It was a disappointing day for U.S. fencing, however, with Athens and Beijing champion Mariel Zagunis and Ibtihaj Muhammad both losing their second bouts.
Egorian scored her fourth win in a year over Velikaya to pick up the gold medal in a final so tense and quiet that a baby could be heard crying in the stands.
"It was the most difficult fight because Sofya has as much right to this medal as I do," said Egorian, who shared a long hug with her smiling compatriot just moments after their bout.
It was the first all-Russian Olympic fencing final in 20 years.
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The highly touted Americans were out before the quarter-finals. Both took over an hour to compose themselves before facing reporters having left the piste overwhelmed with emotion.
Muhammad, an African-American Muslim who became the first U.S. Olympian to compete in a hijab, admitted frustration with her early exit but pride in making history.
"Anyone who has paid attention to the news at all would realise the importance of having a Muslim woman on Team USA ... in light of what's going on in our country, the political fuss that we hear about," she said.
Muhammad parried direct questions about presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has proposed a temporary ban on Muslim immigration.
However, she said she was "challenging misconceptions about who the Muslim woman is ... that someone is forcing me to wear a hijab, that I'm oppressed, that I don't have a voice".
Kharlan beat Manon Brunet to the bronze medal, extending France's wait for a return to the podium. The traditional fencing powerhouse came away from London empty-handed for the first time since 1960.
They will hope to address that on Tuesday in the individual epee. France has three of the world's top six epee fencers competing in Rio, including top-ranked Gauthier Grumier.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
