1946 in Soviet football

The 1946 Soviet football championship was the 14th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union and the 8th among teams of sports societies and factories. Among the worst teams of the top tier before World War II, CDKA Moscow won the championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the first time.

The defending champions Dinamo once again had a slow start in the first half and were not able to regain their champion pace in the second half as well, almost placing third behind clubmates from Tbilisi.

In 1946 there was reintroduced the third tier for a season, status of which is not determined and data for which is sparse.

Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Subgroup East
All Russia Russian SFSR

Tier final
[Sep 18, 22] VVS Moskva  3-2 1-0 Pishchevik Moskva

Top goalscorers
1st Group
 * Aleksandr Ponomarev (Torpedo Moscow) – 18 goals

2nd Group
 * Aleksandr Surianinov (Torpedo Gorkiy) – 14 goals

Republican level
The top level of republican football competitions was proclaimed as the "Third Group" (Tretia Gruppa). There were two separate winners one from the Russian SFSR and the other from the union republics.

The competition was organized in eight Russian SFSR groups, four Ukrainian SSR groups, Belarusian SSR tournament, Transcaucasian tournament, and Central Asian tournament. The football competition in the "Third Group" involved participation of some 118 football teams.

West

 * Dinamo Riga (1945 Latvian Champions)
 * Kirovskiy Zavod Leningrad
 * DO Leningrad
 * Spartak Kaunas (1945 Lithuanian Champions)
 * Dinamo Tallinn (1945 Estonian Champions)
 * Stroitel Moscow
 * Energiya Moscow
 * Aeroflot Moscow
 * DO Petrozavodsk

Center

 * Zenit Kaliningrad
 * Zenit Kovrov
 * Spartak Podolsk
 * Traktor Liubetsy
 * Zenit Tula
 * Krasnoye Znamia Orekhovo-Zuyevo
 * Dinamo Yaroslavl
 * Spartak Kursk
 * Dinamo Oryol
 * Dinamo Voronezh

Lower Volga

 * Dinamo Saratov
 * ODO Kuybyshev
 * Pischevik Astrakhan
 * Lokomotiv Kuybyshev
 * Dinamo Stalingrad
 * ZiV Kuybyshev
 * Traktor Penza

Volga

 * Krylia Sovetov Gorkiy
 * Zenit Izhevsk
 * Krasnaya Etna Gorkiy
 * Azot Dzerzhinsk
 * Spartak Ivanovo
 * Dinamo Gorkiy
 * Dinamo Kazan
 * DO Gorkiy

Ural

 * Dinamo Sverdlovsk
 * Dinamo Cheliabinsk
 * Dinamo Molotov
 * Dzerzhinets Nizhniy Tagil
 * Lokomotiv Tyumen
 * Metallurg Vostoka Pervouralsk
 * Tsvetmet Kamensk-Uralsky
 * Metallurg Vostoka Lysva

Sibir

 * Krylia Sovetov Novosibirsk
 * Krylia Sovetov Omsk
 * Traktor Barnaul
 * Dinamo Novosibirsk
 * Metallurg Vostoka Stalinsk-Kuznetsk
 * Traktor Novosibirsk
 * Ugolschik Prokopyevsk
 * Azot Kemerovo

Northern Caucasus

 * Dinamo Krasnodar
 * Dinamo Stavropol
 * Traktor Taganrog
 * SKA Rostov-na-Donu
 * Dinamo Nalchik
 * Dinamo Groznyi
 * Dinamo Makhachkala
 * Dinamo Dzaudzhikau

Far East

 * Dinamo Khabarovsk
 * Dinamo Komsomolsk-na-Amure
 * DOF Vladivostok
 * DKA Khabarovsk
 * Dinamo Chita
 * Lokomotiv Irkutsk

Play-offs for the Final group

 * Dinamo Saratov v Dinamo Krasnodar 2–0
 * Krylia Sovetov Gorkiy v Dinamo Sverdlovsk 1–1, 1–3
 * Krylia Sovetov Novosibirsk v Dinamo Khabarovsk 2–1

Final

 * Dinamo Riga
 * Zenit Kaliningrad
 * Dinamo Sverdlovsk
 * Dinamo Saratov
 * Krylia Sovetov Novosibirsk

Ukraine

 * Spartak Uzhgorod
 * DO Kiev
 * Dzerzhinets Kharkiv
 * Bolshevik Zaporozhye

Belarus

 * DO Minsk
 * Spartak Bobruisk
 * Lokomotiv Grodno
 * Dinamo-2 Minsk
 * Lokomotiv Gomel
 * DO Baranovichi
 * Lokomotiv Brest

Caucasus

 * Krylia Sovetov Tbilisi
 * Dinamo Sukhumi
 * Dinamo Batumi
 * Dinamo Kutaisi
 * Dinamo Baku
 * Spartak Yerevan
 * Dinamo Leninakan

Central Asia

 * Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * DO Tashkent
 * Lokomotiv Ashkhabad
 * Dinamo Stalinabad
 * Dinamo Frunze

Final

 * Spartak Uzhgorod
 * Krylia Sovetov Tbilisi
 * Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * DO Minsk
 * DO Kiev

Republican level
Football competitions of union republics

Football championships

 * Azerbaijan SSR – Lokomotiv Baku
 * Armenian SSR – Dinamo Yerevan
 * Belarusian SSR – ODO Minsk (see Football Championship of the Belarusian SSR)
 * Estonian SSR – Baltflot Tallin (see 1946 Estonian SSR Football Championship)
 * Georgian SSR – Dinamo Kutaisi
 * Kazakh SSR – Dinamo Alma-Ata
 * Karelo-Finish SSR – unknown
 * Kirgiz SSR – none
 * Latvian SSR – Daugava Liepaja
 * Lithuanian SSR – Dinamo Kaunas
 * Moldavian SSR – Dinamo Kishinev
 * Russian SFSR – unknown
 * Tajik SSR – none
 * Turkmen SSR – Dinamo Ashkhabad
 * Uzbek SSR – none
 * Ukrainian SSR – Spartak Uzhhorod (see Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR)

Football cups

 * Azerbaijan SSR – none
 * Armenian SSR – Dinamo Yerevan
 * Belarusian SSR – ODO Minsk
 * Estonian SSR – Dinamo Tallin
 * Georgian SSR – Burevestnik Tbilisi
 * Kazakh SSR – none
 * Karelo-Finish SSR – unknown
 * Kirgiz SSR – none
 * Latvian SSR – Daugava Liepaja
 * Lithuanian SSR – none
 * Moldavian SSR – Dinamo Kishinev
 * Russian SFSR – Dinamo Sverdlovsk
 * Tajik SSR – Dinamo Stalinabad
 * Turkmen SSR – Dinamo Ashkhabad
 * Uzbek SSR – DO Tashkent
 * Ukrainian SSR – FC Dynamo Kyiv (see 1946 Cup of the Ukrainian SSR)