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  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

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 MoviePoster.jpghttp:// MoviePoster.jpg  Red Square  Cuban Missile Crisis  Cold War map  Fallout Shelter  Afghanistan map  Carter image  Moscow Olympics poster  1936 Olympics poster  Mexico Olympic medal stand city-olympics-1968.jpghttp://artfiles.art.com/5/p/LRG/14/1432/C8ER000Z/black-power-mexico- city-olympics-1968.jpg  Olympic medal  1980 Olympic medal ceremony Lake Placid flagsH2O.JPG flagsH2O.JPG