The transfer of state functions in the field of physical culture and sports to public organizations in the 1960s

The article examines public organizations that functioned and performed state functions in the field of physical culture and sports. Special attention is paid to previously little-studied issues of interaction of the Union of Sports Societies and Organizations of the USSR with state bodies. The source base of the article is the normative legal acts regulating the activities of this organization, as well as documents of the Kaliningrad regional Union of Sports Societies and Organizations that were not previously introduced into scientific circulation. The liberalization of public life during the Thaw period had a significant impact on the position of public organizations in the Soviet political system. The scientific literature of that time actively discussed the issues of involving citizens and public organizations in solving the problems facing the country. One form of such involvement was the transfer of state functions to public organizations. As a result, public organizations were able to make important decisions in a certain segment of the public sphere. The Union of Sports Societies and Organizations of the USSR became a unique organization that completely replaced the state body in the field of physical culture and sports. Based on the material studied, the author comes to the conclusion that the liquidation of the Union of Sports Societies and Organizations of the USSR in 1968 coincided with other processes aimed at curtailing liberal principles in the USSR. Almost 10 years of activity of this organization have shown that the transfer of state functions into the hands of the public is indeed possible.