When Sporting Goodwill Almost Stopped the Cold War

Dynamo Moscow’s groundbreaking tour of Britain in November 1945 should have heralded an age of further cooperation, intercultural decency, and global healing. It changed many things, though the ghouls who exist on dividing humanity reared their ugly heads to have their ‘say’.

Dynamo Moscow arrived in London 80 years ago this week for a series of friendlies that should have, could have, or even would have changed the course of global geopolitics had sport been allowed to reign. Instead, a goodwill tour ended with the visitors leaving before they could be finally 'put in their place' and an offer from Moscow to host an English national team tour a year later was "robustly rebuffed." Was George Orwell right to call the tour "war minus the shooting"? Just how big of an open goal was missed by both sides?

Uncle Joe and Sir Stan

Given the horrendous losses of civilians alone, the Soviet Union and her citizens were both pitied and admired by the British public. In 1945 there was no doubt as to what country had sacrificed the most to defeat the Axis powers, despite the occupation of large parts of Central-Eastern Europe by the Red Army. The spectre of communism was still not weaponised fully, given the strength of trade unions and general solidarity with Soviet citizens. In 1945, Joseph Stalin was a kindly figure, with a moustache that bridged the gap to those sported by British royals and their murdered cousins from the old Russian Empire.

However, even as Nazism was being routed, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill had tasked his military chiefs with thinking up a way to remove the USSR as a European player, or at worst get a 'fair deal' for Poland. Operation Unthinkable, a surprise attack on the Soviets in May 1945, was to impose "the will of the United States and British Empire upon Russia".  Remember that one about the hindquarters of a horse and smile of an Englishman? Well anyway, there were many more people who clamoured for peace in their time, back then, especially English FA supremo Stanley Rous.

The former referee and future FIFA President largely came up with the plan to get a Russian team to Britain for a goodwill tour, with gate receipts going to charity. Rous saw football as the ideal way to begin the healing process and invited the newly crowned USSR champions for a series against Britain's best clubs, and Cardiff City. Oh, and the original Glasgow Rangers.

On the British side, Rous, the FA, and the UK Embassy in Moscow, pushed the Foreign Office (FO) in London to make sure the visit would happen, with the FO snapping that "it would take much more than a football match to break down the real barriers which the Soviet government firmly believe in." Despite the opposition at home, there was an even greater hurdle to leap in Moscow.

Match On-and-off

Uncle Joe almost pulled the plug on the whole shebang early on, because overzealous and nervy Soviet officials didn't believe their footballers could match the mythical beasts of the British game. Football had been brought to Russia by British industrialists, businessmen, and workers. They were the founders of clubs and teachers of the game. Pre-war, any Soviet football enthusiast knew of the giants like Arsenal, Chelsea, Sunderland, Everton, and Manchester City. English football was revered, and still is, in Russia. Nobody wanted to be the poor eejit responsible for signing off on hammerings by Aston Villa, Wolves or Preston.

While the Soviets dithered, Stanley Rous kept faith and booked hotels for an October-November schedule. In the USSR, the football season was coming to a close and many felt the players were too exhausted, from war as well as play, to travel. Plus one major barrier - Bandy! Russia's national sport's season was due to start once football pitches froze over and almost every player on the Dynamo team would be lining out for the club in the championship. To explain, Bandy - it's field hockey on ice, wearing skates, while taking acid, while smashing each other with minimum padding, plus it had better rewards and respect than football back then.

Uncle Joe, unusually, set a deadline for a decision, while the footballers themselves pushed for the chance to try their luck in Britain. One CSKA and 2 Dynamo Leningrad players were added to the squad to replace injured and unavailable players. A week of training in wintry conditions to the north of Moscow's city centre meant the players didn't need cardio or S&C training. Clearing the training field in Mytischi of snow every day was more than enough. Then it was time for the offski.

False Start And 'Surly' Soviets

Having done the Rocky Balboa build up, the Soviet Champs arrived in London but the blitz and refugee crisis meant that most hotels were booked out, or out of order. Also, the moving dates also didn't help Sir Stan's bookings. Digs at the Royal Guard barracks on St. James Park didn't quite meet muster, Later, team coach Mikhail Yakushin recalled with a grin that:

“I peered through the keyhole at our assigned apartment. I saw a large, untidy room with about thirty beds, no mattresses, and, of course, no bed linen.”

A quick decision was taken to scatter the touring party across a range of hotels in the capital, something the media reported on. Over 300 local families offered rooms to the visitors and I need to remind, again, that there was genuine warmth for the 'Russians' at the time. But there were some in the Dynamo/Soviet ranks who almost undid the goodwill before a competitive ball was kicked.

A 14-point list of demands was presented to Rous. Most seem laughable now, like: allowing a Russian ref take charge of 1 game, playing only on Saturdays, announcing teams 2-3 days ahead of matches, ticket allocation for Soviet citizens, allowing the visitors to have a run out on the field before the match, no non-football related activities, 1 sub during games, only games vs pro clubs, scouting opponents to be facilitated, delegation eats only at the Soviet Embassy, only 1 match per week, delegation agrees with the financial conditions offered by the FA. And 2 funnier ones - Dynamo players wear shirts with no numbers (as was standard in the USSR)....and that they'd get the chance to play the Arsenal.

Before Liverpool FC fans cry foul, during Interwar play (1919-1939), the club won 2 leagues in 1922 & 23, but in 20 seasons had finished outside the top-10 9 times and never made it past the FA Cup 5th round once. Arsenal were THE glamour team for Russians in 1945. Former director of the Russian Sports Museum, Elena Istyagina-Eliseeva, told the tale of how from 1933 Cliff Bastin became an idol for young Soviet footballers. The Arsenal legend's hairstyle was copied so much that club directors issued warnings to players. The local joke was - "In those '30s years, we almost had an oil deficit due to boys and young men slicking their hair."

Eleven Silent Men and Quick Compromise

Almost all the visiting team spoke little or no English, though some took on learning the language with gusto. The local media were curious and very respectful, though initially in an "Ah sure God help the poor little b@stards!" way. There was worry amongst many that the visitors would suffer unmerciful beatings, a reverse Ivan Drago if you will. The silence of the Dinamo team was taken as a mix of fear, shyness, and lack of linguistic abilities. Which, in hindsight, is downright hilarious given the mono-lingual culture which continues amongst a majority of British media.

Goalkeeper Alexey Khomich already had some English from his time being stationed in Iran during WW2. Forward Konstantin Beskov, who actively fought in the defence of Moscow in 1941, was described as "speaking enough to make his thoughts known" and I experienced that first hand in 2003. Even with failing health and memory, he was more than able to remember that tour 70 years previous. His wife, Valeria, told me in an interview that when he returned from Britain he did so "full of ideas and new belief."

The 'demands' were discussed and met for the most part. Saturdays were sacred for British football and for a game just returning to normality after the war. The proceeds of the matches would go towards the rebuilding of Stalingrad and orphans of the Leningrad blockade. The English FA and the British clubs would donate their share of gate money to those causes too. In 1945 the majority of Britons knew of the suffering of Leningrad and the pivotal point Stalingrad played. The football could finally get underway.

Dynamo would face Chelsea (Nov 13), Cardiff City (Nov 17), Arsenal (Nov 21), and Glasgow Rangers (Nov 28). As one London-based football scribe at the said - "If they make it past the first match with their dignity intact, it's already a win for them and for the Anglo-Soviet friendship."

What came next changed history, not fully for the better.