Designed in 1922 by Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, CSKA was established in 1923 by then-Soviet leader Josef Stalin as part of the Ministry of Defense. CSKA is the Central Army Sports Club. Based in Moscow, CSKA provides training in all Olympic sports. The historic CSKA Sports Club (known as the Greater CSKA) is still affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russian presidents of the time also served as honorary presidents of the Greater CSKA. President Vladimir Putin is the current honorary president of the Greater CSKA.
CSKA Moscow has produced numerous Olympic and World Champions in its 100-year history. It holds a distinguished reputation as the sports club that has won the most medals at the Olympics thanks to the athletes it has sent to the Olympics. Currently, it operates 32 major athlete training centers across Russia. These centers train tens of thousands of children and young people to become future champions.