Sport, Politics and Communism

Our notions about the relationship between sport and communism need to be revised in the light of the changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe since the early part of 1989. Many of the leading sportsmen and sportswomen favoured by the old communist regimes have been subject to attacks since the liberalization of the states. The relationship between these people and the governments of their countries, and consequently their place in society, has been radically altered in those states where the old communist regimes have been effectively swept from power. In those countries where change has been slower and more limited, or, as in the case of Romania, where Ceausescu's fall has not been followed by the installation of a liberal in the western tradition, the position of sport has nevertheless been altered both politically and economically. This book assesses the ways in which these changes have taken place. It also takes a more general look and the position of athletes in communist societies, the kind of training schedules they undergo, the perks they receive, and at the place of sport in the communist ideology.