The architects of the Soviet Union intended not merely to remake their society - they also had an ambitious plan to remake the citizenry physically, with the goal of perfecting the socialist ideal of man. As "Euphoria and Exhaustion" shows, the Soviet leadership used sports as one of the primary arenas in which to deploy and test their efforts to mechanize and perfect the human body, drawing on knowledge from physiology, biology, medicine, and hygiene. At the same time, however, such efforts, like any form of social control, could easily lead to discontent - and thus, the editors show, a study of changes in public attitude toward sports can offer insight into overall levels of integration, dissatisfaction, and social exhaustion in the Soviet Union.

About the Author
Nikolaus Katzer is director of the German Historical Institute in Moscow and a professor at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, where Sandra Budy, Alexandra Kohring, and Manfred Zeller were assistant researchers on a project about sports in the Soviet Union.


Book Information
ISBN 9783593392905
Author Sandra Budy
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Campus Verlag
Publisher Campus Verlag
Weight(grams) 482g
Dimensions(mm) 21mm * 14mm * 3mm