Sport in Russia
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The most popular sport in Russia is soccer.[1] According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings.[2] Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.[3]
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".
After the
On 12 October 2023, the IOC issued a statement noting that after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the
Popularity
In a 2018 survey, the following sports were listed as the most popular in Russia:[14][15]
Sport | Following | Participating |
---|---|---|
Football | 34% | 13% |
Figure skating | 33% | 5% |
Hockey | 32% | 3% |
Skiing/Biathlon | 25% | 16% |
Swimming | 18% | 19% |
Volleyball | 14% | 11% |
Basketball | 11% | 6% |
Chess | 7% | 4% |
Wrestling/Martial arts | 5% | 9% |
Billiards | 5% | 2% |
Gymnastics | 4% | 5% |
Athletics
Russia has competed in athletics including High jump, Long jump, track athletics, Hurdling, Pole vault, racewalking, Hammer throw, Triple jump, Javelin throw, and Heptathlon.
Russia was banned from the
Bandy
One traditionally popular sport is
After the International Olympic Committee's recommendations following the
Basketball
Basketball is a popular sport in Russia. The
After the
Biathlon
Boxing
Russia has had a number of boxing world title holders and Olympic champions.
In June 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA), led by Russian Boxing Federation Secretary General Umar Kremlev, was expelled from the Olympic Movement following a vote at an Extraordinary International Olympic Committee Session.[33] A total of 69 members of the IOC backed the proposal by the IOC's executive board to banish the IBA, with just one voting against.[33] The President of the Russian Olympic Committee criticised the expulsion.[33]
Fencing
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
Figure skating
Figure skating is a 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]
After the
Football
The first football teams in the Russian Empire appeared in the late 1870s, but they consisted of foreigners living in Russia (English, Scottish, German). Soon Russian teams began to appear. On October 24, 1897, the first official match took place in the Russian Empire. In 1912, the first football championship was held in the Russian Empire.
On 28 February 2022, due to the
Futsal
Russia has both men and women
Gymnastics
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet women's gymnastics squad won all team titles in
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 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) barred Russian athletes and officials, including judges.[40] 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.[41]
Handball
Handball is popular in Russia. In reaction to the 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.[42] Referees, officials, and commission members from Russia and Belarus will not be called upon for future activities.[42] 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.[42]
Judo
The popularity of judo in Russia increased with President Vladimir Putin promoting the sport, and Russia producing multiple Olympic and world champions.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Judo Federation (IJF) removed Putin, who is a judo enthusiast, as its Honorary President and ambassador.[43][44][45] The IJF also removed Russian Arkady Rotenberg as a member of the IJF's executive committee.[45] It also cancelled all competitions in Russia, but allowed their athletes to compete as neutral athletes.[46]
Mixed martial arts
In Russia,
.After the
Sambo is a popular sport in Russia, which originated in the Soviet Union.
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle racing is popular in Russia. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) banned all Russian and Belarusian motorcycle riders, teams, officials, and competitions.[48] 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."[49]
Speed skating
Long track speed skating has a tradition in Russia since the Russian Empire. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
After the
Other winter sports
Other winter sports the Soviets and Russians have participated in are bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge.
After the
Also after the Russian invasion, the
Swimming and diving
Swimming is mostly an elite sport for most Russians; however, before the dissolution of the
In March 2022, after the
Tennis
Russia has produced a number of successful
In reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) moved the 2022 St. Petersburg Open from Saint Petersburg to Kazakhstan.[57] The International Tennis Federation (ITF) cancelled all events in Russia.[58][59] The ITF also excluded Russia from international team events, which include the Davis Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the ATP Cup, and suspended the Russian Tennis Federation.[58] However, the ATP and the WTA refused to yield to international pressure to ban individual players from competition.[60] Russian players will carry on, but not play under the Russian national flag.[61]
In April 2022, the organisers of the Wimbledon Championships, a Grand Slam-level event in the UK, banned players representing Russia from entering the 2022 edition of the competition.[62] The LTA, the British tennis association, also banned players representing Russia from smaller tennis tournaments in the UK.[63] 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.[64]
Volleyball
The
- 2 Olympic silver medals (2000 and 2004)
- 2 FIVB World Championships gold medals (2006 and 2010)
- 1 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup gold medal (1997), 1 silver medal (2001), and 1 bronze medal (1993)[citation needed]
Russia featured a women's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.[65]
In response to the
Wrestling
Russia has produced multiple Olympic and World wrestling champions. Wrestling is the most accessible and played out sport for boys and young adults in Russia especially in the Caucasus Republics and regions (
Rugby union
After the
Rugby league
After the
Orienteering
The Russian Orienteering Federation is the Russian national organisation of orienteering. It is a suspended member of the International Orienteering Federation.[77]
After the
Weightlifting
A strongman competition in Russia is Powerlifting, which is akin to a variant evolving from weightlifting. Russia is an active in the International Powerlifting Federation and one of the most successful countries along with the United States, Poland, Norway, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Sweden, Finland, Japan, and Ukraine.
Chess
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.
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.[79] In 2017, 25 of the world's top 100 chess players are Russian.[80]
Motorsport
In 2022, the Russian Grand Prix, in the
Also due to the invasion, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) banned Russian teams, and banned the holding of competitions in Russia.[61][66] It also excluded Russian FIA members from roles as elected officers or commission members, and banned FIA grants to Russian members.[66] Individual Russian competitors were allowed to enter races as neutrals, without their national symbols, flags, colors, and anthems.[61] British motorsport governing body Motorsport UK barred Russian 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),[85][86] with Motorsport Australia considering a similar move.[87][88][89]
See also
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Further reading
- Andreff, Wladimir, Oleg Bril, and Sandrine Poupaux. "Sport in Russia." in Sports Governance in the World. A Socio-Historic Approach (2012): 195-218 online.
- Arnold, Richard. "Sport and official nationalism in modern Russia." Problems of post-communism 65.2 2018): 129–141.
- Harte, Tim. Faster, Higher, Stronger, Comrades! Sports, Art, and Ideology in Late Russian and Early Soviet Culture (U of Wisconsin Press, 2020) online review
- Poupaux S. "Soviet and post-Soviet sport," in W. Andreff, S. Szymanski, eds., The Handbook on the Economics of Sport (Edward Elgar, 2006) pp. 316–324.
- Riordan, James. Sport in Soviet society: development of sport and physical education in Russia and the USSR (1980).
- Wagg, Stephen, and David L. Andrews, eds. East plays west: Sport and the Cold War (Routledge, 2007).