DOSAAF (russian: ДОСААФ), full name ''Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту), was a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

sport organization in the Soviet Union, concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was established in 1927 as OSOAVIAKhIM and from 1951 to 1991 carried the name of DOSAAF. The society was preserved in some post-Soviet Republics, e.g. Russia and Belarus, although these may use a different name. In Ukraine, for example, the counterpart is "Society of Assistance to Defense of Ukraine". In Russia it was reformed in December 1991 as the Russian Defense Sports-Technical Organization (ROSTO; russian: Российская оборонная спортивно-техническая организация – РОСТО). In December 2009, ROSTO was renamed DOSAAF Russia."В России возродили ДОСААФ"
/ref> For Belarus, see

DOSAAF (Belarus) DOSAAF RB (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту Республики Беларусь, literally ''The Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Army, the Air Force and the N ...

. The stated goal of the society was ''"patriotic upbringing of the population and preparation of it to the defense of the Motherland"''. Among the means to achieve this was the development of paramilitary sports. Initially, an important goal was financial support of the Soviet Armed Forces. At the same time, ordinary sports were supported within the framework of DOSAAF facilities such as sports halls, stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums and others.

History

OSOAVIAKhIM

The precursor of DOSAAF was the OSOAVIAKhIM (; full name: , 'Union of Societies of Assistance to Defense and Aviation-Chemical Construction of the USSR') created on 27 January 1927 by merging the ''Society of Assistance to Defense'' (), ''Society of Friends of the Air Force'' () and ''Society of Friends of Chemical Defense and the Chemical Industry'' (). Osoaviahim-1 aerostat 02

The goal of the society was preparation of reserves for armed forces. It soon became a powerful

with its own airfields, radio clubs, parachuting towers, and firing ranges. It became prestigious and romantic among Soviet youth to earn badges such as "

Voroshilov sharpshooter Voroshilov Sharpshooter or Voroshilov Marksman (russian: Ворошиловский стрелок, Voroshilov Shooter) was an honorary title and a badge for marksmanship introduced in 1932 by OSOAVIAKhIM, Soviet Union. It was named after Klime ...

" (russian: Ворошиловский стрелок), "Voroshilov horse rider" (russian: Ворошиловский всадник) and "Distinguished Parachute Jumper". Gradually, OSOAVIAKhIM developed into a back-up military training organization. Its courses included advanced disciplines like tactics, topography and armament. In contrast to the usual draft, a person could join OSOAVIAKhIM as early as 14. OSOAVIAKhIM supported a number of professional

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

programs for airplanes,

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

, airships and stratospheric balloons, some of which were later taken over by the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

. In 1934, the organisation carried out the record-setting mission of the

high-altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

balloon '' Osoaviakhim-1''. Also in the 1930s, Sergey Korolev's rocket research organization, GIRD, and Oleg Antonov's glider project, among other efforts, were part of the OSOAVIAKhIM.

Post-World War II

In March 1948, OSOAVIAKhIM was reorganized into three separate societies: ''The Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Army'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии (ДОСАРМ)), ''The Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Air Force'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия авиации (ДОСАВ)) and ''The Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Navy'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия флоту (ДОСФЛОТ)). On 20 August 1951 they were re-merged as a single society, DOSAAF.

References

External links

ROSTO ("Russian Defense Sports-Technical Organization")
{{authority control Soviet state institutions Military of the Soviet Union Civic and political organizations based in the Soviet Union Military education and training in the Soviet Union 1927 establishments in the Soviet Union Organizations disestablished in 1991 Sport societies in the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner

History

OSOAVIAKhIM

Post-World War II

See also

References

Further reading

External links