Dynamo Alma-Ata

Dynamo Alma-Ata (Russian: Динамо Алма-Ата) was a multi-sports club from the then capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty in the Soviet era. The club participated in wrestling, gymnastics, athletics, water polo, bandy, and the most successful branch, hockey. Several players combined bandy in the winter with hockey in the summer.

Notables

Well-known members included the competitive artistic gymnast Valeri Liukin, the pole vaulter Grigoriy Yegorov, as well as the wrestlers Anatoly Nazarenko, Shamil Serikov and Anatoly Bykov. The co-founder of FC Spartak Moscow, Nikolai Starostin, coached both the football and hockey teams during his exile in Alma-Ata.

Sports

Water polo

The water polo men's team won Soviet Water Polo Championships in 1981 and 1982. In the 1982–83 season Dynamo's water polo team reached the European Champions cup final. Dynamo played a double final against Spandau 04 but after a 10:7 win in the first leg, the Soviet team lost the title, defeated by the West Germans in the second leg with a 6:10 score.

Bandy

In 1977 and in 1990, the club became Soviet national champions in bandy and in 1978 won the European Cup.

Hockey

The team became Soviet champions eighteen times.

History

The history of the Dynamo Stadium in Almaty is closely linked to the development of football in Alma-Ata. The Dynamo football club, established in the mid-1930s, played a significant role in shaping the city's football history. The club, which was part of the Dynamo sports society, won the Cup of the Kazakh SSR in 1936 and the championship of the Kazakh SSR in 1937. In 1940, Dynamo made history by becoming the first-ever USSR Cup winner among physical education teams. The club experienced ups and downs, eventually leading to the creation of the Kairat club in 1954.

After a period of dormancy, the Dynamo club was revived in 1993 but was disbanded after just one season in the championship of Kazakhstan. The Dynamo Stadium was erected in 1931 to support the physical development of various organizations such as the KGB, police, firefighters, and the Red Army. Over the years, Dynamo Almaty achieved success in winning championships and reaching the final stages of the USSR Cup. The stadium, which features a large tribune with wooden benches, a soccer field with natural grass, a running track, locker rooms, administrative rooms, sports equipment, and lighting masts, continues to host a variety of football and athletic competitions, as well as serving as a venue for physical training sessions conducted by the police