The mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana in the Caucasus has been transformed from a summer refuge best known for its unspoilt landscape, its wild mushrooms and its bilberries into the future site of Russia’s biggest winter sports centre.

Gazprom, the gas group, is building a $375m ski resort with three hotels, 42 chalets, covered parking for a thousand cars, and lifts serving a planned 50km of pistes. The complex has its own (gas-fired) power station to avoid overloading the local grid. Along the valley, the regional and local authorities are building a $500m ski complex, complete with lifts, hotels and piste-side holiday homes. A few kilometres away, Interros, the group headed by billionaire Vladimir Potanin is carving an access road across the hills before beginning work on a $262m ski resort.