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Abstract

RIDER: One of the best things about working in higher education is the immediate access you get to a vibrant intellectual community. At conferences, in meetings, even down the corridor from your office, you are easily able to meet people with fascinating perspectives on the world we live in today. After the escalation of Russia’s war with Ukraine in February 2022, and the subsequent decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian athletes from the Olympic Games, I formed my own opinions on what has happened and why. But an expert on such things, I am not. Keen to gather insights from someone who specializes in the intersection of sport with Russian (and Soviet) affairs, past and present, I turned to Professor Robert “Bob” Edelman, a historian at the University of California, San Diego. As the preeminent global scholar on the history of Russian/Soviet sport, who else could…