The olympic team from the Russian Federation has boycotted several Olympic games including the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Soviet Union announced the boycott because they claimed the athletes would be unsafe in Los Angeles. This boycott was very controversial because the United States and other NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) nations boycotted the previous Olympics that were hosted in Moscow, Soviet Union. The boycott by the Soviet Union was in direct response to the 1980 boycott. This boycott was not to show protest to any military decision, instead it was to protest a protest done to their country. The Soviet Union became an example of bad boycotts for future decisions.
Including the Olympics that were hosted in Russia, many countries have boycotted Olympics, this included the 1980 summer Olympic games. The 1980 Moscow Olympics were boycotted because of December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The United States led this boycott and other NATO nations followed. This protest led to the smallest number of countries in the Olympics, that number was a mere 80 countries. This was a very controversial boycott because not every NATO nation participated. This boycott led to be an example for future countries and their decisions regarding the Olympics.