OUTSIDE the Russia House, headquarters for the country's Olympic delegation in Turin, a horde of people gathered at the entryway, looking frozen and distraught.
"Please, I am Russian," one woman in heavy mascara and skintight jeans pleaded to a security guard late last Tuesday night. But the guard, in his red Russian team jacket, did not budge. The red rope keeping the woman from the hottest party spot at th
e Turin Games did not fall away.
"Sorry, but everybody says they are Russian," the security guard said before looking the other way.
For decades, Russian and Soviet Union athletes represented a cold, intimidating delegation at the Olympics. But in Turin, there has been a turnabout.
It is now hip to be Russian.
The Russians' red-and-white uniforms and gear, with their distinctive paisley-like design that mimics a pattern on Russian coins, are big sellers, to Russians and non-Russians alike. The Russian spectators at the Olympic sites are wildly enthusiastic, with flags waving and chants of "Russia! Russia!" echoing through the crowd.
And the parties held at the place they call Russky Dom, for Russia House, are filled with Russian dignitaries, movie stars, directors and pop stars. The athletes often make an appearance as well.
"We have the best parties because we made Russia House look like our motherland," said Olga Yudkis, a spokeswoman for the Russian luxury clothing company Bosco di Ciliegi, which sponsors Russia House.
At those parties, which happen nightly, a Russian polka/rock band plays. Borscht is served from huge vats sitting on an outdoor fire. At several bars, vodka drinks are served, some with syrupy blackcurrant juice or orange rinds that bartenders set alight before dropping them into a martini glass.
For years, the Russian and Soviet teams were considered the evil empire of the Olympics. Their athletes seemed mass-produced by the Soviet machine. They performed like robots. Now they have turned into a fun-loving group with a reputation as great party hosts.
"The Soviet Union used to be a powerful country and that made people think we were all bad and intimidating," said Yekaterina Galkina, who is on the Russian curling team. "But now we are kind and warm, not scary."
It's just as the American figure skater Johnny Weir preached from the moment the Olympics began: no one is cooler than the Russians. Weir, who finished fifth in the men's figure skating competition, showed up at the Russia House after midnight on Tuesday for his second consecutive night of partying.
This time he wore a beaver-and-python jacket and True Religion jeans, blending in with the other men and women in fur and designer gear. In minutes, he had a leggy Russian woman in stilettos on each arms.
"These are friends of the lawyer of the richest man in Moscow," Weir said in passing, as the women tossed their long hair. "These Russians know how to have a good time."
The women interrupt him: "C'mon, Johnny," one brunette said, in a heavy Russian accent. "We want to dance."
"Dve minuti!" he yelled out in Russian, telling them to wait two minutes before running off.
On Tuesday night, Tatyana Navka, part of the gold-medal-winning ice dancing team, toasted her victory with fans and friends, raising her glass and saying, "Na zdorovie!" (To your health!)
Some of the Russians' Olympic gear, designed by Bosco, is on the verge of selling out, despite its high prices. Sweatshirts with the word Russia written in Cyrillic are €149 (£101). .
Bosco's biggest seller is the Russian Olympic team's mascot, Cheburashka, a white animal with huge ears and saucer-sized eyes. The character of Cheburashka comes from a children's tale about a strange animal from Africa who lands in Russia via a crate of oranges. Athletes have Cheburashkas attached to key chains hanging from their backpacks. Fans fling stuffed Cheburashkas on to the ice after the Russian figure skaters perform.
"In the past, Russians hardly had money for food, but now they have more money to travel and come to the Olympics," said Konstantin Zadvornov, president of the Russian curling federation. "Now we can cheer on our sportsmen, which we could never do before."
