DOSAAF

DOSAAF (Russian: ДОСААФ), full name Volunteer Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy (Russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту, romanized: Dobrovol'noe obshchestvo sodeystviya armii, aviatsii i flotu), was a paramilitary sport organization in the Soviet Union that was concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was established in 1927 as OSOAVIAKhIM and from 1951 to 1991 carried the name of DOSAAF. Individual divisions of the society were inherited and maintained by several post-Soviet governments, namely the Russian DOSAAF and Belarusian DOSAAF. The DOSAAF of the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was renamed the Russian Defense Sports-Technical Organization (ROSTO; Russian: Российская оборонная спортивно-техническая организация – РОСТО, romanized: Rossiyskaya oboronnaya sportivno-tekhnicheskaya organizatsiya) in December 1991; however in 2009 it reverted to its former Soviet title. The stated goal of the society was "patriotic upbringing of the population and preparation of it to the defense of the Motherland." Among the means to achieve that was the development of paramilitary sports. Initially, an important goal was financial support of the Soviet Armed Forces. At the same time, ordinary sports were supported within the framework of DOSAAF facilities such as sports halls, stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums and others.