Arran Hicks on Arsenal, Wolves, and the Eastern Bloc, 1954-55

The 1945 Dynamo Moscow tour of Britain stands as a significant event in postwar sporting history. It has been studied extensively as a diplomatic event that ultimately failed to improve relations between the Soviets and the British, but was successful in promoting Soviet prestige within the state.With the onset of the Cold War, sides from the two states would not meet again until 1954, following Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin. Arsenal became the first team to visit the Soviet Union that year, and Spartak Moscow would visit Britain shortly afterwards to play Arsenal and Wolves. Further still, Wolves toured the Soviet Union in 1955 for a return match against Spartak, as well as a game against Dynamo Moscow. Taking place in a much-changed Cold War climate, these matches remain under-explored events in the study of cultural relations, diplomacy, and national identity.This paper focuses on the relationship between British and Eastern Bloc football teams during the early Cold War. It focuses on matches played by Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers against teams from the Soviet Union and Hungary. It aims to demonstrate that not only were these matches a prominent part of British foreign policy, but also an important part of attempting to maintain a British identity of prestige and superiority. It further aims to argue that these matches played a crucial part in the creation of the European Cup and the wider Europeanisation of football.Arran Hicks is a second-year PhD Student in History at the University of East Anglia, studying football matches between British and Eastern European sides in the early Cold War and their effect on British national identity. His main research interests are football history, national identity and propaganda in the twentieth century. Other areas of interest include film and media history, the history of international sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games, and the history of the Cold War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.