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One of the main motives that influenced these boycotts was that of containment. The Americans, and the other western countries that agreed to boycott the games, were essentially trying to shame Russia by pointing out their invasion of Afghanistan, which would lead to a more negative perception towards the USSR among the citizens of the US, which would reinforce the notion of Communism being unfavorable among the western citizens. This was also the case during the 1984 Olympics. However, the USSR did not have a specific event that they could have used to demonstrate the downfalls of liberalism, so they just generalized and stated that the athletes would not be safe in the anti-communist environment that existed in the US.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-announce-boycott-of-1984-olympics
http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/qfp/104481.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/8/newsid_2518000/2518931.stm
Prior to the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow, Russia, a number of western nations, lead by the US, decided to withdraw their athletes, meaning that they would be boycotting the Olympics. This was supposedly due to the fact that in 1979, Russia invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to spread their communist regime over there, which was looked upon negatively by the president at the time, Jimmy Carter. He decided that this action should be met with opposition from America and other western nations, thus the boycott occurred.
As sort of a retaliation, in 1984, Russia, and other communist states, such as Cuba, decided to boycott the Olympic Games that were being held in Los Angeles that year, claiming that they’re athletes would not be safe in the USA’s anti-communist environment.
Both of these events resulted in increasing tension between the USA and the USSR. Obviously not participating in the greatest sporting event that occurs every four years is considered disrespectful and can be taken as an insult to the countries hosting. The Soviets and the americans both knew the real reason for the boycotts, and it was to simply prove their ideologies superior.
Caused by a clash of ideologies between the US and the USSR (America at the time feared communism, doing everything in its power to prevent the spread of communism, while the soviets wanted a buffer.) In short, the US wanted to promote liberal ideas while the Soviets wanted to Promote the characteristics of Communism. So when the Soviets invaded afghanistan, America, along with a long list of other countries, did not participate in the 1980 olympics. The soviets responded by also boycotting the 1984 Olympics.