1981 Soviet First League
| Season | 1981 | 
|---|---|
| ← 1980  1982 →  | |
The 1981 Soviet First League was the eleventh season of the Soviet First League and the 41st season of the Soviet second tier league competition.
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png) Metalist Kharkiv (C, P) | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 62 | Promotion to Top League | 
| 2 | .svg.png) Torpedo Kutaisi (P) | 46 | 26 | 4 | 16 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 56 | |
| 3 | .svg.png) Lokomotiv Moscow | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 54[a] | |
| 4 | .svg.png) Shinnik Yaroslavl | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 52 | |
| 5 | .svg.png) Kolos Nikopol | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 68 | 53 | +15 | 51 | |
| 6 | .svg.png) Žalgiris Vilnius | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 46[a] | |
| 7 | .svg.png) Iskra Smolensk | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 46 | |
| 8 | .svg.png) Nistru Kishinev | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 46 | |
| 9 | %252C_Flag_of_Tajikistan_(1991%E2%80%931992).svg.png) Pamir Dushanbe | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 45 | |
| 10 | .svg.png) Fakel Voronezh | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 44 | |
| 11 | .svg.png) Karpaty Lvov | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | |
| 12 | .svg.png) Spartak Kostroma | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 44[a] | |
| 13 | .svg.png) Metallurg Zaporozhia | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 44[a] | |
| 14 | .svg.png) Guria Lanchkhuti | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 44[a] | |
| 15 | .svg.png) Zarya Voroshilovgrad | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 44[a] | |
| 16 | .svg.png) SKA Odessa | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 44[a] | |
| 17 | .svg.png) SKA Kiev | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 59 | 71 | −12 | 42 | |
| 18 | .svg.png) Buston Dzhizak | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 41 | |
| 19 | .svg.png) SKA Khabarovsk | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 40 | |
| 20 | .svg.png) Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk[b] (R) | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 40[a] | Relegation to Second League | 
| 21 | .svg.png) Spartak Ordjonikidze (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 40 | |
| 22 | .svg.png) Kuzbass Kemerovo (R) | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 40 | |
| 23 | .svg.png) Dinamo Stavropol (R) | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 38[a] | |
| 24 | %253B_Flag_of_Kazakhstan_(1991%E2%80%931992).svg.png) Traktor Pavlodar (R) | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 36[a] | 
Top scorers
| # | Player | Club | Goals | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravil Sharipov | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 26 (6) | 
| 2 | Vladimir Mukhanov | Lokomotiv Moscow | 22 (1) | 
| 3 | Gennady Smirnov | Fakel Voronezh | 21 (2) | 
| Viktor Nastashevskyi | SKA Kiev | 21 (2) | |
| 5 | Oleh Taran | SKA Odessa | 20 | 
| 6 | Devizi Dardzhania | Torpedo Kutaisi | 19 (1) | 
| 7 | Nodar Bachiashvili | Metallist Kharkov | 17 | 
| 8 | Yuriy Koryukov | Nistru Kishenev | 15 | 
| 9 | Valeriy Tursunov | Pamir Dushanbe | 14 (1) |