Football in Russia Football in Russia Association football is the most popular sport in Russia, beating ice hockey by a huge margin. When the USSR broke up into 15 different countries, the once renowned sports structure of the union collapsed. Football was the second most popular sport in the Soviet Union. While the national teams and the clubs used to be linked to state institutions or mass organizations, in 1991 some of them became private enterprises. Just like in many other spheres of business, corrupt and sometimes bloody division of power began. Furthermore, many teams of the erstwhile Soviet Top League, which was
Russians in the Baltic states as the war drew to a close. Immediately after the war, a major influx from other USSR republics primarily of ethnic Russians took place in the Baltic states as part of a "de facto" process of Russification. These new migrants supported the industrialization of Latvia's economy. Most were factory and construction workers who settled in major urban areas. The influx included the establishment of military bases and associated personnel with the Baltic states now comprising the USSR's "de facto" western frontier bordering the Baltic Sea. Many military chose to remain upon retirement, attracted by higher living standards as compared to