January 30, 2024

Gym Teacher's Charity a Slam Dunk


Gym Teacher's Charity a Slam Dunk
Great spot for a game of dodgeball. The Russian Life files

A boundless love of sports and the sting of childhood poverty motivated Khabarovsk gym teacher Ilya Chikvintsev to found the charity Iriska. Iriska (a play on his mother's name, Irina, and the word for "toffee") will supply local children with sports equipment that their families are not able to provide.

The idea stemmed from a difficult time in Chikvintsev's childhood: economically-devastated 1990s Russia. Despite young Ilya's love for soccer, his family could not afford to buy him adequate sneakers. Today, Chikvintsev wants to ensure no other children are deprived of the joy of sports. 

Growing up with a single mother in the small town of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, a former gold-mining hub that has since fallen into disrepair, Ilya found solace in his extracurriculars. Fortunately, several years after his hopes to play on his school's soccer team were dashed, Chikvintsev was able to join his school's basketball team. A scholarship to a university in Khabarovsk and a fulfilling career as a gym teacher later, Chikvintsev now wants to give back to students in similarly tough situations. 

Chikvintsev (along with his wife Maria) has secured sufficient local sponsors to provide over 40 children with their dream sports gear, ensuring their ability to play regardless of their ability to pay.

You Might Also Like

Russian Hoop Dreams
  • November 01, 2011

Russian Hoop Dreams

Top WNBA players are streaming to Russia to play pro basketball. And while they are unquestionably having an effect on Russian basketball, Russia is having its effect on them.
Support Ukrainian Charities
  • December 24, 2022

Support Ukrainian Charities

Some useful resources where you can easily, and safely, help those suffering from Russia's War on Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955