Soviet Physical Culture Parades and the Image of the “Ideal Athlete” in 1920-1930s

The author in their article examines the role of physical culture festivals and parades in the USSR in the 1920-1930s as an instrument of forming a “new man” and a new socialist society. The article is based on archival materials, including previously unpublished sources - scenarios and plans for musical arrangements, descriptions of parades stored in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art in the personal collections of: Yu. K. Olesha (F. 358), V. E. Meyerhold (F. 998), S. S. Prokofiev (F. 1929), I. V. Zhilkin (F. 200), as well as in the editorial fund of the “Narodnoye Tvorchestvo” (“Folk Art”) magazine (F. 673). There are also involved materials from Soviet periodicals - the magazines “Ogonyok” (“Spark”), “Izvestia fizicheskoi kulturi” (“Physical Culture News”), and other publications. The article shows that mass sporting events, including physical culture and parades on national holidays, were transformed into ideological performances that combined sport, art, and politics. Through synchronous movements, paramilitary elements, and the promotion of a healthy body, the state constructed the image of an ideal athlete: strong, disciplined, devoted to socialist ideals and values, and ready to defend the motherland. Particular attention is paid to the preparation and holding of large-scale parades on Red Square, where thousands of participants demonstrated national unity and achievements of Soviet sport and Soviet system as a whole. The author analyzes the ideological objectives and social functions of these events: from fostering collectivism and inculcating the idea of the unity of labor and sport to preparing the country’s defense. The author also examines visual images of Soviet athletes created by the leading Soviet artists and filmmakers as the most convincing means of propaganda. They come to the conclusion about the importance of physical culture and sports in the social construction of the new Soviet society, and note the significant influence of: paintings, monumental and landscape art, sculptures, posters, and films on the popularization of Soviet sports in the USSR in the 1920-1930s.