1980 Moscow Olympics: A World divided

By: Elise Stevens Wilson

Background to the Games

The Cold War The United States and the Soviet Union had

been antagonistic since 1948. The USSR was communist country while the

US was a democracy with a capitalist economy.

The two countries were sworn enemies who constantly threatened each other, yet no bombs were dropped or armies confronted on a battlefield. That’s why it’s called a cold war.

Both sides constructed many weapons, but didn’t use them – the Arms Race

http://www.darkgovernment.com/images/cold-war.jpg

The Cold War affected all aspects of people’s lives.

The Invasion of Afghanistan

In 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan to support a Marxist (communist) government, not the US-backed government.

The U.S. responds

The US condemned the Soviet Union for invading Afghanistan.

President Carter established an embargo and threatened to boycott the upcoming 1980 Olympics that were being held in Moscow.

Moscow Olympics

The 1980 Summer Games were the first Olympics held by a communist country.

Many western countries like the US and Great Britain believed that the USSR violated people rights and therefore should not be granted the privilege of hosting the Olympics.

Sporting events as a battleground

Sporting events, and the Olympics in particular, became a fierce

competition between the USSR and the United States over who could win more

medals, and therefore, could garner more glory as a nation.

Politics in Previous Olympics

The Moscow Olympics were not the first to be politicized. (Left: 1936, Right: 1968)

Sources

Dr. Strangelove Poster http://www.historyteacher.net/HistoryThroughFilm/Images/DrStrangelove-MoviePoster.jpg

Red Square http://www.lindsayfincher.com/russia/RedSquareParade.gif Cuban Missile Crisis http://www.state.gov/cms_images/SovietMissilesIII.jpg Cold War map http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/russia/images/coldwar.gif Fallout Shelter http://www.boingboing.net/_109_301226946_562a8d849f.jpg Afghanistan map

http://www.rescueattempt.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/afghan-1.jpg Carter image http://trcs.wikispaces.com/file/view/JIMMY.jpg/41121037/JIMMY.jpg Moscow Olympics poster

http://estate.vonrunte.com/wp-content/uploads/1980/03/moscow.jpg 1936 Olympics poster http://www.nelson.usf.edu/spccoll/collect/images/36oly.jpg Mexico Olympic medal stand http://artfiles.art.com/5/p/LRG/14/1432/C8ER000Z/black-

power-mexico-city-olympics-1968.jpg Olympic medal 1980

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1980_Summer_Olympics_bronze_medal.JPG 1980 Olympic medal ceremony Lake Placid

http://rockefeller.tv/db3/00260/rockefeller.tv/_uimages/Olympics-1980-GoldMedalCeremony-flagsH2O.JPG