Voluntary Sports Societies of The Soviet Union - Structure

Structure

The main structural units of VSS were physical culture collectives by the enterprises, public-service institutions, collective farms (kolkhoz), State farms (sovkhoz), educational institutions, etc. These collectives were primary organizations of VSS and numbered 114 thousands (including 105 thousands under Trade Unions), united into 36 VSS (29 of them were Trade Unions' ones) as of 1971. There were six All-Union VSS (Russian: Всесоюзное добровольное спортивное общество, ВДСО); 15 republican VSS, uniting physical culture collectives of industrial enterprises; 15 republican rural VSS. Beside those there were also numerous other sport societies that preceded the above mentioned one or were less represented such as Vympel (River transportation) and Moryak (Sea transportation) combined into Vodnik, Stakhanovets (Mining industry) changed into Shakhter, and others. There even was a society of DOSAAF which was a volunteer society in cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet (notice the combination of the last three letters). The Dynamo Sports Club, founded in 1923 by Felix Dzerzhinsky, represented the security services of the USSR, and were sponsored by them.

The best physical culture collectives were awarded the title Sport Club.