1980 Moscow Olympics: A World dividedBy: 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 battlegroundSporting 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 OlympicsThe 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