America boycotted the Moscow Olympics of 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. There are a LOT of lessons from that period, including my prediction when Reagan/Bush gave weapons to the Afghan rebels against the Soviets that one day those weapons would be turned against us. I was in Manhattan on 9/11 when my prediction came true and it freaked me the hell out.
But what I am most reminded of is what happened during the 1980 Moscow Olympics while the West sat it all out.
You see, I was in Finland at the time, so I saw the Moscow Olympics. And was astonished at what went on. Below I discuss what astonished me...
The 1980 Moscow Olympics, largely unobserved by America at the time, became a study in what happens behind the Iron Curtain when the West isn't looking.
The first thing that struck me, was that the folks behind the Iron Curtain, which we in America thought were all in lockstep, were actually more divided than we thought. The 1980 Moscow Olympics became a massive rivalry between Russia and East Germany. East Germany, 9 years before they tore down the wall, were setting up an ongoing rivalry with the Russian teams that was the dominant note in the 1980 Olympics because the West was absent. That detail would have been absent had the West attended. But we didn't, so it gave East Germany it's chance to assert itself against the Soviet hegemony.
Now since I was living in Finland at the time, one event stood out with no political implications. It was a long-distance race which very quickly led to five runners pulling ahead of EVERYONE else by so much that it became a race just among those 5. Those 5 were all from Nigeria or Finland. So it was a hugely close race between 5 amazing athletes from two countries. In the end a Nigerian won, followed by a Finn, followed by a Nigerian, followed by a Finn...And the favorite Finn was the one who came in fourth. The Finn who got the silver was a last minute, afterthought addition to the Finnish team. You can imagine how riveted we all were in Finland to that one, single event in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
But I remember watching live some amazing crap pulled by Russia when they were in the running.
There was the javelin throw. When a Soviet contestant was up, the massive doors to the Olympic arena were opened so that a breeze from behind would help their javelin throwers. Then the doors would be closed for every other contestant. The wind helped ONLY the Russians and no one else.
Then there was the diving. The Russians booed the East Germans and the East Germans booed the Russians...both very loudly. When the Russian messed up while the East Germans were booing, they were given a second chance. When the East Germans messed up during a similar if not greater booing by the Russians, the East Germans did NOT get a second chance.
The Russians blatantly cheated in 1980.
Now I have been to Russia as a tourist...invited by Russian friends of mine, so I saw the real deal right down to back alleys where you hope to bribe officials to get out and hotel rooms where the wallpaper was an array of smashed mosquitoes all over the wall.
Russia is the ONE place I would never want to go back to. I have been all over the world, and the only place I never want to go back to is Russia. There is a lot there. The culture has a lot to offer. And you can find a diversity of culture and cuisine (hint: Uzbek is one of the most amazing cuisines in the world!!) that you won't find elsewhere. But Russia sucks as a place to go. I would rather go back to Samoa or Mexico than back to Russia.
My personal observation of Russia: high cost for awful service, massive mosquito infestations, and lying and cheating if it serves their needs. Now I can find that in the US as well. But my personal experience is that in Russia it is about 100x more absurd than what we see in the US, even if we do have some of the same issues.
The 1980 Moscow Olympics were a farce. Most of the post-Soviet leaders of Russia were solid Soviet lackeys when the walls came down, though they had the knack of skirting the edge of Soviet loyalty and reform. Putin is a solid product of the Soviet Union and it shows.
The 2014 Winter Olympics so far just re-enforce what I already know about Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. From the Tsar to Stalin to Putin, Russia is an oppressive and uncomfortable place to live. There have been improvements, but from what I see, Russia today is not so different from what I saw watching the 1980 Moscow Olympics or what I experienced in 2003 traveling in Russia which was one of our most unpleasant travel experiences.
Russia under Putin remains regressive and oppressive. Russia is, culturally and economically, still a back water. It will take, I predict, another 10=15 years before Russia becomes a viable Democracy or economically dynamic.