With the Winter Olympics set to kick off in Sochi tomorrow, we take a look back at the rich cultural legacy of the last Games Russia hosted.

Sometimes the life of a sports editor is trying: back of the bus treatment, spotty food, rough accommodations. But Sochi, as Russian Life sports editor Mikhail Ivanov reports, is a breath of fresh air for this seasoned sports reporter.

It’s now just 7 days until the start of the Sochi Olympics and here at Russian Life we are getting pretty excited. Sure, it’s our thing to get excited about all things Russian. But it’s more than that. Here are 7 reasons we’re particularly amped.

Their 1964 Olympic win at Innsbruck started a winning streak in pairs skating that has not bee, and likely never will be, equaled. So why have Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov not been invited to Sochi?

Olympic host countries typically garner many more medals than their average take at a games. We look at Russia's prospects and what their victory could "cost" Russia. The story includes a two-page guide to the games, with a schedule of events and maps of the venues.

A tale of two long distance road races – Russia’s oldest and its most prestigious – and what they tell us about the state of running and fitness in Russia.

Each year, thousands of hikers are drawn to the Caucasus, convinced it will be no problem to scale Europe’s highest peak. After all, it’s only 18,510 feet, and a rail car can take you up to the base camp at 12,500 feet. But Elbrus is a devious mountain.

One year from the opening of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, we look at some of the less conventional bits of news about the coming games.

The Olympics are upon us again, and already pundits are guessing at national medal counts. We, meanwhile, look at some of Russia’s top medal hopefuls.

There is not a single Russian-born player in the American Baseball Hall of Fame. Yet if the tide of history had flowed just a bit differently, Victor Starffin might well have ended up in Cooperstown alongside Ruth, Gehrig, Killebrew and Mays.

Turning Sochi into an Olympic city is a Herculean task. Environmentalists, local residents and bookkeepers are all wary. And then there is Georgia, just a few kilometers away.

Top WNBA players are streaming to Russia to play pro basketball. And while they are unquestionably having an effect on Russian basketball, Russia is having its effect on them.