1 With an outsize extravaganza that reached deep into the repertory of classical music and ballet, traversed the sights and sounds of the world's largest geopolitical expanse, soared into outer space and swept across millenniums of history in a celebration of everything from czarist military might to Soviet monumentalism, a swaggering, resurgent Russia turned its Winter Olympic aspirations into reality on Friday night.
2 Many people were critical of the resurgent militarism in the country.
3 It was startling to see the spirit of nationalism resurge as the Soviet Union disintegrated into a loose federation of ethnic and national groups.