The Soviet Union (USSR) competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Soviet and later Russian athletes never finished below fourth place in the number of gold and total medals collected at the Summer Olympics in which they competed. Russia has the most medals stripped for doping violations (51), the most of any country, four times the number of the runner-up, and nearly a third of the global total. The Russian team was partially banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics due to the state-sponsored doping scandal.[4][5] Russian athletes were allowed to participate at the 2018 Olympics under a neutral flag with a name "Olympic Athletes from Russia".
Bandy is a winter sport that is similar to Ice Hockey but instead being played with a puck it is played with a small ball.
It is considered a national sport, and is one of the biggest spectator sports. According to one survey, it is the third most popular sport in Russia. The Federation of International Bandy was founded in 1955, by the Soviet Union and three Nordic countries. Bandy is the only sport to enjoy the patronage of the Russian Orthodox Church since they're very interested in strengthening their national traditions.
Russia is by far one of the most successful if not the successful in sport. Russia has won 39 medals including 26 golds (the most out of any nation) at the Bandy World Championships and holds the record for the most consecutive gold medals.
Lapta
Lapta is a Russian folk team game with a ball and a bat. The game is played on a natural playground. The goal of the game is to send the ball into the field by hitting the bat, run across the field to the opposite side (kona) and return back without letting the opponent "light up" with the ball. For each run, the team is awarded points. The team that scores the most points in a given time wins. Sports related to lapta include baseball and cricket.
Gorodki
Gorodki is an old Russian folk sports game. In this game, it is necessary to "knock out" various shapes by throwing bits from certain distances.
The essence of the game is to throw bits (sticks) to knock out of the "city" (hence the name) alternately a certain number of figures made up of 5 towns — cylindrical columns of birch, linden, beech. The main task is to spend as few shots as possible on knocking out 15 pieces. Those who used fewer attempts in the first three rounds won.
Dimensions of the court ("city") — 2 × 2 m; distance from the place of throws: far ("con") - 13 m, near ("half-con") - 6.5 m; length of towns-20 cm, their diameter-4.5-5 cm; bat length — no more than 1 m. Pieces from the " con " are knocked out, but if at least one town is knocked out of the piece, the rest are knocked out from the "half-con". But the "letter" is knocked out only from the "con". A small town is considered knocked out if it is completely outside the lines of the square or moustache. Towns that roll out of the front (front) line of the square or into the moustache area are considered unbroken. The" stamp "in the" letter " is considered knocked out if neither it nor the bat hit other towns.
Chizh
In order to play this game, you will need a "chizhik" - a round stick with a length of 10-15 cm and a diameter of 2-3 cm, pointed at both ends, as well as a bast shoe-a board with a length of 60-80 cm, one end of which is hewn to make it easier to hold in your hand.
A square of 0.5-1.0 m is drawn on the site (the larger the site, the larger the square). In the middle of the square (house) put "siskin". One player is a batter, the rest are catchers, who move to the edge of the court and stand in a chain one at a time, agreeing who will catch the "siskin" after whom.
The batter hits the end of the chizhik with the edge of his bast shoes, makes it fly into the air, and with the second blow tries to beat it away into the field. The hunter tries to catch the "siskin". If he succeeds, he gets one point and the right to be a batter, and the previous batter becomes the last in the chain. If the catcher does not catch the "chizhik", then he must throw the "chizhik" into the house from the place of its fall, and the batter repels it with bast shoes. If the catcher throws a "chizhik" into the house, he gets one point, if not, then the batter knocks the "chizhik" again and hits it into the field, and the catcher catches again.
Baker
Draw a small circle on the asphalt and put a tin can in it. Steps are measured from the jar and several lines are drawn. Each player finds himself a rather long stick. Select "baker".
The "baker", also with a stick, is guarding the jar. And the players must take turns with their sticks to knock the jar out of the circle. They all start with "jack", then move on to "queen" and so on. If the stick did not hit the jar, it remains lying where it fell. The next player throws. Let's assume that he also didn't hit, and his stick also remains down. When, finally, someone still knocks down the jar, the "baker" should put it back in its place as soon as possible. And everyone rushes to their sticks. As soon as the pot is set, the "baker" starts using a stick to drive players away from their sticks. Whoever he touches is out of the game. Whoever picks up their stick moves to the next line. If the "baker" is carried away by the chase, then the one who has already raised his stick can again push the jar away. Then the "baker" stops chasing and runs after the jar. When all the sticks are picked up, the game continues. Once you can hide from the" baker " behind your own line.
Konyashki
Konyashki is an Old Slavic version of polo. Only the role of horses here is performed by people, clubs are replaced by hands, and balls are replaced by other "riders". Players are divided into two "troops". Each "army", in turn, consists of "horsemen" and "horses". The riders were usually girls who climbed on the backs of boys. The task of the players is simple – to unbalance the other pair. The longest standing pair wins. There are no official competitions.
Russia's Galsan Bazarzhapov and Elena Osipova are currently ranked in the Top 3 for Recurve Archery while Natalia Avdeeva is ranked in the Top 5 for Compound Archery. Russia's Women's Recurve and Compound team is ranked 7th in the World while its Mixed Compound Team is ranked 5th.
Aquatics
Artistic swimming
Russia has dominated Artistic swimming on the international stage by winning every event between 2000 and 2020 at the Olympics. Russian Artistic Swimmers have also won 66 medals at the World Championships (60 of those were gold) and 56 medals at the European Championships.
Svetlana Romashina is highly regarded to be the greatest artistic swimmer of all time by winning 43 gold medals at the Olympics, World and European Championships. Aleksandr Maltsev is the most titled male artistic swimmer in the world with 10 gold medals at various World and European Championships and recognized as the best male artistic swimmer in the world by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021) and as the best male artistic swimmer in Europe by the European Swimming League (LEN) (2019, 2021).
One traditionally popular sport is bandy (informally called "Russian hockey"). It is considered a national sport,[11] and is one of the biggest spectator sports.[12] According to one survey, it is the third most popular sport in Russia.[13] The Federation of International Bandy was founded in 1955, by the Soviet Union and three Nordic countries. Bandy is the only sport to enjoy the patronage of the Russian Orthodox Church since they're very interested in strengthening their national traditions.[14]
After the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Federation of International Bandy excluded Russia from participating in the 2022 Women's Bandy World Championship.[16] The men's 2020 Bandy World Championship, since before postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was to be held in Russia but was cancelled on 1 March 2022, after Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the United States announced that they would not take part in the competition in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[17][18][19][20] Before the start of their games, the players of four Russian bandy teams formed a ‘Z’ on the field, which is the letter symbolizing the Russian tanks that have invaded Ukraine.[21]
Biathlon
Biathlon is the most popular winter sport in Russia and ranking 1st in overall polls and TV viewership for the winter seasons. Russia has had successful biathletes and has won Olympic and World medals.[citation needed] As a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Biathlon Union banned the participation of Russian athletes and officials at its international events, and began procedures to suspend the Russian Biathlon Federation.[22][23]
Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia. In the 1960s the Soviet Union won a number of medals in figure skating, especially in pairs skating and ice dancing. At every Winter Olympics from 1964 through 2006, a Soviet or Russian pair won gold. The streak ended in 2010 when a Chinese pair won gold in 2010 Winter Olympics, a Russian pair returned to winning gold in pairs at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[citation needed]
The Russian Figure Skating Championships are held annually to determine the national champions of Russia. Skaters compete in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The first Russian national competition was held in 1878 in St. Petersburg. Between 1924 and 1990 Russian national championships in figure skating were not held. During this time, Russian skaters competed at the Soviet Figure Skating Championships.[citation needed]
Vladimir Putin and head coach of the Russian short track speed skating team Sébastien Cross
Long track speed skating has a tradition in Russia since the Russian Empire, and then in the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation won medals in speed skating in World Championships and World Cups.[citation needed] Although short track speed skating is not as popular as long track in terms of results in Russia, it saw a major boost in popularity after the 2014 Sochi Olympics[citation needed].
Also after the Russian invasion, the International Luge Federation banned all Russian athletes, coaches, and officials from its events.[26] It also suspended all Russian officials appointed to its Commissions and Working Groups by the Executive Board, and made Russia ineligible to host any of its events.[27]
Tennis
Maria Sharapova was Russia's most successful tennis athlete.
In April 2022, the organisers of the Wimbledon Championships, a |-level event in the UK, banned players representing Russia from entering the 2022 edition of the competition.[33] The LTA, the British tennis association, also banned players representing Russia from smaller tennis tournaments in the UK.[34] In response, the ATP, WTA, and ITF stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points, with their concerns being based on the principle of participation based on merit, rather than nationality, as well as the unilateral decision by Wimbledon, in contrast with the remainder of the tour.[35]
In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Volleyball Federation suspended all Russian national teams, clubs, and officials, as well as beach and snow volleyball athletes, from all events, and stripped Russia of the right to host the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in August 2022, and will relocate games that were to be in Russia in June and July.[37][38] The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) also banned all Russian national teams, clubs, and officials from participating in European competition, and suspended all members of Russia from their respective functions in CEV organs.[39]
Rugby football in the Russian Empire pre-dated the Russian Revolution by a number of years, but was only played sporadically. It appears to have been the first (non-indigenous) football code to be played in Russia, around a decade before the introduction of association football.[44] In 1886, however, the Russian police clamped down on rugby because they considered it "brutal, and liable to incite demonstrations and riots"[44] Russia competed in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
In rugby league, Russia was ranked 35th worldwide by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) as of March 2022,[47] with over 2,000 participants nationwide. Russian domestic rugby league is played at youth, student, and adult levels.
The first Australian rules football clubs in Russia were created in 2011, in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk.[49][50] Russia competed at the 2011 Australian Football League 9s Euro Cup in Belfast. In 2015 St. Petersburg Cats team firstly took part in ANZAC Cup. In 2016 Russian national team took part in Australian Football League Europe Cup.
Fencing in Tsarist Russia was a popular sport among the Russian elites. It transitioned in the Soviet Union as a sport for fencing enthusiasts and became a visible sport for the Soviet people which reached its peak in the 1980s in terms of success and popularity. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, like the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine, Russia continued to have success in fencing, producing multiple world and European champions.
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet women's gymnastics squad won all team titles in World Championship competition and at the Summer Olympics, other than the 1984 Olympics, which they did not attend, and the 1966, 1979, and 1987 World Championships. Some of the Soviet gymnasts were from the Russian SFSR. Russia has medalled at every Worlds and Olympic competition in both MAG and WAG disciplines, except in the 2008 Olympics, where the Russian women team did not win any medals.
Rhythmic gymnastics is a popular sport in Russia. There are many rhythmic gymnastics clubs in Russia, including the Gazprom School at which Irina Viner teaches rhythmic gymnasts in Novogorsk, Moscow, where the Russian national team is also based.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) barred Russian athletes and officials, including judges.[52] It also announced that "all FIG World Cup and World Challenge Cup events planned to take place in Russia ... are cancelled, and no other FIG events will be allocated to Russia ... until further notice." FIG also banned the Russian flag at its events.[53]
Swimming and diving
Number of swimming pools in Russia, 1993–2013
Swimming is mostly an elite sport for most Russians; however, before the dissolution of the USSR, swimming was an institutionalized and recreational sport. Russia has not achieved the same success as that of the Soviet Union.[citation needed]
The 6th International Maxi-Marathon of Nuclear Workers on Moscow's central Vasilyevsky Spusk Square, 2001. Participants are workers from 14 countries having nuclear power plants in their territories.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Orienteering Federation suspended the membership of the Russian Orienteering Federation.[57] The IOF also disallowed Russian orienteering athletes from participating in IOF events, even as neutral athletes, cancelled all organising rights for IOF events and activities in Russia, and suspended all Russian members appointed to IOF official bodies.[57]
Russia has had a number of boxing world title holders and Olympic champions.
Judo
The popularity of judo in Russia increased with President Vladimir Putin promoting the sport, and Russia producing multiple Olympic and world champions.
Mixed martial arts is a popular sport producing many world class international and national fighters. Other popular martial arts form is Sambo which originated in the Soviet Union.
Handball is popular in Russia. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Handball Federation banned Russian and Belarus athletes and officials, and the European Handball Federation suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus as well as Russian and Belarusian clubs competing in European handball competitions.[63] Referees, officials, and commission members from Russia and Belarus will not be called upon for future activities.[63] And new organisers will be sought for the YAC 16 EHF Beach Handball EURO and the Qualifier Tournaments for the Beach Handball EURO 2023, which were to be held in Moscow.[63]
Chess is a favorite pastime, and a sport that has been dominated by Russians in the post-war (1945–) era. The winner of the 1948 World Chess Championship, Russian Mikhail Botvinnik, started an era of Soviet dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion.
The 1990s were dominated by Kasparov, who won most of the tournaments that he participated in and reached a then-record rating of 2851 on the July 1999 list.[64] In 2017, 25 of the world's top 100 chess players are Russian.[65]
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle racing is popular in Russia. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) banned all Russian and Belarusian motorcycle riders, teams, officials, and competitions.[66] It cancelled one of the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix events, FIM Speedway GP of MFR – Togliatti, which was supposed to be held in Tolyatti on 9 July, stating that "in the current circumstances it is not possible to hold the FIM Speedway GP of MFR Togliatti."[67]
In 2022, the Russian Grand Prix, in the Sochi Autodrom, was scheduled to go ahead, but due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIA cancelled the race.[70] After the Russian invasion led to sanctions from the EU, including some against Uralkali, a company owned by Nikita Mazepin's father, Haas sacked him ahead of the first race.[71]
Also due to the invasion, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) banned Russia teams, and banned the holding of competitions in Russia.[32][37] It also excluded Russian FIA members from their roles as elected officers or commission members, and banned FIA grants to Russian members.[37] Individual Russia competitors were allowed to enter races as neutrals, without their national symbols, flags, colors, and anthems.[32] British motorsport governing body Motorsport UK barred Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing in British motorsport events, thus preventing Russian F1 driver Nikita Mazepin from participating in the upcoming 2022 edition of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone scheduled to be held in July (in any event, he was sacked by his team),[72][73] with Motorsport Australia considering a similar move.[74][75][76]
Russian car manufacturer Lada (known domestically as AvtoVAZ) has competed in the World Touring Car Championship, making their debut in 2008 with Russian Bears Motorsport entering Lada 110s. Lada provided factory support in 2009, with the team running three cars and upgrading to the Lada Priora during the season. The team's best performances were a pair of sixth places by James Thompson at the Race of Italy. Lada subsequently withdrew from the championship, but they returned in 2012, entering a Lada Granta WTCC driven by Thompson at a couple of race meetings. Subsequently, they announced plans to contest a full season in 2013. The team ran two cars in 2013, with a best result of a fifth place for Thompson in the Race of Russia, and expanded to a three car squad for 2014. Former World Touring Car Champion Robert Huff gave Lada their first WTCC win at the 2014 Beijing round.[77]
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