S.A. Davydova, associate professor
Nizhnevartovsk State University, Nizhnevartovsk
N.V. Dulina, professor, Dr.Sc.(Sociology)
Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd
E.N. Ikingrin, professor of RAS, associate professor, Ph.D., Honored worker of science KhMAR
A.V. Korichko, Yu.V. Korichko, associate professors, Ph.D.'s
Nizhnevartovsk State University, Nizhnevartovsk
L.I. Lubysheva, professor, Dr.Hab.
Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sport, Youth and Tourism (SCOLIPC), Moscow

Keywords: sociological analysis, Olympic games, relationships, people.

The Olympic games has always been a global event, and countries take seriously the struggle for the right to host a sports event of such scale, because the modern Olympic games pursue not only peacekeeping purposes but primarily demonstrate the prestige of the host country [3, P. 181].

Sports results of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi are well known - the first place in the team scoring (33 medals: 13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze ones). The country can truly be proud of such results - best in the country's history. In his speech on April 23, 2014 in the State Duma, during the “Government Hour”, Minister of Sport Vladimir Mutko noted that “in past February and March Russia has successfully passed the Olympic test and ensured full implementation of the guarantees given to IOC and IPC. The world saw a new image of the country, its organizational and technological opportunities and lavish hospitality. This result indicates the effective work of the Games’ organizers and exemplifies an optimal combination of local traditions and best international practices” [1].

That was, so to say, one side of the “Olympic medal”. And the expectation of the maximum positive socio-economic effect was the other (reverse) side of it [4, p. 88].

The purpose of the research was to make a sociological analysis of the public opinion on the outcome of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. We will try to answer the following questions: Was the “gold” on the inside of the Olympic medal fine enough? Have the expectations of the Russian people for the Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi been met?

Materials and methods. In order to find the answers let us address the results of the nationwide sociological study, dedicated to assessment of the people's opinion about the grand project “Sochi-2014” formed in collaboration with the authors of the present research and under the aegis of the Russian Sociological Society (RSS)[1]. It was a pilot study, the sample was not truly representative and the results may only be applied to the tested population or used as supplemental information. However, as we believe, owing to the large scope, one can not only get a considerable amount of food for thought, but also make well-founded conclusions. The findings of the study have been already brought in part to the public debate on a regional scale [2, 6].

Results and discussion. According to the findings of the survey, the whole storm of events, related to the Sochi Olympics, was happening on the background of a big holiday and the respondents believe that such atmosphere was created in the country during the Games. While answering the question “What did you like about the organization of the Olympics and Paralympics?” two-thirds (67.6%) of the surveyed said: “The feeling of a big holiday”. And the number of those who gave the same answer was much larger (90.6%) among the respondents who followed the course of the Games while being in Sochi. As stated by President of Russia Vladimir Putin in an interview with Russian TV channels, commenting on the results of the Sochi Olympics: “In the beginning we wanted to turn it into a big national sports holiday. Of course, we have a lot of problems and we are accustomed to the fact that we need to force our way through these problems, but we are hoping for the best. I think we’ve succeeded” [5]. Looking at the data of the sociological survey, it is hard to disagree with this statement.

In addition to the holiday atmosphere Russian people liked the following: the fortitude of Paralympic athletes (62.0% of the respondents); mutual assistance among the athletes from different countries (45.0%); athletes' bios (36.6%); fans coming from all regions of the country (34.9%); that everything went quietly without law violations (34.0%); the stories about overcoming of difficulties (27.4%).

Russian people also liked the narrations about technical equipment (22.6%), about the first coaches (13.0%), about little spectators (12.9%) and their parents (9.3% of the respondents). It is gratifying to note that the respondents suggested their own alternative in the “other” response category: total patriotism - 0.9%. We believe that such an initiative (independent) formulation within a mass survey means a lot.

The opening and closing of the Olympics and Paralympics also contributed to the festive mood. According to the “school” 5-point scale, the opening ceremony of the Olympics was mostly rated “excellent” (75.7%) and “good” (19.1%) by the respondents. The closing ceremony was rated “excellent” and “good” by 81.8% and 14.1% of the respondents respectively. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics were rated even higher to some extent.

But the celebration can not last forever. It is necessary to sum up the results. How do Russian people evaluate the Olympic results? The answer can be found in the data presented in Table 1 (three most significant positions in the table are marked out).

Table 1. Respondents' opinions on the results and prospects of the Olympics

Note: The total is more than 100% because the respondents could give more than one answer at the same time. The average number of responses per person was 2.6.

A surprising result of the Olympics, which could not have been predicted or planned, was the fact that people began to communicate with each other more often during the Olympics. In this case, there were two main groups of discussion. The first one, as expected, is friends, but the second group (with a little margin) is family. Even if Russian families were meeting more often only during the Olympic games and got reasons for the debates and discussions, we can already say that one of the most essential human needs, the need for communication, was fully satisfied during the Games.

It is clear that people want to share positive emotions. And there were a lot to share: 87.6% of the respondents indicated that the victories of Russian athletes are important for them, 69.5% admitted that they are satisfied with performances of our athletes and 27.3% said that they are satisfied, but not quite (Table 2).

Table 2. The groups of discussion of the events at the Olympic games in Sochi

Note: The total is more than 100% since the respondents could give more than one answer at the same time. The average number of responses per person was 1.7.

Completing the discovery of the small part of the results, we should note that the situation would have been different if media had not been involved.

In the ranking of media, from which the respondents were getting the information about the Olympic games, the television was in first place (70.7%), followed by the Internet (52.6%). One person out of five surveyed was learning the news on the Sochi Olympics from friends, relatives and acquaintances (19.6%). The advertisement on the streets was hardly noticed, only one person mentioned it answering the question: “Where were you finding the information about the events in the Olympic Sochi most often?”. At the same time, it is to be noted that the fans were very pleased with the work of TV channels. Only 1.7% of the respondents said that they weren't satisfied with the work of TV channels during the Olympic games and 1.5% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the internet resources. These respondents gave 1 or 2 points to TV channels and the Internet according to the “school” 5-point scale.

Taking into account the presented data, we can say that namely the television and the Internet became the “transition point” from the real environment of the Games to the creation of the holiday atmosphere in the country and made Russian people feel not just observers but involved in the Olympic events. It should be recognized that the information space changes with time, and the role of other media in overall ranking was very insignificant. Only 4.5% of the respondents were listening to the radio about the Games, 4.7% of the respondents were getting the news on the events of the day from the press and so on. However, and this gives us some hope, live communication confidently holds the third place in this ranking (with a large margin).

Surely, we could not present all the data, obtained in the course of the sociological study, in one article. But the answers to the questions about whether the “gold” on the back of the Olympic medal was fine enough and about the expectations of Russian people for the Olympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi were found.

Most of our respondents perceived the importance of the Olympics positively. While answering the question “Who needs the Olympics in your opinion?” most of the respondents (61.1%) said that the Games are necessary for everybody, because “the Olympics contribute to positive attitude and healthy lifestyle”. The Olympics are important for “the athletes who have dedicated themselves to training” (59.5% of the respondents) and for “Russia to increase its international prestige” (59.2%). Only 4.3% of the respondents said that “nobody needs these Games”.

Conclusion. The findings suggest that the expectations of the Russian people related to the Olympic games to be held in our country have been met, giving rise in the hearts and souls of the people to forgotten in the daily routine emotions and feelings of empathy, pride, love, and the need for real-life human interaction. It turned out to be fine “gold” in all respects.

References

1.  The report of Vitaly Mutko, Minister of Sport of the RF, at the State Duma within the framework of the “Government Hour” on the implementation of the “Programme for the development of physical culture and sport in the Russian Federation until 2020” and on the performance of the Russian team at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. April 23 // http: / /news.sportbox.ru/business/fcp/spbnews NI450528_Vitaliy-Mutko-v-Rossii-rabotayut-270-000-sportsooruzheniy (date of access 05/24/14). (In Russian)
2. Dulina, N.V. Olympic project “Sochi-2014” as a factor in the development of the regional image (case study) / N.V. Dulina, V.V. Tokarev // Image in the strategy of innovative development of Russian regions: Book of abstracts, Proceeding of the All-Russia theoretical-practical. conf. (19-21 June 2014) / Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Volgograd branch. - Volgograd, 2014. - P. 262-266. (In Russian)
3. Lubysheva, L.I. Olympic project “Sochi-2014” as a factor in the development of physical culture education in Russia / L.I. Lubysheva // Problems of physical culture education: essence, guidelines, methodology, organization: Proceedings of the 3rd Intern. scientific. congress / Ed. by V.K. Pel’menev; I. Kant BFU. - Kaliningrad, 2013. - P. 181-183. (In Russian)
4. Nureyev, R.M. Costs and benefits of the Olympic Games: the phases of preparation and staging of the Olympic Games, the prospects of hosting the Sochi Olympic Games 2014 / R.M. Nureyev, E.V. Markin // Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost '. - 2010. - № 1. - P. 88-104. (In Russian)
5. Putin: Olympics results show that the tough period of Russian sports is in the past // RIA Novosti. 2014 February 25 // http://sochi2014.rsport.ru/sochi2014/20140224/729344272.html. (In Russian)
6. Dulina, N.V. Russian Society of Sociologists Regional Offices Experience of All-Russia Public Opinion Research / N.V. Dulina, E.N. Ikingrin, E.I. Pronina // Facing an Unequal World: Challenges for Russian Sociology / Editor-in-Chief V. Mansurov.– Moscow, 2014. – Р. 337–343.

Corresponding author: kaa_03@mail.ru