NBC Glorifies Russia's Soviet Past as 'One of Modern History's Pivotal Experiments'

From NBC's 7 February 2014 coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia:

PETER DINKLAGE (voice-over): Russia overwhelms. Russia mystifies. Russia transcends. Through every stage of its story, it's resisted any notion of limitation. Through every re-invention, only redoubling its desire to cast a towering presence. The empire that ascended to affirm a colossal footprint; the revolution that birthed one of modern history's pivotal experiments. But if politics has long shaped our sense of who they are, it's passion that endures, as a more reliable light to their collective heart.