1981 Soviet First League
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.
Top scorers
| # | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ravil Sharipov | Metallurg Zaporozhye | 26 |
| 2 | Vladimir Mukhanov | Lokomotiv Moscow | 22 |
| 3 | Gennady Smirnov | Fakel Voronezh | 21 |
| 3 | Viktor Nastashevskyi | SKA Kiev | 21 |
| 5 | Oleh Taran | SKA Odessa | 20 |
| 6 | Devizi Dardzhania | Torpedo Kutaisi | 19 |
| 7 | Nodar Bachiashvili | Metallist Kharkov | 17 |
| 8 | Yuriy Koryukov | Nistru Kishenev | 15 |
| 9 | Valeriy Tursunov | Pamir Dushanbe | 14 |
Attendances
| # | Football club | Average |
| 1 | Metalist Kharkiv | 23,570 |
| 2 | Torpedo Kutaisi | 19,957 |
| 3 | Fakel | 14,504 |
| 4 | Dinamo Stavropol | 12,400 |
| 5 | Traktor Pavlodar | 11,926 |
| 6 | Shinnik | 10,783 |
| 7 | Metalurh Zaporizhya | 10,348 |
| 8 | Nistru | 10,139 |
| 9 | Spartak Kostroma | 9,965 |
| 10 | Khabarovsk | 9,578 |
| 11 | Buston Dzhizak | 9,070 |
| 12 | Kuzbass | 9,026 |
| 13 | Iskra | 8,757 |
| 14 | Zorya | 8,743 |
| 15 | Guria | 8,630 |
| 16 | Kolos Nikopol | 8,357 |
| 17 | Prykarpattia | 8,000 |
| 18 | CSKA Pamir | 7,500 |
| 19 | Karpaty | 6,570 |
| 20 | Odessa | 6,457 |
| 21 | Spartak Ordzhonikidze | 6,000 |
| 22 | SKA Kyiv | 4,461 |
| 23 | Žalgiris | 4,122 |
| 24 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 2,204 |
Source: