Gymnastics and USSR Sports Policy in 1918—1941

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present and discuss the formation and development of one of the popular sports in the Soviet Union in the 1920s-1930s, namely, artistic gymnastics, which includes competitions on various gymnastic apparatuses as well as in free exercises and balance jumps. The authors trace the historical path of this sport within the context of the Soviet government’s policy on organizing the Soviet physical culture movement. The study examines the activities of public gymnastics organizations and the issues surrounding their closure. Special attention is given to the challenges faced by the development of artistic gymnastics during this period, including the state of the material and technical base, organization of systematic training sessions, and the availability of qualified coaching staff. The research materials demonstrate that the development of this sport took place under difficult conditions, from restrictions in the 1920s to a mass gymnastics movement in the 1930s. Based on documentary sources and central periodicals, the authors reconstruct the methods and forms of the formation and development of Soviet artistic gymnastics as a mass sport. It is argued that systematic competitions for the USSR championship stimulated the growth of gymnasts’ sporting and technical achievements