Since the 1996 games in Atlanta, the ROC has awarded USD 50,000 to gold-medal winners, but will splash out close to USD 160,000 to the nation's Olympic champions.

Bonuses for silver and bronze medals will increase more than fourfold to 60,000 and 40,000 euros respectively, from previous USD 20,000 and USD 10,000.

"The Russian government must still approve the proposal, but it should be done in the next few days as everything has already been agreed," ROC spokesman Gennady Shvets was quoted as saying by the media. According to ROC officials, the new amounts fairly reflect the much higher cost of living compared to a decade ago.

"For example, in 1996, you could buy an apartment in Moscow for USD 50,000. Now, that would not be enough even for a good car. So we had to adjust our bonuses accordingly," ROC official told reporters.

In addition to official bonuses, all medal winners will receive large cash bonuses from various sports funds and private sponsors like energy giant Gazprom.