Reaching for the stars

Vladimir Arsentiev's 1976 logo for the Moscow Summer Olympic Games

Logo, Moscow 1980, Vladimir Arsentiev, 1976

The Moscow Summer Olympics, held in 1980, was a Games of firsts. It was the first to be held in a Slavic language speaking country, the first to be held in a communist run country, and the first to be held within the Eastern Bloc. Unfortunately, these firsts came second to the concerns around the Soviet–Afghan War that was being fought at the time. Due to this and other ‘economic’ reasons, 66 countries boycotted the event, with only 80 nations participating. This was the smallest number since 1956. However, many athletes from these nations competed under the Olympic flag.