As a high-profile sportsman, Starostin came into close contact with Alexander Kosarev, secretary of the Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) who already had a strong influence on sport and wanted to extend it. In November 1934, with funding from Promkooperatsiia, Kosarev employed Starostin and his brothers to develop his team to make it more powerful. Again the team changed its name, this time to Spartak Moscow. It took its name from the Roman slave rebel and athlete Spartacus. Like Spartacus, the club seemed to represent the exploited, as opposed to their rivals Dynamo Moscow (run by the secret police) and CSKA Moscow (run by the army.) Starostin played for and managed Spartak, and his three brothers also played for the team.