There are a number of martial arts styles and schools of Russian origin.
Traditional Russian fist fighting has existed since the 1st millennium A.D. It was outlawed in the Russian Empire in 1832, however it has seen a resurgence after the break-up of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet era the government wanted to create both military hand-to-hand combat systems and combat sports. The new styles included Systema, and Sambo.
During the 1980s and after the fall of Communism the interest to the folk martial arts re-awoke. Through ethnographic study, many new styles based on the folk styles appeared. The two most famous new styles of that era are the Russian All-Round Fighting, which is based both on the old folk styles, old Cossack saber fencing and on the Soviet era styles, and Buza, which is based on the old local village fights and dances.
Another modern Russian martial art is the Retuinskih's System ROSS.
Famous quotes containing the words russian, martial and/or arts:
“In days of doubt, in days of dreary musings on my country’s fate, you alone are my comfort and support, oh great, powerful, righteous, and free Russian language!”
—Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818–1883)
“What, then, does a chaste girl do?
She does not offer, yet she does not say “No.””
—Marcus Valerius Martial (c. 40–104)
“Women hock their jewels and their husbands’ insurance policies to acquire an unaccustomed shade in hair or crêpe de chine. Why then is it that when anyone commits anything novel in the arts he should be always greeted by this same peevish howl of pain and surprise? One is led to suspect that the interest people show in these much talked of commodities, painting, music, and writing, cannot be very deep or very genuine when they so wince under an unexpected impact.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)