Since Russia found itself cast out of the Western cultural and sporting sphere following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has tried in earnest to create something of a “parallel world” of events and institutions that could act as substitutes.
After launching the war against its neighbor in 2022, Russia was banned from participating in the Olympic Games, a competition in which it had traditionally fared well, although its success was often accompanied by various doping scandals. It was also barred from more light-hearted cultural events, such as the Eurovision Song Contest.
Russia has sought to turn its banishment to its advantage, however, looking to replace such events with home-grown versions.
While Russians understand that such substitutes are not the genuine articles, many have seen efforts to recreate sporting and cultural events as a patriotic effort to rekindle Russia’s Soviet-era, which Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently references with nostalgia.
“The majority of Russians believe that Russia was unfairly excluded from most of the international events, so these substitutes make sense in terms of providing some alternative,” according to Anton Barbashin, a Russian political analyst and editorial director of the journal Riddle, told CNBC Thursday.
