The 1940 Soviet football championship in Gruppa B () was fifth season of the (second tier) professional football competitions in the Soviet Union. It was also the second season after revival of the second tier competitions and the last season before the Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with the ongoing World War II.
The season started on 2 May 1940 (following the International Workers' Day) with matches in Ukraine and the Caucasus republics. The season ended on 27 October 1940 in Kiev.
Teams The league was reduced almost in half from 23 to 14 teams. The competitions were conducted in double round robin format where each team is playing with every other twice, at home and away.
Relegated Two teams were relegated from the 1939 Gruppa A FC Krasnaya Zaria Leningrad – 13th place (debut) FC Dinamo Odessa – 14th place (debut, merged with Pischevik) Former Dinamo Odessa players continued to play under Pischevik's colors.
Promoted FC Dinamo Minsk – Champion of the Belorussian SSR (debut) FC Pischevik Odessa – Runner-up of the Ukrainian SSR (debut)
Renamed FC Krasnaya Zaria Leningrad was previously known as FC Elektrik Leningrad FC Stroitel Baku was previously known as FC Temp Baku
League Standings
Top scorers RankScorerTeamGoals(Pen.)1Ivan BorisevichPischevik Odessa152Boris ChuchelovKrasnaya Zaria Leningrad14Aleksandr KorotkovTorpedo Gorkiy144Vasiliy GusarovDinamo Kharkov13Leonid OryekhovPischevik Odessa136Pavel BogatyryovSpartak Leningrad11Vasiliy PanfilovDinamo Minsk11Aram StepanovStroitel Baku119Artur ChalikyanSpartak Yerevan10Sergei ChernykhSpartak Leningrad10Aleksei SalakovTorpedo Gorkiy10Aleksandr SevidovPischevik Moscow10Ivan TalanovAvangard Leningrad10Pavel VinkovatovSelmash Kharkov10
Number of teams by republics Number Union republics Team(s)6FC Krasnaya Zaria Leningrad, FC Spartak Leningrad, FC Burevestnik Moscow, FC Avangard Leningrad, FC Pischevik MoscowFC Torpedo Gorky5FC Dinamo Kharkov, FC Pischevik Odessa, FC Lokomotiv Kiev, FC Sudostroitel Nikolaev, FC Selmash Kharkov1Stroitel Baku1FC Dinamo Minsk1FC Spartak Yerevan
See also Soviet First League
External links 1940 Group B. RSSSF