How Russian hockey died in Russia. Bandy The origins of domestic hockey

Field hockey It was called so because it used to be played on grass, but now competitions take place on special synthetic surfaces with a small, hard orange ball. This type of hockey is the most popular; it is also called Russian hockey or bandy hockey.

Originating in the Middle Ages, bandy finally took shape at the end of the 19th century. In the 1950s, the International Federation was created and uniform rules of the game were developed. World championships are held (for players of different age categories), and other competitions among national teams and club teams. Bandy is officially recognized by the IOC. In 1952 it was included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games as a demonstration discipline. Currently cultivated in Europe, North America and Asia. Along with men's hockey, women's hockey is also actively developing.

The sports season in bandy lasts from September to April. Currently, games are also held on artificial skating rinks (in Russia, the first such structure was built in the early 1990s in Arkhangelsk).

Rules.

Despite the fact that “Russian hockey” arose largely thanks to its English counterpart, over time significant differences emerged between them. In the 1900s, serious changes were made to the rules in Russia: playing with a “high ball” (that is, a ball flying higher than 125 cm above the ice surface) was prohibited, the size of the goal was reduced, sides were introduced along the side edge of the field, goalkeepers began to play with stick, the sticks themselves were smaller in size than in bandy and had no weight limit, the penalty was taken from 7 (later from 9) m. In Scandinavia and England they still played “hockey bandy”: on the same , as in Russian hockey, a field, with the same number of players and according to the same basic rules, but with larger goals, different sticks and ball parameters and without “Russian innovations”. (In other countries of Western Europe, the game on small platforms with a number of players from 7 to 9 became widespread - the prototype of the modern rink bandy.)

Russian hockey and bandy existed in parallel until the creation of the International Federation in the 1950s, which finally adopted uniform rules of the game.

Field and markings, gates. Bandy is played on a rectangular ice platform 90-110 m long and 45-65 m wide (at international competitions its dimensions must be at least 100 × 60 m).

The court is limited by the side lines and goal lines (like all other markings, these lines must be red) and is divided in half by a central line, in the middle of which a central point is marked (with a circle with a radius of 5 m): the game begins (continues) from there at the beginning each half, as well as after a goal is scored.

In the corners of the site are highlighted corner sectors with a radius of 1 m, from where corner kicks are taken, and near the goal there is a penalty area in the form of a semicircle with a radius of 17 m (the imaginary center of which is in the middle of the goal line).

In the center of the goal, at a distance of 12 m from it, there is a point where penalties are taken, and on the penalty area line there are two free kick points (with a circle with a radius of 5 m).

The height of the goal in bandy is 2.1 m, the width is 3.5 m. A freely hanging net is attached to it above the goal line, which makes it possible to more accurately record a goal (it is counted if the ball crosses the goal line or the space above it within , limited by the side posts and crossbar.)

Ball, hockey player equipment. The game is played using a plastic-coated ball (usually bright orange). Ball weight – 60–65 g, diameter – 61–65 mm.

They play (with the exception of goalkeepers) with sticks similar to field hockey sticks. The length of the stick is 125 cm (from the hook to the end of the handle), the width of the hook is no more than 7 cm, the total weight of the stick is up to 450 g.

The players' equipment also includes skates, protective equipment (for the goalkeeper there are additional funds protection, including arm and leg guards, face mask) and a uniform for the entire team. It must contain a “dominant color”, while the goalkeeper’s uniform must be different in color from the field players’ uniform, and the uniform of the entire team must be easily distinguishable from the opponents’ uniform.

Progress of the game. 11 hockey players from each team (including the goalkeeper) simultaneously participate in the game. The team entry for the match also includes 4 substitute players. The number of replacements is not limited.

Before the start of the match, it is determined by lot which of the opponents chooses the goal and who starts the game. After the break, the teams change goals, and the game is resumed by the other team.

The game lasts 90 minutes. and is divided into two halves of 45 minutes. each with a 5-10 minute break between them (in matches of teams under 17 years old, playing time is less). The referee may add a few minutes to the regular time to compensate for long stoppages that occur during the game. If a draw in a match is excluded by the competition regulations, extra time (overtime) is assigned: 2 × 15 minutes. The game in overtime can last until the first goal or all 30 minutes. If overtime ends in a draw, the winner will be determined in a penalty shootout.

According to the rules, only the goalkeeper - within his own penalty area - has the right to take the ball in his hands (with the exception of the situation when his teammates give him a back pass), and he can hold the ball for no more than 5 seconds. Only a goalkeeper can intentionally fall to the ice to deflect an opponent's shot. Field players are not allowed to play in a prone position, kneeling, etc. (such a violation is punishable by a 10-minute expulsion, and if it is committed within one’s own penalty area, a penalty is awarded). Unlike the goalkeeper, other players also do not have the right to kick the ball; they can only play along with their feet (as well as other parts of the body, with the exception of the arms and head), adjusting the direction of the ball's movement. For playing with a head or hand, a free kick or penalty kick is awarded (if it happened in the penalty area).

Outside his penalty area, the goalkeeper can only act as a field player.

If the ball goes over the side line, it is put into play (free kick) by the opposing team. If the ball goes beyond the goal line from a player of the attacking team, it is put into play by the goalkeeper of the defending team, but if the ball was last touched by a player of the defending side, then a corner kick is awarded. Before the kick is taken, the players of the attacking team must be positioned outside the penalty area, and the defending team must be on the goal line.

In bandy, the offside rule applies: a hockey player cannot receive the ball in the opponent’s half of the field if there is no opponent besides the goalkeeper between him and the goal line. A player may also find himself in a “passive offside”: formally being in an “offside” position, he does not directly participate in the game moment.

Violations of the rules. Modern bandy is a contact game, but the rules provide for certain restrictions: you cannot hit, grab, push, or block an opponent.

It is prohibited to play with a high stick (i.e. a stick raised above the shoulder - in a position where the player is standing in full height), throw the stick at the ball, hold (lift) the opponent’s stick or hit it. Playing with a broken stick is also prohibited.

Depending on the nature of the violation and other circumstances, the referee may award a free kick or penalty to the offending team, issue a verbal warning or show the player yellow card, send him off for 5 (10) minutes or until the end of the match without the right of substitution. (For the goalkeeper, a 5-10 minute suspension may be served by one of the field players present on the court at the time of the violation.)

A penalty is awarded for a gross violation in one's own penalty area, as well as in a situation where a player of the defending team prevented a goal from being scored through his “illegal” actions. When a penalty kick is taken, only the player taking the kick can be in the penalty area, while the goalkeeper must stand on the goal line. A minor infringement within the penalty area may result in an indirect free kick taken from one of the two spots marked on the curved line of the penalty area. At the moment the free kick is taken (regardless of where it is taken from), the players of the defending team must be located at a distance of no closer than 5 m from the place where it was taken, and the kick must be taken within 5 seconds.

History of bandy.

Origin and development of the game. Games on the ice of frozen ponds (and in summer time- on a trampled, level place) with various spherical objects, which with the help of “sticks” had to hit a specific target, have been known in Europe (including Russia) since the Middle Ages. For example, in Scandinavia they have long played knatleken. Earliest records of Icelandic knuttlakere belong to the 9th century. Many stories related to Irish hurling, can be found in local folklore, and among adherents of the Scottish shinty was King Alexander I, who reigned from 1107 to 1124. In the design of the famous Canterbury Cathedral there is a 13th century “painting” dedicated to the English hockey, and on many Dutch paintings of the 16th–17th centuries. the game is captured kolv(a kind of “golf on ice”).

The origin of the word “hockey” itself is usually associated with the Old French “hoquet”, i.e. a shepherd's crook with a hook that actually resembles a modern hockey stick in shape. “Bendy” (English bandy), according to one version, goes back to the Old German “bandja” - a curved stick. At one time, both of these designations were perceived almost as synonyms, but over time, “bandy” began to be used in relation to playing with a ball on ice, and “hockey” - to field hockey.

In the 18th – early 19th centuries. In Great Britain, a game is developing that in many ways resembles modern bandy. In the 1850s–1870s, some English football clubs(Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, etc.) along with football, bandy was also cultivated. Separate bandy clubs are gradually emerging. In the early 1890s, the first international match in history was played between the English and Dutch clubs (the Dutch were introduced to bandy by Cambridge University students, who played several exhibition matches in the Netherlands).

In 1891, the National Bandy Association was created in England (the first such association in the world), which developed the official rules of the game. They were in many ways similar to football ones: hence another designation for bandy sometimes used in England – “winter football”.

On the border of two centuries a new game becomes widespread in Sweden and Russia (thanks to English specialists who worked there at industrial enterprises), and a little later - in Norway, Finland, Switzerland and other European countries.

In 1910, the Northern Bandy Hockey Union was formed. In the winter of 1913, the first European Championships took place in Davos, Switzerland. Since most member countries of the Union cultivated rink bandy, the games were held according to the appropriate rules. In addition to the hosts, the championship included England, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France. The British were the winners. First World War interrupted the activities of the Union. Later it was recreated, but united only the Scandinavian countries.

International Bandy Federation. The International Bandy Federation - IBF (IBF, Internationella Bandyforbundet) was created in 1955. Initially, it included only the USSR, Norway, Finland and Sweden. In the same year, the IBF adopted uniform international rules of the game.

In 2001, in accordance with the new requirements of the IOC, the IBF was renamed the Federation of International Bandy (FIB).

In 2005, the FIB, headquartered in Katrineholm (Sweden), included 15 countries in Europe, Asia and North America, including countries with a “non-hockey” climate such as India and Italy. The issue of joining the FIB is being considered for 7 more countries. In August 2004, the Federation received official recognition from the IOC.

International competitions. Held since 1957 world championships. Since 1961, they have been held every 2 years; currently the world championship is played annually. At the first 11 championships (up to and including 1979), hockey players of the USSR national team invariably won. In 1981, the Swedes became champions for the first time, repeating their success two years later. After that, the struggle of our and Swedish hockey players for the world title goes on with varying degrees of success. By the end of the 2004–2005 season, Soviet (Russian) athletes had won the World Championships a total of 16 times. The Swedish team has 8 championship titles. Once (in 2004) the Finnish team became the strongest.

Every two years the world championship among juniors is played in age categories up to 19 and up to 17 years. The World Championship for athletes under 15 years of age has an unofficial status for now.

In 2004, the first Women's Bandy World Championship was held in Finland (held every 2 years). It was won by Swedish athletes. The Russian team took second place, and the Finnish team took third place.

In 1952 Norway served as the organizing country Olympic Games included in the program Winter Olympics in Oslo as a demonstration sport, bandy. All three teams participating in the tournament (Sweden, Norway and Finland) scored the same number of points; based on the best goal difference, the victory was awarded to the Swedes.

There are also informal events held in various countries. international tournaments. Thus, in the USSR, since 1972, it was played every 2 years. newspaper prize« Soviet Russia", and currently in our country a tournament is regularly held for Government Cup Russia.

Since 1974, two prestigious trophies have been played among club teams: world Cup And Cup European champions.

The winning clubs of national championships participate in the European Cup. And here the undisputed favorites are representatives of Russia (USSR) and Sweden. Our athletes, who in 1974 became the first ever winners of this prize (Sverdlovsk SKA), have won the Cup a total of 16 times, the Swedes - 14. Krasnoyarsk Yenisei has the most victories (7): six of them occurred in the 1980s , which became a period of great growth for the club. Of our teams, the Cup was also owned by: Dynamo Moscow, which had no equal in the late 1970s, three times, and Vodnik Arkhangelsk, the leader of Russian and world hockey in the 2000s, and Dynamo (Alma-Ata) once each. ) and “Zorkiy” (Krasnogorsk). Among the Swedish teams, Boltik won the Cup most often (6 times) (after merging with Eta in 2000, the club performs under the name Boltik-Eta). The trophy went to Västerås 5 times, Sandviken twice and Vetlanda once.

The World Cup draw, in which the strongest teams participate different countries, traditionally takes place in Ljusdal, Sweden. The Swedes won the Cup 25 times (data at the beginning of the 2005/06 season). The record for the number of victories (6) belongs to the Boltik-Eta club. He won the Västerås tournament 5 times, Bruberg 4 times, Sandviken, Edsbyn, Vetlanda and Hammarby twice, and the Sirius and Falun teams won one victory each. Soviet (Russian) hockey players won the World Cup 5 times: twice - Yenisei (1982, 1984) and Vodnik (2003, 2004), once (1990) - Zorkiy. The only time (in 1976) the winner of the Cup was the Finnish team - OLS from the city of Oulu.

Bandy in Russia.

The birth of domestic hockey.

In Rus', various games with a ball (wooden ball) have long been known: sticking,sticks on the ice,corral, spinning top, chase, fumbling, boiler etc. For example, under Ivan the Terrible, a game was widespread in which, with the help of a “stick” (a curved tree root), it was necessary to drive a ball into holes hollowed out in the ice (a kind of analogue of the Dutch “ice golf”). Under Peter I, “ice games” were part of public festivities and attracted many spectators.

Over time, these games have undergone a number of significant changes. Instead of wooden runners attached to felt boots, they began to play on iron skates (one of the many “Dutch borrowings” of Peter I) and more durable “sticks” made of flexible juniper with a bend at the end. The wooden ball was replaced by a rubber ball.

By the end of the 19th century. Bandy in Russia in many ways already resembled the game in its modern form. English employees who worked at enterprises in St. Petersburg and others had a significant influence on the formation of Russian hockey. Russian cities(The word “hockey” itself was borrowed from the British). The first clubs appeared in the Russian capital (where football was also cultivated along with hockey), which from time to time played with each other. A student at the Technological Institute and founder of the “St. Petersburg Circle of Sports Lovers” (later simply “Sport”), Pyotr Moskvin developed Russia’s first uniform hockey rules. On March 8, 1898, the first match under the new rules took place at the Northern Ice Rink (between the “white” and “black” teams), and a few days later a rematch took place. These historical matches became the impetus for the further development of bandy in Russia, and March 8, 1898 is considered the date of its “official” birth.

St. Petersburg was then the hockey capital of Russia. By 1900, there were 8 clubs that played games not only among themselves, but also traveled to other cities (the very first intercity match took place in 1899, when the St. Petersburg “Sport” beat the Vyborg team away). In 1905–1906, the first citywide championship was played in the capital (it was won by Yusupov Garden) and the first hockey league in Russia was created. Among the athletes who competed for the St. Petersburg teams were the famous speed skater A. Panshin and the winner of the 1908 Olympic Games figure skating N. Panin-Kolomenkin. ne In 1902, the first clubs appeared in Moscow, which became another center of development domestic hockey. In 1912, Moscow organized its own hockey league and held the first city championship (it was won by the Sokolniki Sports Club). In the 1900s hockey clubs are created in Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Riga, Tver, Arkhangelsk, Kharkov, Novgorod and other cities, city competitions begin to be held.

In 1903, the first intercity bandy tournament was held with the participation of the three strongest at that time Russian teams: the capital’s “Yusupov Garden” and the “St. Petersburg Circle of Sports Lovers” and the Moscow “British Sports Club”. The winners of the tournament were the Yusupovites. Over time, meetings of the national teams of the two cities, held alternately in St. Petersburg and Moscow 2 times a year, became regular. (Until the 1920s, St. Petersburg residents invariably won; in 1923, Muscovites managed to take revenge for the first time, after which the matches were held with varying success; in the 1930s, only Muscovites won; in the post-war period, such matches were not held.)

In 1907, Yusupov Garden made the first foreign tour in the history of our hockey: to Germany, Norway and Sweden. The Russians won 6 victories, drew one match and lost one (all matches were held according to bandy rules). At the same time, in Stockholm, “Yusupov Garden” won the tournament for the prize of the Swedish king. In 1910 Russia (which was represented by the St. Petersburg and Helsingfors hockey leagues) was among the organizers of the “Northern Bandy Hockey Union”.

Organized in 1914 All-Russian Hockey Union, which included more than 30 clubs from six cities. But the holding of the national championship scheduled for 1914–1915 was prevented by the First World War.

Bandy in the USSR.

The revolution and civil war temporarily interrupted the development of hockey in the country. Its revival - despite serious difficulties (even teams of masters often used homemade equipment in the game) - began in the 1920s. Along with other sports, hockey is included in the Universal Education program for pre-conscription training of youth and becomes an integral part of the “weeks” it conducts. winter sports" All this contributed to the popularization of the game. IN various places city ​​and regional competitions In addition to men's, women's, youth and children's teams were created.

In 1922, the first championship of the RSFSR took place - with the participation of the teams of Moscow, Tver, Saratov, Nikolaev and Kharkov. The Muscovites won the tournament. Until the mid-1930s, 6 more such competitions took place, which became a notable event in the history of Russian hockey. Four times in a row (in 1924, 1926–1928) the Leningrad team won it, and in 1932 and 1934 the capital team again became the strongest.

In February 1927, the RSFSR national team, consisting of Leningrad and Moscow players, hosted the Swedish national working team in Leningrad. Although the match was played according to “Swedish rules,” our hockey players won – 11:0.

Founded in 1928 All-Union hockey section(later - USSR Bandy and Field Hockey Federation). In the same year, and then in 1933, the USSR championships were held among national teams of cities and union republics. The RSFSR was represented by the teams of Moscow and Leningrad, which became the winners. In the 1928 final, Leningrad hockey players beat the Ukrainian national team 5:0, and in 1933 decisive match lost in a bitter struggle to their eternal rivals, the Muscovites, 0:1.

In 1928, the USSR national team was formed. In February, the team participated in the games of the first winter International Workers' Spartakiad in Oslo, and then held friendly matches in Norway and Finland. In all games Soviet hockey players won, after which international contacts of our hockey masters were interrupted for a quarter of a century and resumed only in the mid-1950s.

In 1935, an all-Union interdepartmental championship was held with the participation of four teams, which was won by the Dynamo team. And in 1936, the championship was played between clubs for the first time. The Moscow Dynamo team became the strongest among the 12 participating teams. Until 1950, the USSR championship was no longer held. From 1937 – and until 1954 (except 1942–1944) – the National Cup was played. It was won 12 times by the capital's Dynamo, three times (in 1939, 1945 and 1946) by CDKA.

In the 1920s–1930s, much attention was paid in the USSR to the development of women's hockey. In December 1925, the first official match took place in Moscow. women's teams(Central house physical education and “Krasnaya Presnya”), which ended in a 0:0 draw, and already in January 1926 the city championship was played with the participation of 7 teams. A little later, similar tournaments began to be held in Leningrad, Petrozavodsk and other cities. In 1935, the first (and only) USSR championship among women's teams was held with the participation of three teams - the teams of Dynamo, Spartak and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. The best hockey players were the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. From 1937 to 1947 (except 1942–1944), the National Cup was played among women's teams. 6 times the strongest were the hockey players of the capital's Burevestnik and twice (in 1945 and 1947) their fellow Dynamo players.

Since 1950, the USSR championships among men's teams began to be held again, they were held annually. The formula for the tournament, as well as the number of participating teams, has changed more than once. A total of 44 tournaments were held from 1936 to 1992. A record number of championship titles (15) were won by Dynamo Moscow, one of the leaders of Soviet hockey. Dynamo's serious competition was from SKA (Sverdlovsk), which won the first national championship after the break in 1950 and after that took first place 10 more times (in the 1950s–1970s). In the 1950s, the Moscow army team won the title of champion three times. At the end of the 1970s, hockey players from Dynamo Almaty and Krasnogorsk Zorkiy intervened in the traditional dispute for gold between Dynamo and SKA, winning one title each. From 1980 to 1989, a record series of 10 victories in a row was won by Yenisei (Krasnoyarsk), which in 1991 won another (eleventh) title and equaled SKA in this indicator. In 1990, the victory in the national championship was again celebrated by Dynamo (Alma-Ata), and in 1992 by Zorkiy, who became the last USSR bandy champion in history.

In 1983, the USSR Cup was resumed. In the first tournament (with the participation of 4 teams), “Start” (Gorky) won. By 1992, nine more drawings were held. The Cup was won 5 times by Zorkiy and once each by Yenisei, the capital’s Dynamo (for him it was the thirteenth cup victory in history), SKA (Khabarovsk) and Vodnik (Arkhangelsk).

Since 1952, in addition to the All-Union Championship, the RSFSR Championship began to be held again. Bandy was also included in the program of the Winter Spartakiads of the peoples of the RSFSR.

Since 1964, the USSR Championship has been held among juniors (18–19 years old), and since 1975 – among young men (15–17 years old). In 1969, for the first time, All-Union competitions were held among children's teams for the prizes of the "Wicker Ball" club, which became very popular over time.

The distinctive features of domestic bandy are high-speed, combinational play, excellent skating and technical training athletes, variety of tactics, exceptional performance and strong-willed attitude of the players. The Soviet hockey school trained many world-class masters, with whose names our successes at world championships and other international competitions are associated: A. Melnikov, E. Gerasimov, V. Shekhovtsev, V. Maslov, M. Osintsev, V. Plavunov, A. Izmodenov, N. Durakov, Y. Lizavin, G. Kanareikin, S. Lomanov and many others.

In the 1920s–1940s, bandy developed in the USSR hand in hand with football. For many football players, hockey was an excellent means of training during the off-season, and some of them (the Dementiev brothers, Nik. Starostin, A. Akimov, etc.) also played in hockey teams masters In the late 1940s, bandy greatly contributed to the development of ice hockey in the USSR. Quite a few Soviet stars of “Canadian hockey” (as we used to call ice hockey, to avoid confusion with “just” hockey) had previously gone through bandy school; a number of athletes successfully combined performances at the highest level in both hockey disciplines: V. Bobrov , A. Tarasov, A. Chernyshev and others. Soviet school Ice hockey was largely formed under the influence of domestic bandy.

Russian bandy at the present stage.

Russian Bandy Federation(FHMR), created in 1992, became the successor to the All-Union Federation. Bandy is developing in 47 regions of the country, where more than 60 clubs of the major and first leagues are based.

The results of the first Russian championship, which ended in 1993, were symbolic in their own way. It was won by “Zorkiy” (Krasnogorsk), the last champion of the USSR in history. In 1994, SKA (Ekaterinburg) became the strongest, in 1995 - Sibselmash (Novosibirsk). In 1996 championship title won "Vodnik" (Arkhangelsk), after which - through 2005 inclusive - the team repeated its success 8 more times (a significant contribution to the victory was made by the coach of the club and the Russian national team, himself a former famous hockey player, V. Yanko). Only once did the opponents manage to interrupt Vodnik’s winning streak. In 2001, Yenisei became the national champion, for which (as previously for SKA from Yekaterinburg) this was the twelfth victory in the entire history of national championships.

In 1993, the Russian Cup was played for the first time. Its owner was “Zorky”. As in the national championship, Vodnik had no equal in the number of cup victories, winning the trophy 5 times (in total, Vodnik and Zorkiy had 6 victories each in the National Cup). He won the Yenisei Cup three times, 2 times each - Kuzbass (Kemerovo) and Khabarovsk SKA-Neftyanik (as SKA became known after the merger in 1999 with the Neftyanik team).

However, in 2005, after another successful season in which Vodnik won all national and international club prizes, the team, due to problems with financing, found itself on the verge of collapse.

Competitions among young men are also held in Russia. Prize up for grabs children's club"Wicked ball" Women's Bandy League holds the national championship and the Russian Cup among women's teams.

(About the performance of our clubs and the USSR (Russia) national team in the international arena cm. in the INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS section).

Konstantin Petrov

Literature:

Hockey with a ball. Field hockey. (Directory) Comp. A.V. Komarov M., 1979
Kudryavtsev V., Kudryavtseva Zh. Sports of the world and world of sports(Chapter: Russian prowess and Russian distance). M., 1987
Rules sports games and competitions: Illustrated encyclopedia. Per. from English Minsk, 2000

In England, football and rugby are the most popular sports in the country. In America, millions revere baseball and American football, in rather atheistic Canada, religion has been replaced by ice hockey.

Why are we worse than Europe and North America? It seems that we will definitely not yield to them in sports patriotism. But Russia is its own national species I forgot about sports, although there are all the conditions for its development. His name is bandy, or Russian hockey.

It is difficult to find a more original sporting event in Europe, or even the world. Only here were outdoor matches possible in 41-degree frost (a record for Russian championships), and even with several thousand spectators in the stands. Only here, until recent years, there was an unspoken permit for drinking alcoholic beverages in the stands, and in some places they were even carried in cans along the rows.

It was from Russian hockey that the USSR grew great hockey with the puck, in which the great “Red Machine” later shone - so, the future great hockey player and football player Vsevolod Bobrov won the USSR Cup in this sport, and from recent examples one can recall our NHL player and current player KHL club“Metallurg” (Magnitogorsk) by Alexander Semin, who in his youth went through the school of playing with a wicker ball. Russia is a 24-time world champion; we could only perform better in small-town world championships, if such were held.

And back in the 90s, there were no competitors to this sport in the regions - bandy was second in popularity in Russia with an attendance of 5,500 spectators per match. Which settlements of our vast country were not represented in the elite - Berezniki, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Ust-Ilimsk, Orenburg, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Abakan, Votkinsk...

However, for last years the situation changed dramatically. Of the above-mentioned cities, there are no cities left in the Super League no one, only a few in Major League. R Russian hockey has remained a kind of outlet for “old school” fans who gather in the cold with warming drinks on the benches of ancient stadiums. It was not possible to use this as a “trick” to stay in the niche of the traditional national sport.

Today the next presidential elections of the Russian Bandy Federation took place. The current head of the organization, Boris Skrynnik, has been leading it for seven years and was re-elected for another term. Unanimously. Skrynnik is also the President of the International Bandy Federation ( English name Russian hockey). But fans, clubs and players are literally furious with what has happened in bandy in recent years. Russian hockey is on its last legs, if it can still breathe at all.

From elite division out of 24 clubs, 12 remained. Attendance dropped to 2,400 people per match. Referee scandals rock the league almost every month. Russian hockey is practically not represented on television and in electronic media. A Russian players began to leave en masse to play in the Swedish championship - to our eternal rival in this sport.

This was largely a consequence of the fact that starting this season, the organizers of the competition, on the advice of government officials (the media mentions the name of presidential aide Igor Levitin), decided to increase the number of matches in the season to 60 - apparently, in the image and likeness of the main competitor - the “puck”. But neither the difference in workload nor the increase in club spending was taken into account. And one of the most striking initiatives of the federation (albeit unrealized) in recent years was to hold the final of the Russian Championship in the Arctic Circle in Naryan-Mar, with the players being transported there by reindeer or by helicopter.

IN international hockey no better - into it high level 3-4 teams play (Russia, Sweden, Finland and Kazakhstan, whose composition is made up of Russian players who have received citizenship of this country). Perhaps the only successful PR campaign is the creation of the Somali national team from Swedish refugees, which even scores goals at the world championships.

Last week there was news about financial problems of two more top division clubs - the 2010/11 Russian champion Dynamo Kazan and one of the oldest clubs in Russia, Rodina Kirov, founded in 1934. They withdrew from the Russian Cup, which began over the weekend, and yesterday the club from Tatarstan, which before the season attracted Russia's best striker Evgeniy Ivanushkin to its roster, terminated the contracts with most of the players in the main squad, including their newly acquired star.

A little earlier, the legendary Krasnogorsk “Zorkiy”, winner of the USSR championships of the 70-80s, withdrew from the Super League. Life spoke with employees, coaches and players of several Super League clubs, and everyone unanimously declared: this cannot continue. The main national sport will soon, in fact, cease to exist in the country that invented it.

This is what one of the ex-Zorky employees emotionally told Life:

All questions should be addressed to those who ruined our club. And this new manager Sapunov district and the governor of the Moscow region Vorobyov. They say that there is money for professional sports no, but we need to invest in mass ones. I don’t understand why the club that Krasnogorsk residents have lived with for generations doesn’t deserve money and can’t be massive.

The second problem is relations with the federation and the championship regulations. Everything began to collapse under Skrynnik. The fee for participation in the Super League is growing from year to year. I would like to ask the federation a question - where does our money go? Where are the financial statements? Not to mention the fact that not a single coach or player can say anything; any criticism will result in an immediate fine. Remember the 2.5-year disqualification of our coach for the expression “guest worker” (in the 2014/15 season, the coach of the Moscow Region team was punished in this way after he used this term to the Swedish goalkeeper of the Khabarovsk team “SKA-Neftyanik”, who injured his player. - Note Life).

The opinion of people from the club that withdrew from the 2016/17 championship is confirmed by one of best players in the history of the sport and the current coach of the national champion and World Cup winner “Yenisei” Sergei Lomanov. He described the situation as catastrophic. And he named the main culprit - the current president of the FHMR, Boris Skrynnik.

He has all of hockey and the refereeing corps in his hands, he controls all the fees that clubs pay to the federation, but no one knows where this money goes. It's just his personal business. Professionals should come to Russian hockey, the famous coach cites the KHL as an example. - We need to create our own league separately from the federation, people with ideas who are loved in our sport must come. But this is impossible: everyone is intimidated, silent, everyone must sing to the president’s tune. Why are we afraid that they might do something to us? The maximum that can happen is that the judges will start drowning. And what?

In recent years, all the honored masters of sports have left our hockey,” continues Sergei Ivanovich. - They are simply squeezed out. We can expect help from the minister, the president, but they apparently have enough to do without us. But the end result is visible: eight years ago in Russia there were almost 70 professional clubs, now 35. Hockey is literally falling apart. I'm just wondering who will support the president in the next elections? No one even allowed any alternative candidate to be nominated; only five days were allotted for the entire nomination process! But the clubs have no representation in the federation at all, we seem to have nothing to do with the elections, what are we going to shout about? And most importantly: we were received by the President of Russia, instructions were given for the development of Russian hockey - I’m wondering if anything was accomplished? It’s a shame for our sport; it has been undeservedly forgotten.

Interlocutors in various sports media say that they tried to work on organizing television broadcasts and covering Russian hockey on the Internet and print media, but this turned out to be not necessary for the federation itself. Hockey is present on TV a couple of times a year during the world championships and the finals of the Russian championship - and with its entertainment it proves the right to get there more often. Just look at this ending to the 2015 World Cup final between Russia and Sweden, which featured one of the best comebacks in sports history:

The example of the Kirov club "Rodina" clearly shows how a large city of 500 thousand is heading towards being left without its only professional sports club. Several players and coaches of Super League clubs familiar with the situation in the team told Life about the latest events in the club.

The difficult situation in the club did not arise yesterday. The team has been included in the regional budget for many years. A new governor, Nikita Belykh, came and removed the cost of maintaining Rodina. Yes, we must pay tribute to the governor; at a difficult moment last season, he obtained help from Russian Railways, which helped complete the championship. But, in fact, the club has only two sources left - the city budget, which allocated 11 million rubles for the past season, and the Lepse plant. At the same time, the minimum budget of a Super League club must be 65 million - just to exist and participate in the championship as hopeless outsiders.

Source says:

Every year the team set goals to finish the championship on high places, enter the top eight, and we did it, we climbed quite high. But there was no income - expenses from year to year exceeded the money contained in the club. Logically, before the season - and this is how it once was - all our sponsors got together and determined who would contribute what share to the club’s budget. This year this was not done; it was determined using the “finger in the sky” method. You see, you can write down any figure for expenses in the budget, but this will not increase the club’s income. As a result, we reached a situation where the club has 0 rubles and 0 kopecks. We have three accounts seized due to non-payment of taxes, a criminal case has been opened against the director of the club, we cannot even conclude a government contract for the maintenance of a children's room. sports school. Regular meetings with regional authorities are currently underway. At the last of them, it was decided that the club would survive, we would be given a loan to pay off tax debts, so that we could revive the team and somehow exist. But so far the situation is far from resolved.

It is interesting that only in Russia do bandy clubs have professional status. In Sweden, despite the high status of the championship, clubs are officially semi-professional, and situations where existing players do business or work in parallel are common.

Nobody argues that sports in Russia have absolutely nothing to do with business and even Russian football clubs do not pay off. This inevitably makes all teams in the regions dependent on local budgets. But this does not remove the issue of spending funds by officials and effective organization sports competitions federations - especially considering the size of the country and the huge expenses of clubs on transport.

One of the Super League team players confirms the clubs’ complex financial relationship with the federation:

Any club needs money every year to pay for participation in the Super League. And although we pay a lot of money to the FHMR, its role in the development of hockey is zero, where these funds are then sent is unclear. Similarly with sponsorship: it is no secret that Surgutneftegaz is providing assistance in the development of the hockey federation; 100 million rubles were allocated, but no one saw where this money went.

The clubs simply support the federations, and some of the teams do not pay a fee, while the rest simply support them. Moreover, this season it has grown again - by 15%, from 5.3 million rubles to 6 million. This is simply absurd! We pay 2 million rubles for the work of the judiciary, which then does what it wants. And this is in such a difficult economic situation that exists in the regions now! The clubs are essentially enslaved by the federation. “Everyone knows about this situation - players, coaches, employees of all clubs, but they talk about it, as in Soviet times, in the kitchen,” the player continues.

When asked whether, in response to this attitude of officials, it is possible for clubs to leave the federation, as in ice hockey, the source says:

Everyone is afraid. We need a leader-locomotive to lead. Just look at football: before the election of the President of the RFU, two people take and withdraw candidacies in favor of Vitaly Mutko. It's the same with us. The elections are uncontested. Moreover, hockey practically died during the seven years of Skrynnik’s reign. Look how many clubs have ceased to exist in recent years! The only thing that saves the president is the team’s victories at the world championships, but it wins in spite of itself. There were attempts to enter higher echelons of power, through the Ministry of Sports. But FHMR is a public organization with its own charter. No one can tell her. Skrynnik and his retinue created their own world and live in it, not paying attention to the development of sports.

And, as if to confirm these words of our interlocutor, on the day when Dynamo-Kazan was disbanded, the Bandy Federation consecrated its office, chose its patron - Alexander Nevsky and acquired its name day. Indeed, what is there to do with earthly problems and the development of sports...