Hosting a reception in honor of the Russian athletes who won 22medals, including eight golds, at the Turin Games, Putin said their success "has reaffirmed Russia's status as a sporting power," according to the Kremlin press service.

"Furthermore, Russia's athletes have performed strongly not only in the events traditional for our country, but are also proving themselves ever stronger in new disciplines and are achieving good results," the Russian president said.

Putin singled out the performance of Russian figure skaters at the Turin Games, saying winning three gold medals out of the four possible and taking medals in all categories is "genuinely a sensational result and a very happy sensation for us all indeed."

Russia ranked fourth on the medals table of the Turin Games, after Germany, the United States and Austria.

"All men who won medals at the Turin Winter Olympics will each receive a Toyota Land Cruiser, and all the women medallists will receive a Lexus apiece. All the trainers will receive a premium inrubles equivalent to 25,000 U.S. dollars," Putin said.