Russian writer Alexander Kuprin gave a vivid description of lapta: “This folk game is one of the most interesting and beneficial games around. Lapta requires resourcefulness, controlling your breathing, being true to your team, being alert, dexterity, fast running, good marksmanship, strong hands and enduring confidence that you cannot lose. There’s no place for the lazy and cowardly in this game.”
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Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
Alexander Kuprin “This folk game is one of the most interesting and beneficial games around. Lapta requires resourcefulness, controlling your breathing, being true to your team, being alert, dexterity, fast running, good marksmanship, strong hands and enduring confidence that you cannot lose. There’s no place for the lazy and cowardly in this game.”
Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
Lapta seems to have been invented a long time ago. Ancient Russian chronicles mention the game, and balls and bats have been found at archeological excavation sites in Novgorod, the Russian capital between the ninth and 12th centuries. All this begs the conclusion that lapta is at least as old as cricket, and without a doubt much older than baseball.
Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
Peter the Great used the game for the physical conditioning of his elite guard. Two centuries later, Red Army soldiers played lapta for the same reason. Ordinary people played lapta as a leisure sport.
Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
The late 1950s were truly lapta’s golden years: The game was officially recognized as a sport, championships were held and lapta was even included in the national Olympics. Thousands of teams played the sport across the country.
Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
Suddenly, for some reason, the sport’s development came to a screeching halt: nothing was heard of it for some 30 years, and sports organizations were not interested in it. After a government decree was enacted to development baseball, softball and lapta in the late 1980s, lapta slowly began its long recovery.
Konstantin Salomatin (Russky Reporter)
The rich tradition associated with Russian lapta helped save the sport; it only needed state support to recover. The Russian lapta championships for men first took place in 1990 and have since become an annual event.
