In the USSR, volleyball was developing since the early 1920s. The official date of its birth in the Soviet Union was July 28, 1923, when a match between teams of the Higher Art and Technical Studios (VHUTEMAS) and the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography took place. The intellectuals of the USSR actually were the founders of Russian volleyball. For a short period this game became a popular entertainment for many people, and then turned into a modern and popular sport.
In January 1925 the Moscow Council of Physical Education developed the first official rules of volleyball. In 1932 the All-Union Volleyball Section was established, which became a FIVB member in 1948, and in 1959 it was transformed into the USSR Volleyball Federation.
The Soviet volleyball team was the six-time world champion, twelve-time European champion, four-time holder of the World Cup. The USSR women’s team was the five-time world champion, thirteen-time European champion and one-time holder of the World Cup. The teams’ strongest players Inna Ryskal, Yury Chesnokov, Konstantin Reva, Nina Smoleeva and Ivan Bugaenko, coaches Vyacheslav Platonov, Givi Akhvlediani and Nikolay Karpol, organiser Vladimir Savvin were inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Russia’s volleyball pride is Georgy Mondzolevsky (born January 26, 1934, Orsha, Vitebsk Region), a Soviet volleyball player, two-time Olympic champion (Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968). USSR Merited Master of Sport (1963). Two-time holder of the Honour Badge. Two-time world champion (1960, 1962). World championship bronze medallist (1956). European champion (1967). European championship bronze medallist (1958, 1963). Winner of the Sprtakiade of USSR Peoples (1956, 1963), USSR champion (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966). USSR Championship bronze medallist (1955). Winner of the European Champions Cup (1960, 1962).

Volleyball started its development in Kazan in the early 1950s.
Post-war youth were eager to play sports. Kazan at that time was filled with a competitive spirit of sports. Volleyball and basketball competitions that were held on open air courts attracted crowds of people of all ages. Two main initiators of volleyball’s development in the Republic of Tatarstan were Boris Kolchin and Isaac Bren.  
The latter strained every effort to draw street boys to volleyball groups. And when a newcomer, Nil Fasakhov, appeared at the doorstep of Bren’s training hall in 1952, nobody could have imagined that this boy will grow up and years later, in 1960, he will compete as part of the USSR national team in Brazil and become world champion, thus writing his name in the annals of Tatarstan volleyball history. A volleyball tournament will be named after him 50 years later, the first edition taking place in Kazan in November, 2005.
We are all grateful to the people who laid the foundation for volleyball’s development in Tatastan: Isaac Bren, Nil Fasakhov, Igor Kudryakov, Vil Zaripov, Georgy Soldatov, Faat Faizullin, Viktor Nelyubin, Ernest Metropolsky, Vladimir Knyazev, Oleg Naumenko, Boris Gorshkov, Yury Fedorenko, Gennady Khokhlov, Alik Akhmetzyanov, Eduard Semyonov, Nikolay Polyantsev, Vasily Tonin, Igor Volkov.
Volleyball gained new impulse in Kazan, as Dynamo Kazan VC was founded in the middle of 1995. Top athletes were invited to train and play for Kazan’s volleyball club. Five years later, the Kazan professional volleyball team was founded on May 13th, 2000, by the decision of Tatarstan’s Ministry of the Interior and Kazan City Administration. First success came in four years. Dynamo VC became bronze medallist of the Russian Championship, and holder of the Russian Cup. In seven years the volleyball team claimed another national championship title. And eight years later, Dynamo VC took the European Champions Cup.
Dynamo changed its name to Dynamo-Tattransgaz, and was later renamed Zenit Kazan. Despite name change, the team never stopped winning. Zenit Kazan won the national championship four consecutive times (2009-2012), claimed three victories at the Russian Cups and two victories at the Supercups of Russia. As for international success, the team claimed world championship bronze medals in 2001 and 2009, Champions League silver in 2011, and in 2012 they became winners of the Champions League for the second time.

The women’s volleyball team Kazanochka was founded in 2002. Later the team changed its name to Dynamo Kazan. In 2011 Dynamo Kazan won in the Final of Four of the Russian Cup and claimed the national championship. In 2012 Dynamo Kazan took bronze at the Champions’ League and earned national gold again.