Suchergebnisse

The paper analyzes shortcomings of economic impact studies based mainly on input- output models that are often employed in Russia as well as abroad. Using studies about sport events in the USA and Olympic Games that took place during the last 30 years we reveal advantages of the cost-benefit analysis approach in obtaining unbiased assessments of public investments efficiency; the step-by-step method of cost-benefit analysis is presented in the paper as well. We employ the project of Sochi-2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Russia to evaluate its efficiency using cost-benefit analysis for five accounts (areas of impact), namely government, households, environment, economic development, and social development, and calculate the net present value of the project taking into account its possible alternatives. In conclusion we suggest several policy directions that would enhance public investment efficiency within the Sochi-2014 Olympics.

The aim of the article is to analyze the change of the Russian Federation's international image in the light of two significant events: the Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi and the annexation of Crimea. According to the first hypothesis, one of the main aims for hosting the Olympic Games was to improve the international prestige of Russia. Shortly after the Olympics Russia increased its activity in Eastern Ukraine, which resulted in the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Therefore the article is also aimed to investigate whether by annexing Crimea Russia squandered the possible positive effects of hosting the Olympics in terms of its international image.

This study contributes to the discussions of the relationship between politics and the Olympic Games by focusing on the timeline of the Olympic Games and Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. The study presents a conceptual confusion about the aim of the Olympics and the world of politics, which are tangled with each other. In this study, the international and domestic media attitudes towards Sochi 2014 were analyzed during the 2014 Olympic Truce. The media coverage of most highlighted newspapers of top ten countries in the medal count (Norway, USA, Germany, Canada, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, France) and four Russian newspapers were analyzed. As a result of the study, It was concluded that politics had significant role on the Olympic Coverage despite all the efforts made by International Olympic Committee. Olympics has become a platform for the politic controversies and a new way of soft power. ; Thesis (M.S.) -- Graduate School of Social Sciences. Physical Education and Sports.

South Ossetia has been in conflict with the state of Georgia since just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's. The dispute is essentially based on South Ossetia's wish for independence; a wish supported by The Russian Federation. Despite great tension and armed conflict between Georgia and Sochi, Russia still managed to emerge victorious in the competition to win the right to host the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

From a political linguistics perspective, the preparations for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games offer insight into the Kremlin-orchestrated Olympic discourse, especially the idea of sovereignty -- constitutive for Putin's rule -- and reveal challenges to this discourse from outside and inside the ruling group. Adapted from the source document.

The topic of the thesis deals with Russia and the Olympic Movement, studying Russian national identity as it is described in the newspaper Sovetskij Sport during three past Winter Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1994) and the upcoming Winter Olympic Games that take place in Sochi 2014 in the framework of international politics. The research task is to analyze, what kinds of discourses do the writings of Russian Olympic Committee's leading sports journal Sovetskij Sport use in times of the above mentioned Olympic Games in relation to the "West". It is studied, in which way can these discourses be understood as representations of national identity in the framework of political upheavals. Politics and sport are intertwined. Sport is a traditional arena for states to compete for symbolic, and material benefits. The symbolic development of sport is most satisfactorily comprehended when culture, sport, media, economics and ideology are all maintained as strong terms in the debate. Media is an important channel in influencing the masses with descriptions of reality. This thesis is grounded in the framework of International Relations theory's approach of interpretive, constructivist thinking, drawing from sociology and symbolic interactionism. The post-positivistic approach introduced instability and change into the study of international affairs. The expressions the Winter Olympic Games produce in a widely published newspaper correspond with the political reality as it is conceived at given times. Years 1988, 1992, 1994 were the times of Olympic Games when national identity had to be represented through the differing political regimes of Soviet Union, the CIS and Russia. The end of the Soviet Union was followed by the rise of 'Westernization' and the subsequent nationalistic tendencies, with attempts to define Russia's place in the international community. Olympic sports mirrored the challenges to the Great Power status and definitions that came with the lack of resources, dispersion of national identity and pride once defined by the powerful, party –led communist regime. The Winter Games in Sochi 2014, Russia represent an opportunity to establish a once again powerful might that is at the same time a recognized partner to the Western community. Discourse analysis is the research method used in this study. The prevailing discourse categories found in the materials represent nationality, the political system, the ways other countries perceive Soviet-Russia during the Games, the dominant system of sport, and commercialisation. The results show that the eras corresponding with the years of study reflect the state of international politics, and interaction between the different political systems of the 'West' and the Soviet Union/ Russia, drawing insights from the differing cultural aspects and the effects of economic systems. According to the results, national identity is clearly represented in the newspaper discourses, during Soviet Union through the communist propaganda of superiority, in the time of the CIS through the insecurities corresponding to the political system, and for Russia, reflecting challenges faced in disappointments with dealings with the 'West' – but at the same time with emotional notions of a homeland, blessed with the continuity of cultural uniqueness.

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, were during the preparations and run-up phase intensely followed by the global community and were generally associated with a vast array of problems: political, democratic, economic, ecological and securityrelated. When the hosting of a mega-event such as the Olympic Games has been awarded to a site in an authoritarian state, the global community has moral responsibilities to live up to. There is a need and an obligation to raise one's voice and criticize where criticism is due also after the Games are concluded. For Sochi, as for sites of all major sports events, continued critical attention is therefore warranted also after the competitions. It is essential to try to gauge the extent to which predicted problems materialized, what happened afterwards, and what have been the more long-term consequences and local effects. This is the general perspective that brought the authors of this special issue together.

This book examines Russia's 2013 anti-gay laws and their implications for the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Lenskyj argues that Putin's Russia and the International Olympic Committee wield power in similar ways, as evident in undemocratic governance, fraudulent voting processes, hypocrisy and absence of accountability, Sexual Diversity and the Sochi 2014 Olympics: No More Rainbows examines Russia's 2013 anti-gay laws and their implications for the Sochi 2014 Olympics. A century in the making, these laws reflect decades of sexual repression in the former Soviet Union. Despite societal changes since 1993, there is little acceptance of sexual diversity, and the 2013 anti-gay law has led to an increase homophobic violence. In its inadequate response to yet another human rights crisis in an Olympic host country, the International Olympic Committee relied on the myth that sport is apolitical. Once again, this strategy was successful. Magical thinking that sport unites the world led many critics to oppose an Olympic boycott, although some supported boycotts of sponsors' products. Helen Jefferson Lenskyj argues that Putin's Russia and the IOC are, in fact, well matched. Common features include undemocratic governance, fraudulent voting processes, hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy in leadership, homophobia, lesbian/gay invisibility, and promotion of 'sport-as-special' propaganda

With the increasing number and impact of events hosted by cities, understanding the nature of popular support for them and the resulting urban transformations is a crucial task. I examine residents' perceptions of the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, asking how support differs across social groups and what factors predict support. I find that negative impacts from preparations dominate public opinion, but that there is nevertheless a solid support base for the event. Support tends to be strongest among non-Russians, the younger generation, and residents who have good knowledge of the preparations. Perception of positive impacts—in particular, expected image improvement—is the strongest predictor of support, while perception of negative impacts shows a much weaker association with support. I conclude that delivering on the positive aspects of events might be more important for administrations than minimizing the negative side effects.

The aim of this study is to explore the concept of legacy in mega sporting events. More precisely, it examines how one of the smallest cities to host the Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer in 1994, more than 25 years after the Games, has a rather positive legacy of the investments in sporting facilities, opposite to a majority among the hosts of the Winter Games. The research, which entailed qualitative documentary analysis (e.g. bidding documents, government guarantees, white papers and minutes of meetings in the Parliament, supplemented with interviews), shows how the concept was changed after Lillehammer was awarded the event in 1988. Lillehammer went from an extreme compact Games model to place the venues in five municipalities. Also important was the establishment of government funding to maintain the different arenas. For many hosts of mega/major events, sport facilities end up with a negative legacy because of poor or insufficient planning. Today, the 'after-use fund' has been depleted, which is challenging for Lillehammer because several municipalities in the Olympic region are also responsible for the funding. It remains to be seen if the positive legacy will remain positive in the years to come.