"Building the new Soviet Union was going to be hard work, so it should not entail tiring its citizens to the point of exhaustion..."

Patriot games: the innovation and drama of Soviet sports

As the Sochi Olympics begin, a new exhibition examines the first collision of art, sport and politics in Russia.

"One of the satisfactions of the utopia promised by the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution was a 37-hour working week. Building the new Soviet Union was going to be hard work, so it should not entail tiring its citizens to the point of exhaustion: the Stakhanovites were then still in short trousers. As a result of this directive, the Soviet people had – in theory, at least – time on their hands, and in the state’s view some of that leisure should most profitably be used in sport."