The three new stamps were unveiled at a photo exhibition in the Russian State Duma building in Moscow as celebrations continued to mark the countdown to the Opening Ceremony of Sochi 2014, which is due to take place on February 7. 

They feature athletes from three of the most popular Winter Olympic sports for spectators, ice hockey, biathlon and curling.

The Ceremony was attended by dignitaries, including Alexander Zhukov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee and newly elected member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC),

Also present was Nikolai Zimyatov, a four-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing at Lake Placid 1980 and Sarajevo 1984, as well as Yuri Kashkarov, who also won a gold medal in 1984. 

The new stamps have been unveiled to commemorate the Sochi Winter Olympic Games which get underway next February


The release of stamps by the host nation have long formed a key component of the Modern Summer and Winter Olympic Games

The "Olympic Winter Sports" series for Sochi began in 2011 with the release of three stamps featuring cross-country, ski jumping, and short track.

Six stamps were added to the series in 2012 encompassing alpine skiing, snowboarding, speed-skating, skeleton, luge, and freestyle skiing.

In 2013, the series expanded to include bobsleigh, figure skating and Nordic combined before the final three sports were acknowledged this week. .

The total circulation of all stamps issued in 2011 was more than 10 million, while in 2012 this reached approximately 12 million.

In total, six sheets of stamps and 50 different stamps, maximum cards and postcards will be released prior to the Games, as well as collectors' editions of all the stamps released in decorative bindings.

As well as the sports, other subjects used for these stamps will include mascots of the 2014 Games, the Olympic sports venues, the Olympic Torch Relay, sporting legends and views of the local Krasnodar Region.