“Tatar trail” in the history of Russian fisticuffs

Abstract

The article systematizes a range of sources and studies, which have references to the Tatars’ participation in Russian fisticuffs. Our analysis is based on newspaper publications, ethnographic essays and fiction. The methodological basis is the research of A. Grantovsky, G. Bazlov and V. Kats. In the course of the research, we found that there were passionate fans of Russian fisticuffs among the Tatars before the Revolution of 1917. In Kazan, the fights were held in winter on the Kaban and in Arsk Field, in Moscow - on the Moskva River. We prove that for Tatar batyrs it was an opportunity not only to demonstrate their valiant prowess, but to significantly improve their financial situation, so they agreed to become hired fighters. Tatar merchants paid them with money and tea, and the Russians, in addition to money, put up barrels of vodka and beer, and sleighs of pretzels. At the end of the nineteenth century, due to numerous injuries, fisticuffs in Kazan were banned; later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, they ceased to be held at all due to persecution by the authorities. In the history of Moscow fisticuffs, the name of the Tatar Misharin Nur Aliyev, better known by his nickname Kara Malay, became a legend.