The Russian government's estimated $50 billion investment in the Olympic Games since submitting the winning bid in 2007 has remade Sochi, but it could not wipe away all of its history.
Behind a grove of trees near the figure skating venue sits arguaby the only thing organizers could not move in its preparations: a cemetery established in 1915 with connections to a sect of the Orthodox Church.
By Russian law, a cemetery can only be removed after burials have ceased for 50 years -- and then only with the consent of relatives.
Grave markers during construction around Sochi last winter.
Large swaths of adjacent neighborhoods and farmland were turned over to the government, with residents relocated a short distance away, but these 2.5 acres were left essentially untouched, save for barrier put in place to protect grave markers.
