View source for Soviet Union at the Olympics

{{Infobox country at games
| NOC = URS
| NOCname = [[Soviet Olympic Committee]]
| games = Olympics
| year = 
| flagcaption = [[Flag of the Soviet Union]]
| oldcode = 
| website = 
| location = 
| competitors = 
| sports = 
| flagbearer = 
| rank = 2
| gold = 473
| silver = 376
| bronze = 355
| officials = 
| appearances = 
| app_begin_year = 
| app_end_year = 
| summerappearances = {{Team appearances list|team=Soviet Union|competition=Summer Olympics|begin_year=1952|end_year=1988 }}
| winterappearances = {{Team appearances list|team=Soviet Union|competition=Winter Olympics|begin_year=1956|end_year=1988 }}
| seealso = {{flagIOC|RU1}} (1900–1912)<br/>{{flagIOC|EST}} (1920–1936, 1992–)<br/>{{flagIOC|LAT}} (1924–1936, 1992–)<br/>{{flagIOC|LTU}} (1924–1928, 1992–)<br/>{{flagIOC|EUN}} (1992)<br/>{{flagIOC|ARM}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|BLR}} (1994–2022)<br/>{{flagIOC|GEO}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|KAZ}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|KGZ}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|MDA}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|RUS}} (1994–2016)<br/>{{flagIOC|UKR}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|UZB}} (1994–)<br/>{{flagIOC|AZE}} (1996–)<br/>{{flagIOC|TJK}} (1996–)<br/>{{flagIOC|TKM}} (1996–)<br/>{{flagIOC|OAR|2018 Winter}} (2018W)<br /> {{flagIOC|ROC|2020 Summer}} (2020)<br/> {{flagIOC|ROC|2022 Winter}} (''2022'')
}}
The [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR) first participated at the [[Olympic Games]] in 1952, and competed at the Summer and Winter Games on 18 occasions subsequently. At six of its nine appearances at the [[Summer Olympic Games]], the Soviet team ranked first in the total number of gold medals won, second three times, and became the biggest contender to the United States' domination in the Summer Games. Similarly, the team was ranked first in the gold medal count seven times and second twice in its nine appearances at the [[Winter Olympic Games]]. The Soviet Union's success might be attributed to a heavy state investment in sports to fulfill its political objectives on an international stage.<ref name="RoleofSports">{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/russia-and-its-empires/tyler-benson/|title = The Role of Sports in the Soviet Union &#124; Guided History}}</ref>

Following the [[Russian Revolution]] of November 1917 and the [[Russian Civil War]] (1917–1922), the Soviet Union did not participate in international sporting events on ideological grounds;<ref>[[Keys, Barbara J.]] (2006), [https://books.google.com/books?id=j4YHOlNuhgQC&dq=sport+in+USSR+1930s&pg=PA158 ''Globalizing Sport: National Rivalry and International Community in the 1930s''], Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, {{ISBN|0-674-02326-9}} (p. 159)</ref> however, after [[World War II]] (1939–1945), dominating the Olympic Games came to be seen by Soviet officials and leaders as a useful method of promoting [[communism]].<ref>
O'Mahony, Mike (2006), [https://books.google.com/books?id=v1cx_zST8rIC&dq=sport+in+USSR+1930s&pg=PA19 ''Sport in the USSR: Physical Culture—Visual Culture''], Reaktion Books Ltd, London, {{ISBN|1-86189-267-5}} (p. 19)
</ref> ''The Olympic Committee of the USSR'' was formed on April 21, 1951, and the [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]] recognised the new body in its [[List of IOC meetings|45th session]] (May 7, 1951). In the same year, when the Soviet representative [[Konstantin Andrianov]] became an IOC member, the USSR officially joined the [[Olympic Games#Olympic Movement|Olympic Movement]].

The [[1952 Summer Olympics]] in [[Helsinki]] thus became first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. On July 20, 1952 [[Nina Romashkova]] won the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport, competing in the women's [[discus throw]]. Romashkova's result in this event (51.42 m) was the new Olympic record at that time.

The [[1956 Winter Olympics]] in [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]] became the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. There [[Lyubov Kozyreva (cross-country skier)|Lyubov Kozyreva]] won the first Winter Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport, competing in the women's [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]] 10&nbsp;km event.

The USSR became the host nation for the [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in [[Moscow]]. The [[United States]] and many other countries [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|boycotted]] these Games in protest of the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]]; the USSR led a [[1984 Summer Olympics boycott|boycott]] of the [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Games]] in [[Los Angeles]].

Although the USSR ceased to exist on December 26, 1991, ''The Olympic Committee of the USSR'' formally existed until March 12, 1992, when it disbanded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.playingpasts.co.uk/articles/general/what-happened-to-the-soviet-olympic-committee/|title=WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SOVIET OLYMPIC COMMITTEE?|access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>

In 1992, 7 of the 15 former Soviet Republics competed together as the [[Unified Team at the Olympics|Unified Team]] and marched under the [[Olympic Flag]] in the [[1992 Winter Olympics|Albertville Games]], where they finished second in the medal rankings. The Unified Team also competed in the [[1992 Summer Olympics|Barcelona Games]] later in the year (represented by 12 of the 15 ex-Republics), and finished first in the medal rankings at those Games.

==Hosted Games==
Soviet Union has hosted the Games on one occasion.
{| class="wikitable"
! Games !! Host city !! Dates !! Nations !! Participants !! Events
|-
|[[1980 Summer Olympics]] || [[Moscow]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] || 19 July – 3 August || style="text-align:center;" | 80 || style="text-align:center;" | 5,179 || style="text-align:center;" | 203
|}

===Unsuccessful bids===
{| class="wikitable"
! Games!! City !! Winner of bid 
|-
|[[1976 Summer Olympics]] || [[Moscow]], Russian SFSR || [[Montreal]], Canada
|}

== Participation ==
=== Timeline of participation ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%; width:80%"
|-
! Date !! colspan="8" | Team
|- 
| 1900–1912 || colspan="8" | {{flagIOC|RU1}}
|- 
| 1920 || rowspan=2| {{flagIOC|EST}} || colspan=3 style="background:darkgray"|  || colspan="5" rowspan="2" style="background:darkgray" |
|-
| 1924–1936 || {{flagIOC|LAT}} || {{flagIOC|LTU}} || ''as part of {{Nowrap|{{flagIOC|ROU}}}}''
|- 
| 1952–1988 || colspan="8" style="background:moccasin" | '''{{flagIOC|URS}}'''
|-
| 1992 || rowspan="6" | {{flagIOC|EST}} || rowspan="6" | {{flagIOC|LAT}} || rowspan="6" | {{flagIOC|LTU}} || colspan="5" | {{flagIOC|EUN}}
|-
| 1994 || rowspan=5 | {{flagIOC|MDA}}
| rowspan=2 | {{flagIOC|RUS}}  
| rowspan="4" |{{flagIOC|BLR}}|| rowspan="5" style="width:400px" |  {{nowrap|{{flagIOC|ARM}}, {{flagIOC|GEO}}}}, {{Nowrap|{{flagIOC|KAZ}}, {{flagIOC|KGZ}}}}, {{Nowrap|{{flagIOC|UKR}}, {{flagIOC|UZB}}}}|| style="background:darkgray" |
|-
| 1996–2016 || rowspan="4" | {{nowrap|{{flagIOC|AZE}}, {{flagIOC|TJK}}}}, {{Nowrap|{{flagIOC|TKM}}}}
|-
| 2018 || {{flagIOC|OAR|2018 Winter}}
|-
| 2020–2022 || [[File:Russian_Olympic_Committee_flag.png|link=|alt=|24x24px]] [[Russian Olympic Committee athletes at the Olympics|Russian Olympic Committee]] <small>(ROC)</small>
|-
|2024–
| colspan="2" |{{flagIOC|AIN|2024 Summer}}
|}

== Medal tables ==
{{See also|All-time Olympic Games medal table}}
{{col-flex}}
===Medals by Summer Games===
{{legend2||Host country|border= 3px solid purple}}
{{Medals table country
| country = Soviet Union
| season = summer
| show_games_flag = yes
| total_col_bold = yes
| total_athletes = yes

| row1_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1952}} | row1_athletes = 295 | row1_gold = 22 | row1_silver = 30 | row1_bronze = 19 | row1_rank = 2
| row2_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1956}} | row2_athletes = 283 | row2_gold = 37 | row2_silver = 29 | row2_bronze = 32 | row2_rank = 1
| row3_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1960}} | row3_athletes = 284 | row3_gold = 43 | row3_silver = 29 | row3_bronze = 31 | row3_rank = 1
| row4_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1964}} | row4_athletes = 319 | row4_gold = 30 | row4_silver = 31 | row4_bronze = 35 | row4_rank = 2
| row5_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1968}} | row5_athletes = 313 | row5_gold = 29 | row5_silver = 32 | row5_bronze = 30 | row5_rank = 2
| row6_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1972}} | row6_athletes = 373 | row6_gold = 50 | row6_silver = 27 | row6_bronze = 22 | row6_rank = 1
| row7_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1976}} | row7_athletes = 410 | row7_gold = 49 | row7_silver = 41 | row7_bronze = 35 | row7_rank = 1
| row8_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1980}} | row8_athletes = 489 | row8_gold = 80 | row8_silver = 69 | row8_bronze = 46 | row8_rank = 1
| row9_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1984}} | row9_participation = ''[[1984 Summer Olympics boycott|boycotted]]''
| row10_games = {{GamesName|SOG|1988}} | row10_athletes = 481 | row10_gold = 55 | row10_silver = 31 | row10_bronze = 46 | row10_rank = 1
}}
{{col-flex-break}}

===Medals by Winter Games===
<div>&nbsp;</div>
{{Medals table country
| country = Soviet Union
| season = winter
| show_games_flag = yes
| total_col_bold = yes
| total_athletes = yes

| row1_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1956}} | row1_athletes = 53 | row1_gold = 7 | row1_silver = 3 | row1_bronze = 6 | row1_rank = 1
| row2_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1960}} | row2_athletes = 62 | row2_gold = 7 | row2_silver = 5 | row2_bronze = 9 | row2_rank = 1
| row3_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1964}} | row3_athletes = 69 | row3_gold = 11 | row3_silver = 8 | row3_bronze = 6 | row3_rank = 1
| row4_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1968}} | row4_athletes = 74 | row4_gold = 5 | row4_silver = 5 | row4_bronze = 3 | row4_rank = 2
| row5_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1972}} | row5_athletes = 78 | row5_gold = 8 | row5_silver = 5 | row5_bronze = 3 | row5_rank = 1
| row6_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1976}} | row6_athletes = 79 | row6_gold = 13 | row6_silver = 6 | row6_bronze = 8 | row6_rank = 1
| row7_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1980}} | row7_athletes = 86 | row7_gold = 10 | row7_silver = 6 | row7_bronze = 6 | row7_rank = 1
| row8_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1984}} | row8_athletes = 99 | row8_gold = 6 | row8_silver = 10 | row8_bronze = 9 | row8_rank = 2
| row9_games = {{GamesName|WOG|1988}} | row9_athletes = 101 | row9_gold = 11 | row9_silver = 9 | row9_bronze = 9 | row9_rank = 1
}}
{{col-flex-end}}

{{col-flex}}

===Medals by summer sport===
{{Medals table
 | caption     = 
 | team        = Sport
 | hide_rank   = yes
 | leading     = yes
 | gold_1  = 73 | silver_1  = 67 | bronze_1  = 44 | name_1  = {{GamesSport|Gymnastics|Format=d}} | leading_1 = yes 
 | gold_2  = 64 | silver_2  = 55 | bronze_2  = 74 | name_2  = {{GamesSport|Athletics|Format=d}}
 | gold_3  = 62 | silver_3  = 31 | bronze_3  = 23 | name_3  = {{GamesSport|Wrestling|Format=d}} | leading_3 = yes 
 | gold_4  = 39 | silver_4  = 21 | bronze_4  = 2  | name_4  = {{GamesSport|Weightlifting|Format=d}}
 | gold_5  = 29 | silver_5  = 13 | bronze_5  = 9  | name_5  = {{GamesSport|Canoeing|Format=d}}
 | gold_6  = 18 | silver_6  = 15 | bronze_6  = 16 | name_6  = {{GamesSport|Fencing|Format=d}}
 | gold_7  = 17 | silver_7  = 15 | bronze_7  = 17 | name_7  = {{GamesSport|Shooting|Format=d}}
 | gold_8  = 14 | silver_8  = 19 | bronze_8  = 18 | name_8  = {{GamesSport|Boxing|Format=d}}
 | gold_9  = 12 | silver_9  = 21 | bronze_9  = 26 | name_9  = {{GamesSport|Swimming|Format=d}}
 | gold_10 = 12 | silver_10 = 20 | bronze_10 = 10 | name_10 = {{GamesSport|Rowing|Format=d}}
 | gold_11 = 11 | silver_11 = 4  | bronze_11 = 9  | name_11 = {{GamesSport|Cycling|Format=d}}
 | gold_12 = 7  | silver_12 = 4  | bronze_12 = 1  | name_12 = {{GamesSport|Volleyball|Format=d}} | leading_12 = yes 
 | gold_13 = 6  | silver_13 = 5  | bronze_13 = 4  | name_13 = {{GamesSport|Equestrian|Format=d}}
 | gold_14 = 5  | silver_14 = 5  | bronze_14 = 13 | name_14 = {{GamesSport|Judo|Format=d}}
 | gold_15 = 5  | silver_15 = 5  | bronze_15 = 5  | name_15 = {{GamesSport|Modern pentathlon|Format=d}}
 | gold_16 = 4  | silver_16 = 5  | bronze_16 = 3  | name_16 = {{GamesSport|Sailing|Format=d}}
 | gold_17 = 4  | silver_17 = 4  | bronze_17 = 6  | name_17 = {{GamesSport|Diving|Format=d}}
 | gold_18 = 4  | silver_18 = 4  | bronze_18 = 4  | name_18 = {{GamesSport|Basketball|Format=d}}
 | gold_19 = 4  | silver_19 = 1  | bronze_19 = 1  | name_19 = {{GamesSport|Handball|Format=d}}
 | gold_20 = 2  | silver_20 = 2  | bronze_20 = 3  | name_20 = {{GamesSport|Water polo|Format=d}}
 | gold_21 = 2  | silver_21 = 0  | bronze_21 = 3  | name_21 = {{GamesSport|Football|Format=d}}
 | gold_22 = 1  | silver_22 = 3  | bronze_22 = 3  | name_22 = {{GamesSport|Archery|Format=d}}
 | gold_23 = 0  | silver_23 = 0  | bronze_23 = 2  | name_23 = {{GamesSport|Field hockey|Format=d}}
}}
{{col-flex-break}}

===Medals by winter sport===
{{Medals table
 | caption     = 
 | team        = Sport
 | hide_rank   = yes
 | leading     = yes
 | gold_1  = 25 | silver_1  = 22 | bronze_1  = 21 | name_1  = {{GamesSport|Cross country skiing|Format=d}}
 | gold_2  = 24 | silver_2  = 17 | bronze_2  = 19 | name_2  = {{GamesSport|Speed skating|Format=d}}
 | gold_3  = 10 | silver_3  = 9  | bronze_3  = 5  | name_3  = {{GamesSport|Figure skating|Format=d}}
 | gold_4  = 9  | silver_4  = 5  | bronze_4  = 5  | name_4  = {{GamesSport|Biathlon|Format=d}}
 | gold_5  = 7  | silver_5  = 1  | bronze_5  = 1  | name_5  = {{GamesSport|Ice hockey|Format=d}}
 | gold_6  = 1  | silver_6  = 2  | bronze_6  = 3  | name_6  = {{GamesSport|Luge|Format=d}}
 | gold_7  = 1  | silver_7  = 0  | bronze_7  = 2  | name_7  = {{GamesSport|Bobsleigh|Format=d}}
 | gold_8  = 1  | silver_8  = 0  | bronze_8  = 0  | name_8  = {{GamesSport|Ski jumping|Format=d}}
 | gold_9  = 0  | silver_9  = 1  | bronze_9  = 2  | name_9  = {{GamesSport|Nordic combined|Format=d}}
 | gold_10 = 0  | silver_10 = 0  | bronze_10 = 1  | name_10 = {{GamesSport|Alpine skiing|Format=d}}
}}
{{col-flex-end}}

==Medals by republic==
In the following table for team events number of team representatives, who received medals are counted, not "one medal for all the team", as usual. Because there were people from different republics in one team.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
{{Medals table
 | caption        = 
 | host           = 
 | flag_template  = 
 | event          = 
 | team           = 
 | gold_AAA = 705 | silver_AAA = 429 | bronze_AAA = 403 | name_AAA = {{flag|Russian SFSR}}
 | gold_BBB = 166 | silver_BBB = 108 | bronze_BBB = 110 | name_BBB = {{flag|Ukrainian SSR}}
 | gold_CCC = 49 | silver_CCC = 35 | bronze_CCC = 28 | name_CCC = {{flag|Byelorussian SSR}}
 | gold_DDD = 31 | silver_DDD = 21 | bronze_DDD = 29 | name_DDD = {{flag|Georgian SSR}}
 | gold_EEE = 27 | silver_EEE = 17 | bronze_EEE = 14 | name_EEE = {{flag|Kazakh SSR}}
 | gold_FFF = 26 | silver_FFF = 15 | bronze_FFF = 16 | name_FFF = {{flag|Lithuanian SSR}}
 | gold_GGG = 17 | silver_GGG = 28 | bronze_GGG = 16 | name_GGG = {{flag|Latvian SSR}}
 | gold_HHH = 14 | silver_HHH = 16 | bronze_HHH = 10 | name_HHH = {{flag|Armenian SSR}}
 | gold_III = 10 | silver_III = 9 | bronze_III = 10 | name_III = {{flag|Estonian SSR}}
 | gold_JJJ = 9 | silver_JJJ = 0 | bronze_JJJ = 3 | name_JJJ = {{flag|Tajik SSR}}
 | gold_KKK = 7 | silver_KKK = 18 | bronze_KKK = 6 | name_KKK = {{flag|Azerbaijan SSR}}
 | gold_LLL = 7 | silver_LLL = 7 | bronze_LLL = 5 | name_LLL = {{flag|Uzbek SSR}}
 | gold_MMM = 6 | silver_MMM = 5 | bronze_MMM = 2 | name_MMM = {{flag|Kirghiz SSR}}
 | gold_NNN = 3 | silver_NNN = 6 | bronze_NNN = 3 | name_NNN = {{flag|Moldavian SSR}}
 | gold_OOO = 3 | silver_OOO = 2 | bronze_OOO = 1 | name_OOO = {{flag|Turkmen SSR}}
}}

==Controversies==
[[File:USSR 1964 Olympics.jpg|thumb|150px|The Soviet Union team at the opening ceremony of the [[1964 Summer Olympics]], led by [[Yury Vlasov]]]]
All Soviet athletes held some nominal jobs, but were in fact state-sponsored and trained full-time. According to many experts, that gave the Soviet Union a huge advantage over the [[United States]] and other Western countries, whose athletes were students or real amateurs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/21/archives/soviet-amateur-athlete-a-real-pro-dr-john-nelson-washburn-is-an.html|title = Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 21 July 1974|last1 = Washburn|first1 = J. N.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-22-sp-30740-story.html|title = Sports in Soviet Union Only for Elite : There Are Top Athletes, and then There Are Those Who Sunbathe and Watch Drawbridges Go up|website = [[Los Angeles Times]]|date = 22 July 1986}}</ref> Indeed, the Soviet Union monopolized the top place in the medal standings after 1968, and, until its collapse, placed second only once, in the [[1984 Winter Olympics|1984 Winter games]], after another Eastern bloc nation, the [[East Germany|GDR]]. Amateur rules were relaxed only in the late 1980s and were almost completely abolished in the 1990s, after the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the USSR]].<ref name="RoleofSports"/><ref name="cia.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A005600130009-0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123110037/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A005600130009-0.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |title=Info |website=www.cia.gov }}</ref>

===Doping===
According to British journalist [[Andrew Jennings]], a [[KGB]] colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) to undermine [[doping test]]s and that Soviet athletes were "rescued with [these] tremendous efforts".<ref name=DG2011/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/the-1980-moscow-olympics-rank-as-the-cleanest-in-history-athletes-recall-how-the-u-s-s-r-cheated-the-system-/30741567.html |title=The 1980 Olympics Are The 'Cleanest' In History. Athletes Recall How Moscow Cheated The System. |last1=Aleksandrov |first1=Alexei |last2=Aleksandrov |first2=Grebeniuk |last3=Runets |first3=Volodymyr |publisher= |date=July 22, 2020 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref> On the topic of the [[1980 Summer Olympics]], a 1989 Australian study said "There is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner, who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds. The Moscow Games might as well have been called the Chemists' Games."<ref name=DG2011>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0292739575 |title= Drug Games: The International Olympic Committee and the Politics of Doping |first= Thomas M. |last= Hunt |year= 2011 |publisher= University of Texas Press |isbn= 978-0292739574 |page= 66 }}</ref>

Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles. Dated prior to the country's decision to boycott the Games, the document detailed the existing steroids operations of the program, along with suggestions for further enhancements.<ref name=NYT160813/> The communication, directed to the Soviet Union's head of track and field, was prepared by Dr. Sergei Portugalov of the Institute for Physical Culture. Portugalov was also one of the main figures involved in the implementation of the Russian doping program prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics.<ref name=NYT160813>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/sports/olympics/soviet-doping-plan-russia-rio-games.html|title=The Soviet Doping Plan: Document Reveals Illicit Approach to '84 Olympics|last=Ruiz|first=Rebecca R.|date= 13 August 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=3 September 2016}}</ref>

===Flag bearers controversy===
[[File:Soviet NOC Olympic.svg|thumb|right|120px|[[National Olympic Committee|NOC]] symbol of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]]]
[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] officials expected the flag bearer to show an example of an attractive, physically strong person and a distinguished athlete. He was expected to carry the flag through the Olympic ceremony in one hand unsupported by a harness. This presented a formidable physical task as the flag weighed {{convert|16|kg}} in the 1960s, and a sudden wind might further increase the physical load. Hence the Soviet flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics were selected from among heavyweight weightlifters or wrestlers, who did not have to compete the next day.<ref name=flag/>

Soviet officials also expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal at the given Olympics. Thus, the Soviet flag bearers at the Summer Olympics of 1952 ([[Yakov Kutsenko]]) and 1956 ([[Aleksey Medvedev (weightlifter)|Aleksey Medvedev]]) were not allowed to compete, even though both were top-level heavyweight weightlifters – Kutsenko placed second at the 1950 World Championships and Medvedev won the world title in 1956 and 1957 – because Soviet officials did not believe they would win a gold medal.<ref name=flag>Kochetkov, Aleksandr (8 August 2008) [http://www.newizv.ru/sport/2008-08-08/95545-flagmany-sbornoj.html Флагманы сборной]. newizv.ru</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics]]
* [[Soviet Union at the Paralympics]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |title=Olympic Results |publisher=International Olympic Committee |url=https://www.olympic.org/olympic-results }}
* {{cite web |title=Soviet Union |publisher=Olympedia.com |url=http://www.olympedia.org/countries/URS }}
* {{cite web |title=Olympic Analytics/URS |publisher=olympanalyt.com |url=http://olympanalyt.com/OlympAnalytics.php?param_pagetype=MedalsByGames&param_country=URS }}
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1974/ore84/ore84k.pdf |title=The USSR and Olympism |journal=[[Olympic Review]] |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]] |issue=84 |pages=530–557 |date=October 1974 |access-date=2008-03-28}}

{{Country at games navbox|Soviet Union|Olympics}}
{{National sports teams of the Soviet Union}}
{{Nations at the Olympics}}
{{Top Summer Olympics medal-winning nations}}
{{Top Winter Olympics medal-winning nations}}

[[Category:Soviet Union at the Olympics| ]]
[[Category:Russia at the Olympics|Soviet]]