Rugby union in Russia
overview of rugby union in Russia
Rugby union in Russia is a moderately popular sport. Russia was in 2011 ranked 20th worldwide by the World Rugby, having over three hundred clubs and close to 22,000 players nationally. Russian Rugby Championship is the top-level professional competition held in Russia. Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia, is traditionally the heartland of Russian rugby.
Governing body
The Rugby Union of Russia is the governing body for rugby union in Russia. It was founded in 1936 originally as the Rugby Union of the Soviet Union, and a specifically Russian body was set up in 1966. The Rugby Union of Russia became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1990.
History
Medieval times
Since the early medieval times Russians played a ballgame, in many ways similar to rugby. In Russian it has been called "Kila" (kee-LAH,) the earliest written accounts of which go back to the 12th Century Novgorod Republic. As the game was strongly associated with pre-Christian pagan traditions, the Russian Orthodox Church didn't tolerate it.
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