RIABOV O.V. Sports Discourse in (De)Constructing the Cold War Image of the Enemy: Comparing Soviet and American Magazines’ Representations of Olympic Games
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.2.15
Oleg V. Riabov,
Doctor of Science (Philosophy), Professor, Leading Researcher, The School of Arts and Humanities, HSE University – Saint Petersburg, Soyuza Pechatnikov St, 16, 190121 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation; Leading Researcher, The Institute of History and Social Sciences, Herzen University, reki Moiki Emb., 48, 191186 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5944-9668
Abstract. Introduction. Using the example of representations of the Olympic Games, the article analyses the creation and deconstruction of the image of the enemy through Soviet and American sports discourse as a component of the Cold War. The relevance of the study lies in the need to explore both the technologies used to construct and deconstruct the image of the enemy in international politics and the historical dimension of Russia – USA relations. Method and materials. The materials consist of publications in the leading sports magazines of the USSR (Physical Culture and Sport) and the USA (Sports Illustrated) from 1948 to 1991 (approximately 200 issues in total). Results. Sports discourse was actively employed in the USSR and the USA, emphasising the values that each superpower claimed to defend. The qualities attributed to “us” and “them” reflected broader characteristics associated with the Soviet and American ways of life. Representations of the Games, which were presented primarily as a rivalry between the USSR and the USA, reflect these features of sports discourse. However, the Olympic ideals served as a constraint on the production of hostility. The American magazine exhibited greater variability in its portrayal of sporting rivalry between the USSR and the USA, whereas the Soviet magazine contrasted “overseas sports businessmen” with US athletes. Sports discourse thus functioned as a resource for constructing the Cold War images of the enemy. At the same time, it also contained the potential for deconstructing these images: sporting competitions were interpreted as a demonstration of the possibility of peaceful rivalry and cooperation between the USSR and the USA across various spheres.
Funding. The study was funded by RSF, Grant No. 22-18-00305-P, “The images of the enemy in Cold War popular culture: their content, contemporary reception and usage in Russian and U.S. symbolic politics”.
Key words: Cold War, image of the enemy, sports discourse, Olympic Games, Physical Culture and Sport magazine, Sports Illustrated magazine.
Citation. Riabov O.V. Sports Discourse in (De)Constructing the Cold War Image of the Enemy: Comparing Soviet and American Magazines’ Representations of Olympic Games. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. InternationalRelations], 2026, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 178-189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.2.15
Sports Discourse in (De)Constructing the Cold War Image of the Enemy: Comparing Soviet and American Magazines’ Representations of Olympic Games © 2026 by Riabov O.V. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
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