The Soviet football championship was composed of professional teams that were known as "teams of masters".[ citation needed ]
The first professional football competitions in the Soviet Union started in 1936. The format of Soviet football championship was not consisted and was changing almost every year.[ citation needed ]
Officially professional sports in the Soviet Union was prohibited [1] as any other private form of business. As anything else in the country, football also was controlled by Soviet government and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The best "teams of masters" were Dynamo controlled by Soviet secret police, Army and Armed Forces clubs, and Spartak which officially represented "industrial cooperation" but was actually directed by the young communists of Komsomol. [2] Following the so-called "liberation of Europe by the Red Army" in 1944–45, numerous Dynamos, CSKA, and Spartaks were set up in countries of the Warsaw Pact. These teams were also instantaneously created with occupation of eastern Poland, Baltics and eastern Romania in 1939–1940.[ citation needed ]
Officially all footballers were employed because unemployment was illegal. So, footballers were playing football, while on the books working and getting paid as a regular worker. Unlike professional athletes in the West who were becoming rich celebrities, in the Soviet Union notable sports athletes were transitioning to their new career as an "apparatchik", or Communist official, whether in coaching or administrative positions.[ citation needed ]
Club | Union republic | First League season | Last League season | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spartak Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Dynamo Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Dynamo Kyiv | Ukraine | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Dinamo Tbilisi | Georgia | 1936 | 1989 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
Torpedo Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
CSKA Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Zenit Leningrad | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Shakhtar Donetsk | Ukraine | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Dinamo Minsk | Belarus | 1940 | 1991 | Joined Belarusian competitions | |
Ararat Yerevan | Armenia | 1937 | 1991 | Joined Armenian competitions | |
Lokomotiv Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Neftchi Baku | Azerbaijan | 1937 | 1991 | Joined Azerbaijani competitions | |
Chornomorets Odesa | Ukraine | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Kairat Alma-Ata | Kazakhstan | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Kazakhstani competitions | |
SKA Rostov-na-Donu | Russia | 1958 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Pakhtakor Tashkent | Uzbekistan | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Uzbekistani competitions | |
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Ukraine | 1937 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev | Russia | 1945 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Dinamo Leningrad | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Metalist Kharkiv | Ukraine | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Zorya Luhansk | Ukraine | 1939 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Metalurh Odesa | Ukraine | 1953 | 1954 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Trudovi Rezervy Voroshilovgrad | Ukraine | 1949 | 1963 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Torpedo Kutaisi | Georgia | 1949 | 1989 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
Zalgiris Vilnius | Lithuania | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Lithuanian competitions | |
Rotor Volgograd | Russia | 1936 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Nistru Kishinev | Moldova | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Moldovan competitions | |
Karpaty Lviv | Ukraine | 1963 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
VVS Moscow | Russia | 1945 | 1952 | Dissolved | |
Daugava Riga | Latvia | 1948 | 1990 | Dissolved | |
Serp i Molot Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1969 | Dissolved | |
Krylia Sovetov Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1969 | Dissolved | |
Lokomotyv Kharkiv | Ukraine | 1945 | 1955 | Dissolved | |
Kuban Krasnodar | Russia | 1949 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Admiralteyets Leningrad | Russia | 1939 | 1961 | Dissolved | |
Pamir Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Tajikistani competitions | |
Elektrosila Leningrad | Russia | 1936 | 1946 | Dissolved | |
Fakel Voronezh | Russia | 1954 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Spartak Tbilisi | Georgia | 1947 | 1977 | Dissolved | |
Trudovye Rezervy Leningrad | Russia | 1954 | 1959 | Dissolved | |
Spartak Vladikavkaz | Russia | 1960 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Metalurh Zaporizhzhia | Ukraine | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Torpedo Gorky | Russia | 1936 | 1962 | Dissolved | |
Volga Gorky | Russia | 1963 | 1984 | Dissolved | |
Avtomobilist Leningrad | Russia | 1936 | 1966 | Dissolved | |
Tavria Simferopol | Ukraine | 1958 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
SKA Odesa | Ukraine | 1958 | 1991 | Replaced with SC Odesa | |
Silmash Kharkiv | Ukraine | 1937 | 1940 | Dissolved | |
VMS Moscow | Russia | 1946 | 1953 | Dissolved | |
Stalinets Moscow | Russia | 1936 | 1939 | Dissolved | |
Lokomotyv Kyiv | Ukraine | 1936 | 1940 | Dissolved | |
Uralmash Sverdlovsk | Russia | 1945 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Spartak Kharkiv | Ukraine | 1936 | 1941 | Dissolved | |
Kalev Tallinn | Estonia | 1947 | 1962 | Dissolved | |
Dynamo Rostov-na-Donu | Russia | 1936 | 1949 | Dissolved | |
Shinnik Yaroslavl | Russia | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Temp Baku | Azerbaijan | 1936 | 1939 | Dissolved | |
Kapaz Ganja | Azerbaijan | 1959 | 1991 | Joined Azerbaijani competitions | |
Lokomotivi Tbilisi | Georgia | 1936 | 1986 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
Guria Lanchkhuti | Georgia | 1967 | 1989 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
ODO Sverdlovsk | Russia | 1946 | 1959 | Dissolved | |
Pischevik Moscow | Russia | 1938 | 1947 | Dissolved | |
Kalinin | Russia | 1945 | 1953 | Dissolved | |
Burevestnik Moscow | Russia | 1937 | 1947 | Dissolved | |
Profsoyuzy-1 Moscow | Russia | 1941 | 1941 | Dissolved | |
Profsoyuzy-2 Moscow | Russia | 1941 | 1941 | Dissolved | |
Kuzbass Kemerevo | Russia | 1948 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Tekstilschik Ivanovo | Russia | 1939 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
SKA Lviv | Ukraine | 1949 | 1991 | Turned into FC Halychyna Drohobych | |
Zvezda Perm | Russia | 1945 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Kopetdag Ashgabat | Turkmenistan | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Turkmenistani competitions | |
Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu | Russia | 1953 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
SKA Khabarovsk | Russia | 1957 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Alga Frunze | Kyrgyzstan | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Kyrgyzstani competitions | |
Dynamo Stavropol | Russia | 1957 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
SKA Kyiv | Ukraine | 1947 | 1991 | Turned into CSKA Kyiv | |
Shakhter Karaganda | Kazakhstan | 1958 | 1991 | Joined Kazakhstani competitions | |
Terek Grozny | Russia | 1957 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk | Ukraine | 1956 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv | Ukraine | 1939 | 1991 | Turned into Evis Mykolaiv | |
Rubin Kazan | Russia | 1958 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Dinamo Batumi | Georgia | 1939 | 1989 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
Volga Kalinin | Russia | 1949 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Sokol Saratov | Russia | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Lokomotiv Chelyabinsk | Russia | 1957 | 1987 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Kolos Nikopol | Ukraine | 1962 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Spartak Nalchik | Russia | 1959 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
SKA Tbilisi | Georgia | 1946 | 1959 | Joined Georgian competitions | |
SKA Novosibirsk | Russia | 1945 | 1968 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Irtysh Omsk | Russia | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions | |
Nyva Vinnytsia | Ukraine | 1958 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Avtomobilist Leningrad | Russia | 1936 | 1966 | Dissolved | |
Zakarpattia Uzhhorod | Ukraine | 1947 | 1991 | Joined Ukrainian competitions | |
Torpedo Taganrog | Russia | 1948 | 1991 | Joined Russian competitions |
Professional Football Club CSKA , commonly referred to as CSKA Moscow or CSKA Moskva outside of Russia, or simply as CSKA, is a Russian professional football club. It is based in Moscow, playing its home matches at the 30,000-capacity VEB Arena. It plays in red and blue colours, with various plain and striped patterns having been used.
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and a record 10 Russian championships, it is the country's most successful club. They have also won a record 10 Soviet Cups, 4 Russian Cups and one Russian Super Cup. Spartak have also reached the semi-finals of all three European club competitions.
The Russian Premier League, also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 as the Russian Football Premier League and was rebranded with its current name in 2018. From 1992 through 2001, the top level of the Russian football league system was the Russian Football Championship.
The Persha Liha or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is the highest division of Professional Football League.
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League, served as the top division (tier) of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The league's name was a conditional designation used for brevity since being completely owned and governed by the Football Federation of the Soviet Union. The full official name was USSR Championship in football: Top League. An attempt to create fully professional league as autonomously governed organization during "perestroika" period was denied by Federation due to political culture in the Soviet Union.
The Soviet First League in football was the second highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet Top League.
The Ukrainian Second League is a professional football league in Ukraine which is part of the Professional Football League of Ukraine, a collective member of the Ukrainian Association of Football. As the third tier it was established in 1992 as the Transitional League and changed its name the next season.
The Ukrainian Cup is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qualifies to play the Ukrainian Premier League winner for the Ukrainian Super Cup.
The 1991 Soviet Top League season was 22nd in the Top League and the 54th since the establishment of nationwide club competition, also the last one. Dynamo Kyiv were the defending 13-times champions and came fifth this season. A total of sixteen teams participated in the league, twelve of them have contested in the 1990 season while the remaining four were promoted from the Soviet First League due to withdrawals. The representatives of the Baltic states as well as Georgia chose not to take part in the competition.
The 1989 Soviet Top League season was the 52nd since its establishment. Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, the defending 2-times champions, came in second this season.
The Ukrainian Third League, until 1994 known as the Transitional League, was part of the Ukrainian semi-professional football clubs competitions. In 1994, it was renamed as Third League and granted the status of professionals, but during a winter break of 1995 it was decided to discontinue it and merge back with the Ukrainian Second League.
Football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Association of Football is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in the country. It was organised in 1991 to replace the Soviet republican-level Football Federation of Ukrainian SSR, created earlier in the 1920s as part of the Soviet system of physical culture councils. The Ukrainian Association of Football is a non-governmental organization and is a member of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
Statistics of Soviet Top League for the 1981 season.
The Soviet Hockey Championship was the highest level ice hockey league in the Soviet Union, running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia, instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the league was temporarily renamed the CIS Championship in 1992. This organization was the direct predecessor of the International Hockey League, and subsequent Russian Superleague (RSL) and current Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Rivalries in the KHL come in many categories. As the league is still young, many of the rivalries have carried over from the days of the Russian Superleague, while others are new and may disappear. Some are based on geography, while others are based on team names or organization that these teams belonged to back in the Soviet Union. Not all teams have pronounced rivalries that don't change with each season - this article attempts to chronicle only those that last for multiple years.
The Championship of the Belarusian SSR in football – First League was a top competition of association football in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922-91.
The 1969 Soviet Football Championship of the Class A Second Group was the seventh season of the Class A Second Group that was established in 1963. It was also the 29th season of the Soviet second tier league competition. The season started on April 1, 1969, with the Round 1 games in Group 4. The season ended with the last round of the Final stage played on November 6, 1969.
Valeriy Kyrylovych Kravchynskyi was a Soviet and Ukrainian football defender. He spent most of his career with Desna Chernihiv the main club in Chernihiv.