| Season | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dinamo Kiev |
| Relegated | SKA Rostov-na-Donu,Tavriya Simferopol |
| European Cup | Dinamo Kiev |
| Cup Winners' Cup | SKA Rostov-na-Donu |
| UEFA Cup | Spartak Moscow Dinamo Moscow Dinamo Tbilisi |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 779 (2.55 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | (23)Ramaz Shengelia (Dinamo Tb.) |
←1980 1982 → | |
Statistics ofSoviet Top League for the 1981 season.
It was contested by 18 teams, andDynamo Kyiv won the championship.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 53 | Qualification forEuropean Cup first round | |
| 2 | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 70 | 40 | +30 | 46 | Qualification forUEFA Cup first round | |
| 3 | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 35 | +27 | 42 | ||
| 4 | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 40 | ||
| 5 | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 38[a] | Qualification forCup Winners' Cup first round | |
| 6 | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 37 | ||
| 7 | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 34 | ||
| 8 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 32 | ||
| 9 | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 32[b] | ||
| 10 | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 32[c] | ||
| 11 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 31 | ||
| 12 | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 30[c] | ||
| 13 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 29 | ||
| 14 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 29 | ||
| 15 | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 28 | ||
| 16 | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 26 | Relegation toFirst League | |
| 17 | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 23 | ||
| 18 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 34 | 58 | −24 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | ARA | CHO | CSK | DNI | DYK | DMN | DYN | DTB | KAI | KUB | NEF | PAK | SHA | SKA | SPA | TAV | TOR | ZEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ararat Yerevan | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | |
| Chornomorets Odessa | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| CSKA Moscow | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Dnipro | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| Dinamo Minsk | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Dynamo Moscow | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| Kairat Alma-Ata | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | |
| Neftçi Baku | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Pakhtakor Tashkent | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
| SKA Rostov-on-Don | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | |
| Spartak Moscow | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Tavriya Simferopol | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| Torpedo Moscow | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Zenit Leningrad | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)