120 THE COLD WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ON SPORT sports programmes to produce athletes who could bring glory to their nations, which led to widespread state-sponsored doping programmes, especially in the Eastern-Bloc countries. This practice, that only came to light after the fall of the Berlin Wall, had severe long-term health consequences for many athletes. What did the acronym USSR stand for? NATO is the acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, established in 1949. The Eastern Bloc states included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and East Germany, which was separated from West Germany by the Berlin Wall, later demolished in 1989. The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) sustained the participation of Italy in the Olympic Games. Because of the opposition of the Italian Government, the athletes having military status were not allowed to take part in the Games. The team marched under the CONI vessel without the national flag. to gather: riunirsi proof: prova takeover: acquisizione vessel: vessillo, emblema widespread: diffuso The Cold War The Cold War was a period of intense rivalry and ideological conflict between the United States, supporting capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, or USSR , with a communist system. It began in 1947 and officially ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The name derives from the absence of a true military conflict; however, the two nations constantly confronted each other in different ways: they supported other states in their internal conflicts: North Vietnam, was supported by the USSR in fighting South Vietnam and the USA; and in Afghanistan, which was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1979, the USA supplied weapons to the rebels fighting against the invaders; they developed alliances with other nations: the NATO gathered together the USA and its Western allies; the Warsaw Pact united the USSR and its Eastern Bloc states ; they continuously competed in developing and stocking conventional and nuclear weapons and engaged in continuous propaganda and espionage actions. The effects of the Cold War in sport One of the effects of the Cold War in sport was the use of the athletes performances as a means of propaganda. Success in international competitions was presented as proof of the nation s strength and the effectiveness of its way of life. Governments invested a lot in 224 HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND CIVIC EDUCATION Boycotts of the Olympic Games Another consequence of the Cold War in sport were the frequent boycotts of the Olympic Games. The Moscow 1980 Olympic Games saw the boycott of 85 western countries, led by the USA, to protest against the Soviet Union s invasion of Afghanistan . To take revenge on the 1980 boycott, the Soviet Union and thirteen allied countries except Romania decided not to take part in the following Olympic Games that took place in Los Angeles in 1984. North Korea, a communist state, refused to take part in the Olympic Games held in Seoul, South Korea, a USA ally, in 1988, supported by Cuba and Ethiopia, who boycotted the Games as well.