Sport during the Great Patriotic War

Based on the new archival sources, the paper analyses key aspects of sports history during the war: the reshaping of physical culture and athletic activities in the summer and autumn of 1941; sport practices in the rear areas amidst the war; survival strategies and fitness maintenance of athletes; the processes of restoration of high-performance team and individual sports in 1943–1945. The resumption of the nationwide sports competitions had an important propaganda value. It symbolized the courage of the Soviet people, their faith in the imminent victory. Competitions were a feast amidst the hardships of war and, at the same time, a symbol of peaceful life. The study of sports life during the war years is centered on the most popular and spectacular sport in the Soviet Union, football, which remained an important part of society even during the war period. Football, as an object of people's love, was a sphere of special attention of central and local authorities, an object of state regulation.