Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for both athletes and coaches. Similar systems still exist today in several former Soviet republics.

Athletes

The classification was established in 1935 and was based on separate classifications, which existed for several sports disciplines before. Starting in 1949, it was revised every four years, the period, which corresponded to the Olympic cycle, to reflect new standards for the physical training. The document contained test standards, principles and conditions, necessary for the conferment of sports ranks and titles, for all sports, cultivated in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

. As of the 1970s, there were following ranks for athletes of the USSR (listed in descending order of value): *''Merited Master of Sport of the USSR,'' (russian: заслуженный мастер спорта СССР, abbreviated as "змс", sometimes translated as ''Honoured Master of Sport of the USSR''), equates to international champion who has made valuable contributions to the sport *''Master of Sport of the USSR, International Class'' (russian: мастер спорта СССР международного класса; abbreviated as "мсмк"), equates to international champion *''Master of Sport of the USSR'' (russian: мастер спорта СССР; abbreviated as "мс"), equates to national champion *''Candidate for Master of Sport of the USSR'' (russian: кандидат в мастера спорта СССР; abbreviated as "кмс"), equates to nationally ranked player *''First-Class Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 1-го разряда), equates to regional champion *''Second-Class Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 2-го разряда), equates to state champion *''Third-Class Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 3-го разряда), equates to city champion *''First-Class Junior Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 1-го юношеского разряда) *''Second-Class Junior Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 2-го юношеского разряда) *''Third-Class Junior Sportsman'' (russian: спортсмен 3-го юношеского разряда) Each of these titles was awarded only for results on the official competitions. Athletes who qualified for the rank were awarded a badge with serial number. This system was popular among Soviet satellite states and was used in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, and Romania until the breakup of the USSR in 1991. Russia continued the system, and former Soviet republics

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

also maintain a similar or identical ranking system. In

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

, a similar system, the

Sports titles Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

one, was started in 1967. A new sports title called ''Merited Master of Sport of Russia'' was created by the Russian government in 2007 to replace the previous one.

Non-Soviet Masters of Sport

The title of Merited Master of Sport of the USSR was awarded to a handful of foreigners. On 30 January 1952, the title ''Merited Master of Sport of the USSR'' was awarded to Agustín Gómez Pagóla, who was born in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and started to play football there, but moved to the USSR during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

in 1937, and played for Torpedo Moscow in 1947–1954, being the team captain in 1951–1953.Augustin Gomez
/ref> In 1972, to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Soviet Union, this title was awarded to the following prominent athletes from socialist nations: * Maria Gigova (world champion in

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ribbon. The sport combi ...

) *

András Balczó András Balczó (born 16 August 1938) is a retired Hungarian modern pentathlete. He competed at the 1960, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the individual and team events and won three gold and two silver medal; he missed only one medal, finishing fourt ...

(

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic sport consisting of fencing (sport), fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, show jumping, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by t ...

, Hungarian Sportsman of the Year in 1966, 1968, 1969) * Karin Janz (1972 Olympic champion in

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

) *

Li Ho-Jun Ri Ho-jun (, born 1 December 1946) is a sports shooter and Olympic Champion for North Korea. He won a gold medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the country's first ever Olympic gold. In August 1972 he ...

(1972 Olympic champion in shooting) * Teófilo Stevenson (1972 Olympic champion in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

) (he later won in 1976 and 1980 also) * Khorloogiin Bayanmönkh (1972 world champion in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

) * Włodzimierz Lubański (1972 Olympic champion in football) * Nicolae Martinescu (1972 Olympic champion in wrestling) * Ondrej Nepela (1972 Olympic champion in

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...

)

Coaches

Under the Soviet system, titles were awarded to coaches based on national and international success. Significant International success brought Merited Coach of the USSR while national success was rewarded with Merited Coach of one of the Soviet republics. * ''Merited Coach of the USSR'' (russian: Заслуженный тренер СССР) * ''Merited Coach of the Uzbek SSR'' (russian: Заслуженный тренер Узбекской ССР) * ''Merited Coach of the Georgian SSR'' (russian: заслуженный тренер Грузинской ССР) The same system is in place today for most of the former Soviet republics as well. For example, * ''Merited Coach of Russia'' (russian: Заслуженный тренер России) * ''

Merited Coach of Ukraine The Honored Coach of Ukraine (also translated as the Merited Coach of Ukraine, uk, Заслужений тренер України) is an exclusive sports title awarded to coaches for high special merits to prepare highly qualified sportspeopl ...

'' ( uk, Заслужений тренер України) * ''Merited Coach of Uzbekistan'' ( uz, Ўзбекистон Республикасида хизмат кўрсатган спорт устози)

Non-Russian coaches

Since 2007, a few foreign coaches have been awarded the title of ''Merited Coach of Russia'' for their roles in securing Russian victories: * 2007: David Blatt, coach of the Russian men's basketball team, champions, 2007 European Championships * 2008: Giovanni Caprara, coach of the Russian women's volleyball team, champions, 2006 European Championships * 2008: Dick Advocaat, football, head coach of Zenit St. Petersburg, champions, 2007–08 UEFA Cup and 2008 UEFA Super Cup * 2013: Guus Hiddink, football, coach of Russian national team, bronze medalists, 2008 European Championships * 2013: Oleg Znarok, hockey, head coach of

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

, champions, 2011/2012 Gagarin Cup * 2013: Harijs Vītoliņš, hockey, assistant coach of

, champions, 2012/2013 Gagarin Cup

Judges and referees

The title of Honored Judge of Russia may be given to sport judges and referees who have reached the level of "All-Russian Sports Official" and have distinguished careers of officiating to their credit.

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.minsport.gov.ru/documents/ministry-orders/620/ , title=Приказ: Об утверждении Положения о присвоении почетных спортивных званий , trans-title=Decree: Approval of Awarding Honorary Sports Titles , publisher=

Ministry of Sport (Russia) The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation (Russian: ''Министерство спорта Российской Федерации''), often abbreviated as Minsport (Минспорт), is a ministry of the Government of Russia responsibl ...

, date=27 November 2008, language=ru *

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

, 3rd ed., vol. 9, p. 64
Mapping of the requirements for weight lifting, swimming and running from Russian to English.
1935 documents 1935 establishments in the Soviet Union 1935 in Soviet sport Sport in the Soviet Union Documents of the Soviet Union

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

Sports titles