Afghanistan: Olympics close with tribute to Russian artists and a little self-deprecating humor --- SOCHI, Russia — The Winter Olympics closed Sunday night with all the elegance of a Fabergé egg, a glittering evening tucked full of tributes to the Russian arts, opening to reveal carefully crafted surprises, small jokes and even painful memories. -- Beyond the celebration of a rich cultural tradition, this was an evening to salute the athletes who marched so joyfully through the arena — and for Russia to proclaim it had delivered all it promised when it was elected seven years ago to host the Winter Games. -- “We did it,” Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, told a cheering crowd. “We conquered the Olympic summit. And these Games will be with us forever.” -- This, he said, was a great moment in Russian history. -- “This is the new face of Russia,” he said, “our Russia.”