1980 moscow olympics: a world divided by: elise stevens wilson
TRANSCRIPT
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 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