This article examines the main approaches and assessments that were given in Russian and foreign scientific literature to the Red Sports International (Sportintern, RSI). The author shows the context of mentioning the organization in scientific literature and identifies controversial issues in its history. The article analyzes the source base of existing works on the his-tory of Sportintern in the context of the archival revolution of the 1990s. and documents from the Sportintern fund in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI). The author shows the differences between Russian and for-eign approaches to the history of Sportintern, differences in assessments of its activities. The author traces how the per-ception of RSI has changed in Soviet and Russian historiog-raphy, notes the peculiarities of the views of individual au-thors on the factors of the creation of the Sport International, the goals and objectives of its activities, the role of individual historical characters in the activities of the Sports Internation-al. Particular attention is paid to the issue of the initiator of the creation of Sportintern and the role of N. I. Podvoisky in the formation and development of the organization. Special attention is paid to the activities of the RSI in Latin America and the Latin American historiography of the work of Sportintern in the countries of the region.