Russian childhood games

Players mark a circle on the ground. The knife can be thrown over the shoulder, with a turn, from nose level and even over the head. This game develops the ability to handle weapons, improves attention span, and fosters a sense of caution.

Players sit in a row and hold their hands together to form a cup shape. The leader holds a small object such as a coin, button, or ring in her hands.

The other participants have to try to catch the person with the object. First published in Russian in Gazeta. This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more. May 11 These days, children play video games or spend time at specially organized clubs. During the Soviet era, kids would play in the yard outside their apartment building or house.

There was an entire culture of yard games - developmental, educational, and a lot of fun. Rezinochki Rezinochki. Source: Elena Pochetova The key element of this game is an elasticated band rezinochka that is stretched between two girls while the other players jump over it.

Source: Elena Pochetova This game develops spatial orientation, coordination, and attention span. Classics Hopscotch Classics. Source: Elena Pochetova You will need chalk, an asphalt playground, and a stone or puck. The winner is the player who manages to make it the whole way, from 1 to Source: Elena Pochetova This game develops dexterity, accuracy, the ability to concentrate, and knowledge of numbers if the players are young children.

Boyars Boyars. Source: Elena Pochetova Participants in this classic Russian game are divided into two equal teams and line up in two rows facing each other, holding hands, meters apart. Koldunchiki Wizards Koldunchiki. Source: Elena Pochetova In this game, the players run away from the leader a variation of tag. Source: Elena Pochetova This game develops the ability to run, think quickly, and enjoy yourself.

Source: Elena Pochetova The Cossacks win when they either catch all of the Thieves or manage to get one of them to say the secret word. Vishibali Dodgeball Vishibali. This game develops the ability to dodge fast-moving objects, think of others, and endure pain.

Edible - Inedible Edible - Inedible. These traditional Russian games were often played in a circle or as a large group, making them an essential way to connect with the community. While many classic Russian games are now part of history, others have survived and are experiencing a new surge of popularity in modern Russia.

Now, you can discover the rules of some of the most well-known traditional Russian games. With similarities to cricket, baseball and Rounders, Lapta is still popular in modern Russia today. Lapta is a bat-and-ball game played on a rectangular field. The pitcher serves the ball, and the hitter uses the bat to hit the ball, then run across the field and back. The opposite team's task is to catch the ball and launch it at the hitter before he or she has finished running. Each run completed without being hit earns points for the team.

During the reign of Peter the Great, Lapta was used as a training technique for Russian troops. Over the centuries, the game has become a popular way to keep fit and build stamina and speed. Today, Lapta is an official sport in Russia. Players divide up into two teams: the Cossacks and the Robbers. To begin the game, the Robbers hide within a previously agreed-upon area e.

The Cossacks give the Robbers a minute head start, then begin looking for them. The game is played until all Robbers are caught. The name of the game comes from Tsarist Russia, when Cossacks were the guardians of law and order. The game became popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. Another traditional game, Chizhik has been popular since at least the 16th century due to its simplicity, flexibility and fun. The game requires two wooden sticks: one short stick the chizhik , which has a sharpened end, and one long stick the designated bat.

Before gameplay begins, a line and a circle are drawn on the ground, several feet apart. The goal of this game is to use the bat to hit the chizhik as far as possible. Meanwhile, the other player s attempt to catch the ball mid-flight, or, failing that, find the fallen ball and throw it back into the circle. The sticks are often made out of scrap wood; the chizhik can be sharpened with the aid of a pocket knife.

The colorfully painted folk game is traditionally made from linden or birch wood and is available in an unlimited range of shapes, sizes, themes and number of pieces. Inside each hollowed doll, which opens in the middle, nests a smaller doll.

The toy is especially popular with imaginative preschoolers, who love stacking, arranging and counting the dolls. Although the ways to play with matryoshka are limited only by a child's creativity, modern sets usually include instructions.

Invented by 17th-century Russian farmers, gorodki has been played from the fields to the royal palace grounds. A mix between bowling and horseshoes, the objective is to knock out a configuration of wooden pins with a wooden bat in the fewest throws.

Gorodki became recognized as a legitimate sport in when the rules were codified and 15 standard pin patterns were adopted. Although its popularity has waned in recent decades, pickup games of gorodki are still played at camping sites, community parks and factory courtyards. During the long Arctic winters, Russian children bundle up for an outdoor round of Steeple Bell.