Sports Victories as a Value Uniting Russians (Through the Example of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics)

Abstract

Based on research performed by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Russian Society of Sociologists, the mechanism for identifying Russian society under the influence of the victory of the Russian national team at the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 is analyzed. An algorithm for identifying Russians under the influence of athletes’ successes in a stable sequence is described: from individual emotional reflection to gaining a united motivation toward improvement of the existing world order. An analysis of the secondary data of the sociological centers suggests that the influence of sports victories on the identification of Russians is neither episodic in nature, nor based on individual and collective emotions, but, on the contrary, is a kind of “building material” that strengthens the unity of the people. Every victory of Russian athletes in prestigious competitions is tied in the common historical memory of people to the past successes and achievements of the people. Thus, the successes of athletes contribute to the unity of all citizens of Russia.

Keywords

• identification mechanism
• national team
• athletes
• historical memory
• sports victories
• olympic games
• ethnic identity
• state-civil identity