Soviet First League

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title: "Soviet First League" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["soviet-first-league", "football-leagues-in-the-soviet-union", "defunct-second-level-football-leagues-in-europe", "sports-leagues-established-in-1970", "sports-leagues-disestablished-in-1991", "1970-establishments-in-the-soviet-union", "1991-disestablishments-in-the-soviet-union"] description: "Association football league in the Soviet Union" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_First_League" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Association football league in the Soviet Union ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox football league"]

Field	Value
name	Soviet First League in football
pixels	80
country	Soviet Union
founded	1936
folded	1991
after 52 seasons
promotion	Soviet Top League
relegation	Soviet Second League
levels	2
league_cup	First League Cup
Podsnezhnik tournament
champions	FC Rotor Volgograd (1)
most_champs	FC Krylya Sovetov Samara (5)
::

| name = Soviet First League in football | image = | pixels = 80 | country = Soviet Union | confed = | founded = 1936 | first = | folded = 1991 after 52 seasons | divisions = | teams = | feeds = | promotion = Soviet Top League | relegation = Soviet Second League | levels = 2 | domest_cup = | league_cup = First League Cup Podsnezhnik tournament | confed_cup = | champions = FC Rotor Volgograd (1) | season = | most_champs = FC Krylya Sovetov Samara (5) | most_caps = | top_goalscorer = | tv = | website = | current =

The Soviet First League in football () was the second highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet Top League.

While the second tier competitions in football among "teams of masters" (an official term for the Soviet professional clubs) existed since 1936, the First League has been officially formed in 1971 out of the Class A First Group. It followed the transitional 1970 season when the Class A was expanded to three groups (Vysshaya Gruppa, Pervaya Gruppa, Vtoraya Gruppa) and discontinuation of the Class B competitions for the 1971 season.

The league existed until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

Overview

The second tier competitions and predecessors of the First League has been known as Group B, Group 2, Class B, and Class A, group 2. The number of teams playing at this level fluctuated significantly during the history of Soviet football. In 1940s-1970s the league frequently consisted of several groups. The group winners qualified for the final tournament.

The second tier competitions among "teams of masters" existed since 1936 as part of four groups of eight All-Union competitions where each group represented a tier with Group A representing top tier, Group B representing second tier, Group V representing third tier and so on. Before the World War II the season competitions were inconsistent in every group.

Since after the World War II there existed only top two tiers for football competitions among "teams of masters". The top tier was called Pervaya Gruppa (First Group) and the second tier Vtoraya Gruppa (Second Group). In 1950 those tiers were renamed with the second tier competitions being renamed into the Class B (the top tier became the Class A).

In 1960 Class B competitions were transformed into regional competitions with separate competitions for Russia, Ukraine, and other republics. More transformations took place in 1963 when the second tier competitions were included in the Class A competitions, while the Class B competitions were shifted to the third tier for 1964 season, thus reviving the third level competitions. Following the 1963 reform, the second tier competitions became the Vtoraya Gruppa Classa A (Class A second group) and the top tier being renamed as the Pervaya Gruppa Classa A (Class A first group). The Vtoraya Gruppa did not have multi groups competition with only one group round robin tournament.

After the 1970-1971 reforms there was established the Soviet First League with a single group competition. The league became more consisted with number of teams in league and relegation/promotion rules.

• 1936-1940 Gruppa B (no competition in 1938)
• 1945-1949 Vtoraya Gruppa
• 1950-1962 Class B
• 1963-1969 Vtoraya Gruppa (Class A)
• 1970-1970 Pervaya Gruppa (Class A)
• 1971-1991 Pervaya Liga

One unusual feature of the league was one that have taken place before 1989. The Soviet Football Union tried to eliminate the growing number of drawn games, thus, intensify the competition. The participated clubs were receiving a point for each drawn game, but the number of all their drawn games could not exceed a third of all their games played. After that they received no points for any further draws that they earned. In 1987, for example, FC Fakel Voronezh was relegated by being short of a point having received no points for their two extra drawn games. http://klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=tournn&lang=en&id=549936875231248

Laureates of the Soviet second tier competitions

The teams that either won its group or participated in play-offs are included as well. All seasons are double-round robin unless otherwise indicated in "Notes".

Gruppa B (Group B)

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Third	Teams
1936 (spring)	Dinamo Tiflis	ZIS Moscow	Stalinets Leningrad	8
1936 (autumn)	Serp i Molot Moscow	Temp Baku	Stalinets Moscow	8
1937	Spartak Leningrad	FC Dynamo Rostov/Don	Temp Baku	7 (8*)
1938	not held, part of the Super League
1939	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	Lokomotivi Tbilisi	FC Dynamo Rostov/Don	23
1940	Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad	FC Spartak Leningrad	Stroitel Baku	14
1941-44	no competition due to World War II
::

Vtoraya Gruppa (Second Group)

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Third	Teams	South	East	Final	Central	Russia I	Russia II	Ukraine	Caucasus	Middle Asia	Final	Central	Russia I	Russia II	Ukraine	South	Middle Asia	Final	Central	Russia I	Russia II	Russia III	Russia IV	Ukraine	Final
1945	Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev	VVS Moscow	FC Moscow Military District	18
1946	VVS Moscow	DO Tbilisi	FC Lokomotiv Kharkov	13	26
FC Pischevik Moscow	FC Torpedo Gorky	FC MVO Moscow	13
VVS Moscow	Pischevik Moscow		2
1947	FC Lokomotiv Moscow	FC MVO Moscow	FC Dynamo Riga	15	67
FC Torpedo Gorky	FC Dynamo Saratov	FC Zenit Izhevsk	12
FC Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk	ODO Novosibirsk	FC Krylia Sovetov Molotov	10
FC Lokomotyv Kharkiv	FC Shakhtar Donetsk	FC Kharchovyk Odessa	13
ODO Tbilisi	FC Dynamo Yerevan	FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi	8
FC Dynamo Stalinabad	FC Dynamo Alma-Ata	FC Dynamo Tashkent	9
Lokomotiv Moscow	Torpedo Gorkiy	Lokomotyv Kharkiv	6
1948	FC Metallurg Moscow	FC Dynamo Riga	FC MVO Moscow	15	75
FC Dynamo Kazan	FC Torpedo Gorky	FC Krasnoye Znamia Ivanovo	14
FC Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk	ODO Novosibirsk	ODO Sverdlovsk	13
FC Lokomotyv Kharkiv	FC Stal Dnipropetrovsk	ODO Kyiv	4 (8/8)
FC Dynamo Yerevan	ODO Tbilisi	FC Spartaki Tbilisi	10
ODO Tashkent	FC Dynamo Alma-Ata	FC Lokomotiv Ashkhabat	7
Lokomotyv Kharkiv	Metallurg Moscow	Dynamo Yerevan	6
1949	FC Spartaki Tbilisi	FC Dynamo Kutaisi	Spartakas Vilnius	14	84
FC Dynamo Rostov-on-Don	FC VMS Moscow	FC Dynamo Krasnodar	11
DO Sverdlovsk	DO Novosibirsk	FC Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk	14
FC Sudostroitel Leningrad	DO Leningrad	FC Metallurg Moscow	13
FC Kalinin Kaliningrad	FC Stroitel Dulevo	FC Krasnoe Znamya Orekhovo-Zuyevo	14
FC Kharchovyk Odessa	FC Spartak Lviv	ODO Kyiv	18
Spartak Tbilisi	Kalinin Kaliningrad	Kharchovyk Odessa	7
::

Class B

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Third	Teams	Kharkiv	Ivanovo	Baku	Final	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Final	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Final	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Far East	Final	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Zone 4	Zone 5	Zone 6	Final	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Zone 4	Zone 5	Zone 6	Zone 7	Russia Final	Russia I	Russia II	Russia III	Russia IV	Russia V	Russia Final	Ukraine I	Ukraine II	Ukraine Final	Republics I	Republics II	Republics Final	Russia I	Russia II	Russia III	Russia IV	Russia V	Russia VI	Russia Final	Ukraine I	Ukraine II	Ukraine Final	Republics I	Republics II	Russia I	Russia II	Russia III	Russia IV	Russia V	Russia Final	Ukraine I	Ukraine II	Ukraine III	Ukraine Final	Republics I	Republics II	Republics Final
1950	VMS Moscow	Torpedo Gorkiy	Spartakas Vilnius	14
1951	Kalinin	Dinamo Minsk	Lokomotiv Moscow	18
1952	Spartakas Vilnius	FC Lokomotyv Kharkiv	FC VMS Moscow	6	17
DO Tbilisi	FC Krasnoe Znamya Ivanovo	FC Dinamo Alma-Ata	6
Neftyanik Baku	FC Burevestnik Chișinău	FC Torpedo Gorky	5
Lokomotyv Kharkiv	Spartakas Vilnius	DO Tbilisi	9 / 9	18
1953	FC Spartaki Tbilisi	FC Dynamo Yerevan	FC Torpedo Rostov-on-Don	9	27
FC Znamya Ivanovo	FC Dinamo Minsk	FC Metalurh Odessa	10
FC Shakhtar Stalino	FC Torpedo Gorky	FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	8
Dinamo Minsk	Torpedo Gorkiy	Shakhtar Stalino	6/3/3/3/3/3/3
1954	FC Spartak Yerevan	Neftyanik Baku	ODO Tbilisi	12	36
FC Zenit Moscow	Spartakas Vilnius	FC Khimik Moscow	12
FC Shakhtar Stalino	FC Torpedo Rostov-on-Don	FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	12
Shakhtar Stalino	Spartakas Vilnius	Neftyanik Baku	6
1955	Burevestnik Chisinau	Spartak Kalinin	ODO Kiev	16	32
ODO Sverdlovsk	Spartak Yerevan	ODO Tbilisi	16
1956	Spartak Minsk	Torpedo Taganrog	Metalurh Zaporizhia	18	36
Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev	ODO Tbilisi	Spartak Yerevan	18
1957	FC Avangard Leningrad	FC Torpedo Taganrog	FC Avanhard Kharkiv	18	64
FC Spartak Stanislav	SKVO Lviv	FC Trudovyie Rezervy Leningrad	18
SKVO Tbilisi	FC Spartak Yerevan	Neftyanik Baku	16
SKVO Khabarovsk	FC Dynamo Vladivostok	FC Burevestnik Tomsk	12
Avangard Leningrad	Spartak Stanislav	SKVO Tbilisi	3
1958	SKVO Odessa	FC Trudovyie Rezervy Leningrad	FC Avanhard Mykolaiv	16	94
SKCF Sevastopol	FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don	16
SKVO Lviv	Spartak Minsk	FC Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	16
SKVO Rostov-on-Don	FC Spartak Yerevan	FC Kuban Krasnodar	16
SKVO Sverdlovsk	FC Kairat Alma-Ata	FC Zvezda Perm	16
SKVO Khabarovsk	FC Tomich Tomsk	FC Urozhai Barnaul	14
SKVO Rostov-na-Donu	SKVO Sverdlovsk	SKCF Sevastopol	6
1959	FC Trud Voronezh	FC Dynamo Kirov	FC Avanhard Mykolaiv	15	101
FC Trudovyie Rezervy Leningrad	FC Trud Glukhovo	FC Avanhard Kharkiv	15
FC Spartak Yerevan	FC Terek Grozny	FC Torpedo Taganrog	14
FC Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	FC Baltika Kaliningrad	SKVO Odessa	15
FC Admiralteyets Leningrad	FC Volga Kalinin	FC Zenit Izhevsk	14
FC Pamir Leninabad	FC Mashinostroitel Sverdlovsk	FC Metallurg Magnitogorsk	14
SKVO Sverdlovsk	FC Lokomotiv Krasnoyarsk	SKVO Khabarovsk	14
Admiralteyets Leningrad	Trudovyie Reservy Leningrad	Trud Voronezh	4
1960	FC Trud Voronezh	FC Spartak Leningrad	FC Shakhter Stalinogorsk	16	74
FC Volga Kalinin	FC Shinnik Yaroslavl	FC Dynamo Kirov	15
FC Terek Grozny	FC Torpedo Taganrog	FC Spartak Krasnodar	14
FC Metallurg Nizhny Tagil	FC Zvezda Perm	FC Lokomotiv Chelyabinsk	15
FC Irtysh Omsk	SKA Khabarovsk	FC Sibelektromotor Tomsk	14
Trud Voronezh	FC Irtysh Omsk	Volga Kalinin	5
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv	FC Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	FC Arsenal Kyiv	17	36
FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	SKA Odessa	FC Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk	19
Metalurh Zaporizhzhya	Sudobudivnyk Mykolaiv		2
FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi	FC Urozhai Minsk	FC Shirak Leninakan	16	32
FC Torpedo Kutaisi	FC Pamir Leninabad	FC Progress Baku	16
Torpedo Kutaisi	Lokomotivi Tbilisi		2
1961	FC Volga Kalinin	FC Metallurg Cherepovets	FC Dynamo Leningrad	13	78
FC Dynamo Kirov	FC Baltika Kaliningrad	FC Iskra Kazan	13
FC Krylia Sovietov Kuibyshev	FC Sokol Saratov	FC Traktor Stalingrad	13
FC Terek Grozny	FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don	FC Torpedo Taganrog	13
FC Lokomotiv Chelyabinsk	FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	FC Stroitel Ufa	13
SKA Khabarovsk	SKA Novosibirsk	FC Luch Vladivostok	13
Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev	Terek Grozny	Dynamo Kirov	6
FC Chornomorets Odessa	FC Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	FC Zirka Kirovohrad	18	37
SKA Odessa	FC Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk	FC Avanhard Zhovti Vody	19
Chornomorets Odessa	SCA Odessa	Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	playoffs
FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi	FC Shirak Leninakan	Lokomotiv Gomel	16	32
FC Torpedo Kutaisi	FC Shakhter Karaganda	FC Metallurg Rustavi	16
1962	FC Shinnik Yaroslavl	FC Spartak Leningrad	FC Tekstilshchik Ivanovo	17	79
FC Trud Voronezh	FC Trudovyie Rezervy Kursk	FC Serpukhov	16
FC Spartak Krasnodar	FC Traktor Volgograd	FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don	15
FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	FC Lokomotiv Chelyabinsk	FC Iskra Kazan	16
SKA Novosibirsk	SKA Khabarovsk	FC Luch Vladivostok	15
Spartak Krasnodar	Trud Voronezh	Uralmash Sverdlovsk	5
FC Chornomorets Odessa	FC Polissya Zhytomyr	FC Lokomotyv Donetsk	13	39
SKA Odessa	FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	SKA Kyiv	13
FC Trudovi Rezervy Luhansk	Avanhard Simferopol	FC Lokomotyv Vinnytsia	13
Trudovye Rezervy Lugansk	Chornomorets Odessa	Avanhard Simferopol	6/11/11/11
Lokomotiv Gomel	FC Shirak Leninakan	FC Nairi Yerevan	17	32
FC Shakhter Karaganda	FC Alga Frunze	FC Metallurg Chimkent	15
Shakhtyor Karaganda	Lokomotiv Gomel		2
::

Vtoraya Gruppa Klassa A (Second Group of the Class A)

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Third	Teams	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Final	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Final	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Subgroup 3	Final	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Subgroup 3	Final	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Subgroup 3	Subgroup 4	Final	Subgroup 1	Subgroup 2	Subgroup 3	Subgroup 4	Final
1963	Shinnik Yaroslavl	Torpedo Gorkiy	Trud Voronezh	18
1964	FC Avanhard Kharkiv	FC Chornomorets Odessa	Žalgiris Vilnius	13	27
SCA Odessa	FC Shakhter Karaganda	Lokomotiv Moscow	14
Lokomotiv Moscow	SCA Odessa	Pakhtakor Tashkent	14 / 13
1965	FC Tekstilshchik Ivanovo	FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	FC Avanhard Kharkiv	16	32
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl	FC Zorya Luhansk	Žalgiris Vilnius	16
Ararat Yerevan	Kairat Alma-Aty	Avanhard Kharkiv	16 / 16
1966	Žalgiris Vilnius	FC Tekstilshchik Ivanovo	FC Kuban Krasnodar	17	53
FC Zorya Luhansk	SKA Kyiv	SKA Lviv	18
FC Politodel	FC Shakhter Karaganda	FC Stroitel Ufa	18
Zorya Luhansk	Žalgiris Vilnius	Politotdel Tashkent	3 / 3
1967	Dynamo Kirovabad	FK Daugava Riga	FC Kuban Krasnodar	20	59
SKA Kyiv	FC Metalurh Zaporizhia	SKA Lviv	20
FC Shakhter Karaganda	FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	FC Alga Frunze	19
Dynamo Kirovabad	Shakhtar Karaganda	SKA Kyiv	3 / 3
1968	FC Karpaty Lviv	SKA Kyiv	SKA Odessa	21	84
Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv	FC Metalist Kharkiv	FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	21
FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	FC Spartak Ordzhonikidze	FC Dynamo Makhachkala	21
FC Irtysh Omsk	FC Kuzbass Kemerovo	SKA Khabarovsk	21
Uralmash Sverdlovsk	Karpaty Lviv	Irtysh Omsk	4
1969	FC Spartak Ordzhonikidze	FC Dynamo Leningrad	FC Kuban Krasnodar	20	87
SKA Khabarovsk	FC Rubin Kazan	FC Metallurg Kuibyshev	12 / 12
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	SKA Kyiv	FC Metalist Kharkiv	22
Žalgiris Vilnius	FC Shakhter Karaganda	FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi	21
Spartak Ordzhonikidze	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	SKA Khabarovsk	4
::

Pervaya Gruppa Klassa A (First Group of the Class A)

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Third	Teams
1970	Karpaty Lviv	Kairat Alma-Aty	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	22
::

Pervaya Liga (First League)

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Season	Winner	Runners-up	Winner	Teams	West	East	Final
1971	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	Lokomotiv Moscow	Chornomorets Odessa	22
1972	Pakhtakor Tashkent	Shakhtar Donetsk	FC Chornomorets Odessa	20
1973	Chornomorets Odessa	Nistru Kishenev	Lokomotiv Moscow	20
1974	Lokomotiv Moscow	SKA Rostov/Donu	Dinamo Minsk	20
1975	Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev	Dinamo Minsk	Torpedo Kutaisi	20
1976	Kairat Almaty	Neftçi Baku	Pakhtakor Tashkent	20
1977	Spartak Moscow	Pakhtakor Tashkent	Tavriya Simferopol	20
1978	Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev	SKA Rostov/Donu	Dinamo Minsk	20
1979	Karpaty Lviv	Kuban Krasnodar	Pamir Dushanbe	24
1980	Tavriya Simferopol	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	Metalist Kharkiv	24
1981	Metalist Kharkiv	Torpedo Kutaisi	Lokomotiv Moscow	24
1982	Žalgiris Vilnius	Nistru Kishenev	Kolos Nikopol	22
1983	Kairat Almaty	SKA Rostov/Donu	Fakel Voronezh	22
1984	Fakel Voronezh	Torpedo Kutaisi	SKA Karpaty Lviv	22
1985	FC Daugava Riga	SKA Karpaty Lviv	FC Kotayk	11
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl	FC Pamir Dushanbe	FC CSKA Moscow	11
Daugava Rīga	CSKA Moscow	SKA Karpaty Lviv	12 / 10
1986	CSKA Moscow	Guria Lanchkhuti	Daugava Rīga	24
1987	Chornomorets Odessa	Lokomotiv Moscow	Daugava Rīga	22
1988	Pamir Dushanbe	Rotor Volgograd	CSKA Moscow	22
1989	CSKA Moscow	Guria Lanchkhuti	Kairat Alma-Aty	22
1990	Spartak Vladikavkaz	Pakhtakor Tashkent	Metalurh Zaporizhia	20
1991	Rotor Volgograd	Tiligul Tiraspol	Uralmash Yekaterinburg	22
::

Winners

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Club	Winners	Runners-up	3rd Position	Years won
FC Krylia Sovietov Kuibyshev	5			1945, 1956*, 1961*, 1975, 1978
FC Lokomotiv Moscow	3	2	3	1947, 1964, 1974
FC Chernomorets Odessa	3	1	3	1961*, 1973, 1987
FC Dinamo Minsk	2	2	2	1953, 1956*
FC Torpedo Kutaisi	2	2	1	1960*, 1961*
FC Kairat Alma-Ata	2	2	1	1976, 1983
FC Fakel Voronezh	2	1	3	1960*, 1984
FC Ararat Yerevan	2	1	2	1959*, 1965
FC CSKA Moscow	2	1	1	1986, 1989
FC Karpaty Lvov	2	1		1970, 1979
FC Lokomotiv Kharkov	2		1	1948, 1952
FC Admiralteyets Leningrad	2			1957, 1959*
FC Zarya Lugansk	2			1962*, 1966
FC Spartak Ordzhonikidze	2			1969, 1990
FC Zhalgiris Vilnius	1	3	1	1982
SKA Rostov-on-Don	1	3		1958
FC Pakhtakor Tashkent	1	2	2	1972
FC Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk	1	2	1	1971
FC Zimbru Kishinev	1	2		1955*
FC Shakhter Donetsk	1	1	1	1954
Serp i Molot Moscow	1	1		1936
FC Spartak Leningrad	1	1		1937
VVS Moscow	1	1		1946
SKA Sverdlovsk	1	1		1955*
FC Shakhter Karaganda	1	1		1962*
FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi	1	1		1961*
FC Kuban Krasnodar	1	1		1962*
FC Rotor Volgograd	1	1		1991
SC Tavriya Simferopol	1		2	1980
FC Metallist Kharkov	1		2	1981
FC Daugava Riga	1		2	1985
FC Metallurg Zaporozhie	1		2	1960*
FC Uralmash Sverdlovsk	1		2	1968
FC Lokomotiv Vinnitsa	1		1	1959*
FC Pamir Dushanbe	1		1	1988
Dynamo Tiflis	1			1936
FC Krylia Sovietov Moscow	1			1939
FC Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad	1			1940
FC Spartaki Tbilisi	1			1949
FC VMS Moscow	1			1950
FC MVO Moscow	1			1951
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl	1			1963
Dynamo Kirovabad	1			1967
FC Pamir Leninabad	1			1959*
FC Spartak Moscow	1			1977
::

::data[format=table]

Republics	Winners	Years won
Russian SFSR	30	1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1955*, 1956*, 1957, 1958, 1959*, 1960*, 1961*, 1962*, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991
Ukrainian SSR	15	1948, 1952, 1954, 1959*, 1960*, 1961*, 1962*, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987
Georgian SSR	5	1936, 1949, 1960*, 1961*, 1961*
Kazakh SSR	3	1962*, 1976, 1983
Belarusian SSR	2	1953, 1956*
Armenian SSR	2	1959*, 1965
Tajik SSR	2	1959*, 1988
Moldovan SSR	1	1955*
Azerbaijan SSR	1	1967
Uzbek SSR	1	1972
Lithuanian SSR	1	1982
Latvian SSR	1	1985
::

Podium sweep

• Russia (1963)
• Ukraine (1980)

All-time table (top 20)

There were over 260 teams that played in the Soviet First League. In the list with green background are clubs with over 30 seasons in the league. ::data[format=table] | Team | Republic | Seasons | First season | Last season | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for | Goals against | Points1 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Metallurg Zaporozhie | Ukraine | 40 | 1947 | 1990 | 1470 | 563 | 406 | 501 | 1914 | 1687 | 2095 | 1 | | 2 | | Shinnik Yaroslavl | Russia | 33 | 1957 | 1991 | 1276 | 493 | 353 | 430 | 1567 | 1426 | 1832 | 1 | | | | Pamir Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 36 | 1947 | 1987 | 1329 | 468 | 325 | 536 | 1621 | 1851 | 1729 | 1 | | 1 | | Kuban Krasnodar | Russia | 31 | 1949 | 1991 | 1116 | 436 | 287 | 393 | 1395 | 1287 | 1595 | 1 | 1 | | | Fakel Voronezh | Russia | 26 | 1954 | 1991 | 993 | 421 | 280 | 292 | 1231 | 913 | 1543 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | Nistru Kishinev | Moldova | 32 | 1947 | 1991 | 1154 | 406 | 322 | 426 | 1318 | 1416 | 1540 | 1 | 2 | | | Kuzbass Kemerovo | Russia | 30 | 1948 | 1990 | 1086 | 402 | 244 | 440 | 1311 | 1397 | 1450 | | | | | Uralmash Sverdlovsk | Russia | 30 | 1945 | 1991 | 1003 | 390 | 230 | 383 | 1316 | 1266 | 1400 | 1 | | 2 | | Zhalgiris Vilnius | |Lithuania | 26 | 1947 | 1982 | 924 | 374 | 262 | 288 | 1179 | 922 | 1384 | 1 | 3 | 1 | | Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk | Ukraine | 26 | 1939 | 1980 | 873 | 378 | 223 | 272 | 1226 | 1055 | 1357 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | Rotor Volgograd | |Russia | 27 | 1951 | 1991 | 918 | 370 | 222 | 326 | 1251 | 1118 | 1332 | 1 | 1 | | | Tekstilschik Ivanovo | Russia | 30 | 1939 | 1983 | 938 | 347 | 265 | 326 | 1179 | 1134 | 1306 | | | | | Tavria Simferopol | Ukraine | 23 | 1958 | 1991 | 890 | 343 | 240 | 307 | 1162 | 1043 | 1269 | 1 | | 2 | | Daugava Riga | Latvia | 26 | 1948 | 1989 | 959 | 328 | 271 | 360 | 1104 | 1164 | 1255 | 1 | | 2 | | SKA Karpaty Lvov | Ukraine | 23 | 1949 | 1989 | 813 | 344 | 202 | 267 | 1058 | 918 | 1234 | | | | | Spartak Vladikavkaz | Russia | 24 | 1960 | 1990 | 933 | 340 | 212 | 381 | 1059 | 1177 | 1232 | 2 | | | | Chernomorets Odessa | Ukraine | 22 | 1940 | 1973 | 703 | 343 | 164 | 196 | 1132 | 771 | 1193 | 3 | 1 | 3 | | Torpedo Kutaisi | Georgia | 20 | 1949 | 1989 | 746 | 338 | 169 | 239 | 1037 | 818 | 1183 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | Metallist Kharkov | Ukraine | 21 | 1947 | 1981 | 772 | 316 | 211 | 245 | 913 | 784 | 1159 | 1 | | 2 | | Zvezda Perm | Russia | 26 | 1945 | 1979 | 840 | 306 | 221 | 313 | 1046 | 1061 | 1139 | | | | ::

1Three points for a win. In 1973, a point for a draw was awarded only to a team that won the subsequent penalty shootout. In 1978–1988, the number of draws for which points were awarded was limited.

Soviet football championship among reserves

::data[format=table]

Season	Champion	Runner-up	3rd Position	Top Goalscorer
1971	Chernomorets Odessa (1)	Metallurg Zaporozhye	Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk
1972	?	?	?
1973	?	?	?
1974	SKA Rostov-na-Donu (1)	Dinamo Minsk	Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev
1975	?	?	?
1976	?	?	?
1977	?	?	?
1978	Dinamo Minsk (1)	SKA Rostov-na-Donu	Karpaty Lvov
1979	Zhalgiris Vilnius (1)	Pamir Dushanbe	Karpaty Lvov
1980	Kolos Nikopol (1)	SKA Odessa	Metallist Kharkov
1981	?	?	?
1982	SKA-Karpaty Lvov (1)	SKA Odessa	Kolos Nikopol
1983	Iskra Smolensk (1)	Lokomotiv Moscow	SKA Rostov-na-Donu
Metallurg Zaporozhye (1)	Kairat Alma-Ata	SKA-Karpaty Lvov
1984	Iskra Smolensk (2)	Zvezda Dzhizak	Nistru Kishinev
1985	?	?	?
1986	?	?	?
1987	?	?	?
1988	?	?	?
1989	?	?	?
1990	?	?	?
1991	?	?	?
::

Notes

References

References

1. link. (2023-04-07 ''. History of Soviet football championships. Volume 1 (1936–1969). Litres, 2019)
2. ''Trudovye Reservy'' were replacing ''Dynamo Leningrad'' for several season. Later ''Dynamo'' was reinstated in their place.
3. After 1989 season teams from Baltic states ([[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Estonia]]) and [[Georgia (country). Georgia]] withdrew from the Soviet competitions. Only the two pro-Soviet, pro-Russian teams: ''Pardaugava (Riga)'' and ''Dinamo Sukhumi'' continued to participate.
4. Four teams were promoted due to withdrawal of several teams prior to this season. The fourth team was ''Lokomotiv Moscow''.
5. Last season. Russian SFSR clubs form new [[Russian Top Division]] with compatriot clubs from [[Soviet Top League]], and other SSR clubs do the same.
6. "Чемпионат СССР, первая лига".

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