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Tonya Bettineschi

His 360

Professor Esposito

June 27, 2016

“Sports as a Soviet Weapon”

The Events of World War II led to tensions developing between the United States and the

Soviet Union and led to the Cold War. These two former allies during World War II found

themselves at the end of the 1940s competing in about every aspect of life in order to win the

Cold War. The Soviet Union used unconventional tactics, such as sports, to defeat the United

States in a war that involved no physical fighting.

The Soviet Union was established on December 30 of 1922. The Union of Soviet

Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.), as it was formerly known as, was a confederation of Eastern

European states with its headquarters located in Moscow, Russia. It is important to understand

the origins and the political agenda of the Soviet Union when discussing the Cold War in order

to better understand the tensions that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union. The

Soviet Union was established as a communist state that expanded through a large portion of the

European continent, joining together 15 countries. In the U.S.S.R, all aspects of government and

politics were controlled by the communist party and had little to none involvement from the

people.

When the Soviet Union was first established in 1922, it found itself under the leadership

of the Prime Minister, Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was the primary leader of the Soviet Union and
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responsible for many of its successes. After Russia was defeated in World War I, Vladimir Lenin

called for a revolution of the Russian government. He believed that the country was way too

weak and in order to gain any power or respect in the world, it would need a serious revolution

and reform. Lenin gained wide support of the peasants in Russia because he promised to give

them land and food, things that were in high demand after the war. With this support, Lenin

became very popular and fueled his communist campaign. In the summer of 1917, Lenin took

control over the government in St. Petersburg, Russia. He installed a communist government and

formed the Soviet Union in 1922.

Lenin was successful in that his domestic policies helped Russia become industrialized

and militarized. He paved the way for Joseph Stalin to rise to power and create the strong super

power of the Soviet Union with the conclusion of World War II. This is extremely important

because it puts the Soviet Union in a position to fight in WWII and established their position to

fight the Cold War against the United States. Under Stalin, Russia produced steal, new methods

of transportations such as railroads and cars, and most important armaments. They have the

ability now to produce weapons and machinery that will help them during war time.

Joseph Stalin was arguably the most influential leader during the Cold War. Stalin came

to power in 1928 and was directly influenced by the leadership of Lenin. The period of Joseph

Stalin’s rule over the Soviet Union was extremely significant and had many lasting consequences

and impacts. Stalin created a strong, powerful government in the Soviet Union and also was

successful in extending communism into countries of Eastern Europe. The most important

contribution Stalin made to the Soviet Union was making it a superpower of the world after the
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Second World War and building a strong government and culture that could compete with the

United States during the Cold War.

The relationships between the United States and the Soviet Union began during WWII

and was strained when the U.S.S.R. was forced to “bore the brunt of the German offensive”1

without any aid from their allies. The Soviet Union and the Germans had previously made an

agreement, The Soviet-Nazi pact which established non aggression between the two countries.

However, Nazi Germany went against this pact. The fighting that occurred on the

Russian-German front was extremely brutal and fierce, and a shock to many Russians.The Soviet

Union wanted to open a second front in France to fight Germany during the war. Delayed

intervention from Churchill and Truman “created diplomatic problems”2 between these

countries.

The hesitation from the United States to get involved and send aid to Russian troops was

a leading cause of the Cold War. From 1942, Joseph Stalin pleaded the U.S. to invade German

occupied France. This would open up a second front and would seriously benefit the Soviet

Union in their fight against Nazi Germany. The United States refused Stalin’s request which

created severe tensions between the two countries. Stalin believed that the United States did not

get involved because it was not in the interest of the U.S. to find itself at the end of the war

dealing with a stronger Soviet Union if they defeated the Nazi’s. The United States wanted to get

rid of communism altogether and so Stalin concluded that the U.S. would not get involved in

stopping German occupation in France so that the Nazi’s and Soviet could weaken eachother and

therefore preserve the capitalistic democracies throughout Western Europe.

1
​Thomas S. Arms, ​Encyclopedia of the Cold War​ (New York, NY : Facts on File, c1994.), 522

2
Arms,​ Encyclopedia of the Cold War​, 522
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The United States was refusing to intervene because they were more afraid of Stalin then

they were of Hitler. The spread of communism was such a major threat to the United States at

this time that it was a logical explanation of the U.S.’s delayed intervention. However, the

United States did not provide their allies, the Soviet Union, with aid until June of 1944. The

United States remained neutral at the time of Stalin’s requests. The United States could not get

involved at the height of German-Russian conflicts because the U.S. was not prepared to go to

war. President Roosevelt, at the time, did not have a big enough army to send into Europe to

fight in World War II. When the army was big enough, nited States troops stormed the beaches

of Normandy in June of 1944, providing aid for the Soviet Union and other European allies

fighting against Germany.

Although the Soviet Union finally received help in 1944, the hesitation created a distrust

among the countries. Stalin and the Soviet Union grew to distrust the United States. These two

countries were allies during the World War II with a common enemy, Germany. It was supposed

to be the United States’ obligation to help their allies when they needed. However, this was not

the case. The United States needed more time to train troops and develop a strong enough army

to fight against a powerful Nazi Germany. However, the Soviets did not believe this was the real

reason behind the delay. Instead, they believe that it was an intentional plan to weaken the Soviet

Union. World War II contributed to the start of the Cold War because it helped to develop

tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

At the end of World War II, The Soviet Union emerged as a superpower. By 1939, the

USSR was a country fully capable of a mass production effort. The changes in the economy and

the government set into place by both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin prepared the Soviet
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Union for a colossal war effort. Meaning that the Soviet Union would be ready to enter into a

large war and be successful. As a result, the USSR was successful during WWII in producing

enough tanks, planes, and weapons than the Germans could. Mass production served as a turning

point for the U.S.S.R. during World War II. After years of Germany defeating them, the Soviets

were capable of mass production by 1943 and were able to push Germany back. The Soviet

Union at this point in time was also successful in developing a strong, powerful army that

contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany. The creation of the mighty Red Army of the U.S.S.R.

soon became a military superpower. Although the Soviet Union was finally winning on the

Russian-German front, they still needed assistance in France. The Soviet Union, throughout

World War II, had developed a , allowing it to emerge as a superpower by 1945.

Tensions continued to grow however in 1945, after the allies helped to defeat Nazi

Germany. The Potsdam Conference was held in July of 1945, almost a full year after the UNited

States got involved in the war. This conference was held in order to discuss the terms for the end

of the war. Nazi Germany had been defeated by the allies and the Big Three met in order to agree

upon the terms of Germany's surrender, and also to discuss the issues that were not resolved in

the Yalta Conference. The Potsdam Conference was a significant event that led to the Cold War

because at this conference, U.S. President Harry Truman was informed of the creation of the

atomic bomb. U.S. possession of this bomb meant that the United States no longer needed the

help of their allies, the Soviet Union, in invaded Japan. With the news, Truman immediately

developed a tougher stand against Stalin and the Soviet Union’s position. The Soviet Union

instantly felt threatened by the atomic bomb and began to shift towards nuclear research. The

announcement of the atomic bomb at the Potsdam Conference heightened tensions and began the
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Nuclear Arms Race of the Cold War. The tensions developed during World War II and at the end

of it at the Potsdam Conference, made these two superpowers go head to head.

The Cold War, fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, was a clash of

very different political beliefs and ideologies. The Cold War officially began in 1947 and ended

in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. At this time, the United States and the Soviet Union

had both emerged as world superpowers. Although the Soviets were not as strong as the United

States, Americans still feared “the potential of Soviet ideology/ideas”3 that had the potential to

spread throughout Europe. Spheres of Influence, a Soviet foreign policy, legitimized Stalin’s

goal of “exploiting every opportunity for expansion”4 in order to become more powerful. The

Soviet Union wanted to expand its influence into its neighboring Eastern European countries,

which seriously alarmed the United States. The United States was troubled by this Soviet policy

because of the “degree of control Stalin sought in Central and Eastern Europe”5 As a response,

President Truman issued The Containment Policy which would be “able to contain communism

within its current borders”6 and prevent the Soviet Union from influencing any countries outside

its spheres of influence.

The Cold War was an interesting period of tension and conflict between two former

Allies during World War II. Soviet- American tensions and the Cold War “imposed a bipolar

order with worldwide repercussions”7. The Cold War had a massive impact on both countries as

well as the entire world. The Cold War brought about new relationships and new threats to the

3
​Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, ​The Origins of the Cold War​ (New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.), 28.
4
​Kennedy-Pipe, ​Origins​, 28.
5
Kennedy-Pipe, ​Origins​, 65
6
​“Containment and the Marshall Plan”, 2016, U.S. History Online Textbook.Independence Hall Association in
Philadelphia, HYPERLINK ​http://www.ushistory.org/us/52c.asp
7
​http://www.christineshistory.com/cold%20war%20geography.pdf​ 681
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world. Interestingly enough however, the Cold War was never technically fought between the

two countries. There was never a moment in time where the United States declared an official

war on the Soviet Union. Instead, both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to defeat the

other side through the use of other tactics, hence making it a cold war.

The Soviet Union fought the United States during the Cold War through many different

and unique tactics. This was not a war that involved troops and machinery, it was a war that was

fought by proving the country’s dominance over the United States through other measures. “A

variety of cultural issues...were subsumed within the superpower rivalry” 8. The Soviets relied on

cultural achievements and successes to prove themselves more powerful than their rival country

during the Cold War. The Soviets strived to achieve excellence in the field of cinema, arts,

religious ideologies, and literature. The Space Race is another example of how the Soviets fought

for supremacy over the United States. The Nuclear Arms Race was perhaps the most heated

moment throughout the Cold War as the United States and the Soviet Union competed against

each other to produce the most nuclear weapons.

The Cold War was an international struggle to achieve power around the world. During

the Cold War, The Soviet Union was exploiting every opportunity for expansion and dominance

throughout the world and competing with the United States to become the strongest, most

influential superpower. The most interesting way in which the Soviet Union sought to achieve

this goal was through the use of sports and athletics as a Cold War weapon. The Soviet Union

began using sports as a way of “channeling Cold War antagonisms” 9. The Soviet Union first

8
​Thomas M. Hunt,“The Conundrum of Olympic Doping Policy, 1970-1979”, ​Sports, Drugs, and the Cold War, ​pp.
19
9
​Toby C. Rider, Cold War Games: Propoganda, the Olympics, and U.S. Foreign Policy (University of Illinois,
2016), 46
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entered the Olympics in 1952 and used it as a way to fight the United States through athletics.

The Soviet Union had already been “committed to an ideological confrontation”10 with the

United States for years, but now they would “get to vie for supremacy on the Olympic stage”11.

(46)

The Soviet Union stressed the importance of sports in their society once participating in

the Olympics. Sports played a vital role in developing a stronger and powerful nation for the

Soviet Union. A strong nation, Soviets believed, would not be successful if they could not even

get their athletes to win in competitions. Sports became imbedded into the Soviet culture and

“sporting culture in the region was readjusted to mirror”12 the Soviet Union governmental

policies at home and abroad.

The Soviet Union used the Olympics as a fighting ground during the Cold War. Instead

of meeting in the battlefield and fighting the American soldiers, the Soviet Union would put their

athletes up against American athletes and compete for the title of the best in the world. “From its

first appearance in an Olympic games in 1952 to its final appearance in 1988, the Soviet Union

was a dominating force in the international sporting world.”13 Although the Soviet Union was

dominant in the Olympics, they did not always play fair. The U.S.S.R., under Stalin’s rule, went

to extreme measures in order to win the medal. They would cheat, use drugs, etc. in order to

prove through sports that they were better and stronger. Soviet Union was successful in their

methods because they would dominate in the Olympics and beat everyone in the sports in which

10
Rider, ​Cold War Games,​ 46
11
Rider, ​Cold War Games,​ 46
12
Rider, ​Cold War Games,​ 44
13
T​yler Benson, ​The Role of Sports in The Soviet Union, ​History Research Guides, HYPERLINK
http://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/russia-and-its-empires/tyler-benson/
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they competed in. Sports were used as a propaganda tool and was important to the whole

country.

Sports mirrored the way of life in the Soviet Union. Under Stalin, sports played a crucial

role in the society. Stalin’s domestic policies were focused around building nationalism and

support for his communist government. The number one way in which Stalin shaped the minds

of the Soviet Union citizens was by adopting systems that fostered communist ideologies. Sports

and athletics were a great way for Stalin to do this. Sports and athletics were “incorporated into

the daily lives of Soviets in order to make them more well-rounded individuals and more

productive workers”14. Sports and athletic activities became a way to teach the youth about the

supposed greatness of the U.S.S.R. and its political ideologies. Sports were used as a system of

youth control and helped to raise children as communist while preventing them from deviating

away from the communist regime. Children were taught the symbolism in sports and how it

reflected upon Stalin and the U.S.S.R.

Sports played a significant role in the Soviet Union during the years of the Cold War. Not

only did it build nationalism and pride in Soviets, it also “became an obvious arena for

international competition”15. Competing through sports served as a weapon for the Soviet Union.

This was their way to prove how dominant their government was and winning reflected very

well on Joseph Stalin. Winning became so important that many coaches and athletes planning to

participate in the Olympic games needed to “send a special note to Stalin guaranteeing victory”16

. A losing team would make the Soviet Union look weak and so Stalin stressed the necessity of

14
​Benson, ​The Role of Sports in The Soviet Union​,
http://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/russia-and-its-empires/tyler-benson/
15
​Eric Dunning,Dominic Malcolm, ​Sport: Critical Concepts in Sociology ​(Routledge, 2003), 15
16
​Stephen Wagg, David Andrews, East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War (Routledge, 2007), 277
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winning. If they could not win, there was no point in competing at all and creating a bad name

for the Soviet Union.

Sports and athletic activities were used in the Soviet culture to secure a communist

system and to be successful in raising children to be strong communist who would not go against

the regime. The Soviets “​sponsored countless programs to promote sporting activities”17. ​Heros

and popular icons soon became the faces of the athletes who were participating in the Olympic

games and winning medals for their country. Sports propaganda played an extremely important

role in Soviet society as well. ​T​he propaganda taught children that the most respected people in

society are those who are athletic and good communist at the same time. These athletes were

what children looked up to and wanted to be when they grew up and so Stalin was successful in

developing a domestic plan that secured his system of communism.

Stalin installed domestic policies which put a focus on successful athletics and the

importance of sports. Joseph Stalin solidified the system on communism in the Soviet Union

through the use of sports. Stalin was building upon Vladimir Lenin’s idea that “the physical

education of the rising generation is one of the necessary elements of the system of communist

education of youth”18. Children were raised and taught how to play and participate in sporting

activities. This was a way to spread nationalism throughout the USSR. It was a fun for children

to grow up and play for their country. Arguably, it reached a level of brainwashing. The Soviet

Union would stop at nothing to beat their rivals and prove dominance in the sports world.

The Soviet Union and the United States in 1947, were involved in a very unpredictable

conflict. Tensions were high as the threat of a nuclear war was very possible and everyday new

17
​Mike O’Mahony, ​Sport in the USSR​, ​http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo3771028.html
18
Ian Blau “Ideology of Soviet Sport” (Boston University, 2013)
http://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/russia-and-its-empires/ian-blau/
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measures were taken to prove that once country was stronger and more powerful than the next.

The Soviet Union integrated sports and athletics into their culture in order to compete on a whole

new level and prove their dominance during the Cold War.