# 1988 Soviet First League

The 1988 Soviet First League was the 49th season of the second tier of association football in the Soviet Union.

## Teams
### Promoted teams

* SC Tavriya Simferopol – Winner of the Second League finals (returning after an absence of 3 seasons)
* FC Kuban Krasnodar – Winner of the Second League finals (returning after an absence of a season)
* FC Zvezda Perm – Winner of the Second League finals (returning after an absence of 8 seasons)

### Relegated teams

* CSKA Moscow – (Returning after a season)
* FC Guria Lanchkhuti – (Returning after a season)

### Locations
## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Pamir Dushanbe (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 78 | 44 | +34 | 58 | Promotion to Top League |
| 2 | Rotor Volgograd (P) | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 76 | 37 | +39 | 57 | Promotion to Top League |
| 3 | CSKA Moscow | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 56 | |
| 4 | Guria Lanchkhuti | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 71 | 44 | +27 | 53 | |
| 5 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 52 | |
| 6 | Dynamo Stavropol | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 59 | 46 | +13 | 47 | |
| 7 | SKA Karpaty Lviv | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 44 | |
| 8 | Daugava Riga | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 43 | |
| 9 | SKA Rostov-on-Don | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 57 | 64 | −7 | 42 | |
| 10 | Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 67 | −8 | 40 | |
| 11 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 40 | |
| 12 | Geolog Tyumen | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 39 | |
| 13 | Spartak Ordjonikidze | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 39 | |
| 14 | Tavriya Simferopol | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 38 | |
| 15 | Kuzbass Kemerevo | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 38 | |
| 16 | Dinamo Batumi | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 36 | |
| 17 | Metalurh Zaporizhia | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 36 | |
| 18 | Kotayk Abovyan | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 55 | 83 | −28 | 35 | |
| 19 | Kuban Krasnodar | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 35 | |
| 20 | Zarya Voroshylovhrad (R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 44 | 59 | −15 | 32 | Relegation to Second League |
| 21 | Zvezda Perm (R) | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 37 | 69 | −32 | 32 | Relegation to Second League |
| 22 | Kolos Nikopol (R) | 42 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 27 | Relegation to Second League |
* 1 2 3 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.

## Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mukhsin Mukhamadiyev | Pamir Dushanbe | 22 |
| 1 | Aleksandr Nikitin | Rotor Volgograd | 22 |
| 3 | Viktor Khlus | Guria Lanchkhuti | 21 |
| 4 | Valeriy Korneyev | Dynamo Stavropol | 19 |
| 4 | Merab Zhordania | Guria Lanchkhuti | 19 |
| 6 | Sergei Andreyev | Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | 18 |
| 6 | Jevgenijs Milevskis | Daugava Riga | 18 |
| 6 | Hamlet Mkhitaryan | Kotayk Abovian | 18 |
| 9 | Oleksandr Malyshenko | Zorya Voroshylovhrad | 17 |

## Number of teams by union republic

| Rank | Union republic | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | RSFSR | 11 | Rotor Volgograd, CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Stavropol, SKA Rostov-na-Donu, Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu, Shinnik Yaroslavl, Geolog Tyumen, Spartak Vladikavkaz, Kuzbass Kemerovo, Kuban Krasnodar, Zvezda Perm |
| 2 | Ukrainian SSR | 5 | Metallurg Zaporozhye, Tavriya Simferopol, SKA Karpaty Lvov, Zaria Voroshilovgrad, Kolos Nikopol |
| 3 | Georgian SSR | 2 | Guria Lanchkhuti, Dinamo Batumi |
| 4 | Uzbek SSR | 1 | Pakhtakor Tashkent |
| 4 | Latvian SSR | 1 | Daugava Riga |
| 4 | Tajik SSR | 1 | Pamir Dushanbe |
| 4 | Armenian SSR | 1 | Kotaik Abovian |