CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. It was created in 1911 in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, it was a central piece of the big Soviet

Armed Forces sports society The Sports Clubs of the Armed Forces, Physical Culture and Sports Association of the Soviet Armed Forces (russian: спортивные клубы Армии �КА} ''sportivnye kluby Armiy, SKA''; russian: Физкультурно-спортив� ...

, which in turn was associated with the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

; because of this, it was popularly referred to in the West as "

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

" or "the Red Army team". The historical CSKA sport club (a.k.a. "Big CSKA") is still a department of the

Russian Defense Ministry The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

Composition

The "Big CSKA" had several teams in many sports, but those which are still operating are all now private clubs: The CSKA has also been home to many elite

figure skaters Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

, including Adelina Sotnikova, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. Elena Mukhina, the 1978 World Champion artistic gymnast; Aliya Mustafina and Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Olympic gold medalists in gymnastics;

Sofya Velikaya Sofiya Aleksandrovna Velikaya ( rus, Софья Александровна Великая, , ˈsofʲjə vʲɪˈlʲikəjə; born 8 June 1985) is a Russian sabre fencer. Velikaya is a former European champion (four-time individual, six-time t ...

, a sabre fencer;

Olympic champions This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol ...

Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon C ...

and

Viktor An Viktor An (russian: Виктор Ан; born Ahn Hyun-soo ( ko, 안현수) on November 23, 1985),. is a South Korean-born Russian short-track speed skating coach and retired short-track speed skater. With a total of eight Olympic medals, six go ...

; and others are also members of the sports club.

Brief overview

The club was created as the "Experimentally demonstrative Military Sports field of Vsevobuch" (OPPV) in February 1923 by the Central Administration of Military Training for workers based on the pre-revolutionary "Society of Ski Sports Amateurs" (

OLLS Moscow OLLS Moscow was the popular name of the ''Amateur Society of Skiing Sports'' (Russian: Общество Любителей Лыжного Спорта, abbreviated to OLLS) established in 1901.. In 1911 it established its own football team, one of t ...

). The field was located at the

Sokolniki Park Sokolniki Park, named for the falcon hunt of the Grand Dukes of Muscovy formerly conducted there, is located in the eponymous Sokolniki District of Moscow. Sokolniki Park is not far from the center of the city, near Sokolnicheskaya Gate. The ...

in Moscow. On April 29, 1923, the football team of the club has played its first game in the Moscow city championship. In February 1928 the club was included to the newly established the Frunze Central House of Red Army (CDKA) as a department of physical culture and sports. In October 1953 all sports centers of CDKA and Air Force of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military ...

were included in the Central Sports Club of Ministry of Defense (CSK MO), which in April 1960 it was renamed into its more common title – the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces (CSKA). The club is active in more than 40 sports, and produced 463 Olympic champions for the Soviet Union and Russia, 11,000 champions in local Soviet and Russian championships, and 2629 golden medalists in European and world championships.

Chiefs and presidents

References

{{PFC CSKA Moscow Military sports clubs Multi-sport clubs in Russia Sports clubs in Moscow Sports clubs established in 1923 1923 establishments in Russia *