Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has hailed the arrival of the first all-athlete military units since Soviet times as a part of the strategy for the development of sport and the state.

      Thirty-six athletes who could represent Russia at the Sochi Olympics took their military oath Sunday at Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow. This is just a first step in a big campaign to burnish the country’s sporting reputation ahead of the Winter Games.

      In March, the Defense Ministry unveiled the first unit, with about 150 conscripted athletes set to serve in a division associated with CSK Samara, which also owns professional basketball and hockey teams. It is expected to form more units in the coming months with a total roster of 400 men between the conscription ages of 18 and 27. They will be able to continue their training while fulfilling mandatory military service.

      The program hearkens back to the Soviet Union, when sporting units – populated with star athletes exempt from regular service – were common in the Soviet army.