1980Reputable sourceWell documented

The Boycott Games: Moscow 1980

On the timeline · around 1980 · The Global Games

What happened

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest, and some 65 nations stayed away. It was the largest boycott in Olympic history, turning the Games into a Cold War battleground.

Why it matters

The Moscow boycott showed how deeply the Cold War had penetrated the Olympics, using the Games as a diplomatic weapon. It set the stage for a retaliatory Soviet-led boycott four years later.

Sources

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980 · Reputable source

Related timelines

The Cold War → — The Games as a Cold War battleground

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