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
History of Russia (1991–present) President of the United States George W. Bush in which the two described each other as "friends". Obama was viewed by many analysts as weak in the way he handled Putin, including some members of his own party . Mark Hollingsworth & Stewart Lansley, Londongrad: From Russia With Cash, 2009, 4th Estate History of Russia (1991–present) The history of Russia from 1991 to the present began with the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) on 26 December 1991 and the establishment of the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation (RSFSR) was the largest republic within the USSR, but until 1990 it