course, security alone wasn't nearly enough to win an Olympic bid. In the twenty days of the Games, millions of spectators and tourists plus tens of thousands of athletes would flood into the city like a tidal wave.
That put enormous pressure on transportation planning and basic infrastructure. The IOC members needed to see that Sochi had a real plan for handling it. In simple terms: exactly how much money the Russian government was willing to spend to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"Mr. Mavi, Mayor Barkov," Anthony said directly, "as you both know, hosting the Olympics is an incredibly massive project. So if I may ask bluntly—how much funding is your government prepared to commit to this bid?"
They had asked the same question in London, Paris, and New York and received different numbers. The amounts gave them a good sense of each government's level of enthusiasm. These were still preliminary figures, of course. The real spending would come later.
For example, the British government had set an upper limit of $14.56 billion for London 2012...
Mavi answered calmly, "For the total investment in the 2012 Summer Olympics, our Russian government is prepared to commit at least sixty billion U.S. dollars."