Sport and Defection From Romania During the Cold War

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Sport and Social Issues

Volume

45

Issue

6

DOI

10.1177/0193723520973570

First Page

509

Last Page

527

Abstract

During the Cold War in Eastern Europe, sport and politics became increasingly intertwined and complicated as the communist states, which strictly controlled the movement of its athletes, allowed athletes to travel abroad for competition, consequently opening opportunities for defection. In search of a better life, many athletes knowingly put themselves and their families at great risk, seeking opportunities to defect to other countries once outside their national borders. The purpose of this study is to analyze how the communist state in Romania acted to stop the defection of athletes from Romania, focusing on two defection situations which occurred at different points during the Cold War, one in 1956 and the second in 1981. Historical data for this study were retrieved from the National Council for the Study of Securitate Archives (CNSAS) in Romania, the archives at the Lausanne Olympic Museum in Switzerland, and the online archives from the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

Keywords

athletes, communism, defection, Romania, Securitate

Department

Kinesiology

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