The Russian society is ambiguous in relation to professional sports. If a quarter of the population is engaged in sports at an amateur and semi-professional level, about half follows the development of events in the world of sports on TV and the Internet (and sometimes even goes to competitions), then about a third do not understand at all what such a fuss is about. If there is anything that worries them, it is only the budgetary funds spent on professional sports.
Let's leave the last category aside and focus on the first two. What kinds of sports do the residents of the Russian Federation like the most? The answer is in top 10 most popular sports in Russia... The rating is based on Yandex search queries statistics.
10. Chess
The most intellectual sport has always been popular in Russia, and the Russian chess school is respected all over the world.
Education Minister Olga Vasilyeva said that compulsory chess lessons could be introduced in Russian schools in the next two years. Similar "experimental" lessons are already being conducted in schools in 40 regions of Russia.
However, this will not affect all grades, but only primary school students. This program allows children to develop strategic planning skills, contributes to the development of spatial and systems thinking, and also comprehensively develops personality. It may also help raise a whole generation of future champions.
9. Tennis
Spectacular and popular sport, especially women's championships among the male population. They love tennis for their speed, dynamism, intensity of the game and elegant and strong strikes. There are even astronauts among the fans of this sport - the Russian and American astronauts have promised to arrange a tennis match at the International Space Station.
The largest tournament in Russia is the VTB Kremlin Cup. Previously, it was simply called the Kremlin Cup, but in 2017 VTB Bank became the only sponsor of the tournament.
The prize fund of the men's tournament is over 823 thousand dollars, and the women's tournament is over 790 thousand dollars.
8. Figure skating
This sport has a very long and colorful history. He was known even during the reign of Peter I. It was he who brought skates from Europe and figured out how to attach them directly to the boots.
The first figure skating textbook, magnificently titled Winter Fun and the Art of Ice Skating, was published in Russia in 1838. And a little later (in 1865) figure skating was recognized as a sport in our country.
During the Soviet era, figure skating, due to its entertainment and beauty, chained millions of men and women to television screens, no worse than popular films.
And the increased popularity of figure skating in modern Russia is largely due to the numerous triumphs of Evgenia Medvedeva - she wins all personal tournaments in which she participates. Along the way, the athlete sets new world records. Let's hope that the injury will not prevent Evgenia from performing equally brilliantly at the Olympics in Korea.
7. Boxing
For a long time, fist fights have been among the popular Russian entertainment.Back in the days of Kievan Rus, a variety of fist fights - "sam-na-sam" - was not only an interesting sight, but also one of the methods of legal proceedings. Hence the name "fist law" came from.
The Russians got acquainted with English boxing (in the form of "international matches" for the amusement of British ambassadors) during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. And as a sports discipline, boxing began to develop in Russia only in the 19th century.
Boxing has grown in popularity in recent years. What is it - the desire to lose steam, drive your aggression into a frame, learn to defend yourself, or just the pleasure of movement and the feeling of your own strength?
Probably, next year the popularity of this sport will grow even more - the head of the Boxing Federation promised to work on its "advertising". And Kadyrov has nothing to do with it.
6. Skiing
The honorable sixth place of skiing in the heart of sports Russians (in contrast to foreign ratings), apparently, is explained by the peculiarities of the climate. Winter in our country is long, we must somehow fill the time.
Skiing has many interesting offshoots such as skijoring (towing a skier), ski tricks, downhill skiing and racing, and even skydiving from an airplane without a parachute.
The Soviet ski school was very strong, and the Russian one continues its glorious traditions. Even the doping story could not prevent the Russian athlete Sergey Ustyugov from winning five consecutive victories by the end of last year.
5. Athletics
The “Queen of Sports”, which dates back to ancient Greece, is not as popular in Russia as it is all over the world. If in foreign rankings of sports it ranks first, then in Russia it barely got to fifth.
Track and field athletics has a very difficult fate in Russia. In the “saints” for some, but for the majority - “dashing” 90s of the twentieth century, sports schools were massively closed, where they trained future athletes, stadiums turned into markets, and coaches and athletes either went abroad, or engaged in more profitable business than sports.
However, despite all the difficulties, Russian athletics managed to survive, and brought many awards to their country. In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympics, the national team was no longer the USSR, but Russia (for the first time since 1912). She has won 26 gold medals, 21 silver and 16 bronze medals.
In recent years, this sport in Russia has been severely crippled by doping scandals. Fortunately, there is still something to be proud of - the Russian jumper Maria Lasitskene took more than 18 first places last year and hopes to set a new world record.
4. Basketball
This game was once invented by one of the teachers of an American university to entertain students in physical education classes. Since then, she has not only rapidly stepped outside America, but has also become a new sports discipline.
In Russia, the first basketball teams appeared in 1906, on the basis of the St. Petersburg sports society "Mayak". In 1947, Russian basketball players received the right to participate in FIBA competitions. In the period from the 50s to the 80s of the twentieth century, the basketball team of the USSR was considered the strongest in the world.
Perhaps the secret of the popularity of this game, as the coach of a basketball team once said, is that it is human nature to jump for joy - or to rejoice while jumping.
3. Volleyball
Volleyball is in third place among the most popular sports among Russians. It is spectacular, gives a boost of vivacity, fosters a team spirit, and in addition, it is non-contact, which means that it is not too traumatic. What else do you need from good sports discipline?
Some of the highlights in Russian volleyball history include:
- the victory of the USSR men's national team at the European Championship in 1950;
- the victory of the USSR men's national team in the World Cup in 1965;
- victory of both men's and women's teams at the European championships among youth teams in 1966.
The results of 2017 were extremely favorable for volleyball fans of the Russian Federation - 32 medals were added to the collection of the Russian national team, more than half of which are gold!
The victory at the World Championship in Krakow, where the Russian national team opposed the German volleyball players, looked especially impressive.
2. Ice hockey
Traditionally considered one of the "Russian" sports, along with figure skating and chess. However, dark times for domestic hockey came in the 90s, when the lack of stability in domestic sports forced eminent athletes to try their luck in foreign clubs. Having won the 1993 World Cup, the Russian national team was left without a single medal for many years.
And only in recent years has Russian hockey regained its former glory. In 2008 (exactly for a century of hockey), the Russian national team beat the Canadians, winning the title of world champions. And in 2014 she became a five-time world champion.
But at the end of 2017, the situation for the Russian national team is disappointing - recently, Swedes and Canadians have ruled the hockey kingdom.
1. Football
Football is in the first place among the most favorite sports among Russians. Even the eternal swing from hope to disappointment during the performances of the Russian national team, it seems, is unable to make the fans stop loving the green field and the white and black ball.
Football was brought to Russia together with British engineers, ordered by the industrialist Savva Morozov. On the pages of pre-revolutionary newspapers and magazines, heated discussions were held about the meaning the world's most popular sport... In terms of expression, many did not stand on ceremony and called football "a fight with feet" and "an extremely rough sport." But all these conversations did not prevent the team of the Russian Empire in 1912 from winning the fourth place at the Olympics in Sweden. And in 1923 the first USSR Football Championship took place.
The Soviet national football team has many glorious victories, including the victory at the 1988 Olympic Games. She three times - in 1964, 1972 and 1988 - became the vice-champion of Europe. The Russian national team cannot yet boast of great success, but fans are waiting and hoping that the best moments in the history of Russian football are still ahead.