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Sochi Paralympic Torch to Pass Through 46 Cities

More than 1,500 people will take part in the Sochi Paralympics torch relay, organizers have said.

The relay will pass through 46 cities in all eight federal districts of Russia, beginning in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Feb. 26, three days after the Winter Olympics end.

The torch will travel first north and then west before reaching its final destination at Sochi's Fisht stadium for the Paralympics opening ceremony on March 7.

"We tried to make the relay innovative, unusual and bright," organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Monday.

"Each day, the flame will visit several regions. Along with the bearers we will tell millions of people all over the country about the Paralympic movement, its values and heroes."

At least 300 of the torchbearers will be people with disabilities, organizers said. Notable participants in the relay include triple Olympic synchronized swimming champion Olga Brusnikina and two-time Paralympic sprint champion Fedor Trikolich.

The flame will be flown on March 1 to Stoke Mandeville, in the British county of Buckinghamshire, which is considered the home of the Paralympic movement. It staged the 1948 World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, the forerunner to today's Paralympics.

After a day in Britain, the flame will resume its journey around Russia to Sochi.

The XI Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Sochi from March 7-16.

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