At a ceremony at his out-of-town residence of Novo-Ogarevo, Putin appointed Bolloyev as President of Olimpstroi, the state firm in charge of overseeing the construction programme for the Olympics.

 

He replaces Viktor Kolodyazhny, a former Mayor of Sochi, who was appointed just over one year ago.

 

Kolodyazhny was not present during the inspection of the  International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Coordination Commission to the resort on the Black Sea and at the time officials had claimed that Kolodyazhny was on holiday as Bolloyev sat in for him.

 

But now they said he has left because of personal matters.

 

Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia responsible for overseeing preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, said: “Due to personal circumstances Viktor Kolodyazhny has asked to transfer to another role that is permanently based in the Krasnodar Region. 

 

"Taimuraz Bolloyev is known as one of the top managers in the country.

 

"His profile and respectability will help him to fulfil the main function of Olympstroy, which is to coordinate and control the contribution of all participants in the Olympic project, from the State involvement through to private investors.”

 

Bolloyev founded Baltika in the hectic privatisations of the 1990s and saw it become one of Russia's most successful businesses, famous for numbering its beers according to strength and flavour.

 

It is now wholly owned by Danish brewer Carlsberg and Bolloyev stepped down as chairman in 2004.

 

He now has his own construction firm building business centres in Saint Petersburg and sits on a commission of entrepreneurs that advises Putin.

 

He has been deputy chairman of Olimpstroi since the start of this year.

 

Bolloyev said: “It is truly an honour to be appointed to such a prominent role in Olympic construction.

 

"I will work tirelessly to ensure that development for this national priority project is delivered to the highest quality and on schedule.

 

"Having lead this development in recent times at Olympstroy, I can confirm that great progress has been made and that we are firmly on-track according to the realistic development schedule.

 

“We are now about to embark on the next phase of development – the fully fledged construction stage – with strong momentum.”
 

Jean-Claude Killy, the chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission,  said Russia faces an "immense" task to build infrastructure largely from scratch for the 2014 Games but is confident it can finish the work on time.

 

To conduct the sports event on the balmy Black Sea coast, Russia needs to spend lavishly on upgrading Soviet-era infrastructure and building new facilities in the hitherto quiet mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana.

 

Alpine and nordic skiing races as well as ice sports like luge and bobsleigh will be held in the mountains above Sochi, while other events like ice hockey and skating will take part in Sochi itself, the site of the Olympic Village.

 

Addressing Bolloyev, Putin said Sochi 2014 goes beyond a private development, and is a national priority project.

 

He said: “I would like to ask you to pay special attention to ensure that the schedule of all construction work is fully respected and the conditions of people working on construction are taken care of, as well as fulfilling the social rights of citizens who will be relocated and managing the costs of the venues to be constructed.”