This book examines the evolution of sport in Russia from its association with health and hygiene to its post-war purpose of raising Soviet prestige abroad.

Résumé
This 1977 book examines the evolution of sport in Russia from its early association with health and hygiene, through a period of functional association with labour and defence, to its post-war importance as a means of enhancing the prestige of Soviet communism abroad.

Contenu

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The beginnings of an organised sports movement, 186117; 2. The ideological roots of Soviet physical education and sport; 3. Militarisation of sport, 191720; 4. Years of physical culture. 192129; 5. Industrialisation and competitive sport, 192941; 6. World War II, 194145: the supreme test of physical training; 7. Restoration and consolidation, 194558: aiming for world supremacy in sport; 8. The later post-war years: urban life and leisure; 9. Contemporary organisation of Soviet sport and physical education; 10. Social aspects of sport: the military, peasants, nationalities, women and schoolchildren; 11. Soviet sport and Soviet foreign policy; Conclusions; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.