# 1987 Soviet First League

The 1987 Soviet First League was the 48th season of the second tier of association football in the Soviet Union.

## Teams
### Promoted teams

* FC Geolog Tyumen – (Returning after 25 seasons)
* FC Zaria Voroshilovgrad – (Returning after 2 seasons)
* FC Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev – (Returning after a season)

### Relegated teams

* FC Chernomorets Odessa – (Returning after a season)
* FC Torpedo Kutaisi – (Returning after 2 seasons)

## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Chernomorets Odessa (C, P) | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 68 | 31 | +37 | 62 | Promotion to Top League |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Moscow (P) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 59 | 26 | +33 | 58 | Promotion to Top League |
| 3 | Daugava Riga | 42 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 50 | |
| 4 | Pamir Dushanbe | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 46 | |
| 5 | SKA Karpaty Lvov | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 46 | |
| 6 | Kuzbass Kemerevo | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 44 | |
| 7 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 44 | |
| 8 | Kolos Nikopol | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 58 | 63 | −5 | 40 | |
| 9 | Metallurg Zaporozhia | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 54 | 53 | +1 | 40 | |
| 10 | Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 40 | |
| 11 | SKA Rostov-on-Don | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 39 | |
| 12 | Geolog Tyumen | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 39 | |
| 13 | Kotayk Abovyan | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 38 | |
| 14 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 26 | 42 | −16 | 38 | |
| 15 | Dynamo Stavropol | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 38 | |
| 16 | Zarya Voroshilovgrad | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 46 | 60 | −14 | 38 | |
| 17 | Rotor Volgograd | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 36 | |
| 18 | Spartak Ordjonikidze | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 36 | |
| 19 | Dinamo Batumi | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 35 | |
| 20 | Fakel Voronezh (R) | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 34 | Relegation to Second League |
| 21 | Torpedo Kutaisi (R) | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 30 | 51 | −21 | 34 | Relegation to Second League |
| 22 | Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev (R) | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 32 | Relegation to Second League |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. Note that this year Fakel was forced to relegation because of this rule.

## Top scorers

| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Viktor Pimushin | Kuzbass Kemerevo | 23 (3) |
| 2 | Serhiy N. Morozov | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 22 (5) |
| 3 | Aleksandr Azimov | Pamir Dushanbe | 21 (8) |
| 4 | Jevgeņijs Miļevskis | Daugava Riga | 19 (3) |
| 5 | Mykola Fedorenko | Kolos Nikopol | 18 (5) |
| 5 | Seyran Osipov | Dynamo Stavropol | 18 (5) |
| 7 | Aleksandrs Starkovs | Daugava Riga | 16 (1) |
| 7 | Marat Kabayev | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 16 (5) |
| 9 | Sergei Borisov | Rotor Volgograd | 14 |
| 10 | Aleksandr Kalashnikov | Lokomotiv Moscow | 13 |

## Number of teams by union republic

| Rank | Union republic | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | RSFSR | 11 | Lokomotiv Moscow, Kuzbass Kemerovo, Rostselmash Rostov-na-Donu, SKA Rostov-na-Donu, Geolog Tyumen, Shinnik Yaroslavl, Dinamo Stavropol, Rotor Volgograd, Spartak Vladikavkaz, Fakel Voronezh, Krylia Sovetov Kuibyshev |
| 2 | Ukrainian SSR | 5 | Chernomorets Odessa, SKA Karpaty Lvov, Kolos Nikopol, Metallurg Zaporozhye, Zaria Voroshilovgrad |
| 3 | Georgian SSR | 2 | Torpedo Kutaisi, 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 |