Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The beginnings of an organised sports movement, 1861-1917; 2. The ideological roots of Soviet physical education and sport; 3. Militarisation of sport, 1917-1920; 4. Years of physical culture. 1921-1929; 5. Industrialisation and competitive sport, 1929-1941; 6. World War II, 1941-1945: the supreme test of physical training; 7. Restoration and consolidation, 1945-1958: aiming for world supremacy in sport; 8. The later post-war years: urban life and leisure; 9. Contemporary organisation of Soviet sport and physical education; 10. Social aspects of sport: the military, peasants, nationalities, women and schoolchildren; 11. Soviet sport and Soviet foreign policy; Conclusions; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.