THE USSR's FAKE OLYMPICS,

Having boycotted the 1984 games in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union hosted its own competition

- Jonathan Gordon

Following the death of Stalin in 1953, sport had increasingly become an important pillar of the Soviet Union. Great effort had been made to re-engage with international sporting communities following years of self-imposed exile. In this context, the USSR's decision to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics being hosted in Los Angeles, California, comes as a bit of a surprise. That the state decided to organise its own competing athletics competition to overlap with the Olympics, even more surprising.

THE SECOND COLD WAR

Relations between the superpowers of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had been deteriorating in this period. The age of Détente, when the Cold War had cooled even more, was over and a more aggressive foreign policy was being pursued (or at least postured) by both nations. Military budgets were increased, political rhetoric heightened and proxy conflicts escalated. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a key flash point for this diplomatic shift, which resulted in the United States leading a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics being hosted by Moscow. In total 65 nations chose not to participate in the games, with 80 nations still attending.

In a conflict where the possible use of nuclear weapons casts a dark shadow over events, choosing not to send athletes to a sports competition may not seem like a massive slight. 1980 was also not the first time that nations had chosen to boycott an Olympic Games for one reason or another. It was the largest such action to date, which was a blow to the prestige of the event. And, as mentioned, the Soviet Union took sporting achievement very seriously, especially when it offered an opportunity to compete with the Americans and show superiority or dominance for all the world to see.

SOVIET SPORT