Ab Imperio

This book, coauthored by Igor Orlov of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and Aleksey Popov of V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, is a valuable and ambitious study of the social, cultural, and political effects that the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games had had on the Soviet society and political regime. Not so long ago, Russian historians began treating "Bolshoi sport" as a research topic in its own right, and the authors of this book follow this trend.¹ Their study is based on rich archival sources and engages Russian-language and foreign historiography. A major sports event, the Moscow Olympics was also an important landmark in the history of the Cold War, as well as in the history of the Soviet state and society.

The book's objective is to overcome the inertia of the Cold War narrative that is preoccupied with the boycott of the Moscow games [End Page 316] and other geopolitical issues, as well as the Olympic narrative that insists on the games' power to promote democratization of authoritarian states. Instead, the authors offer a social, political, and cultural history of the Moscow Olympic Games. The sheer variety of the abundant primary sources used in the study reflects the diversity of institutions and social actors involved in the organization of the Olympics. The authors worked with the archives of the games' Organization Committee, the Soviet Committee for Sports and Physical Culture, the Communist Party, and the Council of Ministries, both at the union and republican levels. Besides Soviet literature and newspapers, they consulted Englishand German-language press as well as visual sources (photographs, TV broadcasts, caricatures), autobiographies, memoirs, popular songs, and even jokes.

Orlov and Popov argue that the Moscow Olympic Games were used by the Soviet authorities not only to showcase the modernization of the Soviet Union but also to catalyze this modernization in the process of the games' preparation. The Olympics were used as a pretext for ambitious construction projects and the development of new services and practices of consumption, and to boost the morales of the population and enhance the regime's authority. Thus, the Moscow Olympic Games became a perfect example of what the economist Anatoliy Vishnevskiy called "conservative modernization."²

The book tells the story in chronological order – from the preparation of the Olympics to the games themselves, their immediate effect, and finally their legacy – and is arranged into nine chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the Moscow Olympics as an important instrument of Soviet cultural diplomacy and the efforts the Soviets had to make to have the USSR host the games. The Soviet authorities had contemplated hosting the Olympics since the 1950s, but it was not until 1969 that Leonid Brezhnev had fully committed to the cause, so Moscow was granted the right to host the event only in 1974. To achieve this, it was necessary to skillfully navigate the realm of international sports and improve the country's public image.³ Specifically, besides conducting a propaganda campaign and mobilizing the socialist countries in support of Moscow's candidacy, the USSR had to host a number of European and World championships, make Soviet sport [End Page 317] functionaries actively participate in various international federations, and invite athletes from nonrecognized countries to the Soviet Union. The strong opposition in the West to Moscow's hosting the Olympics was countered through local communist parties and friendship with Soviet Union associations.

Chapter 2 analyzes the economic aspect of the games and efforts to adapt the Soviet infrastructure – buildings, communications, services – to international standards. American, West German, French, Japanese, and Finnish companies contributed to the organization of the 1980 Olympics, signing contracts with the Soviet authorities. The ensuing boycott of the games affected some American contracts, but many companies including Coca-Cola saw the event as an opportunity to establish themselves in a new market.

Chapter 3 tackles the symbolic aspects of the Moscow Olympics. The organizers had to adapt traditional Olympic rituals, such as the torch relay and the opening ceremony, and create new ones. Artists and technicians, engineers and teenagers, dancers and athletes were mobilized to produce new...