Substantiation of the periodization of the stages of formation and development of the All-Union physical education complex "Ready for labor and defense" as an integral part of the USSR physical education system

The purpose of the study – to identify and substantiate the stages of the formation and development of the All-Union Physical Culture Complex "Ready for Labor and Defense" during the period from 1931 to 1991. Research methods and organization. Methods of analysis and generalization of scientific and methodological literature were applied, as well as general historical research methods, among which are comparative-historical, descriptive, and chronological methods. The research is based on materials from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, central periodicals, the newspapers "Sovetsky Sport," "Komsomolskaya Pravda," and the journal "Theory and Practice of Physical Culture." Research results and conclusions. The socio-economic and military-political reasons that contributed to the modernization of the GTO complex have been identified. The main stages of development and improvement of the structure and regulatory requirements of the complex throughout the entire Soviet period have been established. The reasons for the emergence of the GTO complex and the stages of its subsequent modernization have been substantiated. The total number of prepared badge holders of BGTO and GTO throughout the entire existence of the complex has been determined.