Other former Soviet republics (Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine) established their own national teams later that year.

It was during a tour of FC Dynamo Moscow of the United Kingdom in 1945 that Soviet officials first got the idea of establishing an ice hockey program.

"[2] The Soviet Championship League was established in 1946, and the national team was formed shortly after, playing their first matches in a series of exhibitions against LTC Praha in 1948.

[3] The Soviets planned to send a team to the 1953 World Championships, but due to an injury to Vsevolod Bobrov, one of their star players, officials decided against going.

Largely unknown to the larger hockey world, the team surprised many by winning the gold medal, defeating Canada in the final game.

Both the Olympics and World Championships did not allow professionals, so the best Canadian players were never able to compete against the Soviets, and in protest at this Canada had left international hockey in 1970.

No longer afraid to speak out against their treatment, players like Viacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov openly critiqued the management style of their coach, Viktor Tikhonov, which included being secluded in a military-style barracks for eleven months of the year.

He had access to the team's locker room and the opportunity to speak directly with the players and be part of their daily life.