How Russia created a parallel world, from the Olympics to Eurovision

Since Russia discovered itself forged out of the Western cultural and sporting sphere following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has tried in earnest to create one thing of a “parallel world” of occasions and establishments that might act as substitutes.

After launching the battle in opposition to its neighbor in 2022, Russia was banned from taking part within the Olympic Video games, a contest during which it had historically fared effectively, though its success was typically accompanied by numerous doping scandals. It was additionally barred from extra light-hearted cultural occasions, such because the Eurovision Tune Contest.

Russia has sought to show its banishment to its benefit, nonetheless, seeking to change such occasions with home-grown variations.

Whereas Russians perceive that such substitutes are usually not the real articles, many have seen efforts to recreate sporting and cultural occasions as a patriotic effort to rekindle Russia’s Soviet-era, which Russian President Vladimir Putin ceaselessly references with nostalgia.

“Nearly all of Russians imagine that Russia was unfairly excluded from a lot of the worldwide occasions, so these substitutes make sense when it comes to offering some different,” in line with Anton Barbashin, a Russian political analyst and editorial director of the journal Riddle, informed CNBC Thursday.

“[They have a kind of attitude that they’re] ‘higher than nothing’ however in fact solely a minority of individuals would deal with them as an actual deal. For the older era, it’s a reminder of Soviet-organized occasions. Typically Putin is framing them on this means as effectively — as a revival of outdated traditions,” Barbashin stated by e-mail.

Barbashin characterised Russia’s technique of “import-substitution” as one which was achieved out of “pure necessity.”

Russia stated in Might 2023 that it was going to create a substitute for the Olympic Video games often called the “World Friendship Video games” but it surely introduced in late 2024 that it was suspending the occasion indefinitely, with out offering a cause.

The postponement got here after heavy criticism from the Worldwide Olympic Committee, which stated the video games had been a “cynical try” to politicize sport and urged athletes to boycott the occasion.

An occasion that ostensibly had extra success was Russia’s relaunch, this September, of the Soviet-era Intervision Tune Contest. An alternative choice to the favored European occasion Eurovision, Russia stated its model of the competition would foster cultural ties between international locations that had been exterior the West.

There was some bemusement over the competition amongst commentators, and critics stated it was a propaganda instrument, however the competitors attracted singers from 23 international locations (notably, the U.S.’ unique entrant pulled out of the competition on the final minute) and the competitors was received by Vietnam’s Duc Phuc.

Such occasions weren’t supposed to attempt to change worldwide ones that Russia can not take part in, one Russian analyst stated, however had been meant to be options.

“It’s true that [Russian substitute events] can’t change real worldwide occasions, neither is that its function, however it’s speculated to create different platforms — an area the place Russia can function and develop one thing that’s ‘pleasant’ but nonetheless worldwide,” Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst and founding father of the political evaluation agency R. Politik, informed CNBC Thursday.

“It’s based mostly on the thought of Western decline and the enforcement of multipolarity. Domestically, it carries important which means when it comes to managing assets, political dividends, and visibility,” Stanovaya stated.