Krasnaya Presnya 1924
Although the name Spartak was not adopted until 1935, Spartak Moscow can trace their history back to 1922.
The club came into being when the Communist Party committee in the Sokolniki region of Moscow brought about the merger of two multi-sport clubs, the RGO (Russkoe gimnastisticheskoe obshchestvo) and the OFV (Obshchestvo fizicheskogo vospitania). The club was initially named Moscow Sports Circle of Krasnopresenskoga Region (МКС) but after one year became Krasnaya Presnya.
Nikolai Pashintsev, president of the Party's Krasnopresenskii Region Executive Committee, was the team's chief patron, and the clubs 'branding' changes tended to reflect C. Pashintsev's involvement in various organizations.
Over the next 12 years the club was associated with a succession of different organizations- I hesitate to call them sponsors as the Soviet Union was a Socialist state.
When the club were seeking a new name in 1935 Nikolai Starotsin was inspired by Raffaello Giovagnoli's novel Spartacus, and the qualities that this name evoked ( according to Starotsin 'courage, the will to fight, endurance and strength, loyalty to ideals').
Here is a timeline of the various guises the club took during the first 12 years of its existence.
Year | Name | English | Origin / Patronange |
1922 | Московский кружок спорта Краснопресненского района (МКС) | Moscow Sports Circle of Krasnopresenskoga Region (MKS) | Krasnaya Presnya is a district in Moscow. The Communist Party and Komsomol were influential in the development of the club and its facilities. |
1923 | Красная Пресня | Krasnaya Presnya | |
1926 | Пищевики | Pishchevik | The union of workers employed in the food packaging industry. |
1931 | Промкооперация | Promkooperatisa | A collective retailing organization. |
1932 – Дукат (Dukat) During 1932 a significant portion of Promkooperatisa’s squad moved to Dukat. Dukat was the trade name of a tobacco manufacturer- Comrade Pashintsev was involved in the company and his influence led to the players moving there. However, Dukat was actually a separate organization and Promkooperatisa continued to operate, and it is debatable whether Dukat should be seen as a part of the heritage of Spartak or as something of an aside. | |||
1932 | Промкооперация | Promkooperatisa | |
1935 | Спартак (Москва) | Spartak Moscow | |
Summary of the club achievements 1922-1937:
Spring | Autumn | Cups | |||
1922 | MKS | Moscow Championship 2nd Division – finished top of a 6 team league with a 100% record. | Moscow Championship 2nd Division- not completed. | Maytova Cup winners. | Red jerseys. |
1923 | Krasnaya Presnya | Moscow Championship- winners- won a play-off. | Moscow Championship- Finished last in a 4 team league. | ||
1924 | Moscow Championship- winners (6 teams). | Moscow Championship- 2nd (4 teams). | Won Tosmena Cup, beating Spartak Petrograd in the final. | ||
1925 | Moscow Championship- outcome is unknown. | Discovery Cup Winners. | |||
1926 | Pishchevik | MGSPS Championship- 2nd in a 14 team league. | Sky blue jerseys | ||
1927 | Moscow Championship- 3rd (6 teams). | Moscow Championship- winners (6 teams). | Red and white stripes. | ||
1928 | Moscow Championship- 3rd (6 teams) | White with a red horizontal band on the chest | |||
1929 | Moscow and Trades Unions Championship – winners. (knockout format). | MGSPS and MSFK Championship- 2nd (8 teams ). | Won Tosmena Cup beating Pishchevik Leningrad in the final. | ||
1930 | Moscow Championship winners (4 teams). | Moscow Championship 8th (8 teams). | |||
1931 | Promkooperatisa | Moscow Championship- 7th | Won a tournament contested by the physical culture co-operatives of Moscow, Leningrad and Kharkiv. | ||
1932 | Very little evidence remains from these seasons due to a lack of press coverage of football. | ||||
1933 | |||||
1934 | Moscow Championship winners (8 teams). | Moscow Championship 4th (8 teams). | MGSFK tournament winners. All-Union co-operatives competition winners. | Red with a white band on the chest. | |
1935 | Spartak | Moscow Championship-3rd (8 teams). | Spartak and Dinamo were excused from the Autumn competition in the interests of the national team. | Won a cup competition for various ‘Spartak’ clubs in the Soviet Union – 6 in all! | |
1936 | Soviet Union Championship- 3rd (7 teams). | Soviet Union Championship- winners (8 teams). | |||
1937 | Soviet Union Championship- 2nd (9 teams). | ||||