The New York Times refers to Russia as a "proud sports juggernaut that has long used the Olympics as a show of global force," and reports the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) is punishing it after confirming "the nation was guilty of executing an extensive state-backed doping program."
Even though the I.O.C says cleared athletes could compete independently, Russia may not allow that to happen:
President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to predict a boycott of the Pyeongchang Games with a defiant dismissal of the doping scandal and a foreign policy in recent years that has centered on the premise that he has rescued Russia from the humiliation inflicted on it by the West after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Read More: Russia Banned from Winter Olympics by I.O.C. (NYT)
Related: Putin is to blame for the tragedy of Russia’s Olympics ban (WaPo Opinion)