One of the rings forming the Olympic Rings fails to open during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, today. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Music, dance and plenty of Russian bravado unleashed the ultimate achievement of Vladimir Putin’s Russia on Thursday — a Winter Olympics to showcase the best athletes on ice and snow that the world has to offer. The opening ceremony on the edge of the Black Sea and subsequent games are Russia’s chance to tell its story of post-Soviet resurrection to the world, and dispel the anger, fear and suspicion that has marred the buildup to these most expensive Olympics ever. Just after the sun set over the Caucasus Mountains and along the seashore just outside Fisht Stadium in the wet-paint-fresh Olympic Park, Russian TV star Yana Churikova shouted to a pre-show crowd still taking their seats: “Welcome to the center of the universe!”/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Are your feelings toward modern Mother Russia as intense as they were during the old USSR era?