During the 2018 Winter Olympics, two athletes from this team tested positive for banned substances and were found guilty of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In December 2014, German public broadcaster ARD aired a documentary which made wide-ranging allegations that Russia organized a state-run doping program which supplied their athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

[2] In May 2016, The New York Times published allegations by the former director of Russia's anti-doping laboratory, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, that a conspiracy of corrupt anti-doping officials, Federal Security Service (FSB) intelligence agents, and compliant Russian athletes used banned substances to gain an unfair advantage during the Games.

Rodchenkov stated that the FSB tampered with over 100 urine samples as part of a cover-up, and that a third of the Russian medals won at Sochi were the result of doping.

[3][4][5] On 18 July 2016, an independent investigation commissioned by WADA concluded that it was shown "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the RUSADA, the Ministry of Sport, the FSB and the Centre of Sports Preparation of the National Teams of Russia had "operated for the protection of doped Russian athletes" within a "state-directed failsafe system" using "the disappearing positive [test] methodology".

It was used on 643 positive samples, a number that the authors consider "only a minimum" due to limited access to Russian records.

[4][5][7] Following the release of the McLaren report, the IOC announced the initiation of an investigation of 28 Russian athletes at the Sochi Olympic Games.

The IOC said in a statement that "the result of the CAS decision does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited to the Games.

Not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation" and that "this [case] may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping".

[17] The final number of neutral Russian athletes invited to compete was 169[18] and, after speed skater Olga Graf dropped out, the eventual total was 168.

[21][22] Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, proposed to send fans to the Games with a Soviet Victory Banner.

[citation needed] The International Ice Hockey Federation voiced support for allowing the full participation of "all clean Russian athletes" in the 2018 Winter Games,[29] calling on the IOC to refrain from imposing "collective punishment".

[30] The IOC's decision was heavily criticized by Jack Robertson, who was primary investigator of the Russian doping program on behalf of WADA.

He also highlighted the fact that Russian whistleblowers proved beyond doubt that "99 percent of [their] national-level teammates were doping".

According to Robertson, "[WADA] has discovered that when a Russian athlete [reaches] the national level, he or she [has] no choice in the matter: [it is] either dope, or you're done".

Nadezhda Sergeeva, a bobsleigh pilot, tested positive for trimetazidine, which is also included in WADA's list of banned substances.

The Russian team consists of Victoria Moiseeva, Uliana Vasilyeva, Galina Arsenkina, Julia Guzieva, and Yulia Portunova.

[49] In the first Olympics since 1994 that did not feature any active NHL players, the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) team, consisting primarily of SKA and CSKA players of a Russia-based KHL and featuring ex-NHL all-stars Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Voynov (all SKA), won the gold medal, after a 4–3 overtime victory over the German team in the final.

Russia women's national ice hockey team qualified by finishing 4th in the 2016 IIHF World Ranking.

Nikita Tregubov, who had previously represented Russia at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, secured a silver medal in the event.