In an unusual debate on Wednesday, the upper...
Russia finished the Vancouver Games with its worst Winter Olympic medal tally in history, winning just three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes to finish 11th in the overall table.
A lot of hopes had been pinned on Russia"s superstar-packed ice hockey team, but it was knocked out of the tournament at the quarterfinal stage by eventual winners Canada.
And decades of Russian dominance in figure skating came to a dramatic end as Russian athletes failed to grab any gold medals for the first time since 1964.
The Federation Council issued its groundbreaking statement after hearing a report from Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko delivered a report on Russia"s Olympic performance, declaring that the lack of medals was a "consequence of serious defects in the system for preparing athletes."
By contrast, the Council praised the Russian Paralympic team, who topped the Vancouver overall standings with 38 medals and were second in the gold medal count after Germany.