We dedicated the festival entirely to games—especially the kinds we vaguely remember from childhood fairy tales or our grandparents’ stories, but rarely played ourselves: lapta, gorodki, kubar, svaika, spinning tops, and other traditional Russian folk games and pastimes.
It turned out to be great fun and genuinely interesting—for both adults and children.
On a sunny morning, May 21, we arrived at the Zhukovka boarding school together with game leaders from the “Desant Dobra” team (also known as “Rusichi”). They love, study, and revive Russia’s historical games, songs, and traditions. They brought bows and arrows, wooden kubars (a traditional spinning toy, wound up and launched with a cord), a large rope skipping rope, set up the wooden pins for gorodki, and laid out heavy iron “darts” for the game of svaika (thrown into the ground—you have to land them inside an iron ring, which is not as easy as it sounds). They also brought a small spinning-top board and a throwing spear.
The children ran enthusiastically from station to station—jumping, throwing, shooting, cheering with excitement, and persistently working to succeed when winning didn’t come easily. Some children spontaneously started playing active team games; everyone especially loved a game where two players stand in the centre of a circle—one player must be “hit” with a ball while the other protects them. It was very touching and meaningful, and also just great fun. And, of course, the children also enjoyed the classic “team vs. team” game.
During the activities, the “Rusichi” team explained—in a very thoughtful way—what respect for an opponent means, why fair play matters, and why it’s important to follow the rules, sharing a genuine interest in the traditions of Russian folk games. Adults happily joined in as well: caregivers and the “Children with Love” Foundation staff tried to keep their balance on stilts, learned how to set an arrow correctly on a bow, and ran around playing lapta together with the children.
Thank you to everyone who helped and took part in this day—special thanks to the volunteers, the photographer, and, of course, the ENS kindergartens for supporting the organisation of the festival!
It turned out to be great fun and genuinely interesting—for both adults and children.
On a sunny morning, May 21, we arrived at the Zhukovka boarding school together with game leaders from the “Desant Dobra” team (also known as “Rusichi”). They love, study, and revive Russia’s historical games, songs, and traditions. They brought bows and arrows, wooden kubars (a traditional spinning toy, wound up and launched with a cord), a large rope skipping rope, set up the wooden pins for gorodki, and laid out heavy iron “darts” for the game of svaika (thrown into the ground—you have to land them inside an iron ring, which is not as easy as it sounds). They also brought a small spinning-top board and a throwing spear.
The children ran enthusiastically from station to station—jumping, throwing, shooting, cheering with excitement, and persistently working to succeed when winning didn’t come easily. Some children spontaneously started playing active team games; everyone especially loved a game where two players stand in the centre of a circle—one player must be “hit” with a ball while the other protects them. It was very touching and meaningful, and also just great fun. And, of course, the children also enjoyed the classic “team vs. team” game.
During the activities, the “Rusichi” team explained—in a very thoughtful way—what respect for an opponent means, why fair play matters, and why it’s important to follow the rules, sharing a genuine interest in the traditions of Russian folk games. Adults happily joined in as well: caregivers and the “Children with Love” Foundation staff tried to keep their balance on stilts, learned how to set an arrow correctly on a bow, and ran around playing lapta together with the children.
Thank you to everyone who helped and took part in this day—special thanks to the volunteers, the photographer, and, of course, the ENS kindergartens for supporting the organisation of the festival!