Sochi may well represent a milestone for Russia, but perhaps not the one Mr. Putin has envisaged. For all its beauty and history, Sochi and the circumstances around the Olympics have dampened, rather than heightened, the luster evoked by the Russian leader, and not just because Sochi’s subtropical climate will be a challenge for Winter Olympics. More important is its proximity to the volatile North Caucasus, where Islamic militants clash daily with Russian forces; that backdrop has forced extraordinary security measures, heightened after two bombings in Volgograd that killed 34 people in December, and recent reports that female suicide bombers may have entered the Olympic Games enclave. The cost of building the untested facilities has been reported to be an unprecedented $51 billion. And Russian legislation banning homosexual “propaganda” has prompted calls for protests and boycotts.