Özet:

During the Soviet period, sports have been invested with several political meanings: it was conceived as a way to enhance the physical force and productivity, to promote the communist ideals, and to demonstrate the power of the Soviet state. In this context, this article deals with the passion of football as a consumption practice and spectacle, with the power to limit or subvert the official meanings imposed to sports by the authoritarian state. First, it analyses the specific appropriation of football by its fans during the post-Stalinist period by showing how it moves away from the state’s ideological objectives. Second, it focuses on the period from the early 1970’s to the end of the Soviet Union, which corresponds to the emergence of a Soviet supporters’ subculture. Despite the idea that subcultures of the end of the Soviet Union have often been described as contentious, this article shows the ambiguity of Soviet fandom, which can both be seen as a form of symbolic or violent resistance, or as a way of negotiated adaptation during major political change.

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