A Russian bear that made it to the top of the Olympics back in 1980 is the hero of tonight’s Historama.
Moscow hosts Olympic Games
On this day in 1980, the opening ceremony for the 22nd summer Olympics took place.
The Games were being held in Moscow – it was the first time the event took place in Eastern Europe.
A friendly bear was chosen as the symbol of the games.
Unfortunately, the 1980 Olympics had fewer participants than any Olympics since the 1950s as some countries chose to boycott the Games in protest of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.
Ironically, the US was one of those countries.
The US has now been in Afghanistan for 8 years, making the campaign its longest military engagement.
Best Soviet wordsmith born
On this day in 1893, famous Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was born.
Read more about Vladimir Mayakovsky on Russiapedia
He was very tall and handsome but he looks like a bit of a grump in most of his photos – he rarely smiled because he was ashamed of his teeth. They were in terrible condition because of his passion for sweets.
Mayakovsky actively advocated Socialism, using poetry and art as his tools. However, later in life, he became disillusioned and many people speculate that this was the reason why he later killed himself.
Read more on this day in Russian history