Sports are a domain in which Russians excel, and the country has even won numerous medals at the most recent Winter Olympics in 2018. The nation is renowned for its figure skating and ice hockey stars, notably. Yet several traditional sports, practiced on the territory for decades, remain little known abroad. Some of them are derivatives of sports such as baseball, ice hockey, horseshoe throwing, and more.

Lapta

One could say that Lapta is a Russian version of baseball. This sport was played in the era when the country was still ruled by the tsars. It helped soldiers maintain their fitness. Lapta is no longer particularly popular, and only a handful of people know of its existence. It is therefore rare to see teams competing in a Lapta match. In fact, it was likely baseball that borrowed its game from Lapta, since the latter existed for nearly 400 years before baseball's rise in the United States in the nineteenth century.

Lapta is played by two teams, each composed of a minimum of three players. The small ball is made of rubber, and the bat, unlike the one used in baseball, has a rather flat shape, somewhat like a shovel. The playing field measures between 40 and 50 m long and approximately 30 to 40 m wide. It is divided into 3 sections: "the town," "the field," and "the zone." The pitchers occupy "the town" while the opposing team positions themselves in "the zone." The game begins when a player from one team strikes the ball with the bat as far as possible, then runs across the field before returning to the town. While the player runs, the opposing team tries to catch the ball as quickly as possible while attempting to touch a player from the opposing team. If successful, one of its players will go to "the town." The runner must actually try to return before the ball reaches "the town." If he fails, he must go back to the start of "the zone" and must make this journey again once the ball is thrown. The game is won if all members of a team manage to return to "the town."

Lapta is known to Russians only through books and films, but there are still a few enthusiasts. They organize, in fact, every summer, for several years now, matches in Pushkino, a town located about thirty kilometers north of Moscow.

Bandy

Bandy is nothing other than a derivative of ice hockey, but instead of a puck, a ball is used. This sport is generally played on a frozen football field. The rules of the game are indeed similar to those of football. You'll find similar formations and tactics, and each team has 11 players. As in football, the goalkeeper uses his hands to stop ball shots. Unlike ice hockey, players are not allowed to pass behind the goal.

Bandy has been played in villages across the country since the eighteenth century. As an interesting aside, the International Bandy Federation was established in February 1955. It now boasts 28 nations, from every corner of the globe: Argentina, Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada, Finland...

Gorodki

This sporting game consists of throwing a stick at miniature towns represented by stacked wooden cylinders. The origins of Gorodki date back to the era of Ivan the Terrible, according to what is written in the novel by Alexis Nikolaievitch Tolstoy. The practice of Gorodki was attested by Peter the Great. Other famous Russian personalities also played it, notably Joseph Stalin, Leo Tolstoy, and Maxim Gorky. Contrary to appearances, this game is not as easy as it seems: if the stick merely grazes the boundary line of the square on the first throw, one must start over from the beginning.