I've been in Russia long enough to know how they can finish a project, however shoddily, at the given date, be it Lenin's birthday or some another anniversary... Thanks God they didn't invite Paul Andreu for that one

Anyway, the deadline (Nov., 2007) was set in the initial construction tender for SVO3 and everyone who placed their bids did so with that deadline in mind - including ENKA, the Turkish company that won and is building the terminal. Someone very high in the SU pecking order (not the Son-in-Law himself, but pretty close) told me a huge fine if the deadline is not met is part of the contract. Now, one would hope ENKA knows what it is doing...