(USN) MOSCOW – During a segment of a recent Sunday news show here, the mood was, expectedly, full of outrage and indignation. The cause? The International Olympic Committee's announcement just days before that disqualified Russia from next February's Winter Olympics for doping.
"Of course, the doping scandal involving our national team is a difficult situation – an unfair and painful one, too," said anchor Dmitry Kiselyov on "Vesti Nedeli" – "News of the Week" – a program on the government-run Rossia network. "But when was it easy for our athletes?"
Kiselyov then smoothly transitioned to a more upbeat topic: the new movie, "Going Vertical." Scheduled to be released on Dec. 21, the film depicts the Soviet Union basketball team's victory against the U.S. at the 1972 Munich Olympics to win the gold medal. That victory was of particular significance to Soviet authorities; in the fervor of the Cold War, any win over one's adversary was important. […]
"The Cold War was the time when the Soviet Union was on par with the U.S., or at least it wasn't too far behind," says Ivan Kurilla, professor of history and international relations at the European University at St. Petersburg. "By resuscitating the Cold War rhetoric, they sort of resuscitate the importance of Russia." […]
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