Early Sports Venue For Tennis, Polo, Sailing, Rowing
On Krestovsky island, many "first" Russian sports venues and activities were launched with Belosselsky-Belozersky active support. The Krestovsky tennis club "Lawn Tennis Club", (with the main efforts undertaken by the resident Scotsman Arthur MacPherson, whose sons were some of the first Russian tennis champions with George Vassilievich Bray, who is considered to have been the first Russian Champion. George was also the Treasurer of the Krestovsky Lawn Tennis Club; See the note at the bottom of this paragraph for more information) Belosselsky horse polo grounds, as well as a yacht club and a rowing club were launched here in late 19th century along with a clay pigeon shooting range; all prior to the 1917 Revolution.
The island was always a center for sports and recreation for the St. Petersburg residents. Prior to the revolution, it was also a unique gathering place and venue for the "high-society" active in sports, the military officers and foreign diplomats, who participated in the horse polo events organized by the Belosselsky-Belozerskys. As this sport was known to be a preferred sport of Englishmen at the time, the elder prince Belosselsky-Belozersky, Constantin Esperovich, became known as the "Angloman" for his keen interest in promoting this sport. His elder son, prince Sergei Constantinovich was one of the first Russian international players of polo and took part regularly in the annual events in England and France at Rugby, Paris Bagatelle, Deauville, Biarritz, Pau, etc. He organized many horse polo competitions on their Krestovsky island estate polo grounds, including international team events. Well known visiting and resident international players of the time included British Ambassador Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (later Viceroy of India), British embassy secretaries Beaumont, Sperling, American Ambassador George von L. Meyer and Chargé d'Affaires Spencer Eddy were among the company of the first local Russian players, who in addition to the Belosselskys, were Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, Prince Michael Cantacuzène-Speranski, Count Kinsky, Messrs. Mouravyi and Grabovski. A special frequent player was Sergei Constantinovich's fellow general, later a Finnish Marshal, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, who also was part of the inauguration competition of the Krestovsky polo field, in the summer of 1897! Sergei Constantinovich was also a founder and sponsor of an early St. Petersburg athletics club named "Sport", which was located on Krestovsky island. His activities led to him being invited to become a Russian representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This made him the second all-time Russian and 28th overall representative to this venerable and still very active key international sports body. Prince Sergei acceded the IOC together with count Ribopierre, after Major-General A.D. Butovsky and before prince Troubetskoy. In capacity of the IOC member, prince Sergei participated in the organizational committee of the 1900 Paris Olympic games and took part in equestrian events.
The younger son of prince Constantin, prince Esper Constantinovich Beloselsky-Belozersky was an avid sailor and won an Olympic silver medal in sailing (10 meter class) for Russia in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics as helmsman of the "Gallia II". Competing with a crew, which included fellow Krestovsky island based "Imperial River Yacht Club" member and boat constructor Alexander Rodionov (А. Д. Родионов in Russian) they were some of the vanguards of Russian modern era sailing sport. Rodionov was also one of the first Russian leisure sailing craft and sail boat constructors (his boat construction ateliers were located on Krestovsky island). Prince Esper Constantinovich was also known to be one of the first and most avid St. Petersburg "ice-boaters", who was quoted by many diplomats and visiting dignitaries to St. Petersburg as having given them "exciting" rides in his ice-boat in the winters towards the last years of 1890s and early years of 1900.
During the Soviet times, as well, the Krestovsky island was the base of many of the most successful sport and rowing clubs; among other, Energia and Krasnoe Znamia (Красное Знамя). Some fourteen Olympic champions came from this tradition. Founded in 1889 and active still on Krestovsky Island during the early 1990s as Znamia, the club produced Olympic rowing champions Y. Tiykalov, V. Boreiko, O.Golovanov, and A. Klepikov, as well as three-time Olympic kayaking/canoeing champion L. Pinaeva. In addition the club produced several World and European champions. A tradition started after WW II by the Krestovsky rowers is still alive today. The autumn meet in rowing they started became an international competition and continues as such today-every first Sunday of October.
The island was also home to the Leningrad division of the "peoples' committee on internal affairs (NKVD)" sports and football club "Dinamo". Dinamo's athletic fields and grounds as well as clubhouse in the "functional" architectural style of the 1930s is the area due east of the Belosselsky-Belozelsky rebuilt manor-house. These cover still a large area despite recent encroaching business and apartment/housing projects.
Today, Krestovsky island continues its tradition as a base for sports and recreation and is still the home to half a dozen tennis clubs, several boating and rowing clubs as well as the site of the new "Zenith" football club stadium, replacing the Kirov stadium at the western spit of the island. Svetlana Kuznetsova, is the best-known contemporary Russian tennis player coming from the Krestovsky island tennis tradition of Russian champions, started by the Scot MacPherson, his sons as well as Mikhail Sumarakoff-Elston and George Bray in the late 19th century. She is regularly ranked among the top ten professionals in the ladies' world rankings.
Although the island has changed significantly since the Russian Revolution in terms of its land use, even more so during the past decade, there is still the dominant presence of sports on Krestovsky.
Read more about this topic: Krestovsky Island
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