Soviet Sports History and the Olympic Movement

Abstract

The rich and competitive spirit of Soviet culture helped to drive many of the policies of the Soviet Union, including those involving their participation in international sports. The Soviet practice of utilizing international sporting events for political purposes helped to shape the history of sports in the Soviet Union, especially after World War II. Although it relates only peripherally to the main points of this book, it should be noted that the Russians were competing in the Olympics prior to World War I and the founding of the Soviet Union. They had made sporadic appearances in the Olympics from the early planning stages of revitalizing the Games through the Russian Revolution.