Spartak (sports society)

Spartak ( _ru. Спартак; English:Spartacus) was the first and the largest All-Union Voluntary Sports Society of workers of state trade, producers' cooperation, light industry, civil aviation, education, culture, health service etc. Originated in 1925-26 as several physical culture groups by small producers' artels. As an all-union physical culture and sports society established on April 19 1935. In 1960 the society was reorganized into the Voluntary Sport Society. There were 23,000 physical culture collectives in the society in 1975 (including 100 sport clubs), that united 6.2 million people.

There were 40 sports disciplines cultivated in the society in 1975. The society possessed 238 stadiums, 89 swimming pools, 1,800 sports halls, 1,300 football grounds, 2,600 sports camps, 264 Children and Youth Sport Schools (75,000 students).

VSS Spartak was awarded Order of Lenin (1937).

Notable members (one per sport)

*Nellie Kim (artistic gymnastics)
*Vladimir Golubnichy (athletics)
*Aleksandr Belov (basketball)
*Anatoly Alyabyev (biathlon)
*Boris Lagutin (boxing)
*Tigran Petrosian (chess)
*Nikolay Zimyatov (cross-country skiing)
*Marina Klimova (figure skating)
*Nikolai Starostin (football)
*Tetyana Hlushchenko (handball)
*Alexander Yakushev (ice hockey)
*Vitaly Abalakov (mountaineering)
*Klara Guseva (speed skating)
*Elena Dementieva (tennis)

External links

*ru icon [http://www.spartak70.ru/ Website, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the society]
*ru icon [http://www.hrono.ru/heraldicum/flagi/USSRspor.htm Sport Flags of the USSR]