The bottom six teams from the regular season of the Soviet Championship League participated in this competition along with the 12 squads from the second-tier league. The teams were officially ranked from 7th-24th place in the top-level Soviet League. The top six teams qualified for the 1969-70 Soviet League season, squads placed 13th-22nd were eligible for the Pervaya Liga (Klass A, group 1), while the bottom two teams were consigned to the Vtoraya Liga (Klass A, group 2).