Description
The modern Olympics idealized individual athletic competition, but national and political rivalries have always played a significant role. Russia’s Olympic history reflects this tension. The Russian Empire competed in the Games from 1900 to 1912, but the Soviet Union initially dismissed them as capitalist and elitist, only entering in 1952. The Soviets then used the Olympics to showcase their system’s superiority, dominating the medal counts until 1988. After the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, Russian athletes competed for the Russian Federation. However, following a doping scandal in 2016 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian athletes have participated under neutral labels. This course explores Russia’s complex and controversial relationship with the Olympics.