Soviet Championship League

Soviet Hockey Championship
Republic(s)Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Byelorussian SSR
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Estonian SSR
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Kazakh SSR
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Latvian SSR
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Lithuanian SSR
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Russian SFSR
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Ukrainian SSR
Founded1946
Folded1992
Relegation toSoviet Class A2
Soviet Class B
ChampionshipSoviet Hockey Championship
Associated Title(s)Soviet Cup
Most successful clubCSKA Moscow (32)

The Soviet Hockey Championship (Russian: Чемпионат СССР по хоккею) was the highest level ice hockey league in the Soviet Union, running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia, instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the league was temporarily renamed the CIS Championship in 1992. This organization was the direct predecessor of the International Hockey League (Russian: Межнациональная хоккейная Лига), and subsequent Russian Superleague (RSL) and current Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).