Physical Culture and Sport in the Context of Conflict and Post-Conflict Culture in Russia in the 1990s

The study explores the characteristics of the development of physical culture and sports in Russia during the 1990s of the post-Soviet era, which, in the author’s view, have not been adequately examined by the social sciences and humanities. The society of Russia during the 1990s faced many challenges, both social and personal conflicts, which required adaptation, understanding, and overcoming. This is supported by the media materials published during this period. The paper describes the system of sports culture that had developed by the end of the Soviet regime, as well as the ability of this system to fit into the realities of the new socio-political system. Demonstrating the specifics of the implementation of sport as an institutionally organized form and as an everyday practice, including fan culture, the author reveals the relationship of these systems and practices to the conflict culture of Russia in the 1990s. In the course of the discussion, the author shows the potential of these forms of social activity as a way of realizing and resolving conflicts. The author also focuses on sport as part of the struggle for the “right to violence” that began in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had a monopoly on this right. By examining the experiences of veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War and the First Chechen War, as well as of organized crime in the 1990s, the author concludes that sporting experience has a direct impact on the acquisition of this right in the new society.