Sport in Russia

BY EVIE JENNINGS
Russia has enjoyed success in many sports ranging from football to ice
skating to athletics.
Their success has been showcased on the world stage at the Olympics, World
Championships, the World Cup and other national and international
competitions.
Apart from the typical sports we know, Russia also has it's own traditional
sports that are unique to them. Some have remained and developed into
games played today while some have died out of popularity.
Athletics

The All-Russia Athletics Federation was the governing body of Russia

Athletics, it is now the Russian Athletics Federation.
Athletics is an important sport in Russia, the country is considered the
leading country in the sport in Europe. Russia competes in international
competitions such as the Olympics and World Championships. In total, Russia
has won 25 Gold, 27 Silver and 25 Bronze medals in the Summer Olympics
since taking part as Russia in 1900.
Unfortunately, Russian athletics has been shadowed by doping scandals. In
2015, Russia was banned from competing in international competitions for
two years. Athletes who proved they have always run clean were able to
compete as an Authorised Neutral Athlete.
Some famous athletes include Yelena Isinbayeva (Pole Vaulting) Anna
Chicherova (High Jumper) Gulnara Samitova (Middle Distance)
 Football
The Russian national football team represents Russia in association football
and is controlled by the Russian Football Union, the governing body in Russia.
Football is the most popular sport in Russia, beating ice hockey. It has its own
Premier League made up of the best 16 teams in the country. The League is
regaining its former strength due to high financing, huge sponsorship by state-
owned companies and increasing competitiveness as 5 or 6 teams have the
potential to win each year.
The sport is played mainly by men and children but has seen a rise in the number
of women playing since the 2000s. Some of the most successful teams are
Spartak Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg.
In 2010, Russia was awarded the 2018 Fifa World Cup. It was the first time the
event was held in Russia and beat the USA for the largest country to host the
competition. An estimated 14.2 billion was spent on the event making it the most
expensive World Cup in history.
Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Russia, second only to
football. The Ice Hockey Federation of Russia is the governing body and they
have both a male and female national team.
The sport did not come to Russia until the 1940's, up until then they preferred
hockey with the ball. The first Soviet ice hockey championship took place in 1947,
and in 1954, making its debut in the world championship, the USSR team
sensationally took gold.
From 1963-1971 Russia won all major international championships, many
members of the team become 3-time Olympic champions. The wins fluctuated in
the 70s due to changes in coaching, but the team still remained the best in the
world. However, after the collapse of the USSR the success began to fade,
In the 90s many players travelled abroad to play, the positive of this being that
women's hockey gained popularity.
Now, hockey is regaining success with huge crowds watching the games. The
men's team took gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics for the first time since 1988,
where they competed as the Soviet Union.
 Gorodki

Gorodki is a traditional Russian version of golf. The whole point of the game is to aim and hurl a wooden bat to
knock target action figures (constructed of wooden props) out of the playing ground.
It is difficult to establish the exact time as to when Gorodki originated but references have been found in
ancient legends and fairy tales, as well as in chronicles of Old Russia.
Peter the First, Alexander Suvorov, Vladimir Lenin and even Joseph Stalin were recognized sports masters of
Gorodki. The sport was somewhat of a cult in the USSR, there were practically no stadiums or enterprises
without their own Gorodki playing field.
The once popular game is now only played by dedicated enthusiasts.
 Lapta
Lapta is the Russian version of baseball or cricket, though it outdates both. Lapta was
played in Russia before the adoption of Christianity and was picked up by visiting
vikings who tried to bring the game to Norway.
Lapta wooden bats and felt balls dated back to the 14th century were found by
archeologists showing no festival or holiday could do without Lapta on a par with
traditional fist fights.
Lapta is played by two teams of 5-12 people each on a level ground about 30 to 70m
large. One team is the 'Batsmen' and the others are 'taggers'. After a successful bat
blow on the ball a player of the batsmen team runs fast to reach the field margin i.e
home and then return. If he is tagged with the ball, the team of batsmen shifts to
tagging and vice versa. Very much like rounders.
The Russian writer Alexander Kuprin, who was also a fan of Lapta, wrote: “This folk
sports game is one of the most interesting and healthy games. It trains
resourcefulness, deep breath, attentiveness, fast run, keen eye, sure hand and eternal
confidence that you will not be defeated. There is no place for cowards and idlers in
this game. I heartily recommend this native Russian game”
 Figure skating is a sport that Russia has largely contributed to. Over 42 years, from 1964 to
2006, Olympic gold in the pairs figure skating was only won by athletes from the Soviet Union,
and then Russia. The series of victories was broken by a pair from China but at the 2014
Olympics in Sochi, the Russians won again.
The most successful figure skater in history was Russian. Irina Rodnina, who won three
Olympics and 10 world championships in a row, which even a change of partner could not
prevent.
In 1976, ice dancing was included in the Olympic program and the Russian pairing of Pakhomova

Figure Skating and Gorshkov won. Their numbers were full of moves inspired by Russian ballet and really
helped the sport to develop. From then until the beginning of the 2000s, Russia was invincible in
the sport.
The Soviet and then Russian school of figure skating has had a huge impact on the sport's
evolution. Many of the most complex elements were invented and first demonstrated by
athletes from Russia. A profound approach to figures, continuity and impeccable technique are
all distinctive features of 'Russian-style' figure skating.
In 2018 at the Winter Olympics, Alina Zagitova became the youngest figure skater to win Olympic
gold in the ladies singles at the age of 15 years and 281 days. She also won a silver in the team
event with other Russian skaters
 Australian Rules Football
The first Australian rules football clubs in Russia were created in May 2011, with groups
starting practice matches in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk within a few weeks of each
other. Both fledgling clubs have been started by an expat Australian, but with the
remainder of the playing group consisting of local Russians.
Russia competed at the 2011 AFL 9s Euro Cup in Belfast, finishing in 10th place (out of
18), with wins over Catalunya and Denmark and losses to Croatia and Wales.
In 2013 there are five Australian Football clubs playing in a Moscow competition almost
exclusively Russians. They are the Bees, Cherkizon, Shooters, Cosmic Pirates and
Slava.
In 2015 St. Petersburg Cats team firstly took part in Gagarin Cup, ANZAC Cup and
Concrete and Steel cup. In 2015 May, the ANZAC Day Cup was played for the first time
in Saint Petersburg at the Kolomyagi Stadium. The visiting team representing Moscow
was the Lazy Koalas. The result was very lopsided, but the fact that a formal game was
played outside Australia at all for such an insignificant sport was considered a
success.
 Russian Boxing

Russian Boxing is the traditional bare-knuckle boxing of Russia. The earliest accounts concerning the sport
date to the 13th century.
The fights most often took place in holiday times and in crowded places. In winter it took place on ice. First the
young children fought, then every pair was more grown up than the previous, ending with the last and most
notable fist fighters.
Every region in Russia incorporated different rules unlike the sport of boxing. In some places they fought
with bare arms, while in other they stretched the sleeves over the fists. There were cases where participants
would cheat by putting iron under their sleeves.
There were several versions of the singles fight. One version was like modern boxing, where one fighter hits
the other wherever he wants or can. The other version is when the fighters take turns hitting each other.
Escaping from a punch, answering it not on turn, and moving aside were not allowed; all that could be done
was to use the hands to try to protect one's own body. Victory could come in few cases where one boxer
would fall, first blood was spilled or someone gave up.
The "wall-on-wall" fight (with
anywhere from dozen to several
hundreds participants) was
performed strictly by rules and could
go on for hours.

Both "walls" had a chief fighter, who

served as a tactician and a
commanding officer. "Walls"
themselves were tight straight
formations 3-4 ranks deep. Repeated
attacks were performed, aiming to
push the opposing "wall" out of the
game area.

Basic tactics were used, such as

breaching using heavy fighters (who
were usually held in reserve),
encircling, false retreat and others;
but as a rule, tight wall formation
never broke. Tactics also included
battle planning.