Rugby union in the Soviet Union  From Wikipedia, the free
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Soviet Union Coat of arms of the Soviet Union.svg The Soviet
Coat of Arms Country Soviet Union Governing body Rugby
Federation of the Soviet Union National team Soviet Union First
played 1880s, Moscow Registered players 10,000 (in 1974) Clubs
~300 National competitions Club competitions  Rugby union in the
Soviet Union was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular
in the Georgian SSR; parts of the Russian SFSR such as Moscow
and certain regions in Siberia like Krasnoyarsk; and Almaty, the
capital of Kazakh SSR. Rugby enjoyed a more limited popularity
in the Ukrainian SSR, Minsk in the Byelorussian SSR and parts of
the RSFSR such as Leningrad and areas in Southern Russia,
including Krasnodar. Rugby gained a significant following due to
the vast size of the Soviet Union, but was never a major sport;
despite many attempts to develop the sport, which Soviet
citizens came to nickname the "lea