SOVIET CURRICULUM FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040305-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 20, 2011
• Sequence Number: 305
• Publication Date: July 21, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040305-9
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SSIFICATION CpgpTpgpT
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CENTRA
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L INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT N0
.
IQJFORMA71O1V R
ER?RT
CD N0.
Ct7UMTRY USSR (Pstonia)
PLACE
ACQUIRED
Soviet Curriculwn for Physical Education
Teachers
DATE DISTR. 02.~ J'?1 195,
N0. OF PAGES
N0. OF ENCLS.
ILISTCD BELDWI
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NU.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
f (shortly after the USSR took over Estonia in s deal
"~~~~the Soviet authorities introduced their own physical
education curriculum into aLl physical education teachers' colleges and
institutes in Estonia. He at Tartu University imrnediately noticed a
great difference in the emphasis on physical education from the aspect
cf its use as a weapon of the state rather than from the aspect of a
tiGit of avocation Sor the people. Specifically, the Soviets laid down
the following broad policies to guide us;
(a) Physical education ie directed, promoted, controlled and f~.nanced
by the State, i e, the Communist Party,
~ The chairman of the committee of physical education has the rights
and Powers equal to a Hiniater of the State.
~c)
Bach republic, state, province, town, ca~uaity, etc, has s physical
education committee subordinate to the executive committee of the
Cour_ci1 of Soviets.
~'i) i^he main ob,~ective of physical education in the USSR and, of course,
in ail its satellites, is simply the physical conditioning of Workers
and soldiers.
'-? T.'',c tt~ieie result of the Soviet physical education program 18 an
athletic badge called the "Ready for Mork and Defense" badge which
is a rsward for passing the following subjects and testa:
~a~
~~
Courses in Caammuitst Ply history and disletical materialism,
Required subJects -skiing, gymnastics, swiraaing, rifle shooting,
military obstacle courses and ane ktir.".+e,....~
geared to ~ - -__- -~? iuc tests 8re
F^r ~""~PZ~a~i~s fi~vet"'Plied ?o all se~ents of the p~ulation.
meter in t y real' old mss is required to run one kilo-
hree minutes, ten RePrm+~a ~ tp aYt t~~
$utY minutes. ----~~tere in
asrRisuro
Sta
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040305-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040305-9
c Psl.ectives such as dancir folk si i f
.g, ng ng, special. gyirau-stics, etc.'
4. Athletes are classified according to their ability. For example, they are
introduced as "Ivan Rusky -first class swimmer" or "second class bwcer"
nr "third class gymnst" or "merited athlete of the USSR" or "highly merited
athlete of the USSR", The latter are .the winners of Soviet and~or inter-
nstional chami.ionships' or breakers of Soviet and~or world records.
The badge has classifications for both sexes and all ages. Physical testa ;
are required for school children, university students, workers, soldiers, etc;
special committees axe directly responsible to ?arty functionaries and army
commandants to carry out these tests.
A physical education club is a must in each workers' union. The club is
centralized dust e.s are the unions and has its headquarters in Hoscow. The
athletic club "Dynamo", _*or example, is the aports~:lub for the police of
the Soviet Union.
6. Physical education training for teachers is ava!lable after graduation from
the U3 equivalent of a high school and consists of s standard four-year course.
In the Soviet Union there are seven or eight such higher physical education
institutes and in Estonia there is one, namely Tartu University. Each subject
ar skill his a full professorship for its department, i c, swimming has a
,hair wig. a processor who of course has numerous assistants.
Each practicat sport subject is geared to military training. The curriculum
specified forty hours of work per week and includes, in my opinion, too great
a .loa3 of theoretical sub3ects~ as psychology, morale building, etc. It in-
cludes a euamier temp which lasts for eight weeks and a winter camp for skiing
which lssts for three weeks. Students get scholarships, including tuition,
board, roam, books and uniforms. In 191bO in Estonia 100$ of the students
received scholarships; in 1941 the percentage was dropped to 10~. One pre-
requisite for admission is s 5O-meter parachute ,jump, taken from a dump
platform.
8. All the physical education institutes, both in the USSR and in Estonia;
engage in research work, the results of which are published in a monthly
magazine. The atudents* texts are very good and are compiled from the
world~a best literature on physical education.
O. Ini;enaive propaganda is constantly disseminated in relation to physical ed-
ucation teaching, the idea of which is to inculcate the feeling that E?~viet
physical education is the best in the world. Constantly, the sports records
and coaching and tralning methods of the US are h^ld up as a target, and et~ry-
thing is geared to cat :h up and surpass the US in physical educatlon. Good
athletes, no matter what they political backgrounds are given scholarships
to gi-n them free time to train in order to win. For example, ~fnJ Lipp,
the decati:elon champion of the USSR, was a former (}erman secret policemen.
10. Soviet at'_il.etes are especis7ly good in ice skating, wrestling, chess, soccer,
volley ball, gymnastics, basketball and weight lifting. The Soviet female
athletes excel in track and field, camnestics, ice skating and basket ball.
]1. I believe the following antidote best illustrates the real motivation behind
the Soviet sical education r
be pPr~,yttpd, ~~ time p,~-t is also neC3,ed to :.hangs the strstegy
''f the game. e anaWei' tsaS urincz war one hail to chancre etrate?v under fire:
physical education officials for
s3ggeations for better basketball rules. is the Soviet rules do not provide
for time-outs, introduction of a rule *,o give the plsyers
a little rest. ss, "basketball in the Soviet Union is used to
tra;.u n~i uc-igy soldiers cos endurance, and time Oitt during the game should not
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040305-9