Team Russia under pressure to win at home

Russia's Winter Olympians face intense scrutiny to perform at their home Sochi Games from a public hungry for success to prove the country remains a sporting superpower more than two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But it remains to be seen whether the relatively inexperienced team will be able to satisfy the weight of public expectation, with sport in Russia still suffering from the disappearance of the sports system that vanished along with the USSR.

Russian athletes endured a near-debacle at the 2010 Vancouver Games, returning home with just three gold medals and facing angry questions from a public brought up on the crushing victories of the Cold War years.