The World Cup Is Russia’s Latest Makeover Attempt
But there are limits to how much soccer can burnish its image.
The soccer World Cup, which began Thursday in Russia, could be perceived as a celebration of the world’s love for the beautiful game. It could also, as Boris Johnson, the U.K. foreign secretary, put it, seem like an “emetic prospect, frankly, to think of Putin glorying in this sporting event.” Indeed, the sporting aspect of the Cup notwithstanding, the tournament is yet another attempt by Russia to win respect, and perhaps rehabilitate its image, through sports.
2007 when Russia won the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics inthe first Olympics to be held in a former Soviet state since the 1980 Moscow games, which much of the Western world boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
