The Soviet Union (USSR) competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 272 competitors, 233 men and 39 women, took part in 135 events in 17 sports. The Netherlands, Spain, the Netherlands Antilles, Egypt, Lebanon, Cambodia, Iraq and Switzerland protested against Soviet participating amidst their invasion of Hungary by boycotting the games.
Medalists The USSR finished first in the final medal rankings, with 37 gold and 98 total medals.
|style="text-align:left;width:78%;vertical-align:top"| Gold Valentin Muratov — Artistic gymnastics, men's floor exercise Larisa Latynina — Artistic gymnastics, women's floor exercise Viktor Chukarin — Artistic gymnastics, men's individual all-round Larisa Latynina — Artistic gymnastics, women's individual all-round Victor Chukarin — Artistic gymnastics, men's parallel bars Boris Shakhlin — Artistic gymnastics, men's pommel horse Albert Azaryan — Artistic gymnastics, men's rings Victor Chukarin, Valentin Muratov, Boris Shakhlin, Albert Azaryan, Yuri Titov, Pavel Stolbov — Artistic gymnastics, men's team competition Tamara Manina, Larisa Latynina, Sofia Muratova, Lidiya Kalinina-Ivanova, Polina Astakhova, Lyudmila Egorova — Artistic gymnastics, women's team competition Valentin Muratov — Artistic gymnastics, men's vault Larisa Latynina — Artistic gymnastics, women's vault Vladimir Kuts — Athletics, men's 10000 m Leonid Spirin — Athletics, men's 20 km walk Vladimir Kuts — Athletics, men's 5000 m Inese Jaunzeme — Athletics, women's javelin throw Tamara Tyshkevich — Athletics, women's shot put Vladimir Safronov — Boxing, men's featherweight Vladimir Yengibaryan — Boxing, men's light-welterweight Gennadi Shatkov — Boxing, men's 71–75 kg Pavel Kharin, Gratsian Botev — Canoeing, men's C-2 10000 m Elizaveta Dementyeva — Canoeing, women's K-1 500 m Lev Yashin, Nikolai Tishchenko, Mikhail Okonkov, Aleksei Paramonov, Anatoli Bashashkin, Igor Netto, Boris Tatushin, Anatoli Isayev, Eduard Streltsov, Valentin Ivanov, Vladimir Ryzhkin, Boris Kuznetsov, Iosif Betsa, Sergei Salnikov, Boris Razinsky, Anatoli Maslenkin, Anatoli Ilyin and Nikita Simonyan — Football (soccer), men's team competition Igor Novikov, Ivan Deryugin, Aleksandr Tarasov — Modern pentathlon, men's team competition Aleksandr Berkutov, Yuriy Tyukalov — Rowing, men's double sculls Vyacheslav Ivanov — Rowing, men's single sculls Vitali Romanenko — Shooting, men's 100 m running deer, single/double shots Vasily Borisov — Shooting, men's 300 m free rifle 3 positions Anatoli Bogdanov — Shooting, men's 50 m rifle 3 positions Igor Rybak — Weightlifting, men's lightweight Fedor Bogdanovsky — Weightlifting, men's middleweight Arkady Vorobyov — Weightlifting, men's middle-heavyweight Mirian Tsalkalamanidze — Wrestling, men's freestyle flyweight Anatoli Parfenov — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman super-heavyweight Nikolai Soloviev — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman flyweight Konstantin Vyrupaev — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman bantamweight Givi Kartoziya — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman middleweight Valentin Nikolayev — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman light-heavyweight
Silver Tamara Manina — Artistic gymnastics, women's balance beam Victor Chukarin — Artistic gymnastics, men's floor exercise Yuri Titov — Artistic gymnastics, men's horizontal bar Valentin Muratov — Artistic gymnastics, men's rings Larisa Latynina — Artistic gymnastics, women's uneven bars Tamara Manina — Artistic gymnastics, women's vault Antanas Mikenas — Athletics, men's 20 km walk Leonid Bartenev, Yuriy Konovalov, Vladimir Sukharev, Boris Tokarev — Athletics, men's 4 × 100 m relay Yevgeniy Maskinskov — Athletics, men's 50 km walk Irina Beglyakova — Athletics, women's discus throw Mikhail Krivonosov — Athletics, men's hammer throw Mariya Pisareva — Athletics, women's high jump Galina Zybina — Athletics, women's shot put Valdis Muizhniek, Maigonis Valdmanis, Vladimir Torban, Stasys Stonkus, Kazys Petkevičius, Arkadi Bochkarev, Jānis Krūmiņš, Mikhail Semyonov, Algirdas Lauritenas, Yuri Ozerov, Viktor Zubkov, Mikhail Studenetsky — Basketball, men's team competition Lev Mukhin — Boxing, men's heavyweight Pavel Kharin, Gratsian Botev — Canoeing, men's C-2 1000 m Igor Pissarev — Canoeing, men's K-1 1000 m Mikhail Kaaleste, Anatoli Demitkov — Canoeing, men's K-2 1000 m Igor Buldakov, Viktor Ivanov — Rowing, men's coxless pair Yevgeni Cherkasov — Shooting, men's 25 m rapid fire pistol Allan Erdman — Shooting, men's 300 m free rifle 3 positions Makhmud Umarov — Shooting, men's 50 m pistol Vasily Borisov — Shooting, men's 50 m rifle prone Vladimir Stogov — Weightlifting, men's bantamweight Yevgeni Minaev — Weightlifting, men's featherweight Ravil Khabutdinov — Weightlifting, men's lightweight Vasili Stepanov — Weightlifting, men's light-heavyweight Boris Kulayev — Wrestling, men's freestyle light-heavyweight Vladimir Maneev — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman welterweight
Bronze Yuri Titov — Artistic gymnastics, men's individual all-round Sofia Muratova — Artistic gymnastics, women's individual all-round Victor Chukarin — Artistic gymnastics, men's pommel horse Tamara Manina, Larisa Latynina, Sofia Muratova, Lidiya Kalinina-Ivanova, Polina Astakhova, Lyudmila Egorova — Artistic gymnastics, women's team, portable apparatus Sofia Muratova — Artistic gymnastics, women's uneven bars Yuri Titov — Artistic gymnastics, men's vault Bruno Junk — Athletics, men's 20 km walk Ardalion Ignatyev — Athletics, men's 400 m Vasili Kuznetsov — Athletics, men's decathlon Nina Romashkova — Athletics, women's discus throw Anatoli Samotsvetov — Athletics, men's hammer throw Igor Kashkarov — Athletics, men's high jump Viktor Tsybulenko — Athletics, men's javelin throw Nadezhda Konyaeva — Athletics, women's javelin throw Nadezhda Khnykina-Dvalishvili — Athletics, women's long jump Vitold Kreer — Athletics, men's triple jump Anatoli Lagetko — Boxing, men's lightweight Romualdas Murauskas — Boxing, men's light-heavyweight Gennady Bukharin — Canoeing, men's C-1 10000 m Gennady Bukharin — Canoeing, men's C-1 1000 m Lev Kuznetsov — Fencing, men's sabre individual Yakov Rylsky, David Tyshler, Lev Kuznetsov, Yevgeni Cherepovsky, Leonid Bogdanov — Fencing, men's sabre team Igor Emchuk, Heorhiy Zhylin, Vladimir Petrov — Rowing, men's pair-oared shell with coxswain Vladimir Sevryugin — Shooting, men's 100 m running deer, single/double shots Kharis Yunichev — Swimming, men's 200 m breaststroke Vitali Sorokin, Vladimir Struzhanov, Gennadi Nikolaev, Boris Nikitin — Swimming, men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay Boris Goikhman, Valentin Prokopov, Yuri Shlyapin, Vyacheslav Kurennoi, Pyotr Breus, Pyotr Mshvenieradze, Boris Markarov, Mikhail Ryzhak, Viktor Ageev and Nodar Gvakhariya — Water polo, men's team competition Mikhail Shakhov — Wrestling, men's freestyle bantamweight Alimbeg Bestaev — Wrestling, men's freestyle lightweight Vakhtang Balavadze — Wrestling, men's freestyle welterweight Georgi Skhirtladze — Wrestling, men's freestyle middleweight Roman Dzeneladze — Wrestling, men's Greco-Roman featherweight |style="text-align:left;width:22%;vertical-align:top"|
+ Medals by sportSportTotalGymnastics116623Wrestling62513Athletics571022Shooting3418Weightlifting3407Boxing3126Canoeing2327Rowing2114Football1001Modern pentathlon1001Basketball0101Fencing0022Swimming0022Water polo0011Total37293298
+ Multiple medalistsNameSportTotalLarisa LatyninaGymnastics4116Viktor ChukarinGymnastics3115Valentin MuratovGymnastics3104Albert AzaryanGymnastics2002Vladimir KutsAthletics2002Boris ShakhlinGymnastics2002Tamara ManinaGymnastics1214Yuri TitovGymnastics1124Sofia MuratovaGymnastics1034Vasily BorisovShooting1102Gratsian BotevCanoeing1102Pavel KharinCanoeing1102Lyudmila YegorovaGymnastics1012Lidiya IvanovaGymnastics1012Polina AstakhovaGymnastics1012Lev KuznetsovFencing0022
Athletics
Men's 110 m hurdles Boris Stolyarov Heat — 14.4s Semifinals — 14.5s Final — 14.6s (→ 6th place)
Anatoly Mikhailov Heat — 14.5s (→ did not advance)
Men's marathon Ivan Filine — 2:30:37 (→ 7th place) Boris Grichaev — did not finish (→ no ranking) Albert Ivanov — did not finish (→ no ranking)
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing
Men Men's C-1 1,000 metres Gennady Bukharin Men's C-1 10,000 metres Gennady Bukharin Men's C-2 1,000 metres Pavel Kharin, Gratsian Botev Men's C-2 10,000 metres Pavel Kharin, Gratsian Botev Men's K-1 1,000 metres Igor Pisarev Men's K-1 10,000 metres Igor Pisarev (5th) Men's K-2 1000 metres Mikhail Kaaleste, Anatoly Demitkov Men's K-2 10,000 metres Yevgeny Yatsinenko, Sergey Klimov
Women Women's K-1 500 metres Yelizaveta Dementyeva
Cycling
Sprint Boris Romanov — 7th place
Time trial Boris Savostin — 1:12.3 (→ 5th place)
Tandem Rostislav VargashkinVladimir Leonov — 9th place
Team pursuit Eduard GusevRodislav ChizhikovViktor IlyinVolodymyr Mitin — 8th place
Team road race Anatoly CherepovichMykola KolumbetViktor Kapitonov — 63 points (→ 6th place)
Individual road race Anatoly Cherepovich — 5:23:50 (→ 15th place) Mykola Kolumbet — 5:23:50 (→ 16th place) Viktor Kapitonov — 5:30:45 (→ 32nd place) Viktor Vershinin — 5:34:21 (→ 35th place)
Diving
Men AthleteEventPreliminaryFinalPointsRankPointsRankTotalRankRoman Brener3 m springboard83.824 Q55.328139.146Yury Kasakov74.6812 Q54.669129.349Gennady Udalov83.066 Q57.585140.645Roman Brener10 m platform76.565 Q66.395142.955Mikhail Chachba73.028 Q61.508134.528Gennady Galkin68.9213Did not advance
Women AthleteEventPreliminaryFinalPointsRankPointsRankTotalRankZoya Blyuvas3 m springboard62.129 Q36.031298.1511Valentina Chumicheva65.425 Q53.083118.505Ninel Krutova61.5410 Q38.8010100.3410Raisa Gorokhovskaya10 m platform52.642 Q21.201273.849Tatyana Karakashyants52.193 Q24.76776.955Lyubov Zhigalova49.228 Q27.18576.406
Fencing
20 fencers, 17 men and 3 women, represented the Soviet Union in 1956.
Men's foil Mark Midler Yury Rudov Iuri Osip'ovi
Men's team foil Yury Rudov, Iuri Osip'ovi, Mark Midler, Aleksandr Ovsyankin, Viktor Zhdanovich, Yury Ivanov
Men's épée Arnold Chernushevich Revaz Tsirek'idze Juozas Ūdras
Men's team épée Arnold Chernushevich, Valentin Chernikov, Lev Saychuk, Revaz Tsirek'idze, Juozas Ūdras, Valentin Vdovichenko
Men's sabre Lev Kuznetsov Yevgeny Cherepovsky Yakov Rylsky
Men's team sabre Lev Kuznetsov, Yakov Rylsky, Yevgeny Cherepovsky, David Tyshler, Leonid Bogdanov
Women's foil Emma Yefimova Valentina Rastvorova Nadezhda Shitikova
Football
Gymnastics
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented the Soviet Union in 1956. The Soviet pentathletes won gold in the team event.
Individual Igor Novikov Aleksandr Tarasov Ivan Deriuhin
Team Igor Novikov Aleksandr Tarasov Ivan Deriuhin
Rowing
The Soviet Union had 25 male rowers participate in seven rowing events in 1956.
Men's single sculls – 1st place ( gold medal) Vyacheslav Ivanov (Вячеслав Иванов)
Men's double sculls – 1st place ( gold medal) Aleksandr Berkutov (Александр Беркутов) Yuriy Tyukalov (Юрий Тюкалов)
Men's coxless pair – 2nd place ( silver medal) Igor Buldakov (Игорь Булдаков) Viktor Ivanov (Виктор Иванов)
Men's coxed pair – 3rd place ( bronze medal) Ihor Yemchuk (Ihor Yemchuk, Игорь Емчук) Heorhiy Zhylin (Georgy Zhilin, Георгий Жилин) Vladimir Petrov (Владимир Петров)
Men's coxless four Leonid Zakharov (Леонид Захаров) Aleksandr Sheff (Александр Шефф) Nikolay Karasyov (Николай Карасёв) Igor Ivanov (Игорь Иванов)
Men's coxed four Andrey Arkhipov (Андрей Архипов) Yury Popov (Юрий Попов) Valentin Zanin (Валентин Занин) Yaroslav Cherstvy (Ярослав Черствый) Anatoly Fetisov (Анатолий Фетисов)
Men's eight Ernest Verbin (Эрнест Вербин) Boris Fyodorov (Борис Фёдоров) Slava Amiragov (Слава Амирагов) Leonid Gissen (Леонид Гиссен) Yevgeny Samsonov (Евгений Самсонов) Anatoly Antonov (Анатолий Антонов) Georgy Gushchenko (Георгий Гущенко) Vladimir Kryukov (Владимир Крюков)