23.01 Sochi Olympic Flame Arrives in Russia's North Caucasus

PYATIGORSK, January 23 (R-Sport) - The Sochi Olympic torch relay arrived in Russia's troubled North Caucasus Thursday with a visit to the regional capital, Pyatigorsk.

The flame, celebrated by the Olympic movement as a symbol of peace and friendship, begins its journey through a territory that is home to Islamist insurgent groups blamed for terrorist bombings both inside the region and across Russia.

Its arrival was made more significant by twin suicide bomb blasts in the nearby city of Volgograd that claimed 34 lives in December. In response, Russian officials trimmed some of the proposed relay routes through less stable areas such as neighboring Dagestan's capital Makhachkala to minimize the safety risk to torchbearers.

"Pyatigorsk has the honor of being the first town in the North Caucasus to receive the torch relay," Pyatigorsk City Hall said in a statement.

The city of 142,000 people was named the administrative capital of the North Caucasus Federal District when the Kremlin created the region in 2010 and appointed Alexander Khloponin to oversee it.