An Analysis of Russia's

AN ANALYSIS OF RUSSIA’S ‘ALTERNATIVE’ SOFT POWER STRATEGY AND NATIONAL IDENTITY DISCOURSE VIA SPORTS MEGA-EVENTS By NINA KRAMAREVA A Thesis Submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Birmingham March 2018 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis seeks to show through both historical and contemporary examples what makes Russia an ‘outlier’ among key sports mega-events hosts. More specifically, this thesis sets out to establish how external and internal objectives Russia pursued in the context of the 1980 Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics differed from those of other sports mega-event hosts, including non-liberal states. The originality of this thesis lies not only in the fact that it sheds light on Russia’s strategy of sports mega-event hosting, but that it does so from the vantage point of the combination of the three most popular approaches in the extant sports mega-event research: public diplomacy, place branding and soft power. Moreover, this study places Russia’s hosting of sports mega-events within constructivist international relations theory, which prioritises identity and interests. In this respect, this research, by uncovering Russia’s motives behind sports mega-events hosting, seeks to add predictability to Russia’s behaviour in the international arena. Further, this thesis shows that the pursuit of domestic soft power goals appear to be much more important to Russia than the attainment of external reputational benefits. In this respect, this thesis explores at length what role elite sport and sports mega- events play in a nation-building project in Russia and how they are used to legitimise the incumbent elites. Finally, this thesis is an attempt to overcome a Western-centric paradigmatic hegemony in sports mega-event research. I Dedication To the few members of my family, who believed in me and helped me to persevere through this learning process. To my father, who gave me the chance to be and not to pretend. And to my incredible supervisor, Jonathan Grix, who led me to my personal Olympic gold. II Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................... vi GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE GENERAL LITERATURE ON SPORTS MEGA-EVENTS .......... 8 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Early Research .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 Typological Frameworks............................................................................................................. 21 2.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 26 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 26 3.2 PD and Mega-Events ................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 New PD ................................................................................................................................ 37 3.2.2 Insights from PR................................................................................................................... 39 3.2.3 Media under New PD ........................................................................................................... 42 3.3 Place Branding and SMEs ........................................................................................................... 47 3.3.1 Competitive Identity ............................................................................................................. 54 3.4 Soft Power and SMEs ................................................................................................................. 63 3.5 Difference in Approaches to Mega Events in Liberal and Non-Liberal States ........................... 76 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER 4: THE PLACE OF SPORT AND MEGA-EVENTS IN RUSSIA ................................... 90 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 90 4.2 Transition of Soviet Sport into the 21st Century ......................................................................... 91 4.3 ‘Hero’ in Soviet Sport. Defining Characteristics of the Soviet Sport System ........................... 102 4.4 Sport and the Continuity of Russia’s Foreign Policy ................................................................ 112 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 118 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 121 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 121 5.2 Ontological and Epistemological Assumptions ........................................................................ 121 5.3 Social Constructivism as a Theory of Choice ........................................................................... 122 5.4 Case Study ................................................................................................................................. 127 5.5 Theory Generation..................................................................................................................... 130 III 5.6 Sampling Design ....................................................................................................................... 132 5.7 Documents ................................................................................................................................. 134 5.8 Thematic Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 139 5.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 142 CHAPTER 6: ‘WAR AND PEACE’ AT THE 1980 MOSCOW AND 2014 SOCHI OLYMPICS: THE ROLE OF HARD AND SOFT POWER IN RUSSIAN IDENTITY .................................................. 143 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 143 6.2 Historical Context ..................................................................................................................... 143 6.3 Political Controversy and Legacies of the 1980 Moscow Olympics ........................................ 150 6.4 War and Sport – Sochi as a Recipe for Russia’s ‘Greatness’ .................................................... 158 6.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 166 CHAPTER 7: THE SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS AND RUSSIA’S UNIQUE SOFT POWER STRATEGY ........................................................................................................................................ 168 7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 168 7.2 Western-Centric Approach to the Analysis of Mega-Events .................................................... 169 7.3 The Sochi Olympics and an Alternative Interpretation of SP ................................................... 173 7.4 International Views ................................................................................................................... 177 7.5 Crimean Gambit – a ‘Diversionary’ War or a ‘Great Power’ Dream Come True? ................... 179 7.6 Sports Mega-Events as Building Blocks for a New Russian National Idea .............................. 183 7.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 186 CHAPTER 8: MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL: THE MOSCOW 1980 AND SOCHI 2014 OLYMPIC CEREMONIES AS A REFLECTION OF RUSSIA’S

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