Is it game over for Sochi's Winter Olympics resort?

[ROSA KHUTOR, Russia] Stanislav Kuznetsov has a headache like no other: it measures 780,000 square metres and covers a large expanse of Russian mountainside.

The Gorky Gorod resort in the snowy Caucasus peaks above Sochi was packed during the Winter Olympics. Now that the Games have ended, Mr Kuznetsov's job is to keep filling the nine hotels.

And the holiday apartment. And the luxury stores. And the large supermarket complex, which includes a massive artificial beach and lake on the top floor. "We are seriously thinking about the future," said Mr Kuznetsov, deputy chairman of the board at Russian state lender Sberbank, which owns 92 per cent of Gorky Gorod.

His challenge epitomises the broader struggle that Russia faces to get a lasting return on the US$50 billion spent on develo…