Where Muscovites Already are Engaged in Real Battles with People from Other Russian Cities

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 16 – In Russian cities, clubs that organize historical re-enactments of past battles are in some cases being joined by semi-legal groups that organize real fights between people of different cities in which those involved suffer real injuries, Sergey Zabedeyev of Sovershenno-Sekretno says.

            Despite the fact that this second kind of fight club “balances on the edge of legality,” he continues, such organizations are gaining significant popularity among various strata of society” even though those engaged in such activities are generally reluctant to speak about what they are doing (sovsekretno.ru/articles/ledovoe-poboishche-zakrytogo-tipa/).

            Zabedeyev did find one who spoke with him on condition of anonymity. The man said that there are many people in Russia who aren’t satisfied with historical reenactments and don’t want to turn to alcohol. Instead, they want to fight with sone supervision as a better way of dealing with stress and burning off energy.

            Those taking part come from the most varied social classes and often are territorially mixed, the organizer says; but “as a rule,” residents of one city clash with those of another. “For example, Muscovites against Tver residents” and so on. The time and place of these combats is set by the organizer who then sends out emails.

             It is an unwritten rule that those taking part don’t talk about their backgrounds, he says. “All must be equal. It wouldn’t be very good if one participant, a former inmate, knew that one of his opponents was an employee of the penitentiary system of it a simple worker with low payd knew that his opponent was the head of a large factory.”

            Participants range in age from 25 to 60, the organizer says. Sometimes non-Russians take part. But because these groups operate in secret lest the authorities close them down, not much is known about exactly who takes part or even how serious the wounds they receive turn out to be. After the battles, the wives of the fighters treat them instead of going to clinics.

            According to the organizer, the wives enjoy seeing their husbands fight, and children admire their fathers for doing so. The clubs try to avoid violating the law by not taking any money and thus not becoming commercial enterprises, but they are at risk of charges for any physical violence those taking part in these battles inflict on each other.