October 20, 2021

That's Not the Team Spirit


That's Not the Team Spirit

“Because of e-sports, we are losing future great athletes who could become Olympic champions. It is a pity, but it is their right to choose. If they see themselves in e-sports, no one can force them to do something else. In the end, e-sports are better than hype blogging. It at least falls under sports, albeit without physical activity. You can talk as much as you like, good or bad. Nothing will change anyway. We will not close the country and return to the USSR regime with strict restrictions. This way, everyone will just rant and rave for a little while and then will again put a gadget in the hands of a child. It is the truth of life.”

– State Duma Deputy and Olympic Champion Svetlana Zhurova

On October 17, Zhurova commented on the recent victory of the members of Team Spirit, a Russian group who took home $18.2 million USD (over 1.2 billion rubles) for winning first place in The International 10. The world champion e-sports tournament pits players against each other in Dota (Defense of the Ancients) 2, an online multiplayer video game where two teams of five must defend bases against the attacks of the opposing competitors.

“Of course, the guys really worked hard, strove,” Zhurova said. “They won and deservedly received their prize money. Well done. But I don't want it to become widespread, because the victory of Team Spirit will now be a super big advertisement for children. Now absolutely everyone will have this wish. The guys will begin to understand: ‘If I sit and do e-sports, I will achieve the same success and get a huge amount of money.’ And we will not stop this process.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin got wind of the victory, too, and seemed more pleased than Zhurova when he congratulated the team for taking the title, a first for the Russian Federation. “We have proven in practice that our cyber sportsmen are always goal-oriented and capable of conquering any heights. I wish you new successes and all the best.”

This is not, of course, the first time citizens of the Federation might have reason to be proud of a little sedentary sporting. A Russian invented Tetris, after all. (Check it out – it even comes installed in Russian vans!)

 

 

 

 

You Might Also Like

RuNet: A Cyberian Adventure
  • March 01, 2005

RuNet: A Cyberian Adventure

The Internet is becoming an important factor in Russian culture and the Russian economy. We trace its history and plot its future trajectory.
Bread and Circuses. And Tetris.
  • October 19, 2017

Bread and Circuses. And Tetris.

Arcade cars, patriotic circuses, and administrative festivities. Also, some crazy murals, Moscow's transformation, and the secrets of Peter the Great. 
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?
  • May 17, 2020

Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?

A deep dive into the history and philosophy behind Tetris, and the reasons why it has managed to stay relevant for so long and will probably still be in the future.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
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.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

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