© all rights reserved 2011
SPORTS AND COMPETITION,
RECREATION
Out of a total dearth of activity prior to the
1950’s, these subjects must begin here. The general
perception is that The USSR wanted to use success in
the Olympic games as a promotion of its image---good
sportsmen = good life. To accomplish this, children
down to very young ages were tested and analyzed by
the State and then put into special development
programs. Literally, regardless of age, sport became
work at these highest levels. With a population base of
200 million or so, including many non-Russian
republics to draw from , the program was a big
success through 1991. People from all over the world
became accustomed to seeing athletes wearing CCCP.
In the West, there was joke about this standing for
Cabbage, Celery, Cauliflower, and Potatoes, but here is
the real meaning. In Russian, the “C” has an “s”-like
sound, while the “P” has an “r”-like sound. So it reads
Soyuz (Union) Sovietsky (Soviet) Sotsialisteechesky
(Socialist) (Respoobliki) (Republics).
Since 1991, fragmentation and a complete lack of
national purpose/focus/spending in The Russian
Federation have sent team sports spiraling downward.
Athletes are generally poor, so the old adage of “screw
the poor” applies here. Many Russian athletes have
found success by competing for western sports teams,
especially hockey teams in the United States. Most
world-class athletes who compete for Russia generally
train outside the country to use better overall training
facilities.
This is a cold-weather sport country but there
aren’t any really high mountains, so Russia doesn’t do
well in alpine skiing and sledding events; people of all
ages love simple sledding. All skating and cross-
country skiing-related and events are hugely popular;
people of all ages love these sports. Ice hockey is also
played with a small inflated ball on a full-size soccer
field; it is very fast and in some places is more popular
that hockey with a puck. Soccer/football is the warm
1950’s, these subjects must begin here. The general
perception is that The USSR wanted to use success in
the Olympic games as a promotion of its image---good
sportsmen = good life. To accomplish this, children
down to very young ages were tested and analyzed by
the State and then put into special development
programs. Literally, regardless of age, sport became
work at these highest levels. With a population base of
200 million or so, including many non-Russian
republics to draw from , the program was a big
success through 1991. People from all over the world
became accustomed to seeing athletes wearing CCCP.
In the West, there was joke about this standing for
Cabbage, Celery, Cauliflower, and Potatoes, but here is
the real meaning. In Russian, the “C” has an “s”-like
sound, while the “P” has an “r”-like sound. So it reads
Soyuz (Union) Sovietsky (Soviet) Sotsialisteechesky
(Socialist) (Respoobliki) (Republics).
Since 1991, fragmentation and a complete lack of
national purpose/focus/spending in The Russian
Federation have sent team sports spiraling downward.
Athletes are generally poor, so the old adage of “screw
the poor” applies here. Many Russian athletes have
found success by competing for western sports teams,
especially hockey teams in the United States. Most
world-class athletes who compete for Russia generally
train outside the country to use better overall training
facilities.
This is a cold-weather sport country but there
aren’t any really high mountains, so Russia doesn’t do
well in alpine skiing and sledding events; people of all
ages love simple sledding. All skating and cross-
country skiing-related and events are hugely popular;
people of all ages love these sports. Ice hockey is also
played with a small inflated ball on a full-size soccer
field; it is very fast and in some places is more popular
that hockey with a puck. Soccer/football is the warm
weather favorite. In almost all secondary schools and parks, a puck-style
hockey rink serves as a mini-soccer field during warm months. Different
motor sports are gaining in popularity, though of course the cost is prohibitive
for most. The same can be said for sports like tennis, swimming, etc. The
favorite indoor game is chess, since fighting for position is key to survival in
Russia. As a general rule, the older one gets, the fewer opportunities exist,
time-wise, for sport. Too much time must be devoted to working and
supporting the family, to survival.
Recreation is symbolized by hunting and fishing, which are enjoyed year
round. These are not subject to the above rule regarding time restraints.
Regarding the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi: after they are
completed, the plan is to turn the area into a combined Russian Monte
Carlo/French Alps-type resort which would be patronized by the Russian elite,
the emerging Russian middle class, and, possibly, curious foreigners. The
problems with this are several: 1. Rich Russians patronize only the finest
resorts in the world, and love hob-nobbing with wealthy from other nations.
2. The Russian middle class is too small and this, combined with the high
travel costs due to the region’s isolation and the high-end pricing expected,
prices them out of this place. Additionally, using Sochi facilities as a training
site for future Olympic Games is to be expected and is justifiable---but
certainly is not cost-efficient. One possible solution might be to focus on the
Asian/Arab world as a customer base.
Regarding the 2018 World Cup of Soccer, after it is completed, similar
problems arise. The plan is for Russian Oligarchs (combined with naïve
foreign minority joint venture partners) to invest in these stadiums and in
soccer/football teams for them INSIDE of Russia the way some have invested
OUTSIDE of Russia to date, based on the expectation that European leagues
and clubs will keep expanding, a-la hockey. This also appears unlikely; even
if such expansion were to continue, Russia’s criminal-based economic system
would create too much uncertainty and instability for those grounded on law-
based society, even for its own Oligarchs. No large-scale options appear
here except, again, Arab-world investment, which would draw on the recent
immigration of many millions of Central Asian workers who live in Russia
unofficially/illegally. A similar formula has worked very well in several regions
of the United States.
hockey rink serves as a mini-soccer field during warm months. Different
motor sports are gaining in popularity, though of course the cost is prohibitive
for most. The same can be said for sports like tennis, swimming, etc. The
favorite indoor game is chess, since fighting for position is key to survival in
Russia. As a general rule, the older one gets, the fewer opportunities exist,
time-wise, for sport. Too much time must be devoted to working and
supporting the family, to survival.
Recreation is symbolized by hunting and fishing, which are enjoyed year
round. These are not subject to the above rule regarding time restraints.
Regarding the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi: after they are
completed, the plan is to turn the area into a combined Russian Monte
Carlo/French Alps-type resort which would be patronized by the Russian elite,
the emerging Russian middle class, and, possibly, curious foreigners. The
problems with this are several: 1. Rich Russians patronize only the finest
resorts in the world, and love hob-nobbing with wealthy from other nations.
2. The Russian middle class is too small and this, combined with the high
travel costs due to the region’s isolation and the high-end pricing expected,
prices them out of this place. Additionally, using Sochi facilities as a training
site for future Olympic Games is to be expected and is justifiable---but
certainly is not cost-efficient. One possible solution might be to focus on the
Asian/Arab world as a customer base.
Regarding the 2018 World Cup of Soccer, after it is completed, similar
problems arise. The plan is for Russian Oligarchs (combined with naïve
foreign minority joint venture partners) to invest in these stadiums and in
soccer/football teams for them INSIDE of Russia the way some have invested
OUTSIDE of Russia to date, based on the expectation that European leagues
and clubs will keep expanding, a-la hockey. This also appears unlikely; even
if such expansion were to continue, Russia’s criminal-based economic system
would create too much uncertainty and instability for those grounded on law-
based society, even for its own Oligarchs. No large-scale options appear
here except, again, Arab-world investment, which would draw on the recent
immigration of many millions of Central Asian workers who live in Russia
unofficially/illegally. A similar formula has worked very well in several regions
of the United States.
