President Dmitry Medvedev told members of Russia's Olympic team on Tuesday that their Beijing victories would contribute to the revival of patriotism.
"The feelings we experience watching you go up on that podium are incomparable. It is really true love and pride for us, for our country and for our victories," he told a hall full of Olympic athletes.
Medvedev met a few of the 467 athletes going to the Beijing Olympics, where Russia is expected to win about 90 medals in 20 events. The men and women wore the blue and red blazers they will wear during the Aug. 8 opening ceremony.
Russia has pumped up its athletic reputation at home and abroad with wins this year at the World Hockey Championships and the UEFA Cup soccer championship for St. Petersburg's Zenit.
Last month the Russian national soccer squad played into the semi-finals of the European championship.
"Take the recent soccer victories as a good example for yourselves," Medvedev said. "During those days the entire country saw once again how much our patriotism can be inspired by sport."
Russia inherited the bulk of the Soviet Union's Olympic infrastructure after 1991, but funding dried up and youth development programmes languished as the country endured an industrial collapse and an economic depression.
The revival of sport, both popular and professional, is viewed by the Kremlin as a sign of recovery backed by eight years of economic boom.
Medvedev and his powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have also sought to share in the limelight of sporting victory each time the athletes win.
Russia's victory last year in its quest to host the 2014 Winter Olympics at its Black Sea resort of Sochi fuelled nationwide celebrations. The government has allocated more than $10 billion to prepare for the games.
Victories in Beijing are intended to show that Russia is back as a major sports nation and the government has promised awards of up to 100,000 euros ($157,000) for gold medal wins.