By Alexey Dospekhov, Kommersant’s special correspondent
The power of sport to bring bitter enemies together is often debated, but history offers compelling examples. When Vladimir Putin, an avid hockey fan, suggested to Donald Trump (who in February was notable for his fierce support of his national team at the Four Nations Tournament) that Russia and the US organize a series of friendly matches between NHL and KHL players, the two leaders were likely drawing on past instances of sports diplomacy.
The idea may seem ambitious given the current geopolitical climate, but history has shown that sport can open doors where traditional diplomacy fails. Two key examples from a similarly tense era—the 1970s—stand out.
From Ping-Pong to Nixon in Beijing
In the early 1970s, relations between the US and China were virtually nonexistent. The two nations were ideological adversaries with no diplomatic ties, and any contact between their citizens was unthinkable. Yet, a single, accidental interaction on a bus in Nagoya, Japan, changed everything.
At the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships, American player Glenn Cowan missed his team’s bus and, by chance, boarded a Chinese team bus instead. The athletes had been strictly instructed not to engage with Americans—not even to make eye contact. But one of them, the renowned Zhuang Zedong, broke protocol, handing Cowan an embroidered silk picture of the Huangshan Mountains.
The moment was captured by photographers and quickly made headlines. Cowan, now an unwitting ambassador, expressed a desire to visit China—a place completely off-limits to Americans at the time. Zhuang Zedong, meanwhile, returned home with a simple but profound message: Americans were not the enemy.
The result? Shortly after, American and Chinese table tennis teams exchanged visits, breaking a decades-long silence between the two nations. Just a year later, in 1972, President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. leader to visit China, meeting with Mao Zedong in what became one of the most significant diplomatic breakthroughs of the Cold War. The episode became known as ping-pong diplomacy, a symbol of how sport can dissolve even the most entrenched hostilities.
The 1972 Summit Series: Hockey Meets the Cold War
While Glenn Cowan was boarding the wrong bus, another unprecedented sporting event was taking shape: a hockey showdown between the USSR and Canada.
At the time, the two nations had never faced each other with their true best teams. Canada’s NHL stars, who dominated world hockey, looked down on the Soviet players, dismissing them as mere amateurs who racked up international titles against weaker competition. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, boasting its own hockey legends—Valery Kharlamov, Alexander Yakushev, Vladislav Tretiak—was eager to prove itself against the so-called elite of the sport.
The 1972 Summit Series was far more than just a game. It was a Cold War battleground on ice, a contest between two rival superpowers, each determined to assert its supremacy. Divided into two halves—four games in Canada, four in Moscow—the series was expected to be a lopsided victory for the Canadians.
It wasn’t. The Soviets stunned their opponents with a shocking win in Game 1, leaving Canadian fans and players in disbelief. The battle intensified as the series progressed, culminating in a nail-biting finale, where Paul Henderson’s last-minute goal secured victory for Canada.
But beyond the scoreline, something remarkable happened: respect. Canadian players, initially dismissive of their Soviet counterparts, left in awe of their skill and discipline. The Soviet audience, after witnessing the brilliance of NHL stars like Phil Esposito and Henderson, found themselves cheering for individual Canadian players despite their Cold War rivalries. The message was clear—these athletes were not enemies but peers, each pushing the other to new heights.
In the years that followed, Soviet and Canadian teams continued to compete, laying the foundation for decades of cross-cultural exchange in hockey. The geopolitical tension remained, but the sport had built a bridge where governments had struggled.
Can Hockey Play a Role in Today’s Politics?
Fast forward to today, and hockey diplomacy may not have the same novelty it did in the 1970s. The NHL has long accepted Russian stars, with players like Alexander Ovechkin becoming household names in North America. Ovechkin, a close friend of Putin, is celebrated in the US as he chases Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. His presence in Washington has made him a familiar figure, welcomed even at the White House.
Unlike the past, where Soviet and Western players were virtual strangers, today’s NHL and KHL stars already share locker rooms, friendships, and rivalries. But in an era where political tensions between Russia and the US have once again escalated, a series of friendly matches could serve as a much-needed reminder of common ground.
Whether Putin and Trump’s idea materializes remains to be seen. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that a simple game can sometimes change the course of world politics.
This article was first published by Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.
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