1984 Summer Olympics boycott

none Citation bot August 2026 December 2024 1984 Summer Olympics boycott the Olympic Games boycotts 1984 Olympic Games boycott.svg The 15 Eastern Bloc countries which boycotted the 1984 Games are shaded blue; the 4 NonAligned countries which boycotted are shaded teal 1984 07 28 1984 08 12 (July 28, 1984) centerGames of the XXIII OlympiadLos Angeles, California, USA 2em U.S.-Soviet Cold War rivalry 1980 Summer Olympics boycott 1984 England rugby union tour of South Africa (Upper Volta Ethiopia) Isolationist policies (Albania) Misc. Miscellaneous political enmities (Iran Libya) 2em Boycott Disinformation campaignSnyder 1995 108-110 Shaikin 1988 50-51 Reich 1986 213 Boycotting countries Eastern Bloc URS DRA PRA PRB CUB CSR Derg DDR HPR PRK 1948 LAO MPR PPR VNM PDRY NonAlignedalbanianam While Iran, Libya, and Upper Volta/Burkina Faso wereand still areofficial members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Albania was never formally part of that group. Albania's leader, Enver Hoxha, viewed the NAM's proclaimed status of non-alignment as false, saying he found the "political, ideological, economic and military alignment" of the NAM with "the superpowers and developed capitalist countries" to be "an undeniable fact". Hoxha described Albania as having "avoided this grip", and as a consequence, "it is considered as 'isolated' from the world by the defenders of the imperialist plunder", with Albanians "not at all worried by this nickname put to us".Albanian Communist Leader Questions Nonaligned Status The New York Times 133 45820 October 3, 1983 AP https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/03/world/albanian-communist-leader-questions-nonaligned-status.html https://web.archive.org/web/20221003114009/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/03/world/albanian-communist-leader-questions-nonaligned-status.html October 3, 2022 People's Socialist Republic of Albania IRN Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Upper Volta Host country USA NGOs L.A. LAOOC IOC 1920 USSR Konstantin Chernenko USSR Marat Gramov USA Ronald Reagan L.A. Peter Ueberroth IOC 1920 Juan A. Samaranch Boycotting athletes: 1,700+Hasen Jeff A Record 142 Nations Accept Invitation to 1984 Summer Games https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/05/A-record-142-nations-have-accepted-invitations-to-participate/5487455256000/ UPI June 5, 1984 The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved nineteen countries: fifteen from the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union, which initiated the boycott on May 8, 1984; and four nonaligned countriesalbanianam which boycotted on their own initiatives. The boycotting countries organized alternative sporting events called the Friendship Games which were held in various Eastern Bloc countries from July to September 1984.Malchrowicz-Mośko Rozmiarek Calthorpe-Croft 2017 233,244 Although the boycott affected Olympic events that were normally dominated by the absent countries, 140 nations still took part in the Los Angeles Games, which was a record at the time.Perelman 1985 25Doder Dusko 9 May 1984 Soviets Withdraw From Los Angeles Olympics en-US The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/05/09/soviets-withdraw-from-los-angeles-olympics/027363e6-4d89-4dd9-b0d7-89a05a567f11/ Since the announcement by U.S. president Carter of the boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980,Pells Eddie Carter Reflected on 1980 Olympic Boycott: 'A Bad Decision' https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-olympics-boycott-9ba0aad38e01013bd0f40ce554317caf AP News 2 January 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250401110343/https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-olympics-boycott-9ba0aad38e01013bd0f40ce554317caf April 1, 2025 en there was fear from United States officials that a reciprocal boycott could occur during the 1984 Games, scheduled for Los Angeles. The Soviets for their part gave sparsely few indications that this would happen, and indeed, from formalized talks which occurred over the course of three years, indicators seemed to point towards Soviet participation.Leavy Jane Soviet Boycott of L.A. Seen Unlikely https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1983/10/12/soviet-boycott-of-la-seen-unlikely/06f7a7a1-9e41-4e35-aad9-14df7c7b14c5/ The Washington Post 12 October 1983 https://web.archive.org/web/20170828123334/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1983/10/12/soviet-boycott-of-la-seen-unlikely/06f7a7a1-9e41-4e35-aad9-14df7c7b14c5/ August 28, 2017Tosches Rich https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/09/More-than-three-years-of-tense-but-mostly-encouraging/3985452923200/ Three Years of Encouraging Talks Between Soviet and Olympic Organizers Comes to a Halt UPI May 9, 1984 Only in the last year before the Games began did a sense of non-participation come about.Reich 1986 209 Mertin 2007 245-246 During that final year, the loss of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 and the subsequent vitriol directed at the Soviets by various activist groups which formed in the aftermath of the flight's destruction seriously hampered relations between the two committees tasked with coordinating Soviet attendance, the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) and the Soviet National Olympic Committee (Soviet NOC). Their faltering relations did not improve with the ascension of Konstantin Chernenko to the post of General Secretary of the Soviet Union in February 1984. Chernenko was a close acolyte of Leonid Brezhnev and therefore predisposed to avoiding Los Angeles due to the 1980 boycott. American reticence in dealing with anti-Soviet activists coupled with American mishandling of the Soviets' Olympic attaché, incentivized the Soviets enough in their view to justify boycotting the Games. Most of the Soviet-allied nations of the Eastern Bloc joined the boycott in solidarity, despite the decision being hugely unpopular amongst Bloc countries with significant prior Olympic medal winnings. Leadup to boycott California legislative response to KAL 007 On September 16, 1983, the California State Assembly and California State Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 31, a measure urging President Ronald Reagan to ban the Soviets from participating in the Los Angeles Games. The non-binding resolution was hurriedly put forth by California State Senator John Doolittle in response to the Soviet shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 just 15 days prior.Document Collection Box #7: John Doolittle – Banning of USSR from 1984 Olympics Ronald Reagan Presidential Library https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/publicliaison/blackwell/box-007/40_047_7006969_007_012_2017.pdf#page=24 Resolution Chapter 144 - Senate Joint Resolution 31, Relative to Soviet Aggression, California State Senate September 19, 1983 The resolution was reportedly amended to include the Olympic banning clause in the waning moments of the legislative session and that most of those voting for it did not know of the clause's inclusion.Congelio 2014 148 Reich 1986 213 The only American Olympic official to speak out against the legislation was F. Don Miller, Executive Director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who criticized what he termed "narrowminded legislators for trying to use the Olympics in American foreign policy". LAOOC President Peter Ueberroth and LAOOC Chairman Paul Ziffren both remained silent on passage of the legislation, saying they felt the best response was to "say nothing".Reich Kenneth Legislature Urges Ban on Soviet Olympians https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/publicliaison/blackwell/box-007/40_047_7006969_007_012_2017.pdf#page=18 Los Angeles Times September 16, 1983 In February 1984, the California State Senate advanced a bill to rescind the earlier legislation. The newer measure welcomed athletes from all nations to the Games and urged Californians to "be gracious hosts to all competitors".California Assembly is Sent Resolution Aimed at Rescinding Legislature's Earlier Call To Ban Soviet Athletes https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/02/09/The-California-Senate-sent-to-the-Assembly-Thursday-a/3774445150800/ UPI February 9, 1984 Ban the Soviets Coalition Another response to the shootdown of KAL 007 was the creation of a group calling itself Ban the Soviets Coalition. Formed by evangelical Christian writer David BalsigerLindsey Robert Soviet Criticism Surprises U.S. and Games Officials; Organizers Are Defended 133 46010 https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/sports/soviet-criticism-surprises-us-and-games-officials-organizers-are-defended.html The New York Times April 10, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524152933/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/sports/soviet-criticism-surprises-us-and-games-officials-organizers-are-defended.html May 24, 2015a self-described "maverick Republican"Ban the Soviets Coalition: A Citizens Response https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/09/Ban-the-Soviets-coalition-a-citizens-response/2958450334800/ UPI April 9, 1984 enand three other Southern California businessmen approximately one month after the flight's destruction,Ingwerson Marshall Shadow of Korean Jetliner Incident Hovers Over '84 Olympics https://www.csmonitor.com/1983/1006/100620.html Christian Science Monitor October 6, 1983 the Coalition's first effort was to petition President Reagan to support a ban on the Soviets attending the Olympic Games. Petitions labeled "We Cannot Forget Them" invoking the passengers and crew killed aboard KAL 007 were distributed to the public with a request for assistance in persuading lawmakers to agree to the endeavor. The Coalition initially estimated getting 1 million signatures from the public, but after thirty days, found they had gathered only 1% of that number.Congelio 2014 149 McVicker 2018 188 Ueberroth 1985 159-160 thumb|left|Ban the Soviets Coalition distributed petitions labeled "We Cannot Forget Them", invoking those killed aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 and urging President Reagan to ban the Soviets from attending the Games Seeking a more direct approach, the Coalition wrote to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver advising him that nearly all members of the Coalition were "the same groups that made the difference in Reagan going to the White House", groups who supported him because of his "strong anti-Communist stand and his firm position on moral, family, and Judeo-Christian issues". The letter cited unnamed national opinion polls that reportedly showed "70 million Americans supporting a ban on the Soviets" Balsiger David W. Correspondence from Ban The Soviets Coalition to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver Michael Deaver Files: January 1984 Outgoing (3) Box 16 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum December 16, 1983 36 https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/dcos/deaver/box-016/40-137-7065105-016-003-2016.pdf#page=36 and also conveyed the Coalition's concerns regarding proposed Soviet Olympic arrangements which the Coalition felt would "introduce adverse security implications" for the United States.Reich 1986 214 Deaver's response was that the U.S. intended to honor the Olympic Charter, whose provisions prevented host countries from banning other nation's athletes, and that the U.S. would "carefully consider any security implications". Deaver Michael K. Michael Deaver Correspondence from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver to David Balsiger Michael Deaver Files: January 1984 Outgoing (3) Box 16 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum January 10, 1984 https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/dcos/deaver/box-016/40-137-7065105-016-003-2016.pdf#page=35 35 Upon realizing that Reagan would not support a ban, the Coalition turned to more provocative actions, including sending letters to Soviet Olympic officials warning that their athletes might be physically harmed.Shaikin 1988 50-51 Reich 1986 213 These efforts brought the Coalition outsized media attention in the United States and abroad, while the LAOOC, along with the Reagan Administration, refrained from publicly denouncing their activities.Reich 1986 213 Faced with increasing threats from the Coalition and silence from the LAOOC and the White House, the Soviets took their concerns to the U.S. State Department, who instead warned the Soviets about the publicity Soviet media was beginning to devote to Ban the Soviets Coalition, as it was generating "far more interest and U.S. press coverage of this insignificant group than it could have ever achieved on its own."Derwinski Ed Ed Derwinski Kenneth J. Hill Files: Soviet Participation in the 1984 Olympics (2 of 2) Box 3 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Minutes of the Meeting Between U.S. State Department Counselor Ed Derwinski and Soviet Embassy Minister-Counselor Viktor Isakov, April 27, 1984 May 16, 1984 8 https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2022-03/40-268-7065104-003-004-2021.pdf#page=8Shaikin 1988 51 The Soviets requested that the State Department ban demonstrations against Soviet athletes while also suggesting that Balsiger be forcibly removed from Los Angeles to "a remote and quiet place", leaving Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Kenneth Dam to ask "What more do they want, other than to change Los Angeles into a miniature of the Soviet Union?"Reich 1986 215 In early April 1984, members of the Coalition met at a private home in the genteel residential enclave of Hancock Park, in Los Angeles, to discuss erecting billboards along freeways that the Soviet athletes would travel during the Games as a means of encouraging defection, saying they hoped to establish 500 safe houses for any defectors.Reich 1986 214 This spurred LAOOC President Ueberroth to belatedly begin reassuring the Soviets, first by telling them that the California legislation was unimportant because of the "scatterbrained way it was adopted", and second, by dismissing the Coalition as "fringe extremists, not a legitimate threat to athletes".Reich 1986 215 Near the end of April 1984, the Coalition began boasting to the media that they had infiltrated the LAOOC with operatives who were preparing to assist any Soviet athletes who came to the Games and wished to defect, prompting Ueberroth to publicly label the group's leader Balsiger as "nutty".Head of anti-Soviet Protest Group Demands Apology https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/25/The-head-of-an-anti-Soviet-protest-group-said-his/5336451717200/ UPI April 25, 1984 en This led to the Coalition threatening to boycott all major Olympic Games' corporate sponsors if no public apology were forthcoming from Ueberroth.Medigovich Lori Ban the Soviets Coalition Threatens to Boycott Games' Corporate Sponsors https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/24/The-Ban-the-Soviets-Coalition-threatened-Tuesday-to-boycott/7331451630800/ UPI April 24, 1984 en Ueberroth replied that he would "apologize if they'd change their name to a proper one...maybe call themselves the Coalition to Hurt Athletes or maybe the Coalition to Play into the Hands of the Soviets."Olympics: We Were Responsible https://time.com/archive/6860369/olympics-we-were-responsible/ Time Magazine May 21, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20240719213329/https://time.com/archive/6860369/olympics-we-were-responsible/ July 19, 2024 Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates said of the Coalition, "I respect that group's First Amendment right to do what they are doing, but I can tell you that the Russian athletes would never be aware of theirs or any other peaceful demonstrations".Shaikin 1988 51 Gates and Ueberroth did not share the Soviets' perception of the Coalition as a large and formidable threat, with Gates stating he "couldn't believe that the Russians would be intimidated by a tiny group like the Ban the Soviets Coalition" and Ueberroth saying the Coalition's entire membership "could all fit in a station wagon and drive south, and it would be the end of it".Shaikin 1988 51 Preliminary positive meetings In spite of strong American reactions to the Korean Air Lines incident, several positive encounters signaling a likely Soviet attendance still preceded the Games. During the Summer of 1983 the Soviets signed a $3 million dollar television contract to broadcast the Games in the Soviet Union.Wilson 1993 65 In December 1983, a meeting of officials representing the LAOOC and 14 members of the Soviet NOC took place in Los Angeles, resulting in the signing of a protocol agreement concerning Soviet expectations for participation.Hill 1996 172,179 At that time, the chairman of the Soviet NOC, Marat Gramov, communicated his view of the upcoming Summer Games as being positive, and that he "saw no reason why the Soviet Union should not participate".Reich 1984 18 One month later in January 1984, a second Soviet delegation visited Los Angeles to meet with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s Executive Commission. This meeting was also viewed positively, with no mention of boycotts being made at that time.Hill 1996 172 A final, positively viewed meeting was held during the IOC's 87th Session on February 5, 1984, in Sarajevo, three days before the start of the Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games. During that meeting, Soviet IOC member Konstantin Andrianov offered congratulations to the LAOOC, saying they were doing "a great job".Kobierecki 2015 98-99 Four days later on February 9, 1984, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, died. Yermishkin visa denial On March 2, 1984, the Soviets' proposed-Olympic attaché, Oleg Yermishkin, was denied an entry visa from the U.S. State Department, which identified him as an operational officer of the KGB.Travel Visa Denied to Soviet Olympic Attaché Tosches Rich https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/02/The-State-Department-said-today-it-denied-a-visa/2710447051600/ UPI March 2, 1984 enLieser 2014 79 The LAOOC expressed consternation towards the State Department's decision on what the LAOOC considered to be a "minor issue",U.S. Tells Why it Barred Soviet Olympic Official https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/03/world/us-tells-why-it-barred-soviet-olympic-official.html The New York Times 133 45972 March 3, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20180130211503/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/03/world/us-tells-why-it-barred-soviet-olympic-official.html January 30, 2018 saying that it should not have been at all surprising that the Soviets, who had security concerns, would have wanted as their Olympic attaché, someone who was experienced in security matters directing the preparations for their team.Lieser 2014 86 After all, the LAOOC noted, the Israeli and Turkish delegations also had intelligence personnel involved as attachés in the preparations for their teams. LAOOC President Ueberroth, relying on assurances he said he received from the Reagan Administration, told the Soviets in Sarajevo that Yermishkin would be acceptable and that they should go ahead and proceed formally with his visa application.Reich 1986 217 Although preparations for Yermishkin's arrival were ongoing for the past 5 months, the denial of his travel visa occurred on the very day he was set to travel to Los Angeles.Wilson 1993 72 David Simon, the LAOOC's chief of government relations, said of Yermishkin's visa denial:"It was the first time that I can recall where we really had egg on our face, where Ueberroth basically gave them his word that this was going to be the case and then had to retract it a couple of weeks later when Yermishkin was turned down. That's the one thing where the Soviets really had a right to be angry with us."Reich 1986 217 David Simon, LAOOC Government Relations Chief Soviet NOC criticisms On April 9, the Soviet NOC released their first statement voicing criticisms concerning preparations for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. In response, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch convened a meeting of the IOC Executive Commission on April 24, 1984 at the IOC main office in Lausanne.Wilson 1993 69-70Thatcher Gary US-Soviet Standoff May Trip Up Summer Olympics in L.A. https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0410/041015.html The Christian Science Monitor April 10, 1984 Peter Ueberroth attended as representative of the LAOOC, with Marat Gramov representing the Soviet NOC. During the meeting, Gramov revealed for the first time that the "Soviet NOC had received declarations and letters from various nationalistic and terrorist groups and organizations with threats".Reich 1984 19 In light of these threats, Gramov made four requests of the LAOOC covering entry into the United States, security, Soviet delegation and media access to Olympic sites, and the use of Aeroflot charter flights.Aeroflot The Soviets were obligated to seek special dispensation to use Aeroflot as a ferry for their athletes owing to a prohibition on the carrier flying routes to and from the United States which took effect in January 1982.U.S. Ban on Aeroflot Formally Takes Effect The New York Times January 6, 1982 https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/06/world/u-s-ban-on-aeroflot-formally-takes-effect.html https://web.archive.org/web/20241206192438/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/06/world/u-s-ban-on-aeroflot-formally-takes-effect.html December 6, 2024 131 45185 That prohibition, which was instituted by Reagan following the Polish declaration of martial law in December 1981, also applied to LOT Polish Airlines.Getler Michael Rich Spencer Feaver Douglas B. U.S. Closes Aeroflot's Two Offices https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/09/09/us-closes-aeroflots-two-offices/dbe05c53-b957-42bc-ab75-a3db8544ecc5/ The Washington Post September 9, 1983 https://web.archive.org/web/20170828093645/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/09/09/us-closes-aeroflots-two-offices/dbe05c53-b957-42bc-ab75-a3db8544ecc5/?utm_term=.5cef3986d9be August 28, 2017 Gramov also requested use of the Soviet cruise ship MS GruziyaThe Soviets traditionally had agreements with Olympic host countries allowing their ships to anchor nearby as main supply bases for Soviet athletes, with a ship docking in the Port of Montreal during the 1976 Games,Pound 1994 226,271 the M.Uritskiy docking in Tokyo Bay during the 1964 Games,Russian Quits Ship in Tokyo; Asks West German Asylum limited https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/10/14/118538113.pdf The New York Times 114 38980 October 14, 1964 en the MS Mikhail Sholokhov docking in the Korean port of Incheon during the 1988 Games,Youngblood Ruth Soviets and Americans Stage Olympic Reunion https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/09/17/Olympics-US-vs-USSRNEWLNSoviets-and-Americans-Stage-Olympic-Reunion/1975590472000/ UPI September 17, 1988 en and another shipcoincidentally called the Gruziadocking in the Port of Melbourne during the 1956 Games.Russian Girl Appears; Stewardess Who Quit Soviet Ship in Australia Is Found limited https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/01/19/84946924.pdf The New York Times 106 36155 January 19, 1957 en for equipment storage, recreational space, and lodging for Soviet personnel other than athletes and trainersMemorandum on the Discussion Between the LAOOC and the Soviet NOC Regarding Requested Use of the Soviet Passenger Ship Gruziya City of Los Angeles December 2, 1983 https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2022-03/40-268-7065104-003-003-2021.pdf#page=13 13–14 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Kenneth J. Hill Files: Soviet Participation in 1984 Olympics, Box 3 (who instead, would reside in Rieber Hall at UCLA).Ueberroth 1985 184 According to the LAOOC, "the parties also discussed other minor matters and agreed that all matters regarding the participation of any NOC could be resolved through dealing directly with the LAOOC only."Perelman 1985 372 In addition, the Soviet NOC stated that it "intended to participate in the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles under the condition that the Olympic Charter is enforced". Both the LAOOC and the Soviet NOC agreed to communicate more often in the future. However, following the meeting, the LAOOC sent daily telexes to the Soviet NOC for several days, but received no response. The LAOOC stated that "although the meeting itself had been encouraging, the lack of response by the USSR NOC to these messages was a clear cause for worry."Perelman 1985 372 National Security Decision Directive 135 Le ferry de croisière Gruziya (2).jpg 220 25 44 25 30 The Soviet cruise ship MS Gruziya received permission to dock in Long Beach Harbor for the duration of the Games upon Reagan's signature of National Security Decision Directive135 Anticipating Gramov's request for accommodations, Reagan had already signed National Security Decision Directive135 on March 27, 1984, which addressed two of those requests: approval of Aeroflot flights to Los Angeles and permission for the docking of the MS Gruziya in Long Beach Harbor.Tosches Rich Soviets Granted Permission to Land Aeroflot Planes and Dock Cruise Ship During Olympics https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/16/The-Soviet-Union-was-granted-permission-to-land-25/1908448261200/ UPI March 16, 1984 The directive stated:"This Directive delineates the counterintelligence and security precautions the United States Government will take....We will ensure the safe passage of Soviet Aeroflot flights to and from our country for the Soviet 'Olympic Family' (i.e., those Soviets, including a reasonable number of spectators, directly involved in the Games) and for the visit of the Soviet vessel Gruziya to the Long Beach Harbor area."National Security Council NSC Executive Secretariat United States National Security Council National Security Decision Directive 135: Los Angeles Olympic Games Counterintelligence and Security Precautions https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/nsc/nsdds/nsdd135.pdf Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum March 26, 1984 NSDD 135, March 26, 1984Soviet flights using Aeroflot would be monitored by the FAA under guidance from the Overflight Security Committee, and the Gruziya would be treated as a commercial 'Soviet Special Interest Vessel', subject to boarding and searches by the U.S. Coast Guard. Radio transmissions from the vessel would be prohibited while docked at Pier 2, Berth 52 from July 15 until August 15, 1984. Michael Deaver had originally specified Berth 53, however, the Coast Guard preferred Berth 52 as "easier to protect seaward and landward" since 52 was completely isolated from ongoing commercial activities such as restaurants and charter fishing boats, both of which were nearby 53. Berth 52 was not without issue, as using it would have rendered Berth 50 inaccessiblelocated across a narrow channel from 52with the Gruziya deemed too wide to permit another ship docking simultaneously. Shipping agents working with the White House, the Coast Guard, Long Beach Port Authority and Long Beach Police Department were well into the process of negotiating the berthing logistics needed to satisfy the security mandates of NSDD135 by mid-April.John M. Ordway Memorandum on Trip to Los Angeles March 1922, 1984 https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2022-03/40-268-7065104-003-003-2021.pdf#page=30 Kenneth J. Hill Files: Soviet Participation in 1984 Olympics, Box 3 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum March 22, 1984 30–32 The level of detail placed into preplanning the ship's docking was noted by historians as rare evidence of Reagan's sincerity in accommodating Soviet requests,Congelio 2013 49-50 with the Directive he signed "designed to accommodate the Soviet requests while ensuring the sovereignty of U.S. authority over any potential security risks".Lieser 2014 92-93 While the directive went to great lengths to address two of the Soviets' concerns, it abrogated any American effort to mitigate groups such as Ban the Soviets Coalition, as their activities were seen at best being protected by the First Amendment and, at worst, as a minor irritant.Congelio 2014 151-153 As Gramov made clear at the IOC meeting of April 24, provocations from activist groups were viewed as anything but minor by the Soviets. On April 29, 1984, Gramov sent a letter to the Communist Party Central Committee in which he described the risk of anti-Soviet organizations using violence during the Games, therefore potentially encouraging participating Soviet athletes to come to their side. The document also included a statement that "participation in the Games would be difficult if the hostile activities were not ceased", and that the absence of the Soviet Union and other developing countries would "bring the first 'commercial Olympics' to economic catastrophe", and concluded that "if the [safety] conditions were not fulfilled, we will resign from participating".Miller 2008 275 Soviets initiate the boycott The Soviet Union announced its intentions to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics on May 8, 1984, claiming "security concerns and chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States".Burns John F. Litsky Frank Moscow Will Keep Its Team From Los Angeles Olympics https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/moscow-will-keep-its-team-los-angeles-olympics-tass-cites-peril-us-denies-it.html The New York Times May 9, 1984 46039 133 https://web.archive.org/web/20230418172302/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/moscow-will-keep-its-team-los-angeles-olympics-tass-cites-peril-us-denies-it.html April 18, 2023 The Soviets' main cited reason for the boycott was their security concerns over the safety of their athletes.Soviets Claim U.S. Cannot Guarantee Safety of All Athletes https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/08/The-Soviet-Union-said-Tuesday-it-will-boycott-the/2100452836800/ UPI May 8, 1984 en Specifically mentioned in their announcement was "the anti-Soviet campaign launched by reactionary circles in the United States with the connivance of the official authorities"; an allegation that "the U.S. authorities continue...to interfere in affairs belonging exclusively to the competence of the LAOOC"; as well as an allegation that "extremist organizations and groupings of all sorts [are] openly aiming to create unbearable conditions for the stay of the Soviet delegation and for the performance by Soviet sportsmen" and that these extremist organizations "have sharply stepped up their activity with direct connivance of the American authorities". Among those groups implicitly referred to in their announcement was Ban the Soviets Coalition.Mathews Jay 'Ban the Soviets Coalition' Celebrates With Unrestrained Glee https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/05/09/ban-the-soviets-coalition-celebrates-with-unrestrained-glee/3e391686-618e-4b35-a473-a0d3dd974b3f/ The Washington Post 9 May 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20170828101322/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/05/09/ban-the-soviets-coalition-celebrates-with-unrestrained-glee/3e391686-618e-4b35-a473-a0d3dd974b3f/ August 28, 2017 The boycott announcement stated that the IOC purportedly investigated the Soviet allegations and found them to be "just and substantiated".Full Text of Soviet Statement on Olympic Games 46039 133 https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/text-of-soviet-statement-on-olympic-games.html The New York Times 9 May 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20231215094638/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/text-of-soviet-statement-on-olympic-games.html December 15, 2023 In a meeting with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin on May 10, 1984, Secretary of State Shultz addressed each point brought up in the Soviet boycott announcement:"They have alleged through TASS that at the April 24 Lausanne meeting, the IOC found the complaints of their Olympic Committee to be just and substantiated; that U.S. authorities continued to interfere in affairs within the exclusive competence of the Los Angeles Committee; and that U.S. authorities were conniving with extremist organizations which aim to create 'unbearable conditions' for their delegation and athletes. The facts, I said, are that the IOC did not make the finding TASS describes; that the U.S. Government has not interfered in LAOOC affairs (nor has the LAOOC ever claimed it has), but has worked with the LAOOC on issues within the sole competence of the U.S. Government at the committee's request; and that there has been no connivance with nor encouragement of these groups, that we have bent over backwards to meet all Soviet concerns, and have met them. I said I could run through a long list of facts about the tremendous effort we had made to meet Soviet concerns. For instance, we would have 17,000 people involved in Olympic security, and we were prepared to spend up to $50 million to assure it, including $500,000 for the Soviet ship alone. We had taken every imaginable step to ensure that Soviet athletes were safe and able to compete in the Olympics."Charles Rasmussen 2021 787 Secretary of State Shultz, May 11, 1984 After the Soviet announcement was made, a meeting of the IOC Executive Board was held on May 18–19 in Lausanne with officials from both the LAOOC and Soviet NOC. The purpose of this meeting was to identify specific examples of threats mentioned by the Soviets in their announcement, as well as to inquire from the Soviets in a last-ditch effort whether there were any possible conditions which might lead to participation. The Soviets in response gave no specific reasons other than the broad charges they previously stated, and they refused to specify any conditions under which they would come to Los Angeles for the Games. The LAOOC surmised that this omission of specifics, coupled with the ideological make-up of the countries which joined the boycott, strongly suggested that the two major motives behind the decision were retribution for the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games and Soviet dissatisfaction with the foreign policy agenda of the Reagan Administration.Perelman 1985 374 Impact of Reagan's foreign policy agenda on Soviet withdrawal Despite Shultz's assertions that the United States had "bent over backwards to meet all Soviet concerns, and have met them", the Reagan Administration's foreign policy agenda, laid out in January 1983 in National Security Decision Directive75informally known as the Reagan Doctrinecomplicated U.S. responses to Soviet concerns. The directive stated that the primary focus of American foreign policy would be to "contain and over time reverse Soviet expansionism by competing with Moscow in military power and in international diplomacy" as well as through economical warfare, with the goal of "promoting a process of change in the Soviet Union toward a more pluralistic political and economic system".National Security Council NSC Executive Secretariat United States National Security Council National Security Decision Directive 75: U.S. Relations with the USSR https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/archives/reference/scanned-nsdds/nsdd75.pdf Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum January 17, 1983 In NSDD75, Reagan's foreign policy was designed to perpetuate confrontation with the Soviets at every level of engagement, with the ultimate goal being the collapse of their system of government.Congelio 2013 45-46 The antagonism inherent in this type of agenda ran counter to the IOC and the LAOOC's goals of ensuring Soviet participation in the Games. According to Ueberroth the dueling nature in how the Reagan Administration was expected to treat the Soviets vis-à-vis the Olympics, and how they were treated vis-à-vis the Administration's foreign policy agenda, fostered a sort of inefficiency in White House and State Department dealings with the LAOOC:Ueberroth 1985 164 "Publicly I covered for White House inefficiency...privately, I resented remarks made by the State Department officials that I was out of line for making deals with the Soviet NOC. This lack of coordination and communications among government agencies continued to plague me as it affected every important facet of the Games. The Olympic Games were obviously not a high priority for either the Reagan Administration or the State Department."Ueberroth 1985 201 Peter Ueberroth, LAOOC President Ueberroth cited Oleg Yermishkin's visa denial as well as poorly-worded communications from the State Department which the Soviets took to mean as visa requirements for Soviet athletesThe State Department erroneously used the word 'visa' in a description of entry procedures sent to the Soviet Foreign Office from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow along with a request for a list of Soviet athletes and family who were travelling to the Games. While the list was needed to 'weed out known terrorists', it was not intended for use with travel visas for athletes, who instead were using Olympic identity cards.Ueberroth 1985 231,236 State Department Counselor Ed Derwinski admitted the mistake to Soviet Embassy MinisterCounselor Viktor Isakov on April 27, 1984, saying "your foreign ministry has been informed by diplomatic note of a corrected description of entry procedures that should erase all doubts that we would require visas contrary to the Olympic Charter". Eighteen months prior to the visa miscommunication, the State Department had agreed to employ a liaison at the Embassy to proofread all Olympicrelated communiqués with the Soviet Foreign Office. Ueberroth said having a liaison "certainly would have averted this diplomatic blunder", however, the position was never filled.Ueberroth 1985 232 as evidence of Reagan's confrontational foreign policies constraining Ueberroth's management of the Games.Ueberroth 1985 230-231,282 When the State Department's liaison to the LAOOC, Mike McManus, was promoted to White House Communications Director in January 1984, his replacement, Bill Sittman, was surprised to discover a month's worth of Soviet requests sitting untouched on McManus' desk. The State Department had received them, but since no one else at the State Department knew about them, they had not been acted upon.Ueberroth 1985 197,200 While Shultz publicly claimed to be providing assistance to the Soviets with their concerns, Ueberroth was privy to episodes where interference was more likely to be found:"Shultz was pretty much oblivious to the Olympics. He was unaware that State Department interference was one of the primary reasons given for the boycott. Since State had inserted itself in the process, I requested that a high-level official appear in Lausanne to explain State's policies and procedures...Shultz had other ideas. He offered two minor functionaries who possessed the diplomatic clout of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. What's more, Shultz said they couldn't attend the meetings and were available to me only. I could just see myself telling Samaranch, Gramov and the others, Wait a minute, I have to run upstairs and get the answers from Mr. Dee and Mr. Dum. I told Shultz thanks, but no thanks...By the end of the meeting, I was disgusted with the U.S. Government and the Russians."Ueberroth 1985 283-284 Peter Ueberroth, LAOOC President Viktor Cherkashin, Ambassador Dobrynin's assistant at the Soviet Embassy, later described to Jay Moorhead, director of the LAOOC's Washington D.C. office, how "Soviet complaints about commercialization, smog, transportation, security, Ban the Soviets, and whatever were all overshadowed by a much larger problemthe attitude of the United States Government and, specifically, the State Department".Ueberroth 1985 275 IOC assignation of blame On May 31, 1984, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch travelled to Moscow in an attempt to meet with Chernenko, however, he was only successful in meeting with Nikolai Talyzin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, as Chernenko was unavailable.Kolar 2006 51 Reich 1986 221 Ueberroth 1985 295 Samaranch, in an interview with the Madrid daily Diario 16, laid blame for the 1984 Soviet-led boycott squarely on one person: former American President Jimmy Carter. According to Samaranch, Carter did the most damage to the Olympic movement, saying "If the United States had gone to Moscow it never would have occurred to the Soviets not to participate in Los Angeles."https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/07/Former-President-Jimmy-Carter-is-the-man-who-has/9310455428800/ Samaranch Says Carter Is Responsible for Soviet Boycott UPI June 7, 1984 Eastern Bloc joins the boycott In the days following the Soviet announcement, six Eastern Bloc satellite nations in quick succession soon joined in, including Bulgaria,James Barry Bulgaria Becomes First Moscow Ally to Join Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/09/Bulgaria-became-Moscows-first-ally-to-join-the-communist/1930452923200/ UPI May 9, 1984 en East Germany (on May 10),Markham James M. East Germany Joins Soviet in Boycotting Games 46041 133 The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/11/world/east-germany-joins-soviet-in-boycotting-games.html May 11, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154853/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/11/world/east-germany-joins-soviet-in-boycotting-games.html April 10, 2023 Mongolia and Vietnam (both May 11),Vietnam and Mongolia Join Soviet-led Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/11/Vietnam-and-Mongolia-Friday-joined-the-Soviet-led-boycott-of/7496453096000/ UPI May 11, 1984 en Laos, and Czechoslovakia (both May 13).Czechoslovakia and Laos Join Soviet-led Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/12/Foreign-News-Briefs/8199453182400/ UPI May 12, 1984 Afghanistan declared its withdrawal on May 13, 1984, becoming the eighth country to announce a boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics.Afghanistan Joins Boycott https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/14/world/olympic-boycott-is-called-firm.html https://web.archive.org/web/20211230123147/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/14/world/olympic-boycott-is-called-firm.html December 30, 2021 133 46044 The New York Times Reuters May 13, 1984 May 14, 1984 A6 Hungary and Poland became the ninth and tenth Communist countries to announce boycotts. Hungary claimed the lives of its athletes would be put in danger if they were to spend time in Los Angeles, while Poland said the United States was engaging in a "campaign aimed at disturbing the Games".Hungary and Poland to Join Olympics Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/15/Hungary-and-Poland-to-join-Olympics-boycott/2168453441600/ UPI May 15, 1984 en On May 23, Cuba became the eleventh country to announce its participation in the boycott.Cuba Joins Boycott of Olympics https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1984/05/24/cuba-joins-boycott-of-olympics/d5e101ab-4b8c-4c0e-9fca-960f81ae15fc/ The Washington Post May 24, 1984 July 25, 2022 The loss of Cuban athletes was expected to be especially critical in boxing and baseball competitions, prompting Ueberroth to make overtures in the media requesting meetings with Cuban Olympic officials.Barabak Mark Ueberroth Discloses Plan to Convince Cubans to Attend https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/06/Peter-Ueberroth-president-of-Los-Angeles-Olympic-Organizing-Committee/6687455342400/ UPI June 6, 1984 en Ueberroth's eventual trip to Cuba was unsuccessful in persuading Cuban President Castro to rescind his boycott decision.Lohmann Bill Ueberroth Fails to Convince Castro https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/08/Peter-Ueberroth-head-of-the-Los-Angeles-Olympic-Organizing/9675455515200/ UPI June 8, 1984 en South Yemen was the twelfth country to announce a boycott on May 27, stating that the organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics "ignore the provisions of the Olympic Charter, refuse to guarantee the safety of sportsmen, and first of all of those from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries".South Yemen Announces It's Joining the Soviet-led Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/26/South-Yemen-announced-Saturday-it-was-joining-the-Soviet-led/4520454392000/ UPI May 26, 1984 en Ethiopia announced on June 1 that it would join the Soviet-led boycott. The Soviet News Agency Tass, which communicated the boycott on behalf of the Ethiopian National Olympic Committee (NOC), stated that the step was taken "because the United States uses the games for purely political purposes against socialist and progressive states". Ethiopia's NOC added to the Tass statement that their boycott was also "a resolute protest in connection with the British government's refusal to cancel England's rugby union tour of South Africa".Ethiopia Joins Soviet-led Boycott, Citing U.S. 'Use of Games for Political Purposes' and English Rugby Tour of South Africa https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/01/Ethiopia-has-joined-the-Soviet-led-boycott-of-the-Los/1646454910400/ UPI June 1, 1984 en North Korea was the fourteenth nation to boycott the Olympics on June 3, giving their reason as being a lack of security for their athletes.North Korea Joins the Olympic Boycott https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/03/world/around-the-world-north-korea-joins-the-olympic-boycott.html 133 The New York Times 46064 3 June 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20241208173227/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/03/world/around-the-world-north-korea-joins-the-olympic-boycott.html December 8, 2024 A dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency said that "taking into consideration the fact that the United States has been hostile and is hostile to us, we cannot but express increasing apprehensions for the personal safety of our sportsmen."Strauss Valerie North Korea Becomes 14th Nation to Join Soviet-led Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/02/North-Korea-Saturday-became-the-14th-nation-to-join/8350454996800/ UPI June 2, 1984 en Angola, which was the very last country out of 142 nations to officially accept their invitation to participate in the Summer Olympics, reversed course on June 27, announcing they were pulling out because "the United States authorities are turning the Games into an arena of confrontation". In response, Ueberroth stated that the Soviets were "still trying every possible thing" to pressure more countries into joining their boycott.After First Accepting Invitation to Summer Games, Angola Withdraws to Join Olympic Boycott https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/27/Angola-joins-Olympic-boycott/2820176605405/ UPI June 27, 1984 en Nonaligned countries boycotting Albania Although originally associated with the Eastern Bloc, by 1968, Albania was in a position of non-alignment.Taylor Rasmussen 2023 1410albanianam In keeping with Albania's isolationism, the country did not attend any Olympic Games from 1976 to 1988.Final Olympics List Has 142 Countries https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/05/sports/final-olympics-list-has-142-countries.html 133 46066 The New York Times June 5, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524150959/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/05/sports/final-olympics-list-has-142-countries.html May 24, 2015 Politically, Albania allied with China after the Sino-Soviet split, remaining antagonistic towards the Soviet Union;Pilaca Nako 2021 76 however, it also opposed China's rapprochement with the United States in the late 1970s, resulting in the Sino-Albanian split. Iran A similar antagonism towards both superpowers existed in Iran since 1979. In August 1983 Iran made its first announcement regarding the 1984 Games, saying it would boycott because of "United States interference in the Middle East, its support for the regime occupying Jerusalem, and the crimes being committed by the U.S.A. in Latin America, especially in El Salvador".https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/02/world/around-the-world-iran-announces-boycott-of-the-1984-olympics.html Iran Announces Boycott of the 1984 Olympics The New York Times August 2, 1983 45758 132 https://web.archive.org/web/20241208172731/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/02/world/around-the-world-iran-announces-boycott-of-the-1984-olympics.html December 8, 2024 On January 22, 1984, Iranian Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi reiterated Iran's decision to boycott, saying "the 1984 Olympic Games of Los Angeles are a mask and facade created by supercilious world powers and the United States for disguising their hideous faces as a means of gaining publicity and whitewashing their crimes", with Mousavi noting how Iran had "boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest over the Soviet Government's occupation of Afghanistan and it would do the same with the Olympics-84 Games of Los Angeles in order to expose the criminal acts of the world-devouring U.S. Government."Iran to Boycott Summer Olympics https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/22/Iran-to-boycott-summer-Olympics/6348443595600/ UPI January 22, 1984 en Upper Volta In August 1983, a military coup led by Thomas Sankara overthrew the Upper Voltan government in favor of a left-wing military junta advocating a neocolonialist platform of anti-imperialism and agrarian reform.Visentini 2020 47-48 As an official member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Upper Volta enjoyed diplomatic relations with Non-Aligned and Blocaffiliated countriesLibya, the Soviet Union, Cuba, Benin, and the People's Republic of Congobut was not, itself, part of the Eastern Bloc. The only Summer Olympic Games attended by Upper Volta was 1972 in Munich, with Upper Volta subsequently boycotting the 1976 and 1980 Summer Games. On July 13, 1984, the Upper Voltan NOC announced their withdrawal from the L.A. Games, giving their reason as being due to England's rugby union tour of South Africa. Since this was the only reason given, Upper Volta's boycott was largely seen as distinct from those of the Eastern Bloc nations.West African Nation of Upper Volta Announces LA Games Boycott in Response to South African Rugby Tour https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/13/The-West-African-nation-of-Upper-Volta-announced-Friday/5477458539200/ UPI July 13, 1984 en Upper Volta changed its official name to Burkina Faso on August 4, 1984. Libya Libya withdrew its entire sports delegation of six athletes two days before the start of the Games, apparently in retaliation for the American government's refusal to allow three of that country's journalists to cover the Games. Without elaboration, the official Libyan news agency only stated "The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya decided to withdraw from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles." According to a State Department spokesman, the journalists were denied visas under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act for "security reasons". LAOOC President Ueberroth's response was that "it is not for me to speculate whether they are journalists, it is the government's decision...as a private corporation, we respond to government action".McMane Fred Libya Withdraws Entire Sports Delegation from LA Games https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/27/With-only-two-days-to-go-before-the-start/8706459748800/ UPI July 27, 1984 en LAOOC Associate VicePresident Anita DeFrantz was more forthright in her assessment, saying the Libyan journalists "weren't coming to report news; they were coming to create news". El Salvador boycott warning On May 28, 1984, President of the Salvadoran Olympic Committee, Valerio Montes, warned that El Salvador might be forced to join the Soviet-led boycott if the $28,000 entry fee required of its athletes were not raised by the June 2 deadline, a figure which Montes doubted "could be raised in time". The IOC previously offered to pay all expenses for six Salvadoran athletes, but Montes noted that the Salvadorans would refuse the funds in principle in order to show the Salvadoran Government "that it must pay more attention to the nation's youth and sports' programs". Referring to the $62 million recently approved by the U.S. Government for military aid to El Salvador, Montes suggested a possible solution whereby President Reagan and the American Congress would "order the armed forces to give us less than one percent of what has been designated for weapons to be able to participate in the Games".https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/28/Lack-of-funds-might-force-El-Salvador-to-withdraw/2611454564800/ Lack of Funds Might Force El Salvador to Join Soviet-led Boycott UPI May 28, 1984 In response, spokesman Donald Hamilton of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador declined to provide any funds, stating that "since we don't fund our own athletes, we don't see how we could fund those from a foreign country". Montes was instead advised by the embassy spokesman to pursue financial aid from local sources or from the IOC.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/29/Salvadoran-Olympic-officials-have-been-advised-by-the-United/3549454651200/ Salvadoran Olympic Officials Advised to Seek Funding From IOC May 29, 1984 UPI Ten athletes from El Salvador eventually competed at the Games. Bolivia boycott reversal On June 3, 1984, Bolivian President Hernán Siles Zuazo stated in a communiqué that Bolivia's 14 member delegation would not be allowed to travel to L.A. for the Games due to an economic crisis.Bolivia Quits Olympics, Citing Poor Economy https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/04/world/around-the-world-bolivia-quits-olympics-citing-poor-economy.html The New York Times Reuters 133 46065 June 4, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524150716/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/04/world/around-the-world-bolivia-quits-olympics-citing-poor-economy.html May 24, 2015 The decision sparked widespread protest among Bolivian sports officials and members of Bolivia's political opposition, who charged the real motive was pressure from the Bolivian Communist Partyat that time a member of the government's ruling coalitionto join the Soviet led boycott.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/07/Bolivia-will-attend-the-Summer-Olympics-official-sources-said/2677455428800/ June 7, 1984 Bolivia Will Attend the Summer Olympics, Official Sources Say UPI The decision was rescinded once sufficient funds were attained, however, when an article written by Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post making light of poverty in Bolivia caused indignation from Bolivians believing the article "offended the dignity of our country", President Zuazo declared a boycott of the Games.Bolivia Again Changes Stand https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/24/sports/bolivia-again-changes-stand.html The New York Times 133 46085 June 24, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524155241/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/24/sports/bolivia-again-changes-stand.html May 24, 2015 After The Washington Post issued an editorial apology, President Zuazo reversed the boycott decision, and eleven athletes from Bolivia eventually competed at the Games.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/09/President-Hernan-Siles-Zuazo-late-Monday-reversed-an-earlier/1236458193600/ Bolivian President Zuazo Reverses Decision to Boycott UPI July 9, 1984 List of all boycotting countries Listed by chronological order of their withdrawal, not by alphabetical or any geographical order. USSR PRB DDR MPR VNM LAO CSR DRA HPR PPR CUB PDRY Derg PRK 1948 PRA Four other countries also boycotted the Games. Two of those countriesIran and Upper Voltacited political reasons while the other twoAlbania and Libyaprovided no explanations whatsoever. None were part of the Soviet-led boycott:Just Hours Before Opening Ceremony, Boycotting Nations' Number Rises to 19 https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/28/Just-hours-before-Saturdays-opening-ceremonies-Libya-officially-withdrew/5846459835200/ UPI July 28, 1984 en (Listed by chronological order of their withdrawal) People's Socialist Republic of Albania IRN Upper Volta Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Soviet motive: 'Revenge hypothesis' Western media largely viewed the boycott as a retaliatory move in response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Games.Toth Robert C. Desire for Reagan Defeat Behind Action, Experts Say https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00806r000200860019-5 Los Angeles Times May 9, 1984Tyner Howard A. https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/634382002.html?dids=634382002:634382002&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+09%2C+1984&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=U.S.+Olympic+boycott+of+1980+led+to+Soviet+decision+of+1984&pqatl=google U.S. Olympic Boycott of 1980 Led to Soviet Decision of 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20130326000542/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/634382002.html?dids=634382002:634382002&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+09%2C+1984&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=U.S.+Olympic+boycott+of+1980+led+to+Soviet+decision+of+1984&pqatl=google March 26, 2013 Chicago Tribune May 9, 1984 D13 The 'revenge hypothesis' posits that the move towards retaliation began with a change in leadership of the Soviet Union to a General Secretary predisposed to animosity towards the Americans for the 1980 boycott.Kobierecki 2015 101 Shaikin 1988 56 Wilson 1993 69 Lieser 2014 98 During that first boycott the Soviets decried the Americans for carrying out punitive actions which the Soviets claimedwere their positions reversedthey could never in good conscience perform.Mertin 2007 246 In carrying out a retaliatory boycott the Soviets would need to avoid accusations of hypocrisy. Thus, the decision was described using language which avoided the term 'boycott'Mertin 2007 246 Schillinger 1985 63-64Moscow's Statement Shuns Term 'Boycott' https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/moscow-s-statement-shuns-term-boycott.html 46039 133 The New York Times May 9, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20171206054201/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/world/moscow-s-statement-shuns-term-boycott.html December 6, 2017 while being buttressed by a disinformation campaign which exaggerated the Los Angeles Games as being too dangerous for socialist athletes. Finally, inflated defection concerns helped seal the decision amongst the few remaining in the Soviet Politburo yet to be convinced of a retaliatory boycott's exigency.Charles Rasmussen 2021 783-784 Change in leadership thumb|Konstantin Chernenko succeeded Yuri Andropov as Soviet leader on February 9, 1984.|alt=Konstantin Chernenko succeeded Yuri Andropov as Soviet leader on February 9, 1984 The timeline of when the Soviets ostensibly began their push to boycott suggests their decisionmaking turning point was precipitated by a change in leadership. Leonid Brezhnev was General Secretary during the 1980 Moscow Olympics and thus was the leader most affected and publicly embarrassed by the Americanled boycott.Church George J. Olympic Turmoil: Why the Soviets Said Nyet to the Games https://time.com/archive/6860368/a-soviet-nyet-to-the-games/ Time Magazine May 21, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20240612184343/https://time.com/archive/6860368/a-soviet-nyet-to-the-games/ June 12, 2024Wilson 1993 68 Brezhnev died in November 1982, and was replaced by Yuri Andropov. During the 15 months of Andropov's leadership, both in the Soviet Union and in other communist countries, preparations by their individual Olympic committees continued to progress with all-apparent intention of attending the 1984 Games.Kobierecki 2015 99-100 Lieser 2014 101 Mertin 2007 244 Wilson 1993 69 With Andropov's death in February 1984, the role of General Secretary was taken over by Konstantin Chernenko, who was a close ally of Brezhnev, and thus more amenable to feelings of antipathy towards the Americans for the 1980 boycott.Edelman 2015 34 Wilson 1993 68-69 After Chernenko's succession as leader, a vast change in the Soviet attitude towards the Games could be seen, suggesting that the Soviet decision to boycott was uncertain till at least three months before the Olympics began, and was influenced by the change in leadership from Andropov to Chernenko.Kobierecki 2015 101 Shaikin 1988 56 Wilson 1993 69 Lieser 2014 98 Among those subscribing to the change in leadership as a component of the 'revenge' hypothesis was Peter Ueberroth, who expressed his views in a press conference on May 11, 1984,Metzler Stan W. Ueberroth Convinced Soviets' Only Motivation for Boycott is Revenge https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/12/The-Soviet-Union-is-trying-to-persuade-nations-outside/3591453182400/ UPI May 12, 1984 en where he stated that the Soviet Union "withdrew from the Olympics to give America a taste of its own medicine".Tosches Rich Ueberroth: Soviets Withdrew from the Olympics to 'Give America a Taste of Its Own Medicine' https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/11/The-head-of-the-Olympic-organizing-committee-said-the/6839453096000/ UPI May 11, 1984 en Ueberroth later indicated that the Soviet-led boycott might have been avoided if organizers of the Summer Games had communicated with Konstantin Chernenko when he took over his country's leadership, saying "In retrospect, we can be criticized for not recognizing that change in leadership, from an Andropov to Chernenko", and that the organizing committee "should have tried to redouble our efforts to make certain there were no problems that could have opened the door to the Soviet-led boycott by 14 nations", adding that "we have tried in every possible way to not have 1980 happen again in 1984, but it did happen".Gewertz Catherine Ueberroth: Soviet-Led Boycott Would Have Been Avoided, Had Organizers Communicated With Chernenko UPI June 15, 1984 https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/15/The-Soviet-led-boycott-of-the-1984-Olympics-might-have/6931456120000/ Paul Ziffren, Chairman of the Board of the LAOOC, shared Ueberroth's view on the effect of Andropov's death:"When he died and Chernenko came to power, the whole thing changed. Chernenko was always Leonid Brezhnev's man. Brezhnev never forgave the United States for the '80 boycott. And the change in Russian attitude in my mind was a change between Andropov and Chernenko, and once Chernenko came in there, we started getting completely opposite signals."Reich 1986 209 Paul Ziffren, Chairman of the Board, LAOOC thumb|President Reagan and his wife Nancy at the Opening Ceremonies of the Los Angeles Games. Before the boycott was announced, Reagan briefly considered inviting Konstantin Chernenko to be his guest at the Opening Ceremonies,Charles Rasmussen 2021 668 Reagan 2007 220-221 but was eventually dissuaded from doing so by his advisors President Reagan for his part reached out immediately to the new Soviet leader upon Chernenko becoming General Secretary.Matlock 2004 88 On February 10 Reagan composed a letter to Chernenko where he stated that he had "no higher goal than the establishment of a relationship between our two great nations characterized by constructive cooperation".Charles Rasmussen 2021 616 Based primarily on the statements Chernenko made to Vice President Bush at Andropov's funeral,Schmemann Serge February 15, 1984 Bush Says Talks with Chernenko Gave Promising Signal on Future http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/15/world/bush-says-talks-with-chernenko-gave-promising-signal-on-future.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150524154140/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/15/world/bush-says-talks-with-chernenko-gave-promising-signal-on-future.html May 24, 2015 133 45955 The New York Times and later, the written response to Reagan from Chernenko on February 23, where Chernenko stated his desire for "a turn toward even and good relations between our two countries",Charles Rasmussen 2021 642 Reagan was inspired on February 22, 1984, to task a team of advisors to consider inviting Chernenko to join Reagan as his guest at the Opening Ceremonies of the L.A. Games.Charles Rasmussen 2021 668 Reagan 2007 220-221 Despite receiving initial support from some circles of advisors in his Administration as well as from German Chancellor Kohl,Reagan 2007 222-223,239 by April 1984, Reagan's advisors were arguing against sending such an invitation.Charles Rasmussen 2021 775 "The President's desire to meet with Chernenko during the Olympics now seems increasingly impractical." Disinformation campaign The Bethesda based Advanced International Studies Institute, associated with the University of Miami, said the Soviet impetus to boycott was probably initiated by Chernenko in April 1984. According to the Institute, that was when a concerted Soviet disinformation campaign began, designed to lay the groundwork for their boycott announcement,Shaikin 1988 56 showing that American streets were "jungles" and that Soviet athletes and spectators would be "the prey of the beasts that the U.S. government allows to run loose in those streets".Anderson Jim Soviet Olympics Boycott Aimed at Reagan https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/13/Soviet-Olympics-boycott-aimed-at-Reagan/5462453268800/ UPI May 13, 1984 en One example among many, according to the Institute, was the Soviet newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya, which in April 1984 began publishing seamier representations of the Games' host city:"Los Angeles was nicknamed murder city long ago....The bloody statistics are mainly the work of juvenile gangs....These degenerate young people who smoke marijuana and hide a knife down their right trouser leg have two-thirds of all street crimes on their conscience. The outrageous crime rate, for which the city is known, would cast a bloody glow over the Olympic flame." Sovetskaya Rossiya, April 15, 1984 Two months after the boycott was announced, officials at the U.S. State Department linked the KGB to a series of hate letters purporting to be from the Ku Klux Klan which were sent to the Olympic organizing committees in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore and China, all countries which failed to join the Soviet boycott.Ueberroth 1985 319 State Department spokesman Alan Romberg said the letters "bear all the hallmarks of a disinformation campaign" and noted the thrust of the messages in the letters "dovetails neatly with the Soviet justification for their withdrawal". The threatening letters reportedly used stilted syntax, suggesting they were written by non-native speakers of English.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/11/US-says-Soviets-sent-leaflets/6194458366400/ Anderson Jim U.S. Says Soviets Sent Leaflets UPI July 11, 1984 By August, American Attorney General William French Smith revealed that up to 20 nations ultimately received the threatening letters, which Smith described as being "openly racist and disgusting" and that they "threaten violence against Asian and African nations who participate in the Games in Los Angeles".Shaikin 1988 57 Smith went on to state that "fortunately none of the nations that received these letters succumbed to the attempted intimidation".Barbash Fred U.S. Ties 'Klan' Olympic Hate Mail to KGB https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/08/07/us-ties-klan-olympic-hate-mail-to-kgb/80918fe8-fcf0-46cf-bb58-726ee46d8ce9/?utm_term=.37919adcdc44 The Washington Post 7 August 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20190930143643/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/08/07/us-ties-klan-olympic-hate-mail-to-kgb/80918fe8-fcf0-46cf-bb58-726ee46d8ce9/ September 30, 2019 Smith surmised the likely author of the letters, saying "they were not produced or sent by the Ku Klux Klan...they were instead manufactured and mailed by another organization devoted to terror: the KGB."https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/06/Smith-says-Soviet-forged-KKK-letters-to-several-nations/2432460612800/ Attorney General Smith Says Soviets Forged KKK Letters to Several Nations August 6, 1984 UPI The author of the letters had been determined by a State Department interagency workgroup set up during the Reagan Administration to counteract Soviet propaganda. That workgroup, along with an FBI informant inside the KGB, "confirmed that the grammatical mistakes within the letters were not the handiwork of an uneducated Klansman, but of someone who spoke Russian as a first language".Wertheim Jon The Cold War, the Klan and the Olympics: How the CloakandDagger Soviets Tried to Ruin the '84 L.A. Games https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/07/28/the-cold-war-the-klan-and-the-olympics Sports Illustrated 28 July 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20250214025730/https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/07/28/the-cold-war-the-klan-and-the-olympics February 14, 2025The letters warning of harm to Soviet athletes sent by Ban the Soviets Coalition to the Soviet NOC before the May 8 boycott announcement were distinct from the threatening letters sent to Asian and African NOC's after the boycott announcement. The Coalition letters only ever addressed Soviet athletes, while the letters sent to Asian and African NOC's were notably more ominous and racist in tone, purportedly signed by the Ku Klux Klan using stilted syntax. The U.S. Government believed those letters were written by the KGB as part of a disinformation campaign aimed at justifying the Soviets' boycott rationale and increasing the number of countries withdrawing from the Games.Snyder 1995 108-110 Shaikin 1988 50-51 Reich 1986 213 Defection concerns Historically speaking the Soviets had little reason to be concerned about Olympic defections. From the moment the Soviets began regularly competing at the Olympics in 1952, only one of their athletesSergey NemtsanovAmdur Neil Soviet Defector Is Granted Permit to Remain in Canada https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/02/archives/soviet-defector-is-granted-permit-to-remain-in-canada-canada-lets.html The New York Times 125 43290 August 2, 1976 had defected during an Olympic Games, and he later returned voluntarily.Shaikin 1988 51-52Parker Claire Westfall Sammy For Some Athletes, the Olympics Aren't Just a Chance to Compete — They're an Opportunity to Defect https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/02/olympic-defectors-history/ The Washington Post 2 August 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20221127215528/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/02/olympic-defectors-history/ November 27, 2022 Thus the rhetoric coming from Ban the Soviets Coalition on their intent at encouraging athletes to defect instilled what was ultimately an immoderate concern within the Soviet Union's ruling Politburo.McVicker 2018 188 That inordinate apprehension was nurtured by an understanding that while Reagan conceded to the more pragmatic Soviet requests covering transportation, press coverage, and housing of Soviet athletes,Saikowski Charlotte Hopes for Warmer Ties Dim with Soviet Olympic Pullout https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0510/051025.html Christian Science Monitor May 10, 1984 his concessions lacked a guarantee that there would be no defections by Soviet athletes. This, according to Reagan aide Jack Matlock, was a guarantee "Reagan had no legal or moral right to give".Matlock 2004 90 The Politburo was aware of the Reagan Administration's mandate that LAOOC officials involve the U.S. State Department in all asylum requests made by Eastern Bloc athletes, as well as a requirement that the LAOOC notify the FBI. These requirements included the proviso that "under no circumstances should a defector be released to a representative of his country" before pertinent interviews could be made by U.S. authorities.Congelio 2014 153-154 Oleg Yermishkin, the individual tasked by the Politburo to act as their specialist guarding against defections occurring within the Soviet Olympic team during the Games, had his travel visa request denied by the U.S. State Department on the eve of his departure to Los Angeles. That actionviewed by Soviet and American Olympic authorities as misguidedwas more evidence for the Politburo that when it came to preventing defections, they and the Reagan Administration were working at crosspurposes to each other.Wilson 1993 72 Reich 1986 217 Even with the rarity of Olympic athlete defections, the threat of regular Soviet citizens refusing to return to their country was a recurring problem, one which was highlighted on April 30, 1984, when Sergei Kozlov, a Soviet mathematician visiting the United States for the past three months, had what was described as a "nervous breakdown" onboard a mobile lounge at Dulles International Airport just before he was scheduled to board a flight to London.Gwertzman Bernard U.S. Lets Russian Depart For Home https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/07/world/us-lets-russian-depart-for-home.html The New York Times 133 46068 June 7, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524152128/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/07/world/us-lets-russian-depart-for-home.html May 24, 2015 Kozlov told others that he was the victim of a gas attack and was possibly being followed by the KGB, and was changing his mind about returning to Europe.U.S. Says It Will Not Seek a Reversal by Moscow https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/10/world/us-says-it-will-not-seek-a-reversal-by-moscow.html The New York Times 133 46040 May 10, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524153317/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/10/world/us-says-it-will-not-seek-a-reversal-by-moscow.html May 24, 2015 Kozlov eventually spoke with officials from the State Department, who mistook his complaints as a genuine request for asylum. A short time later, the New York University professor who helped sponsor Kozlov's visit to the United States provided State Department officials with more context, describing Kozlov's overall behavior during his stay as "very disturbing", along with other accounts of Kozlov's "ramblings about various things, including pressure from the KGB and his phone being bugged",Soviet Mathematician Detained at Dulles https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/01/A-Soviet-mathmetician-apparently-changed-his-mind-about-returning/4381452232000/ UPI May 1, 1984 en and his insistence upon "not leaving until all CIA and KGB documents were burned".Deb Sopan Dulles Airport’s Reviled ‘People Movers’ May Be Lurching Into the Sunset https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/us/dulles-airport-people-movers-trump.html The New York Times 30 July 2026 After learning this additional context, the State Department agreed that Kozlov was "ill" and released him, whereupon he returned to the Soviet UnionSun Lena H. Soviet Citizen Who Provoked Incident Departs https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/06/07/soviet-citizen-who-provoked-incident-departs/7e5dea60-b39d-42e1-8dfd-b25422f29af7/ The Washington Post June 7, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20170828124133/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/06/07/soviet-citizen-who-provoked-incident-departs/7e5dea60-b39d-42e1-8dfd-b25422f29af7/?utm_term=.e65d1f681f25 August 28, 2017but not before the incident garnered national attention as a possible defection, leading the Soviets to make public, diplomatic protests of the State Department's handling of the event.Public Superpower Exchange Over Soviet Scholar Harsh https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/03/Public-superpower-exchange-over-Soviet-scholar-harsh/7015452404800/ UPI May 3, 1984 enMoscow Charges U.S. Blocked Departure of Scholar https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/02/Moscow-charges-US-blocked-departure-of-scholar/3316452318400/ UPI May 2, 1984 en A telegram from Warren Zimmermann at the American Embassy in Moscow sent to the State Department in Washington theorized that the incident at Dulles Airport had ramifications for the Politburo, by hastening the date of their announcement of a decision which, since at least the beginning of April, had been inexorably moving towards boycotting the Games:"The Kozlov incident coincided with the final stage of Moscow's consideration of whether or not to attend the Olympics—a decision which would have had to be made no earlier than June 2.The Soviets were not obligated to make their boycott decision public before June 2, 1984, according to the protocol agreement signed in December 1983 by the Soviet NOC and the LAOOC, where the Soviet NOC committed itself to notification on that date.Perelman 1985 371 Ueberroth 1985 184 Conversely, a boycott announcement made after June 2 would have violated the Olympic Charter and risked sanctions by the International Olympic Committee.Olympic Charter: 1984 Comité International Olympique p.17(print)p.19(pdf) https://library.olympics.com/Default/digital-viewer/c-172330 Rules: National Olympic Committees: Jurisdiction The impact may well have been to demonstrate that even a carefully selected, mature individual with a family in the USSR [i.e., Kozlov] could not be relied upon not to become a media event. The potential for similar embarrassment of turning loose an entire team of young, world-class athletes amid the temptations of Los Angeles may thus have taken on an immediacy for Soviet policymakers it did not have before Kozlov's refusal to embark. In the context of the generally tough line on the U.S. currently prevailing in leadership circles here, it would have taken a strong, confident voice to have argued against a boycott. As we have seen too often of late, there is no evidence such a voice exists in the current leadership."Charles Rasmussen 2021 783-784 Warren Zimmermann, May 9, 1984 According to Zimmermann, by the end of April 1984before the Kozlov incident"we had word from Soviet contacts in a position to know that training was continuing through last week, and that athletes were planning on being in Los Angeles", suggesting that even with lack of a strong voice in the Politburo arguing for participation "as recently as a week ago, there was [still] strong internal support for participating in the Olympics, and that those favoring staying home had not yet carried the day." Zimmermann surmised that "as to timing, it seems to us most likely that those opposing participation...wanted the decision announced quickly to cut off further internal lobbying on the issue" and that the Kozlov incident on April 30 offered the perfect pretense for the Politburo to finally make their decision public.Charles Rasmussen 2021 783-784 The boycott announcement was duly made eight days later. Zimmermann said the eightday delay was intended to coincide with a major Soviet holiday, as "knowing how difficult the move would be to explain domestically, the Politburo calculated that an announcement on the eve of Victory Daywhen patriotic fervor could be counted upon to be at a yearly highmight quell any doubts."Charles Rasmussen 2021 783-784 Eastern Bloc motives: 'Bloc loyalty' The Soviet boycott announcement of May 8, 1984, was followed by an unofficial, confidential announcement of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party to all 'brother parties' in the socialist countries, wherein the Soviets made clear their expectation that the others join their boycott in solidarity.Warnicke 2006 256 Following this mandate, a preponderance of Eastern Bloc nations were invited to Moscow on May 11, 1984, for the first of two working meetings regarding the Olympics, the second of which was to be held two weeks later on May 2425, 1984, in Prague. By May 11, four nations already declared that they would join the Soviets in their boycott. At the Moscow meeting, officials from Bulgaria, Cuba, East Germany, Hungary, Laos, North Korea, Poland, RomaniaAlthough Romania participated in the first Bloc meeting on May 11th in Moscow,Kolar 2006 50 they publicly disinvolved themselves from the boycott during the second Bloc meeting on May 24th in Prague.Romania Announces It Will Send Its Team to the Los Angeles Olympics https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/24/Romanias-International-Olympic-Committee-vice-president-Alexandru-Siperco-Thursday-announced/3490454219200/ UPI May 24, 1984 en and Vietnam worked to establish "coordination of a collective approach with reference to the Games" and also "the nature of corresponding declarations for the public."Kolar 2006 50 It was established by the individuals meeting there that "anti-Soviet and anti-socialist actions of physical outrage and various forms of pressure of a compromising nature to Soviet and socialist athletes are being prepared", and that "the only possible thing to do is not to go to the Olympic Games."Kolar 2006 50 The decision was also notable in that it was meant only for the athletes. Referees and other related officials from the boycotting nations were still expected to participate.Kolar 2006 50-51 When each of the Soviets' East European satellite countries announced their intention to join the boycott, they individually released press statements which largely mirrored that of the Soviets' stated reasons.Wilson 1993 74 As for what other incentive they may have had, a memorandum prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency suggests that at least some of those countries chose to follow along with an unpopular decision in order to foster "bloc loyalty" at a time when there were other, more-important issues warranting a break with the Soviets that they could undertake:"Other East European states, although unhappy with the Soviet decision, probably view participation in the boycott as a useful way to demonstrate bloc loyalty on an issue of less direct significance to them at a time when they have been resisting Soviet initiatives in more important areas. They also realize that heeding the boycott does not seriously affect their vital interests visàvis the West. The Hungarians, for example, told United States Embassy officials after the Soviets rejected Budapest's proposal to send a small team to the games that, in the end, this was not the issue on which to make a stand."Taylor Rasmussen 2023 89 CIA memorandum, June 26, 1984 Hungary U.S. officials said before Hungary announced its decision that if Hungary chose to boycott, the United States would not retaliate by revoking Hungary's most favored nation trade status, a distinction which Hungary held in 1984. A senior State Department official said "the Hungarian decision to join the boycott is understood to be a case of following Kremlin marching orders and will not affect the administration's supporting Hungary's most-favored nation trade treatment."UPI Expected Games Pullout Will Not Affect Hungary's Trade Status May 16, 1984 https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/16/Expected-Games-pullout-will-not-affect-Hungarys-trade-status/6231453528000/ Anderson Jim That question of whether Hungary would join along in boycotting the Games was voted upon by members of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. Pressure was placed on the Olympic committee members by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Central Committee as well as from the Soviet Union itself, which reportedly threatened closing Soviet gas pipelines to Hungary. That caused all but one member of the Hungarian Olympic Committee to vote for non-participation.Onyestyák 2008 172 István Buda, President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, reportedly resigned following the vote, however, his resignation was not accepted by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Central Committee.Wilson 1993 78-79 After making their announcement public, the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Central Committee established within the Party's agitation and propaganda section an Olympic Operative Workgroup, tasked with monitoring and evaluating the country's radio, television, and press broadcastsOnyestyák 2008 173 which were less rigidly controlled than in other Bloc countries in Eastern and Central Europe.Lánczi O'Neil 1996 92 In monitoring these outlets, the Party amplified opinions confirming the boycott decision while concomitantly downplaying opinions criticizing it. The mood of Hungarian athletes was also monitored.Onyestyák 2008 173 The Workgroup ascertained that: "...the opinions on MOB's (Hungarian Olympic Committee's) decision were diverse. Most of those people who were politically better prepared did understand the decision, many othersmostly intellectuals and the youthaccepted it with a feeling of frustration, and they disputed the justification. The opinion-makers blamed extremist groups in the USA for the situation, while sometimes mentioning the responsibility of the IOC. Most people feared for the future of the Olympic movement."Onyestyák 2008 173 According to the Hungarian sports newspaper Nepsport, Hungarian Olympic team members who were particularly recalcitrant in accepting the boycottapproximately 143 athleteswere eventually paid by the Hungarian government varying amounts of cash after unofficially threatening to quit when Hungary announced its boycott. Those athletes reportedly received awards ranging from $100 to $3,000.Hungarian Athletes Paid to Skip LA Olympics https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/10/17/Some-143-Hungarian-athletes-were-paid-by-their-government/5016466833600/ October 17, 1984 UPI Poland Polish dependence on the Soviet Union also led to their being pressured to join the Soviets' boycott. As was done in Hungary, in Poland "the ruling political circles made a scapegoat of the [sporting] institution" by having members of the Polish Olympic Committee take a public vote on the question. In that way, those actually behind the decisionthe Polish United Workers' Partywere shielded from public opprobrium.Pasko 2021 1608 A State Department document stated that "the reported agreement of early May that Moscow would allow Warsaw to delay repayment of its trade deficit until the year 1990 apparently assured Polish Prime Minister Jaruzelski's compliance with the boycott".Wilson 1993 77 Bulgaria Bulgaria had been the first country to announce it was joining the Soviet boycott. Before their announcement was publicly released, President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), Ivan Slavkov, inadvertently announced that "everything was going well for the L.A. Games", suggesting that the boycott decision was made by Bulgarian Communist Party General Secretary Todor Zhivkov and only communicated to the members of the BOC later that same day.Wilson 1993 75 Czechoslovakia On May 30, 1984, an official with the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee informed an American government official that their decision to boycott "was a political decision made by political leaders and that their Olympic Committee had no option but to go along with the decision of the Soviet political establishment".Wilson 1993 76 Cuba David Israel, director of Peter Ueberroth's office at the LAOOC who accompanied Ueberroth on his unsuccessful trip to Cuba in June 1984 in an attempt at convincing President Fidel Castro to rescind his boycott decision, said the reason Castro gave for the boycott was that "in the 1960s, during the American embargo, when we stopped having diplomatic relations with the Americans, the only teams they could find to compete with were the Eastern Bloc teams, and out of a sense of loyalty and to show solidarity, he [Castro] was going to boycott."Reich 1986 231 Ueberroth 1985 299 Non-boycotting socialist countries thumb|President Reagan's state visit to China three months before the L.A. Games was emblematic of improving relations between the United States and China, reflected in China's decision to make their Summer Olympics debut in 1984 at Los Angeles instead of 1980 in MoscowYu 2010 134 Fifteen communist and socialist-leaning countries did not join the Soviet-led boycott and participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics.Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984 https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/los-angeles-1984 February 14, 2023 olympics.com International Olympic Committee The Soviet Union was only able to convince two of its eleven socialist African client states to join the boycott, as many of those nations remembered the Soviets' failure to support the African boycott of the Montreal Games in 1976. ALG 1984 Summer BEN 1984 Summer BIR 1984 Summer CHN 1984 Summer chose to make their Summer Olympics debut at the L.A. Games, rather than the Moscow Olympics, despite being a fellow Communist country. China became somewhat hostile towards the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while at the same time it began experiencing a more cordial relationship with the United States. During the 1980 pair of Winter and Summer Olympic Games, China sent a team to Lake Placid while boycotting Moscow.Yu 2010 134 In support of this newer cordiality, President Reagan made a sixday state visit to China three months before the start of the L.A. Games, where in Beijing he met with Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang, and at the Forbidden City, where Reagan was warmly received by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.Sandler Norman D. President Reagan Meets With Chinese Leader Deng Xiaoping https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/27/President-Reagan-and-Chinese-leader-Deng-Xiaoping-exchanged-friendly/5047451890000/ UPI April 27, 1984 enReagan 2007 234-237 CGO 1984 Summer director of the Congolese National Olympic Committee, Suzanne Kakou, stated that despite her and her colleagues being placed under Soviet pressure to join the boycott, there was no reason not to attend, saying "After all, the Soviets did not support the African boycott of the Montreal Games in 1976", so the Congolese NOC "would return that favor".Wilson 1993 87 GUI 1984 Summer MAD 1984 Summer would go on to join the North Korean-led boycott of the 1988 Summer Olympics four years after the L.A. Games.Pound 1994 298-300Boycotters Shut Out https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/19/sports/notebook-lewis-finds-himself-subject-of-chase-before-race.html The New York Times 138 47633 September 19, 1988 https://web.archive.org/web/20180130052714/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/19/sports/notebook-lewis-finds-himself-subject-of-chase-before-race.html January 30, 2018 en MLI 1984 Summer MOZ 1984 Summer announced on June 1, 1984, that it would send its Olympic team to Los Angeles amid warming relations with the United States, which recently upgraded its diplomatic links to Mozambique by assigning an official ambassador to Maputo.Mozambique Announces It's Taking Part in the Los Angeles Olympic Games https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/01/Mozambique-said-today-it-would-take-part-in-the/2870454910400/ UPI June 1, 1984 en NCA 1984 Summer sent a delegation to the L.A. Games to participate in boxing, weightlifting and exhibition baseball,https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/21/Nicaragua-will-send-an-Olympic-team-of-46-athletes/7347459230400/ July 21, 1984 Nicaragua to Send Olympic Team of 46 Athletes UPI despite that country becoming a Soviet client state after the Sandinistas deposed President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979.Schumacher Edward Nicaraguan President Praises Moscow as a Friend https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/12/world/nicaraguan-president-praises-moscow-as-a-friend.html The New York Times 134 46407 May 12, 1985 https://web.archive.org/web/20171121153325/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/12/world/nicaraguan-president-praises-moscow-as-a-friend.html November 21, 2017 en Four years after the L.A. Games, Nicaragua joined the North Korean-led boycott of the 1988 Summer Olympics.President Daniel Ortega Says Nicaragua to Boycott 1988 Seoul Olympics Unless North Korea Given Co-Hosting Role https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/09/15/Nicaraguan-President-Daniel-Ortega-currently-visiting-North-Korea-said/1341527140800/ UPI September 15, 1986 en ROM 1984 Summer was the sole European Eastern Bloc country to attend the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. After the Soviets announced their decision to boycott, two successive meetings took place between representatives of the Eastern Bloc countries, including Romania, in order to coordinate their collective response. In Prague on May 24, 1984, at the second of these two meetings, assembled Bloc sports officials were surprised when Romanian Minister for Sport and President of the Romanian NOC, Haralambie Alexa, took the floor to announce Romania's intention of attending the L.A. Games. A diplomatic source later said the announcement..."...was greeted by stunned silence from those attending the meeting, and was followed by a request for a five minute adjournment which ran on for a half hour. Upon resumption of the meeting, the East German representative took the floor and strongly criticized the Romanian decision...However this was the only speech to do so and no other delegations, including the Soviets, thereafter made reference to the Romanian decision."Wilson 1993 93Romania's leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, had a record of publicly demonstrating opposition to Soviet policies if those stances improved his favorability amongst Romanians.All Is Not Gold In Romania Following Olympic Victories https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/1003/100344.html Bourne Eric October 3, 1984 Christian Science MonitorTaylor Rasmussen 2023 349-350 Romanian athletes received a standing ovation at the Opening Ceremonies upon making their Coliseum entrance,Romania Gets Olympic Welcome https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0730/073035.html Christian Science Monitor July 30, 1984 and ended up finishing second in the Gold medal count at the Games (behind the United States) and third in the overall medal count (behind the United States and West Germany).Dowie Douglas The Summer Games of the 23rd Olympiad, A Triumph https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/12/The-Summer-Games-of-the-23rd-Olympiad-a-triumph/4018461131200/ UPI August 12, 1984 en In a written correspondence with Ceaușescu following the Games' conclusion, President Reagan offered his personal thanks to Romania for their attendance, saying he "sincerely appreciated Romania's important contribution to the Los Angeles Olympics and the Olympic movement".Taylor Rasmussen 2023 370 In 1985 the IOC awarded Ceaușescu and Haralambie Alexa with Olympic Orders, Gold and Silver, respectively.Myers Morley Ceauşescu Awarded Olympic Order https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/06/04/Romanias-decision-to-defy-the-East-Bloc-boycott-of/8718486705600/ UPI June 4, 1985 en LAOOC President Peter Ueberroth later disclosed that the LAOOC, the IOC, and the Romanian NOC were each responsible for onethird of the total 180,000 yes cost of two roundtrip charter flights carrying Romanian athletes and coaches to Los Angeles on Romania's stateowned airline TAROM.Wilson 1993 96 Reich 1986 230 On the importance of the LAOOC expending a significant amount of money ensuring Romanian attendance, when in other situationsas in the case of El Salvador's funds requestthere was no such importance, Charles G. Cale, Associate VicePresident of the LAOOC, stated "it was pretty important because at that juncture they [the Romanians] were clearly our showpiece as far as the breaking of the boycott",Wilson 1993 144 adding "anybody that came that otherwise would have been included in the boycott we felt was positive from the viewpoint of the Games, we felt it would be positive for what the spectators would be seeing and it was positive for the competition."Wilson 1993 145 SEY 1984 Summer indicated on June 4, 1984, two days after the June 2 deadline passed, that it would be sending a five-man team to Los Angeles. President of the Seychellois NOC, John Mascarenhas, blamed a "mistake somewhere" as the reason why their acceptance of the invitation was not transmitted by the deadline.Indian Ocean Island Nation of the Seychelles Confirms It Will Attend the Los Angeles Olympics UPI https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/04/The-Indian-Ocean-island-nation-of-the-Seychelles-Monday/8600455169600/ June 4, 1984 The Seychelles, along with Madagascar and Nicaragua, would go on to boycott the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. SOM 1984 Summer was considered a Soviet client state since at least 1972.Hilts Joseph Humphrey David C. Keefer Edward C. ((Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. State Department)) Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976: Part 1, Documents on Sub-Saharan Africa, 1969-1972 Somalia: The Soviet Presence United States Government Publishing Office Washington, D.C. 2005 December 20, 1972 E-5 Document#333 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve05p1/d333 By 1978, its relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated after the Soviets supported Ethiopia in the Ethio-Somali War,Krimer 2016 235-236 leading to Somalia joining the U.S.led boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980. SYR 1984 Summer YUG 1984 Summer was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. In foreign policy, Yugoslavia acted independently of the Soviet Union and shared friendly relations with both the Soviet Union and the United States.Taylor Rasmussen 2023 645 The country showed no interest in joining either of the previous Olympic boycotts in 1976 and 1980, and by the Spring of 1984, had just completed its own successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.Taylor Rasmussen 2023 641 On May 14, 1984, Zdravko Mutin, Administrator of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, confirmed his country's participation in the Los Angeles Olympics, saying the Americans "have ensured all pre-conditions for participation of our athletes at the Olympics".Yugoslavia Reiterates Its Intention to Attend '84 Summer Olympics https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/14/Yugoslavia-the-host-of-the-past-Winter-Olympics-reiterated/6818453355200/ UPI May 14, 1984 en Yugoslavia finished ninth in the overall medal standings, with a total of 18 Olympic medals won in Los Angeles. Alternative events Friendship Games The Soviets organized the Friendship Games, a full-scale multi-sport event held from July to September, 1984, for boycotting countries.Ten East Bloc Countries Agree to Hold Their Own Summer Games https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/24/Ten-East-Bloc-countries-agreed-Thursday-to-hold-their/9546454219200/ UPI May 24, 1984 en The Games were contested in 22 Olympic disciplines (all except association football and synchronized swimming), and in non-Olympic table tennis, tennis, and sambo wrestling. The Soviet Union dominated the medal table, winning 126 gold and 282 total medals. General Secretary Chernenko failed to appear at the closing ceremony of the Friendship Games, held in Moscow. Commentators took the absence as a sign of Chernenko's failing health.Chernenko Absent From Friendship-84 Closing https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/30/Chernenko-absent-from-Friendship-84-closing/7666462686400/ August 30, 1984 UPI In 2007, Polish President Lech Kaczyński signed into law a qualified sports bill affecting 57 Polish athletes who received medals at the 1984 Friendship Games. With passage of this law, those 57 athletes then became eligible to receive pension benefits equivalent to those already received by Polish athletes who won medals at past Olympic Games which Poland attended. Prior to the law's passage, athletes who were selected to attend the 1984 Games in Los Angeles but were not able to owing to the Polish boycottwho then went on to win medals at the Friendship Gameswere ineligible to receive pension benefits.Malchrowicz-Mośko Rozmiarek Calthorpe-Croft 2017 239,242 Boycott reappraisal In 2014, the Czech Olympic Committee issued a formal apology to those athletes who were denied access to competition at the L.A. Games, saying "Today we can, unclouded by feelings of bad will, assess what went on in our country during the second half of the 20th century, without emotion, but with fairness in mind", adding that "we must find the courage to say out loud what was right, what was wrong and what was downright deceitful".May 16, 2014 https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1020096/czech-olympic-committee-apologise-to-athletes-who-missed-los-angeles-1984-due-to-boycott Czech Olympic Committee Apologizes To Athletes Who Missed Los Angeles 1984 Due To Boycott Czech News Agency Butler Nick 1523708824 See also De-satellization of Romania Notes References 30em Works cited 30em yes Charles Elizabeth C. Rasmussen Kathleen B. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988: Soviet Union, January 1983–March 1985 2021 United States Government Publishing Office Washington, D.C. IV https://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1981-88v04/pdf/frus1981-88v04.pdf Congelio Brad J. 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Second on threatening letters reportedly forged by the KGB and sent to Asian and African NOC's, aired July 10, 1984. collapsed Olympics United States Soviet Union Los Angeles 1980s Boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Sport in East Germany Category:Olympic Games boycotts Category:Soviet Union–United States relations Category:China–Soviet Union relations Summer Olympics boycott Summer Olympics Boycott, 1984 Category:Eastern Bloc Category:1984 in Soviet sport