Modern Russia cherishes its imperial past – the age when it managed to re-make itself from a quirky, old-fashioned giant on Europe's periphery to a full-fledged European power to be contended with and respected. No one doubts that Russia's imperial history will be displayed front and center during the opening ceremony; it's just a question of how far the organizers will go to hammer home the point.
Peter the Great, Russia's legendary modernizing tzar, is certain to make an appearance, and it's rumored that he will be bringing along the entire flotilla of warships that the monarch once constructed from scratch on the Baltic Sea's shores. How to tell him apart: look for a royal-looking tall guy in imperial-era military fatigues, standing on the deck of a giant vessel.
