The article discusses the importance of the winter Olympic Games in Soviet politics. Basing on the published documents of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Sports Committee, the author shows how the Soviet leadership used Soviet athletes' achievements and the «White Games» themselves in their propaganda activities. The conflicts in the Olympic movement are considered that arose due to difficulties in international relations and at the same time influenced international politics. At some points, sports rivalry between the socialist countries under the influence of the political situation turned into a tough confrontation. Conflicts of this type usually did not happen during the competition between Soviet and Western athletes.
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