1990 Soviet First League was part of the Soviet football competition in the second league division. After the fall of the Soviet Union some clubs left the Soviet competitions and the league was reduced.
Teams
Promoted teams
Dinamo Sukhumi – Winner of the Second League finals (returning after an absence of 28 seasons)
Tiras Tiraspol – Winner of the Second League finals (returning after an absence of 28 seasons)
Prior to the start of the season Textilshchik Tiraspol was renamed to Tiras Tiraspol.
Withdrawn teams
Prior to the start of the season all Georgian clubs (with the exception of Dinamo Sukhumi, a majority-Russian club from Abkhazia) withdrew from Soviet competitions. This included two First League clubs, FC Torpedo Kutaisi and FC Dinamo Batumi. Because of that the league was reduced to 20 as compared to the previous season of 22 participants.