# 1961 in Soviet football

The 1961 Soviet football championship was the 29th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union and the 23rd among teams of sports societies and factories. Dinamo won the championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the first time.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| Class A | Dinamo Kiev (1) | Torpedo Moscow |
| Class B | Krylia Sovetov Kuibyshev (Russia) | Terek Groznyi (Russia) |
| Class B | Chernomorets Odessa (Ukraine) | SKA Odessa (Ukraine) |
| Class B | Lokomotiv Tbilisi (Republics group 1) | Shirak Leninakan (Republics group 1) |
| Class B | Torpedo Kutaisi (Republics group 2) | Shakhter Karaganda (Republics group 2) |
| Soviet Cup | Shakhter Stalino (1) | Torpedo Moscow |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Soviet Union football championship
### Class A (second stage)
#### Places 1–10

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Dynamo Kyiv (C) | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 58 | 28 | +30 | 45 |
| 2 | Torpedo Moscow | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 68 | 35 | +33 | 41 |
| 3 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 40 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 38 |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 58 | 42 | +16 | 38 |
| 6 | Avangard Kharkov | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 34 |
| 7 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 33 |
| 8 | Spartak Yerevan | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 32 |
| 9 | SKA Rostov-on-Don | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 30 |
| 10 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 30 |

#### Places 11–22

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 11 | Dynamo Moscow | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 41 | |
| 12 | Shakhter Stalino | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 45 | 37 | +8 | 34 | |
| 13 | Zenit Leningrad | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 32 | |
| 14 | Admiralteets Leningrad | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 31 | |
| 15 | Trud Voronezh (R) | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 30 | Relegation to Class B |
| 16 | Moldova Chisinau | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 30 | |
| 17 | Kairat Alma-Ata | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 31 | 48 | −17 | 28 | |
| 18 | Neftyanik Baku | 32 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 27 | |
| 19 | Belarus Minsk | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 24 | |
| 20 | Spartak Vilnius | 32 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 33 | 64 | −31 | 19 | |
| 21 | Daugava Rīga | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 63 | −33 | 17 | |
| 22 | Kalev Tallinn (R) | 32 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 25 | 74 | −49 | 10 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
* ↑ Admiralteets Leningrad were disbanded after the season and they were replaced by Dynamo Leningrad.
* ↑ Trud Voronezh were relegated because were been a worst ranked team from Russia.

#### Promotion/relegation Tournament

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Torpedo Kutaisi (R) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Promotion to Class A |
| 2 | Kalev Tallinn (R) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Relegation to Class B |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Tbilisi | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | |

### Class B
#### Russian Federation finals

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 8 | Promoted |
| 2 | Terek Grozny | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 7 | |
| 3 | Dinamo Kirov | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Chelyabinsk | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | SKA Khabarovsk | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | |
| 6 | Volga Kalinin | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 2 | |

#### Ukraine (playoffs)
##### For places 1-2

* Chernomorets Odessa 2-1 0-0 SKA Odessa

#### Union republics finals

* no finals
* Torpedo Kutaisi and Lokomotiv Tbilisi qualified for promotion playoffs as two group winners

### Top goalscorers

Class A
* Gennadiy Gusarov (Torpedo Moscow) – 22 goals