On the issue of socio-cultural specifics of the development of running practices in Russia

The national identity of the existence and development of various types of sports and fitness activities has long attracted the attention of specialists in the field of history, sociology and philosophy of sports. Note the research of N.K. Nielsen, devoted to the history of sports in the Nordic countries ^[48]; Martin Polley, who chose the history of sports in Britain after 1945 as the subject of study, considered in the broad social context of political, economic and cultural processes of English society ^[49]; the problems of African-American sports are presented in the work of Arthur Ashe ^[45]; features of physical culture and sports in Asian countries are analyzed, for example, in ^[15]; d. Arbena fruitfully studies the socio-cultural conditionality of sports in Latin America and the Caribbean ^[44]; the connection of sports with the social processes of Australia and Oceania is presented in the work of F.L. Uperesa and T. Mountjoy ^[51].

Turning to foreign research on the history of sports and physical culture of our country, it should first of all be noted the classic work of James Riordan, which analyzes the development of sports and physical education in Russia and the USSR ^[50]; the work of Mike O'Mahoney ^[26], who considered the specifics of the embodiment of images in historical perspective and with reference to socio-cultural processes athletes in the artistic creativity of the USSR; a study by John D. Windhausen devoted to determining the causes of the development of the sports movement in Russia at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries ^[52]. The fundamental works of our compatriots ? G.A. Duperron ^[13], P.F. Lesgaft ^[23] and A.B. Sunik ^[40] are also of high value.

However, despite a lot of research on the general history of sports and its individual types in our country, there are still no works that would present the socio-cultural conditionality of running practices in Russia, considered in all the variety of manifestations of their social existence, determined by the peculiarities of national culture. At the same time, in the world history and philosophy of sports there are examples of this kind of research based on the material of other societies: first of all, these are the works of John Bale and Joe Sang devoted to the phenomenon of Kenyan running and running cultures of various societies ^[46,47], as well as the book by Tur Gutos "The History of Running" ^[10], where, it should be noted, using the example of the achievements of the two-time winner of the Olympic Games V.P. Kutsa, the topic of the development of stayer running in the Soviet period of our history is touched upon.

Why is it important to address the national specifics of running practices in Russia? First of all, because running in its various modifications is the main method of locomotion in many traditional games, varieties of ethnic and modern international sports, and its application in the training process and in the field of physical culture is almost universal. This is one of the most accessible types of competitive and health-saving activities, which has a centuries-old history, which determines its global prevalence, giving rise to the subculture of running with its discourse, artifacts, problems and bodily practices, which certainly need to be comprehended by all tools of social cognition. It is obvious that the history of sports and physical culture, especially in its mass – running segment, is an important part of national history, reflecting many material and spiritual aspects of the development of a particular society and expressing its values. In this regard, O. Kildyushov's judgment is heuristically significant for this work that "... the analytical reconstruction of modern bodily practices in general and sports in particular constitutes an extensive field for the study of values and meanings associated not only with sports in the narrow sense, but also with the processes of cultural production in general" ^{[17, p. 56-57]}. It is also important to understand that modern sports achievements of each nation are historically conditioned, since they largely rely on traditional types of labor or leisure activities, elements of which have become part of competitive, including running, practices. In this regard, the choice of types of competitive activity is interesting, with the help of which a particular nation forms the physical and mental qualities of a person important for society. It should also be noted the significant educational potential of research in the field of the national history of competitive running – the bright victories of champions inspire their compatriots to go in for sports, and the scientific study of the entire complex of factors that contributed to the success of the winners allows us to give recommendations and create training programs that can lead novice athletes to outstanding achievements, which in a global dimension expresses the progress of humanity in general, aspiring to kalokagatia. The practical value of scientific research on the national specifics of running practices lies in the fact that they can be used to identify the most effective and proven forms of motor exercises that are best suited to natural conditions and the socio-cultural situation of a particular community, and use them in pedagogical activities, in activities related to the development of mass physical culture and "sports for all", in military-applied aspects, for the correction of the psychophilic state of a person, the organization of festive events, etc.

This study does not claim to fully disclose the full variety of socio-cultural determination of running practices that existed earlier and are still inherent in Russian society. The idea of the article is to pose the problem and identify some of the main ways of its research. In order to comprehend the national specifics of Russia's running practices in its dynamics, it seems appropriate to single out four stages in the history of our society, characterized by a pronounced cultural identity. Traditionally, we will designate them as the pre-Petrine era; the period from the reforms of Peter the Great to 1917; the Soviet period (1917-1991) and the post-Soviet period (from 1991 to the present). The basis of this periodization is the well-known civilizational breakdowns in the history of our country. It should be noted that the emphasis in the article is on the last three stages, characterized by the diversity, multifunctionality and mass nature of running practices. However, an explanation of their national specifics and an understanding of the uniqueness of the current state is impossible without referring to the distant past, where the cultural code and forms of sociality of the Russian people were formed.     

Running practices of the pre - Petrine era

    The spiritual unity of traditional society is based on such ideological complexes as myth and religion. It should be noted that a significant part of the Christians who inhabited Russia and Russia were (and still are) inherent in the dual faith. Therefore, some of the mystical-religious practices described below, originating in ancient times, continue their existence (as a rule, with variations and transformations) to the present day, but are considered by right of origin in the first period.

    What is the socio-cultural determination of running in the pre-war period of the USSR?  First of all, running served eugenics, which was popular at that time, as a means of combating the physical degeneration and "bad" heredity of the proletariat and peasantry as, according to the ideas of the Bolsheviks, mercilessly exploited, spiritually and physically oppressed classes of tsarist Russia ^[34]. In the paintings of the famous Soviet painter A.A. Deineka "Running" (1934), "Athletes" (1934), "Runner" (1936), "Red Army Cross" (1937), running girls and boys are presented athletically built, with regular facial features, bursting with health, impetuous, joyful. This is exactly what the young runners and runners specially selected for the festive relay races looked like, embodying the image of advanced Soviet youth, developed both ideologically and physically. Further, health-improving running was a means of improving productive forces, increasing their endurance, endurance, ability to long-term physical and mental concentration. One of the organizers of the healthcare system in the USSR, People's Commissar, professor and the first chairman of the Supreme Council for Physical Culture and Sports N.A. Semashko warned in this regard: "With the choice of physical exercises for the worker, one must be extremely careful. <...> Example: no matter how useful moderate running is in general, but it will be harmful as a corrective exercise for those professions that are associated with constant movement (peddlers, movers, etc.)" ^{[33, p.1]}. It is important to note the military-applied functions of running: in 1931, the complex "Ready for work and defense of the USSR", whose badge depicted a runner overcoming the finish line, and the complex itself included, among other things, sprinting, cross-country, marching, long "light running" and mixed movement (walking-running). Thanks to this complex, millions of Soviet citizens began to run systematically, primarily young people, among whom it was very prestigious to have a gold TRP badge. The fusion of running and military affairs is noted by M. O'Mahoney, analyzing the poster of A.A. Deineka "Physical education student", in the upper part of which a group of motorcyclists and a group of runners are depicted: "Physical endurance and fitness are associated with the need to learn how to handle military mechanisms" ^{[26, pp. 176-177]}. Physical education was also considered by the Soviet state as part of cultural construction. In this regard, running contributed to the formation of strong-willed qualities (fortitude, courage, striving for constant improvement) and collectivism (relay running, running competitions between enterprises, schools, districts, etc.). Running was a sphere of manifestation of women's emancipation (for example, competitions of runners in six types at the First Championship of the RSFSR in athletics in 1922) and equality (mixed relay races), properly organized running classes and competitions contributed to the development of hygiene, the formation of ideas about rational nutrition, discipline, and generally generated an optimistic attitude, opposed by Soviet propaganda to bourgeois decadent decadence. It is also important to recall the often carried out campaign rallies dedicated to events and topics significant for the Soviet state. In this regard, the agitation function of running is emphasized by A. Ittin: "Cross in general for the USSR should play a huge role, because our spaces, local conditions, huge masses subject to involvement and agitation, all this can be fully satisfied with the correct development of our cross, but it has been little cultivated and almost not recognized" [Cit. according to: 40, p. 471].

   In the early 30s, it became clear that in order to increase the effectiveness of attracting the masses to physical culture, new means should be sought. And one of the most effective ways has become sports competitions related to the establishment of national records. If in 1931, following the results of the track and field relay race held on the streets of Irkutsk, the judging panel disqualified the second Dynamo team after the finish for "remnants of bourgeois record-breaking traditions" ^{[43, p. 468]}, then already in 1934 in the newspaper Pravda on July 24 it was said: "We rejoice in every success of the Soviet athletes, to each of their records, because this is the result of the struggle of the workers themselves, evidence of the growth of our sports equipment, proof of the correctness of our Soviet system of physical education." And after the triumphant 1936 Olympics for Germany, which showed the world the propaganda possibilities of international sports competitions and world records, Soviet athletes were set the goal of surpassing the results of athletes from capitalist countries, winning not for personal glory, but demonstrating the outstanding successes of socialist construction, the power of the workers' and peasants' state and the advantages of the Soviet system. However, Soviet athletes will be able to overcome world records in cross-country athletics only in the 50s (M. Itkina, V. Kutz), and before the war, world-class results were shown by Soviet stayers brothers Georgy and Serafim Znamensky (24-time record holders of the USSR), deprived of the opportunity to compete at international competitions under the auspices of the IAAF (International association of Athletics Federations) because of the isolationist policy of the Soviet state.

  During the Great Patriotic War, mass races acquire a pronounced agitation function, testifying to the indomitable courage, amazing endurance and irresistible will to win of the Soviet people: "The most massive and impressive physical culture phenomenon of the war years were athletics runs across the country. According to media reports, five and a half million people participated in the All-Union race in 1942. The following year, their number increased to nine million. In 1944, the crosses acquired special significance: many of them took place in those territories that had recently been occupied" ^{[26, p. 189]}. Running competitions were organized even in the unbroken besieged Leningrad, sometimes under fire, and the traditional urban athletics relay during the war years involved the transfer of not a baton, but a commander's tablet ^[41]. In 1943, the USSR championships in athletics, interrupted by the war, resumed, in 1946 Soviet runners took part in the European Championship for the first time, and in 1952 – in the Olympic Games.