This article is from the WeChat public account: biye boy (ID: biyeahboy) , author: Lin Bili, title figure: original courtesy
July 19, 1980 was a big day for the entire Soviet Union.
The weather in the capital Moscow was very bad that day.
Soviet officials had to dispatch six planes to spray chemicals in the clouds to disperse the dark clouds floating above Lenin’s central stadium.
At 2 pm, the 22nd Olympic Games officially kicked off in Moscow. The theme of the opening ceremony was “Nature”, and Brezhnev announced the official opening of the Olympic Games.
The opening ceremony has attracted worldwide attention. This is the first time that the Olympic Games have been held in a socialist country, but all the people on the scene are shrouded in an unpleasant atmosphere.
The reason is that more than two-fifths of the 147 national and regional Olympic committees recognized by the International Olympic Committee did not send anyone to participate.
Countries and regions (blue and green) / wiki
This has been a revival of the Olympic Movement since 1894Afterwards, one of the biggest crises encountered.
一 、
The Soviets have been thinking about hosting the Olympics for a long time.
But after the First World War, when the Soviet Union was just established, they were disdainful of participating in the Olympics. In their eyes, the Olympics are nothing more than a new thing for capitalism, and they don’t even bother to participate.
In the early days of the Cold War, the Soviet Union gradually changed its attitude. They not only wanted to participate, they also wanted to host. Everyone knows that the Olympic Games is a big stage. Holding a grand and enthusiastic Olympic Games is the best opportunity to show the comprehensive strength of the country.
In the 1960s, the reputation of the Soviet Union was okay. They were also the big brothers of the Third World. In addition, Eastern European countries supported the Soviet Union. There is still hope for the Olympic Games.
The Soviet Union is still trying to get the support of Western countries, and they have found a most suitable supporter-West Germany. The reason is that West Germany is bidding for the 1972 Olympic Games and they also need the support of third world countries.
It happens that the resources of the two countries can be exchanged. You support me, and I support you.
In 1966, West Germany won the right to host the 1972 Olympic Games in return, as a matter of course, thanks to the Soviets. Subsequently, West Germany also prepared to submit a report to help the Soviet Union win the right to host the Olympic Games.
Munich Olympics in 1972
The Soviet Union originally wanted to host the 1976 Olympic Games, but they lost to Montreal, Canada at the 1970 Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee.
The Soviet Union did not give up, since 1Did not apply for the 976, so apply for the 1980 Olympic Games!
At this time, it is easier for the West Germans to help, because the former West German Olympic Committee Chairman Willie Dommer has been promoted to the Vice Chairman of the International Olympic Committee. Good words.
On October 27, 1974, the International Olympic Committee held its 75th session in Vienna to make a final decision on the venue of the 22nd Summer Olympics.
Moscow has only one rival, Los Angeles, USA. In the end, Moscow achieved its wish and won.
Soviet leader Brezhnev was overjoyed, and he made an important judgment:
Moscow’s ability to host the Olympic Games is a victory for socialism.
二 、
At that time, Moscow was an ancient city with a history of more than 800 years. The city spanned the banks of the Moskva River and its tributary Yauza, and was the capital of the Soviet Union and its political, economic, and cultural center.
Since the right to host the Olympic Games was taken down, the Soviet Union immediately stepped up preparations for the Olympic Games. The first problem is fundraising and construction.
Before Moscow, there was a precedent for losing money in the Olympic Games-Montreal.
The 1976 Montreal Olympics is a classic lesson. Most countries want to rely on the Olympics to earn both international reputation and money, but Canada has lost a lot.
Because the Canadian government underestimated the budget, the final total cost was seven times the original plan, resulting in a deficit of about $ 1 billion. It was not until 2006 that Canada repaid this debt, with a total principal and interest of $ 3 billion, which can be said to be very worthless.
No matter how many socialist Soviet Unions are, for the first time in the Olympic Games, money is not a problem, and face is the most important.
They have renovated the stadiums in Moscow. The number of large stadiums has increased from more than 50 to nearly 70. The number of artificial swimming pools has also increased from more than 30 to more than 60. The stadiums have expanded from more than 1,300 to More than 1600.
The main stadium of the 1980 Summer Olympics: Luzhniki Stadium / wiki
Not only that, they also took the opportunity to reorganize the city of Moscow and improve the transportation network to facilitate the transportation of the Olympic Games.
Because the Soviet Union did not release the figures itself, the outside world analyzed that they spent a total of 9 billion US dollars to host the Olympic Games.
This is an astronomical number in the history of the Olympic Games.
In order to design a classic mascot for the Olympic Games, the organizers also put a lot of thought into it. At that time, the Olympic Committee received 40,000 design proposals, but none of them were suitable.
There was a suggestion to involve child painters. Victor Chirikov, who works at a children’s publishing house, took the idea of trying it out, and in a week, drew 1,000 assorted bears and submitted them to the Olympic Committee.
After a while, the IOC has no feedback. One day, Victor’s wife met a friend of her husband on the road, and the other person’s mood was very low.
She asked with concern, what happened to you?
Friend told her:
I just knew that your husband’s plan passed. I haven’t.
Victor designed what became the internationally well-known Olympic mascot-the bear Misha.
It took so much effort to prepare for the Olympics that a war killed all this.
三 、
At 7:00 pm on December 27, 1979, 5,000 Soviet troops were airborne to Kabul, the Afghan capital, and the Soviet Union invaded.