For many years since, many of the Soviet Union's and Russia's greatest athletes, including Nikolai Puchkov, Anatoly Roshchin, Viktor Zhdanovich, and Nikolay Bazhukov took up their studies in the College as part of their military service, while being honed in their athletic talents not just for national defense but also to bolster its standing in the global arena as a sporting powerhouse, having won many accolades in national and international competitions, including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the European Games and the Military World Games.