The 1912 Olympic Games and international relations issues on the pages of the Russkiy Sport magazine

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by an aggravation of international relations in Europe and in the world. In this regard, the influence of politics on the sphere of high-performance sport and the revived Olympic movement became especially noticeable. The article analyzes the perception of the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and some other sporting events of that period by Russian society. The main sources were publications in the Russkiy Sport [Russian Sport] magazine, articles in the British newspaper The Times, and materials from the report of the Swedish Olympic Committee. It is noted that the mentioned events took place in a situation when Europe was already divided into two opposing military blocs, and wars were raging in the Balkans and North Africa. The influence of the international situation on the perception of sports competitions by the general public and the coverage of Olympic events by the Russian and foreign press is traced. It is concluded that during the games, international disagreements were caused by the participation of the teams from countries that did not have their own statehood, for example, Finland. Conflict situations also arose due to the possible biases of judges towards representatives of other countries and the incorrect behavior of the supporters. Reviews of wrestling, fencing, athletics and other disciplines gave journalists a reason to discuss the general level of sports development in Russia. Sports objectives were related to political ones. It was believed that Russia had to set an example with its sports successes to other Slavic nations. The countries that were mentioned as the ones to learn from were primarily the United States and the UK, as well as Finland. At the same time, the prospect of using sports for military purposes was widely discussed in the press. An opinion is expressed that often problems with the judging and organization of competitions were objective in nature. They arose due to the lack of sufficient experience and an ill-conceived system of rules. Besides, sports journalism was characterized by the politicization and militarization of competitions; the introduction of a political context into the rivalry of national sports schools; a negative assessment of countries that were political opponents of Russia, and a neutral or complimentary assessment of states with which it had allied obligations. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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