The Sochi organisers said it would be the longest torch relay in Winter Olympic history, measuring 65,000 kilometres - more than one-and-a-half times the circumference of the Earth.

The torch will travel from the western exclave of Kaliningrad to the frozen wastes of Chukotka in Russia's Far East, visiting more than 2,900 towns and settlements along the way across all 83 regions of the world's largest country.

"The relay will bring the entire country together, highlighting the diversity and beauty of Russia," Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said during the official presentation in Moscow. "The torch relay is one of the most important and magical events associated with the Olympic Games."

After arriving from Greece, the flame will begin a 123-day journey, starting in Moscow before heading east, looping around the Kamchatka Peninsula, down to Vladivostok - the port city on the Pacific Ocean - and back across southern Siberia via Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater reservoir.

The organisers said the flame would travel by plane, train and car, on foot, and even on a "troika" - a traditional Russian sleigh pulled by horses or reindeer.

The flame should arrive in the Black Sea resort in time for the Olympic Opening Ceremony on February 7, 2014.

More than 14,000 torchbearers and 30,000 volunteers will accompany the relay.

The previous record, with 12,000 torchbearers covering some 45,000 kilometres, was set ahead of the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. (Reporting By Gennady Fyodorov; Editing by Clare Fallon)

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