Dr. Sc.Hist., Associate Professor E.A. Kalinina¹
PhD V.A. Kiselev^1
1Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk

Objective of the study is to identify the forms and methods of organising the mass physical culture movement in the Soviet countryside between 1945 and 1953.
Methods and structure of the study. The author employs historical-descriptive, comparative-historical and statistical methods. The paper examines in detail the regulatory framework of state policy and the key organisational forms of the mass physical culture movement in the Soviet countryside.
Results and conclusions. This article examines the methods of organisation and the practice of developing the mass physical culture movement in rural areas of the USSR during the post-war period (1945–1953). The main focus is on analysing the Soviet government’s attempts to introduce systematic physical education activities whilst rebuilding the collective farm economy devastated by the war. The study shows that state policy advocated the mass involvement of the peasantry in the physical culture movement through the creation of physical culture collectives in every collective farm, the organisation of socialist competitions, the attainment of GTO standards, propaganda, and urban-rural patronage. However, in practice, these initiatives encountered insurmountable obstacles. An analysis of documentary materials from 1945–1953 demonstrates a consistent failure to meet targets for the number of rural physical culture collectives. Many collectives existed only in name. The authors conclude that the development of mass sport in the Soviet countryside during the period under study remained a declarative goal. The implementation of the policy was paralysed by a complex of systemic problems: the extremely low socio-economic level of the post-war countryside, the complete absence of material and technical resources, sports equipment and qualified personnel. The expected voluntary efforts of collective farmers to develop sports facilities and the patronage of cities proved ineffective.

Keywords: mass sport, physical culture, Soviet countryside, physical culture collectives.

References

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