Great stuff here from Matthew Fisher from Postmedia News:
Sports Minister Sergei Pavlov was told “put down on paper that we will not lose 8-0 or you will be out of the Communist party and unable to even get a job as a street-sweeper in Moscow,” Kukushkin said. “And Pavlov replied that we would sign such a paper.”
During the first match in Montreal, Kukushkin, Pavlov and about a dozen senior Soviet sports officials watched a direct live feed from Montreal that was piped into the broadcast centre at the Munich Olympics.
“The picture wasn’t so bad, but the beginning of the game was because we fell behind so quickly,” Kukushkin said. “After Canada’s first goal, Pavlov looked at Valentin Sych, who ran the hockey department (and was killed in what looked like a gangland shooting in 1997) and Sych shrugged his shoulders. After Canada’s second goal Pavlov turned to Sych and said, ‘Do you have your party card with you? Put it on the table here or in Moscow.’
A great read. Here's the full story.
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