Has the main theatrical premiere of the year in Russia become the main scandal of 2017?

Last weekend, the Bolshoi Theater presented to the public the ballet “Nureyev” by St. Petersburg composer Ilya Demutsky, staged by director Kirill Serebrennikov and choreographer Yuri Posokhov. “The Forbidden Performance,” tickets for the premiere shows of which sold out in a matter of hours, was held in front of a large crowd of VIPs - friends and acquaintances of the production’s sponsors - Roman Abramovich and Andrei Kostin. “Nureyev” is reviewed especially for “BUSINESS Online” by ballet critic Ekaterina Belyaeva.

"WAS THERE A BOY"

The world premiere of the ballet by the St. Petersburg composer took place in Moscow on the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Ilya Demutsky"Nureyev". It was staged by the artistic director of the Gogol Center Kirill Serebrennikov, who is currently under house arrest in connection with the so-called theater case, and choreographer Yuri Posokhov, lives and works in San Francisco. Let me remind you that this premiere was supposed to take place back in July 2017 and end the last theater season at the Bolshoi, but after one of the rehearsals it was suddenly canceled. In fact, the ballet was not cancelled, but sent for revision. The performance was first postponed to May 2018, since previously the directors did not have the common time to meet in Moscow for the second take.

Various versions have been put forward as the reasons for the cancellation. The official version was as follows: the performance is not ready for performance, is poorly rehearsed, has many production inconsistencies and requires additional time for improvement. Another version was based on conjectures regarding the obscenity of the visual material used by the director Serebrennikov (the director also acted in Nureyev as a set designer). It might seem indecent to flash a gigantic photo of a completely naked person on the backdrop Rudolf Nureyev by the famous American photographer Richard Avedon. The cards from that “natural”, that is, “nude” photo shoot are not forbidden, they are published, art historians and young photographers study from them in academies.

One can easily believe in the first reason, since in today's race most performances around the world are done hastily, released in a short time, and technologically difficult performances can increase in quality specifically at the very last rehearsals due to the professionalism of the directors and the dedication of the actors. This could easily happen to the Nureyev ballet in the summer. There is nothing to say regarding the second guess; journalists are not allowed into work rehearsals, and we cannot judge whether “there was a boy” (whether such a photograph was involved, what exactly the photograph was and in what format it was shown, whether there was other “pornography”). And the third hypothesis of the ballet being “not allowed” to the public in the summer is the presence of deliberate LGBT propaganda in the performance or the fear that the lyrical scenes are actually a marital relationship between Rudolf and the Danish dancer Erica Bruna, included in the ballet as a fact of Nureyev’s biography, will seem like such to some important person from above.

Be that as it may, after the fateful day, when the verdict on the cancellation of the finished ballet was announced, another general run-through of Nureyev took place; it was recorded so that the order could be remembered at any time. Then the worst-case scenario unfolded. In August, Serebrennikov was put under house arrest; the performances he had started - in Moscow and Stuttgart - were released without a final “inspection” of the director, locked in his Moscow apartment and deprived of a foreign passport. They were released in the highest “resolution”, since the brain concentration of fellow artists and responsibility for the common cause after Kirill’s arrest turned out to be enviably intense. At the same time, a window suddenly “opened” in the Bolshoi Theater’s December playbill and two “Nureyevs” “flew” into it. All directors, except Serebrennikov, were able to come to emergency rehearsals.

“The parades of “white tutus” in Vaganovka and the whirling of government portraits are shaping up to be “Groundhog Day” in the Soviet way (Nureyev - Vladislav Lantratov)” Photo: Pavel Rychkov / Bolshoi Theater

“NO SEAMS FROM THE URGENT CUT OUT OF FRIVOLIAN SCENES NOTICED”

Before we begin to describe that the audience (of which only 500 people bought tickets at the pre-sale box office, and the rest were representatives of the media, guests of the theater or invitees of two sponsors of the play - Roman Abramovich And Andrey Kostin) we saw at the premiere on December 9, we need to tell you what the Serebrennikov Theater is in general terms.

“Nureyev” is his third work at the Bolshoi after the opera “The Golden Cockerel” and the ballet “A Hero of Our Time.” Drama directors and librettists-playwrights appeared in ballet before him, history has recorded the experience of Nemirovich-Danchenko, Radlov, Piotrovsky and others... But Kirill is special. He comes to any pure genre to experiment, explode the routine and deceive the expectations of viewers with conventional thinking. His dramatic performances are similar to musicals and ballets, operas have serious plastic inserts, and ballets have elements of verbatim and melodic recitation.

Thus, ordering “Nureyev” to Serebrennikov’s team, the general director of the Bolshoi Vladimir Urin he did not take a pig in a poke, but a very specific synthetic theater that he wanted to show on the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater - a ballet with signs of opera, oratorio, television shows, dramatic performances and cinema. And the audience who came to the Bolshoi on December 9 and 10 is, to some extent, Serebrennikov’s usual “flock,” fans of his work and neophytes of contemporary art. These people would hardly point a lorgnette at Nureyev’s genitals, uncovered by a fig leaf, in the famous photograph. Let me make a reservation right away: there is no such photography in the ballet, just as there is no LGBT propaganda or pornography. There were also no seams from the urgent cutting of frivolous scenes. The ballet is performed in soft pastel colors and is full of lyrics.

“There are no photographs of a completely naked Nureyev in the ballet, just as there is no LGBT propaganda and pornography” Photo: Damir Yusupov / Bolshoi Theater

The Bolshoi Theater, represented by Urin, commissioned this production team to play about the most outstanding ballet artist of the second half of the 20th century. The general director of the country's main theater hoped with a new blockbuster, in this case a biopic (biography), to repeat the success of the ballet “Hero of Our Time,” staged by Serebrennikov and Posokhov to music by Demutsky in 2014 based on the novel of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov. Negotiations with Posokhov, who is in demand in the world, took place a long time ago; the choreographer “voiced” in advance several titles of ballets, the productions of which he could stage in anticipation of the historical stage of the Bolshoi, but the choice fell on “Nureyev”. Urin reasoned that the Bolshoi Theater needed, in addition to subjects from Russian literature (in the 2017/2018 season, the Hamburg choreographer John Neumayer is staging the ballet “Anna Karenina”, it will be a co-production of two ballet troupes) stories about great artists whose life and work changed the world. Nureyev was a perfect fit.

As for the spelling of the name of the dancer, better known to us as Nureyev, the choice here was made by the librettist, that is, Serebrennikov. The surname of Rudolf’s father was invented by him and was elevated to the name Nuris, and all his relatives were written down as Nureyevs at the time they received their passports. According to his passport, Rudolf was Nureyev, as Nureyev, he went with the troupe of the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theater to Paris, as Nureyev “jumped into freedom” in 1961 at Le Bourget airport, and a case was opened against Nureyev in the USSR as a traitor to the motherland.

“Through joint classes with Eric Brun (Denis Savin), Nureyev learns the subtleties and nuances of the Danish school of dance, and at the same time unites with him for a short time into a real family.” Photo: Mikhail Logvinov / Bolshoi Theater

“BEHIND EVERY LOT IS A FLASHBACK”

The ballet begins with cries from the auctioneer in English and French (MAT artist Igor Vernik). Two auction houses in Paris and New York are selling art and personal belongings belonging to the great dancer, god of dance Nureyev, who recently died (1993). Behind each lot there is a flashback - a mini-trip into Nureyev’s past, his meetings with people, participation in productions and simply important life episodes. Some episodes are inlaid with dancing, some are accompanied by singing (sung by mezzo-soprano Svetlana Shilova, tenor Marat Gali, countertenor Vadim Volkov), some are plastic sketches for the monotonous reading of a passage of a letter (most letters have fictitious content).

The first flashback takes us to Leningrad to the Vaganova Choreographic School, where Nureyev entered when he was 17 years old. Strict academic walls, creaky wooden floors, gauze curtains, diligent pupils and female students pull up lifts, jump in jets. After a while, Nureyev imposingly appears on stage ( Vladislav Lantratov) in impudent white tights and dancing, pushes away from the middle, and then simply rudely pushes the graceful girl, as if anticipating his future “revolutionary” activity in the field of development of solo male dance.

In the film “Rossi Street,” Serebrennikov begins to laugh at the “destroyed” life that people led in the USSR, and quietly demonstrates his and, apparently, Nureyev’s hatred of the regimes. There are two portraits hanging on the wall, one - stationary - depicts Vaganova, the second - first Nicholas II, and then Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev. Parades of “white tutus” in Vaganovka and the circling of government portraits are shaping up to be “Groundhog Day” in the Soviet way.

"Margot Fonteyn (Maria Alexandrova) introduces Rudy to the romantic repertoire" Photo: Pavel Rychkov / Bolshoi Theater

Now young Nureyev is being bombarded with denunciations from his colleagues (they are read out by the same Vernik), and the action is imperceptibly transferred to France, to the closed area of Le Bourget airport - and further to the Bois de Boulogne, “sparkling” with long-legged transvestites, who so shocked Nureyev after dietary Leningrad. The scene of the transition from Soviet Hell to Western Paradise is constructed colorfully. In the center of the stage there is a podium, on which stand corpulent chorus girls and three soloists - they sing “Song of the Motherland.” The collective farm dancers, in a crowded state, but not in any offence, dance about “it’s good to live in a Soviet country.” And behind them is the final scene of the first act with luxurious Parisian parties.

“THE SECOND ACT TELLS ABOUT NUREYEV’S WORK”

The second act talks about Nureyev's work, and it is more dance-oriented. Nureyev's famous partners take turns appearing on stage through flashback lots. Margot Fonteyn (Maria Alexandrova) introduces Rudy to the romantic repertoire, Natalia Makarova (Svetlana Zakharova) dances with him dance modern. Through joint classes with Brun ( Denis Savin) Nureyev learns the subtleties and nuances of the Danish school of dance, and at the same time unites with him for a short time into a real family. Wernick, meanwhile, auctions off an intimate note from Nureyev to Brun, who is dying of cancer, which Rudy never gave to his partner.

Natalya Makarova (Svetlana Zakharova) dances with Nureyev dance modern Photo: Mikhail Logvinov / Bolshoi Theater

Nureyev's unbridled passion for the stage and classical ballet is realized in the form of successive corps de ballet scenes set to deftly orchestrated but recognizable music by Tchaikovsky, Minkus, and Glazunov. Posokhov’s most beautiful discovery can be considered the dance scene, where the choreographer introduces energetic partners into the strictly female (as in a nunnery) group of shadows from “La Bayadere”, who not only “twist” the ballerinas and make strokes, but dance independently. This is such a direct allusion to the blasphemous acts of Nureyev the choreographer, who could, in his ballet, deprive the ballerina of a variation written by Petipa and transfer her music to a male soloist.

The finale plays on another of Nureyev’s loves—conducting. Lantratov's hero, dressed as Solor from La Bayadère, takes the baton from the hands of a real conductor ( Anton Grishanin) and stands at the controls of the Bolshoi Theater orchestra.

The ballet lasts two and a half hours with an intermission, it also contains episodes of “The Sun King”, where Rudolf - Louis XIV, having danced, enjoys the company of scantily clad janissaries who make up his male harem.

“The theater prepared three Nureyevs (in the photo - Artem Ovcharenko)” Photo: Damir Yusupov / Bolshoi Theater

The paintings, placed within the framework of one transforming set (a classroom in Vaganovka, the Paris metro, a hall in the Paris opera, the walls of plebeian quarters with colorful graffiti), quickly replace one another, and if something suspicious is born, it disappears so quickly that looks like an optical illusion.

The theater prepared three Nureyevs. Artem Ovcharenko danced on December 10, Igor Tsvirko a rehearsal has passed, and the performance will be in May. Must wait.

Ekaterina Belyaeva

At the announcement: Nureyev - Artem Ovcharenko. Photo by Damir Yusupov/ Bolshoi Theater.

In 1984, Paul Libo was replaced as FIVB President by Dr. Ruben Acosta, a lawyer from Mexico. At the initiative of Ruben Acosta, numerous changes were made to the rules of the game aimed at increasing the entertainment of the competition. On the eve of the 1988 Olympic Games, the 21st FIVB Congress was held in Seoul, at which changes were adopted in the regulations of the decisive fifth set: now it must be played according to the “rally-point” system (“draw-point”). Since 1998, this scoring system has been applied to the entire match, and in the same year the role of libero appeared.

In the early 1980s, the jump serve appeared and the side serve almost ceased to be used, the frequency of attacking shots from the back line increased, changes occurred in the methods of receiving the ball - the previously unpopular technique from below became dominant, and the reception from above with a fall almost disappeared. The playing functions of volleyball players have narrowed: for example, if previously all six players were involved in the reception, then since the 1980s, the implementation of this element has become the responsibility of two finishing players.

The game has become more powerful and faster. Volleyball has increased the demands placed on the height and athletic training of athletes. If in the 1970s there might not have been a single player on the team taller than 2 meters, then since the 1990s everything has changed. In high-class teams below 195-200 cm, there is usually only a setter and a libero.

Since 1990, the World Volleyball League has been played, an annual cycle of competitions designed to increase the popularity of the sport throughout the world. Since 1993, a similar competition has been held for women - the Grand Prix.

3. Current state

Since 2006, the FIVB has united 220 national volleyball federations, making volleyball one of the most popular sports on Earth. In August 2008, Chinese Wei Jizhong was elected as the new president of the FIVB.

Volleyball is the most developed sport in countries such as Russia, Brazil, China, Italy, USA, Japan, and Poland. The current world champion among men is the Brazilian national team (2006), among women - the Russian national team (2006).

On November 8, 2009, the current winner of the European Volleyball Champions League, Italian Trentino, won another trophy, becoming the world club champion.

4. Development of volleyball in Russia

In the spring of 1932, a volleyball section was created under the All-Union Council of Physical Culture of the USSR. In 1933, during a session of the Central Executive Committee, an exhibition match was played between the teams of Moscow and Dnepropetrovsk on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in front of the leaders of the ruling party and government of the USSR. And a year later, the championships of the Soviet Union were regularly held, officially called the “All-Union Volleyball Festival.” Having become the leaders of domestic volleyball, Moscow athletes were honored to represent it on the international stage, when Afghan athletes were guests and rivals in 1935. Despite the fact that the games were played according to Asian rules, the Soviet volleyball players won a convincing victory - 2:0 (22:1, 22:2).

Competitions for the USSR championship were held exclusively in open areas, most often after football matches next to the stadiums, and the largest competitions, such as the 1952 World Cup, were held in the same stadiums with crowded stands.

Soviet volleyball players are 6-time world champions, 12-time European champions, 4-time World Cup winners. The USSR women's team won the World Championships 5 times, the European Championships 13 times, and the World Cup 1 time.

The All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VFV) was founded in 1991. The president of the federation is Nikolai Patrushev. The Russian men's team is the winner of the 1999 World Cup and the 2002 World League. The women's team won the 2006 World Championships, European Championships (1993, 1997, 1999, 2001), Grand Prix (1997, 1999, 2002), and the 1997 World Champions Cup.

On its 82nd birthday, May 25, the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater opened its doors to spectators and let them into its bowels: onto the stage and even under the roof. More than two thousand people who signed up for excursions saw the Bolshoi from the inside and learned how it prepares for performances, how rehearsals are held and how the scenery is created.

"When you do something for the first time, everyone considers it an adventure. This was the case with the Christmas Opera Forum, the Grand Ball, Bolshoi Theater evenings at the Radziwill Castle, the International Vocal Competition... Everything happens for the first time, and then everything good becomes a tradition", said the general director of the Bolshoi Theater on the solemn day Vladimir Gridyushko in his office.

Back in winter, they announced an internal competition for proposals on how to celebrate the theater’s birthday. Among other ideas, the head of marketing and advertising Tatiana Alexandrova and Deputy General Director Svetlana Kazyulina proposed to show the inner life of the Bolshoi on this day.

"When a person comes to the theater, he sees everything in a festive format. But not everyone can understand what it means to create a performance. It's hard labor", Vladimir Gridyushko explained why he liked the idea. This idea was conveyed to visitors on the holiday by 20 guides, specially trained theater employees.

Back in the 20s, an opera and ballet troupe, a choir and an orchestra operated on the basis of BDT-1. In 1924, a music college was created, and a year later opera and ballet departments appeared on the basis of the college. Then, in 1930, opera and ballet studios arose, and on May 25, 1933, the premiere of the opera “Carmen” of the then State Opera and Ballet Theater of the BSSR took place on the stage of the current Kupala Theater. The main role was performed by Larisa Pompeevna Aleksandrovskaya. It is noteworthy that the opera was in Belarusian, Carmen was the heroine of the proletariat, and the smugglers fought injustice. In 1935, Carmen was staged again, also in the Belarusian language, but without the proletarian flair.
In 1939, the current building of the Bolshoi Theater was built, and the first opera was Mikhas Padgorny. It, together with “The Flower of Happiness” and the ballet “The Nightingale”, was shown at the ten-day period of Belarusian art in Moscow in 1940. At the same time, the theater received the title of Bolshoi. In 1964, the theater was awarded the title of academic, and in 1996 - national.
On June 14, the Bolshoi will host the eighth production of Carmen in the theater’s history. The theater administration revealed the secret and said that the artists were learning flamenco and Sevillana.

Winding along the corridors of the theater, we find ourselves on a stage with an area of 600 square meters without a rear stage (the back of the stage, a reserve room for decorations that create the illusion of depth; with it the stage area is 800 square meters. – TUT.BY) .

When there is no performance, the stage is closed with a fire curtain. Mechanic Anatoly specially raised the curtain for a while on the open day, and the auditorium appeared - at first glance so small from the stage.

On the stage itself there are seven tripods with spotlights and four more side towers for lighting. Each spotlight rotates in any plane independently of the other. This allows you to create the necessary lighting for the performance. All stage mechanics are controlled using an electronic remote control and a touch screen. There are 21 platforms under the stage, which can rise separately and change the slope. The stage itself, according to the rules, has a slope of 4 degrees.

The chandelier in the auditorium, with a diameter of 4 meters and a weight of 1200 kg, consists of 30 thousand pendants, 500 light bulbs connected using 1 km of wires. After the season closes, the chandelier is lowered, and you can see that it is twice the height of a person.

With fire curtain raised

Stage without fire curtain. After the reconstruction of the theater, which took place from 2006 to 2009, the structures were secured. There is a schedule for regular inspection of premises, when the slightest changes are measured.

There is a small props room near the stage so that goblets, swords, sabers, masks and bottles are at hand for stage feasts.

On the open day, the theater was preparing for the evening ballet “The Sleeping Beauty.” In the scene, a safe was lifted from the floor, in which soft decorations are stored. Each of the four tiers contains three sets of decorations. They are all labeled so workers know which beam to tie the drapery to.

The upper part of the theater stage is the grate. They are located high above the stage and covered with bars to lower the scenery. Frankly, even on a flat floor you feel uneasy and your legs give way when you look down through the cracks. The grate bars contain motors capable of lifting up to 1 kg of decorations.

Grate bars. The most mystical room under the roof of the Bolshoi.

More than 40 thousand costumes for performances are stored under the roof. Winding through the corridors with the costume designer Natalya Kharabrova, we are talking about the labyrinths of the theater.

According to her, in the first year of work, the employees themselves become lost. But the turnover in the theater is low, people have been working for decades, so they navigate almost intuitively, including in the room with costumes.

Natalya herself already remembers by heart where each suit is kept. It’s hard for an inexperienced person to believe this, because without preparation in such a mass of costumes, even with the signatures of each row, it would be difficult to find something. We went to the largest warehouse, and there are 11 more of them in the theater, but smaller in size.

One performance can involve 250-300 costumes, and for the costume designer this is a busy day: all the costumes are carried by hand or on trolleys. " The costume designer must have a good memory in order to remember where each sock or handkerchief is.", says Natalya Kharabrova.

Periodically, the sanitation station comes to the warehouses and treats them to prevent moths and dust. After the performance, some costumes are washed, some are dry-cleaned, some are washed by hand in a special laundry. According to the costume designer, all the outfits for the performance are unique, “it is impossible to repeat them,” this is the reason why the theater does not rent them out – it is like a work of art. And some costumes have been kept for decades, such as the leather ones for the ballet “Spartacus” - they have been at the Bolshoi since the 80s.

However, the theater will not stop at opening its doors. The birthday boy is already preparing certificates for performances for the next season. According to the director, when theater tickets are given as a gift, a person does not always have the opportunity to go to a specific performance at a specific time. The certificate will allow you to buy any ticket for any time for the specified amount.

I found this aphorism on one of the procurement forums... and it perfectly reflects the whole essence of work in the contract system. I've been in procurement for about 7 years now, but situations still arise that baffle me. And no matter how many years you work in procurement, you will always make mistakes and something Read more about Anyone involved with government contracts doesn’t laugh at the circus...[…]

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Amendments have been made to Federal Law No. 44-FZ dated 04/05/2013

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Question: On the establishment of penalties (fines, penalties) for violation by the customer of obligations under a contract with a single supplier (contractor, performer).

Answer: MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION LETTER dated February 8, 2017 N OG-D28-1543 The Department for the Development of the Contract System of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation considered applications on the application of the provisions of the Federal Law of April 5, 2013 N 44-FZ “On the contract system in sphere of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. Read more about Question: On the establishment of penalties (fines, penalties) for violation by the customer of obligations under a contract with a single supplier (contractor, performer).[…]

Question: On changing the price of a contract concluded with a single supplier (contractor, performer) for the purchase of goods (work, services) worth less than 100 thousand rubles.

Answer: MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION LETTER dated June 21, 2017 N 24-05-08/38833 The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, having considered the appeal on the application of the provisions of the Federal Law of 04/05/2013 N 44-FZ “On the contract system in the field of procurement of goods , works, services to meet state and municipal needs” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on the Contract System), reports the following. In accordance with Read more about Question: On changing the price of a contract concluded with a single supplier (contractor, performer) for the purchase of goods (work, services) worth less than 100 thousand rubles.[…]

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Procurement under Law N 44-FZ: key changes coming into force on January 1, 2018 New rules banning the admission of foreign software will come into force. The ban will not apply to software from EAEU member states. To do this, it must be included in a special register, which will appear in addition to the existing one. If at least in Read more about 2018: REVIEW OF CHANGES IN PROCUREMENTS UNDER LAWS No. 44-FZ AND No. 223-FZ[…]

Schedules for 2018. Getting ready for the new financial year!

Continuing the topic, today we will talk about plans and schedules for 2018. In the previous article, we “posted” the procurement plan for 2018. Now we will “form and place” the schedule. Schedules contain a list of purchases of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs for the financial year and are the basis for procurement. Schedules are formed by customers in Read more about Schedules for 2018. Getting ready for the new financial year![…]

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The New Year is very close and it’s time to start creating procurement plans and schedules for 2018. So today I want to talk about exactly this! Maybe someone will find this article useful! PURCHASE PLAN Procurement plans are formed for a period corresponding to the duration of the budget law for the next financial year and planning period. For example, we have a budget

Current state

Development of volleyball in Russia

As the publication “All About Sports” (1978) notes, volleyball was born overseas, but at first it was a stepson on the American continent. “Our country became his true homeland. It was in the Soviet Union that volleyball acquired its remarkable qualities. He became athletic, fast, agile, as we know him today.”

Pre-war volleyball in the USSR was jokingly called “the game of actors.” After all, in Moscow, the first volleyball courts appeared in the courtyards of the Meyerhold, Kamerny, Revolution, Vakhtangov theaters. On July 28, 1923, the first official match took place on Myasnitskaya Street, in which the teams of the Higher Art Theater Workshops (VKHUTEMAS) and the State School of Cinematography (GShK) met. From this meeting the chronology of our volleyball begins. The pioneers of the new sport were masters of art, future People's Artists of the USSR Nikolai Bogolyubov, Boris Shchukin, Anatoly Ktorov and Rina Zelenaya, future famous artists Georgy Nissky and Yakov Romas. The level of skill of the actors at that time was not inferior to the sports one - the club "Rabis" (trade union of arts workers) beat the team of the sports society "Dynamo" (Moscow).

In January 1925, the Moscow Council of Physical Education developed and approved the first official rules for volleyball competitions. According to these rules, Moscow championships have been regularly held since 1927. An important event in the development of volleyball in our country was the championship played during the first All-Union Spartakiad in 1928 in Moscow. It was attended by men's and women's teams from Moscow, Ukraine, the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and the Far East. In the same year, a permanent panel of judges was created in Moscow.

For the development of volleyball, mass competitions held at the sites of cultural and recreation parks in many cities of the USSR were of great importance. These games also became a good school for foreign guests - in the early 30s, competition rules were published in Germany under the name “Volleyball - a Russian folk game.”

During the Great Patriotic War, volleyball continued to be cultivated in military units. Already in 1943, volleyball courts in the rear began to come to life. Since 1945, the USSR championships have been resumed, and volleyball in our country has become one of the most popular sports. The number of people involved in volleyball was estimated at 5-6 million (and according to some sources, several times more). As the legendary coach Vyacheslav Platonov notes in his book “The Equation with Six Famous”, “those days, those years are unimaginable without volleyball. The ball flying through a net stretched between two pillars (trees, racks) had a magical effect on teenagers, on boys and girls, on brave warriors returning from the battlefields, on those who were drawn to each other. And then everyone was drawn to each other.” Volleyball was played in courtyards, parks, stadiums, on beaches... Together with amateurs, recognized masters - Anatoly Chinilin, Anatoly Eingorn, Vladimir Ulyanov - did not hesitate to go to the net. Thanks to such mass participation, schoolchildren who picked up a ball for the first time quickly grew into real stars of Soviet and world volleyball.

In 1947, Soviet volleyball players entered the international arena. At the first World Youth Festival in Prague, a volleyball tournament was held, in which the Leningrad team participated, reinforced, as was customary then, by Muscovites. The team was led by legendary coaches Alexey Baryshnikov and Anatoly Chinilin. Our athletes won 5 matches with a score of 2:0, and only the last 2:1 (13:15, 15:10, 15:7) against the hosts, the Czechoslovakian national team. The first “women’s” trip took place in 1948 - the capital’s team “Lokomotiv” went to Poland, supplemented by colleagues from the Moscow “Dynamo” and “Spartak” and the Leningrad Spartak team. In the same 1948, the All-Union Volleyball Section became members of the International Volleyball Federation (and not American, but our rules of the game formed the basis of international ones), and in 1949, our players took part in official international competitions for the first time. The debut turned out to be “golden” - the USSR women's team won the title of European champions, and the men's team won the World Championship. In 1959, the USSR Volleyball Federation was formed.

Our men's team also became the first Olympic champion in Tokyo 1964. She won both the Olympics in Mexico City (1968) and Moscow (1980). And the women's team won the title of Olympic champion four times (1968, 1972, 1980 and 1988).

Soviet volleyball players are 6-time world champions, 12-time European champions, 4-time World Cup winners. The USSR women's team won the World Championships 5 times, European Championships 13 times, and the World Cup 1 time.

Under the auspices of the FIVB

The Olympic Games are held every 4 years. The World Championship is also held every 4 years. The World Champions Cup is held every 4 years. The World League is held once a year. The Grand Prize is held once a year. Under the auspices of the CEV, the European Championship is held every 2 years.