# 1981 Soviet First League

The 1981 Soviet First League was the eleventh season of the Soviet First League and the 41st season of the Soviet second tier league competition.

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Metalist Kharkiv (C, P) | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 62 | Promotion to Top League |
| 2 | Torpedo Kutaisi (P) | 46 | 26 | 4 | 16 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 56 | Promotion to Top League |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 54 | |
| 4 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 52 | |
| 5 | Kolos Nikopol | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 68 | 53 | +15 | 51 | |
| 6 | Žalgiris Vilnius | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 46 | |
| 7 | Iskra Smolensk | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 46 | |
| 8 | Nistru Kishinev | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 46 | |
| 9 | Pamir Dushanbe | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 45 | |
| 10 | Fakel Voronezh | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 44 | |
| 11 | Karpaty Lvov | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | |
| 12 | Spartak Kostroma | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 44 | |
| 13 | Metallurg Zaporozhia | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 44 | |
| 14 | Guria Lanchkhuti | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 44 | |
| 15 | Zarya Voroshilovgrad | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 44 | |
| 16 | SKA Odessa | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 44 | |
| 17 | SKA Kiev | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 59 | 71 | −12 | 42 | |
| 18 | Buston Dzhizak | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 41 | |
| 19 | SKA Khabarovsk | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 40 | |
| 20 | Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk (R) | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 21 | Spartak Ordjonikidze (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 22 | Kuzbass Kemerovo (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 40 | Relegation to Second League |
| 23 | Dinamo Stavropol (R) | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 38 | Relegation to Second League |
| 24 | Traktor Pavlodar (R) | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 36 | Relegation to Second League |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 There was a draw limit for the draws earned, 12. Only twelve draws earn a point, in contrast, over the limit draws earn no points.
* ↑ Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk was called Spartak.

## Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ravil Sharipov | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 26 (6) |
| 2 | Vladimir Mukhanov | Lokomotiv Moscow | 22 (1) |
| 3 | Gennady Smirnov | Fakel Voronezh | 21 (2) |
| 3 | Viktor Nastashevskyi | SKA Kiev | 21 (2) |
| 5 | Oleh Taran | SKA Odessa | 20 |
| 6 | Devizi Dardzhania | Torpedo Kutaisi | 19 (1) |
| 7 | Nodar Bachiashvili | Metallist Kharkov | 17 |
| 8 | Yuriy Koryukov | Nistru Kishenev | 15 |
| 9 | Valeriy Tursunov | Pamir Dushanbe | 14 (1) |

## Number of teams by union republic

| Rank | Union republic | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | RSFSR | 9 | Lokomotiv Moscow, Shinnik Yaroslavl, Iskra Smolensk, Fakel Voronezh, Spartak Kostroma, SKA Khabarovsk, Spartak Ordzhonikidze, Kuzbass Kemerevo, Dinamo Stavropol |
| 2 | Ukrainian SSR | 8 | Metallist Kharkov, Kolos Nikopol, Karpaty Lvov, Metallurg Zaporozhye, Zaria Voroshilovgrad, SKA Odessa, SKA Kiev, Prykarpatye Ivano-Frankovsk |
| 3 | Georgian SSR | 2 | Torpedo Kutaisi, Guria Lanchkhuti |
| 4 | Lithuanian SSR | 1 | Žalgiris Vilnius |
| 4 | Moldavian SSR | 1 | Nistru Kishinev |
| 4 | Tajik SSR | 1 | Pamir Dushanbe |
| 4 | Uzbek SSR | 1 | Zvezda Dzhizak |
| 4 | Kazakh SSR | 1 | Traktor Pavlodar |