Billiards is so popular in our country that it seems as if its history goes back centuries. But the passion for billiards in Russia began no more than four centuries ago. Let's tell you at what time this game appeared and thanks to whom.

Who brought billiards to Russia and when?

Peter I is considered to be the first Russian “billiard player”. Having become familiar with the game in Holland, he decided to continue this activity at home, calling on his subjects to share the newfangled hobby. Having gone beyond the boundaries of the royal palace, billiards soon took root in the estates of the nobility. The game was especially popular among officers. Under Catherine II, interest in billiards did not slow down, receiving a new round thanks to the appearance of the “Russian Pyramid”. Since then, the need for it has continued to grow: the heroes of the War of 1812, leaders of the revolutionary movement and Soviet leaders paid tribute to billiard battles. This sport is no less popular today.

Specifics of the game “Russian billiards”

This type of game appeared during the times Russian Empire. Developing and improving, rolling balls in Russian billiards gradually became widespread in different parts of the world. globe. Russian Billiards is played on tables ranging in size from 8 to 12 feet. During the game, sixteen balls are used, of which fifteen are designated by a serial number. The pockets do not differ significantly (counting in millimeters) in size from the diameter of the ball. This is the peculiarity of “Russian billiards”: in order to get into the pocket, players have to demonstrate skill, calculating the correct trajectory of movement and selecting the correct force of the blow.

Billiards in modern Russia

Visiting a billiard room is one of the favorite ways to spend time among people of different social statuses and age categories. This sport allows participants to demonstrate their abilities, both physically and intellectually. By improving their skills, players develop coordination of movements, reaction speed and eye. Regular exercises help you quickly make calculations, remain calm in various situations, and show patience and restraint.

The game is equally interesting for participants and spectators; it is suitable for family leisure and meetings with friends. In business, it is used to relieve tension during negotiations. There are many competitions held different levels, allowing players to demonstrate their skill, talent and skill. Competitions always enjoy high spectator interest and are broadcast on television. People who have made gaming a profession are often financially secure and enjoy well-deserved recognition in society.

From the Middle Ages to the present day, legends have been formed about billiards all over the world; it is glorified in poetry and prose, in fine arts and in cinema. This game is written about in encyclopedias, the word “billiards” itself has become firmly established in dictionaries in many countries, and, surprisingly, it sounds almost equally beautiful in many languages ​​of the world. Without exaggeration, we can say this about billiards: it is a wonderful noble game that worthily represents in the 21st century cultural heritage ancient civilizations.

The question of where and when they first started playing billiards remains open to this day. It is not without reason that Indochina is considered the birthplace of billiards, from where the game was brought to Europe by Genoese merchants aroundXV V.
However, long before the appearance of “Chinese billiards” in Europe, games that could be called prototypes of billiards already existed in many countries. For example, the Germans played Balkespiel, a game that used wooden table with sides and stone balls, several of them had to be driven into the recesses of the table using a special club. In England there was another version - Pall-Mallspill. The goal of this game was to hit the balls into special goals located on a firmly compacted earthen area.
The question of the origin of the word “billiards” remains controversial. According to the English researcher John Wilk, the original name of the game was “ball-yerds”, composed of two words from the Old Saxon language (“ball” - ball and “yerd” - stick). Supporters of another, French version of the origin of the word, point to the French roots of the name: “bille” - ball, or “billart” - wooden stick.
Billiards is rightly called the “game of kings”. It was royalty who for many centuries significantly influenced the development of the game, sometimes prohibiting it (for example, the King of EnglandGeorgeII), and sometimes, on the contrary, they encouraged the development of billiards and interested their subjects by personal example, such as PeterI, Napoleon Bonaparte and CharlesIX. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and a passionate lover of the game, even on the day of her own execution, in a letter to the Archbishop of Glasgow, she asked that her billiard table be preserved.
The vassals, trying to please their masters, imitated them in every possible way, incl. and in their passion for billiards, and for some of them the game contributed to their career, such as Michel Chamillard, who served at the court of King Louis of FranceXIV. The enterprising courtier, who mastered the game to perfection and was considered the best player in the country, became the king's constant partner. Chamillard periodically succumbed to Louis, and he, who was in a complacent mood after winning, used to say that, although not a “professor of billiards,” he still had excellent command of the cue. Subsequently, Chamillard was turned from a clerk into a financial controller, and even later became the Minister of War of France. Around the same time, in Lyon, the Frenchman Etienne Liazon published the first set of rules for playing billiards.

Billiards appeared in Russia during the reign of Peter the Great. Over the 300 years of development of this game in our country, it has become a significant phenomenon in the cultural and sports life of Russians. Without exaggeration, we can say that it has displaced Lately many traditional games and rightfully occupy a worthy place in the sports and culture of our society. Billiards has a special place in Russian history.
According to available sources, while being part of the Russian embassy in Western Europe in 1697-1698, Peter I, studying Newest technologies in the military field, borrowed a lot from public life Europeans, including an entertaining game of billiards. It is also known that the sovereign himself not only learned to play this “overseas battle” well, but over time legitimized its spread in “human assemblies” by issuing a special decree on “assemblies” in 1718. At these assemblies, as historians of those times testify, the Russian emperor himself played the billiart enthusiastically and more than decently. He played in houses and palaces of St. Petersburg, as well as Moscow. In Peter’s famous “Marching Journal” of 1720, the following entry was preserved: “His Majesty was in the Admiralty shipyard near the ships, and was in the soap shop; We ate at home and played chess and billiart.” It is curious that, at the behest of Peter I, his son Alexei and grandson, the future Emperor Peter, were taught billiard games from childhood, along with other sciences and entertainment.
In the first half of the 18th century, billiards in Russia became even more popular. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna, this game was widespread not only in private residences and palaces, but also in in public places, in taverns and hotels, and later in officers’ meetings, noble and merchant clubs, and landowners’ estates. In 1750, Elizabeth was the first to legislate billiards in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt as one of the most important entertainments for visiting foreigners and “all ranks of Russian people” in “herbergs and tavern houses.” And Catherine II, by her decree in 1780, spread “the pleasures of playing billiards” throughout all provincial cities and districts.

These traditions were continued by the following emperors of Russia - Paul I, who specially studied billiards from the age of 10, Alexander I, who had the best billiard room in Russia at that time in his palace, as well as other rulers of the Romanov dynasty. Nikolai II had a special passion for billiards as an entertainment and sport, who, as can be seen from his surviving diary entries, almost daily held meetings and conversations with courtiers and military leaders at the billiard tables of the Winter Palace and Tsarskoe Selo. affairs.

History shows that at the end of the 18th - second half of the 19th centuries, billiards became increasingly accessible to wide sections of the people. It was no longer played only for entertainment, but also developed as sports game. By this time, Russia already had its first billiard champions. Among the supporters of sports billiards were government and military figures: Count G. Orlov, academician M. Lomonosov, generals I. Skobelev, A. Osterman-Tolstoy, D. Bibikov, Count I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, writer and the first theorist of Russian billiards A. Leman and many others. Famous figures of Russian literature and art were also fond of billiards: A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, N. Nekrasov, L. Tolstoy, I. Turgenev, A. Kuprin, F. Chaliapin, V. Mayakovsky and others. This is what they glorified in their work magical power and the attractiveness of billiards in Rus', billiards could make anyone famous, regardless of rank and wealth. Thus, among the outstanding Russian players of that time were the porcelain magnate Gardner, and the student Markin with the marker Tyurey, to whom Nekrasov dedicated the beautiful poem “Govorun”. Already at that time, especially in Moscow, ordinary people played billiards competitively.

Billiards. History in pictures.

A game of billiards.Drawn by Adriaen van de Venne .1620-1626
If you look closely, you can see that they play not with a cue, but with clubs, and on the table there is a croquet-type goal.

Formerly attributed to Georg Daniel Heumann.1720-1740

Late 19th century.

Putti deprive a bird of air in a vacuum experiment, one plays at billiards, another plays with magnetized keys, while outside a storm rages: representing physics. Etching by B. Picart, 1729, after himself.
1729 By: Bernard Picart

1674 illustration-The Billiard Table

Louis XIV 1638-1715 playing billiards with Philippe I (1640-1701) Duke of Orleans, the Count of Toulouse, the Duke of Vendome, Monsieur dArmagnac and Monsieur de Chamillard, 1694
Antoine Trouvain
1656-1700

Three gentlemen playing a billiard game with maces, c.1730
Date
Circa 1730

Originally it was played with two balls on a table with a hoop similar to a croquet wicket and a stick used vertically as a target. In the eighteenth century, hoops and targets gradually disappeared, leaving only balls and pockets, which were most likely added in the late 1700s.

Billiards developed during the reign of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Business people of that era became interested in the game of billiards, and they began to equip public halls for this game. The state was also interested in having billiard tables installed in public places, because it brought income to the treasury through taxes.

The Sons of Louis XIV Playing Billiards

Louis XIV was extremely fond of playing billiards. He was proud of how well he handled the balls and how graceful he was while doing it. The king was considered a very good billiards player.

Two Venetian Noblemen Playing Billiards
Jan van Grevenbroeck
1731-1807

From Western Europe, the game of billiards gradually spread to more eastern countries, including Russia. And with the beginning of colonization, billiards became widespread in the colony. However, not as fast as in Europe. For example, America was discovered by Columbus in 1492, and the spread of billiards in America dates back more than two hundred years from the date of the legendary discovery.

In the early 1800s, pool tables had candles with trays to keep wax from getting on the table. Later they began to be placed on top. Then they were replaced kerosene lamps, and in the 1860s, gas lighting.

A Game of Billiards, c.1720-26
Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin

Formerly attributed to Georg Daniel Heumann
1720-1740 (c)
A group of callot figures in a room playing billiard; man barbecuing a fish and root vegetables seated on the ground in the foreground to right.

Philippe Meusnier (1655-1734)
Elegant Company Playing Billiards
Oil on canvas

---------------------

Januarius Zick
Die Familie Remy
Year 1776

LANCRET, Nicholas
Billiard Players
Oil on panel, 32 x 27 cm
Private collection

Jean Beraud (1849-1936)
La Partie De Billard
Oil on panel

The Game of Billiards
Charles Edouard Boutibonne
(1816-1897)

Vincent van Gogh

Paul Gauguin

After Henry William Bunbury
Date
1780

After Robert Dayton
1775
A group of eight men (caricatured) round a billiard table.

Published by Hannah Humphrey
Date
1787

Print made by James Bretherton
Date
1781

Life in Paris / "Life" in a billiard Room, or Dick Wildfire & Squire Jenkins "au fait" (awake) to the Parisian Sharpers.
Print made by George Cruikshank
Date
1822

Political billiards
Print made by William Heath
Date
1829

Billiards-A Double Carom
1874(1874)

Yuri Popkov. Billiards V Crimea.

There is both a pool and a carom in the world,
There are chips and English snooker,
But there is - my love and pain -
Billiards with the name "Russian".
He survived years of persecution
He knew the flourishing and the masters,
And today, without a doubt
There are more and more people at the tables.
The game is suitable for all ages,
Young and old play it,
The game of the great and the courtiers,
It’s simple - Russian billiards!

Have you ever wondered why Russian and American billiard tables differ so much in size, and why the inquisitive Russian mind came up with so many varieties, variations and rules of the game?

In fact, everything is obviously simple. It's boring for a Russian person to roll balls in the same game according to the same rules. This is how the evolution of Russian billiards took place - according to the principle from simple to complex. The Russian player is not looking for easy ways. Having improved one strategy, others were invented. So the game became even more exciting and sophisticated.

Well, the size of Russian billiards tables - you approach such tables with pride. The size of the “Russian” balls, in contrast to the American one, is fundamentally large, and the size of the pockets is small - well, that’s just to make the game even more difficult. The cue for Russian billiards is longer and heavier. Russian billiards is more “hardcore” and interesting. There is no place for primitiveness here. The blows must be precise and extremely precise. Here you need to think - classic example one of the simplest truths - before you do anything, think...

It is no secret that the game of Russian billiards is considered more difficult, requiring high skill and subtle thinking. But how did it appear in Russia? Let's figure it out.

artist: Eduard Shageev

HISTORY OF RUSSIAN BILLIARDS

So, Russian billiards, or its official modern name - pyramid - is a gift that was given to all of us by Peter I. Having become acquainted with billiards in Holland, the young sovereign ordered a billiard table to be made for himself, after which the game began to win the minds of the tsar's associates, the nobles and boyars. Thus, our billiard history dates back to the end of the 18th century, or more precisely, from 1698.

Somewhat later, as historians say, billiards also captivated some other rulers. For example, Empress Anna Ioannovna played almost every day, and such love, of course, only benefited the popularization of overseas entertainment. Gradually, from palaces and noble estates, billiards reached clubs, taverns, hotels and other establishments. It is not surprising that he also got to the classic works of Pushkin:

“And then, at home all day,
Alone, immersed in calculations,
Armed with a blunt cue,
He's playing billiards with two balls
He's been playing since the morning."

(Eugene Onegin)

In addition to Alexander Sergeevich, the following people played billiards in past centuries: famous personalities, like Lomonosov, Lermontov, Tolstoy. Among the fans of billiards in the 19th century there were many famous people: from N. Gogol, N. Nekrasov and F. Tyutchev to V. Botkin, M. Shchepkin and I. Turgenev... Many stories have been told about the game of Vladimir Mayakovsky...

IN early XIX century participant Patriotic War 1812, admiral, chief censor of Russian literature A.S. Shishkov, who considered billiards to be simply rolling balls on a table, proposed calling this game the simple Russian word “sharokat”, and the players - “sharokats”. But thanks to Pushkin, who ridiculed the “reformist” proposal, billiards retained its former name for posterity.

Officers of the Life Guards of the 1st Artillery Brigade playing billiards. Saint Petersburg. 1913.

By the way, if at first the Western three-ball carom game and the so-called Russian five-ball carom game were cultivated in Russia, then later, starting in the 30s of the 19th century, the “Small Russian Pyramid” appeared, which laid the foundation for the already full-fledged Russian billiards And the first table with pockets was made in Russia by the German entrepreneur Karl Schulz around the twenties of the 19th century.

Ten years later, the first literature on the rules of the game appears. The development of the high-quality work of subsequent well-known billiard manufacturers: Erykalov, Freiberg, Gotz also seriously contributed to the development.

Almost the entire subsequent history of Russian billiards can be associated with the name of Freyberg. It was he who, in 1850, developed the optimal profiles of the sides, established the most suitable sizes of balls, made patterns for the correct pockets, and wooden boards the bases of the playing field were replaced with slate slabs. Until this moment, billiard tables were produced “as many as you can.” Now the game principles were noticeably more unified, and, by the way, it became impossible to roll the ball into a pocket along the side. Freyberg's innovations very quickly became fashionable, and, at their core, modern tables remain the same as they were 165 years ago.

Throughout its history in Russia, the popularity of billiards has waxed and waned. One of the great admirers of the game was the great leader of the Soviet people, Joseph Stalin.

Stalin's contemporaries and inner circle praised his performance very highly. With a certain degree of caution, the rivals stood up to “play a pyramid game” with the leader, since winning was fraught, knowing the character of Joseph Vissarionovich, and giving in was doubly stupid. Knowing billiards very well, Stalin could immediately figure out such a henpecked guy.

Billiard tables, the best for that time, were installed at all Stalin's dachas in the Caucasus and in the Moscow region. At night, the leader liked to play with his comrades. Here's how K. Simonov describes one of these games:

“Stalin played billiards well, with quiet strokes, never hit hard, and aimed carefully. Once he played together with one of my interlocutors against Beria and Malenkov. They both played billiards very well. Stalin took my interlocutor into the company because he believed that he played well. But he played mediocrely, and despite all their efforts, they lost. Stalin was angry, at the end he threw his cue and interrupted the game, before that he scolded his opponents, telling my interlocutor (Marshal Konev): “Well, where should we play with them? Look what bandits they are. These are bandits. Look at them, what they are like!”

In his billiard room, Stalin introduced an ancient custom. The loser, regardless of position and rank, had to crawl under the table. Khrushchev got there more often than others, since he was not an important player. With poisonous irony, Stalin remarked to “Mikita”: “You don’t even know how to play, but you want to lead the republic!”

In the most difficult year of 1944, practically at the apogee of the Great Patriotic War, a landmark billiard tournament was held in Moscow to help the front. The competition was held at the Polytechnic Museum, and among the visitors were seen: Stalin, Budyonny, Voroshilov and other government officials.

Here, perhaps, we should make some historical digression. Kliment Voroshilov, who became one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union in 1935, ordered the production of 10,000 billiard tables, copied from famous masters, back in 1931. “Voroshilov” tables were distributed among military units, garrisons and officers' houses. This fact clearly demonstrates that in military circles billiards was elevated to the rank of game No. 1.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Budyonny, who lived for 90 years and was wounded in battles during the First World War and the Civil War, wrote: “My right hand was unlucky: it was wounded and then broken. If it were not for billiards, which gradually exercises the muscles, I would be left without an arm. And the attending physician recommended: “Train your hand at billiards!”

Budyonny on vacation, photo: colonelcassad.livejournal.com

ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF BILLIARDS

— “The sound of billiard balls is a great healing nervous system“The game works all muscle groups and trains a person’s volitional qualities.”

— “Billiards is an extremely exciting and useful game for humans. First of all, it develops intellectual abilities, harmonizes thinking, sharpens the eye and strengthens the nervous system.”

One of the leading surgeons in Russia spoke very specifically and scientifically about the benefits of billiards for human health. CEO Medical Center of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, academician S.P. Mironov. In an interview with the magazine “Russian Billiards” (2002), he said: “... for just one “Russian” game, according to the pedometer, the player walks 3.5 km, simultaneously performing a whole range of exercises in sports and rhythmic gymnastics" Moreover, being a specialist well versed in human physiology, S.P. Mironov adds here: “Billiards perfectly trains the eye muscles, develops the eye - many billiard players are excellent shooters; billiards develops ingenuity, forces you to choose the only correct one from a thousand possible game proposals with a micron of accuracy.”

The academician’s conclusion and his appeal to those for whom billiards can help in the treatment of illnesses are also important:

“Billiards is indispensable as a factor in the social and physical rehabilitation of patients and disabled people with injuries of the musculoskeletal system.”

Sailors of the Northern Fleet play billiards on the shores of the Kola Bay

According to one of the leaders of the country’s Armed Forces, Deputy Minister of Defense General of the Army Nikolai Pankov, which he expressed at the end of the first official 2006 “free pyramid” tournament among officers for the Cup of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, “for an officer, billiards is more than sport and game. This is a school of human communication, active recreation and cultural development.”

But, perhaps, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Sergei Shoigu, went the furthest of all the “security officials” in his love for billiards, when he issued an order to introduce special training in the study of the theory and practice of billiard art for students and cadets of the Civil Defense Academy. Now these classes are allocated 6 hours a week for each person.

In fact, the concept of “Russian billiards” was invented by romantics. In order to give the spiritual pastime some special flavor. Russia has nothing to do with the invention of billiards itself. History is generally silent about the founders of “ball rolling”. And it is difficult to establish the time of the appearance of billiards. It is only known that it is of very ancient origin. At least India and China claim the right to be called the country that gave the world the third most popular pastime (after chess and dice).

Billiards is not a sport in the full sense of the word: remember the hero Zeldin from the film “Classic”, with shaking hands, scoring three balls with one hit. But it’s not just fooling around - billiards is very complex with technical point view game. An amazing trick demonstrated in many Russian films - when two balls are driven into both middle pockets in one fell swoop - requires enormous preparation and for long years practice: the “bottom screw” is called. And there is also a top and a side...

Billiards (let's still conditionally call it Russian - as opposed to the primitive American pool, not far from it the bygone English snooker and pocketless French carom) is beautiful because it carries a significant socially formative mission. Loudly said? But no.

Where and when, if not at a game of billiards, can you relax and tell stories with someone you haven’t seen for a long time and who you miss a lot?

Yuri Gagarin

What else, besides the enchanting green cloth, will give you the opportunity to feel like a person who is no stranger to sports - especially if you have never lifted anything heavier than a cue in your life? What could be more tempting than the anticipation of scoring a beautiful apricole on a cozy summer evening in the company of good friends?

Billiards brings people together. That is why in this game there are no such concepts as “rival” or “opponent”. There are only partners here. It’s not without reason that there is a joke among billiard players when someone scores too zealously: “It won’t take long to lose a partner.”

Mini-guide to Russian billiards

AMERICAN

Remember, in “The meeting place cannot be changed,” Kopcheny asks Zheglov: “To the American woman or to the pyramid?” He answers: “To the American!” Do you know why? Because this is the simplest game. Zheglov is not an inveterate billiard player, but the head of the department for combating banditry. The meaning is simple: one ball at a time, and, as Gleb Yegorych eventually said: “My game!”

SIBERKA

They play with one ball (cue ball). After the “brother-in-law” (the same cue ball) is pocketed, the ball is placed on the “spot”. The trick of the game is to correctly “hide” the cue ball in order to complicate the task for your partner.

NEVKA

About the same as Siberian. The only difference is that, having scored the “brother-in-law”, the player has the right to choose the most convenient ball for the next shot. Thus, the game time is noticeably reduced.

PYRAMID

Perhaps the most difficult game. The balls are numbered and you need to score 71 points. You cannot beat your “in-laws” (they will be fined). In addition, all the balls are ordered (as in the same “Meeting Place...”: “Two sides - corner”). If a “fool” suddenly plays out, it benefits the partner. The pyramid is usually played “for fun”, that is, for money.

Many professional players will agree that Russian billiards is not just a game, it is a separate world with its own etiquette, its own rules, its own philosophy.

Billiards in Russia today is one of the most popular games. In Moscow alone there are more than 500 billiard clubs and gaming halls, not to mention the huge number of small billiard rooms in hotels, restaurants, etc. According to the Billiard Sports Federation, “more than 25 million people are interested in this game in Russia.”

The history of billiards itself goes back hundreds of years. Numerous articles, notes, essays, entire books and scientific works have been written about the game. Most of the popular historical calculations are available on the Internet, so we, without trying to embrace the immensity, will try to briefly recall only one part of it - the sport of billiards, which is so popular in our country today.

Pool, snooker, carom and pyramid are the main and most developed types of billiards today. The first three of them deservedly gained success among the wide masses of amateurs in the world, however, without gaining serious positions in the countries of the post-Soviet space. Accordingly, history and fate itself ordered us to get carried away and develop our own type of game, which many still call Russian billiards.

So, Russian billiards, or its official modern name - pyramid - is a gift that was given to all of us by Peter I. Having become acquainted with billiards in Holland, the young sovereign ordered it to be made for himself, after which the game began to win the minds of the tsar’s associates, nobles and boyars . Thus, our billiard history dates back to the end of the 18th century, or more precisely, from 1698.

Somewhat later, as historians say, billiards also captivated some other rulers. For example, Empress Anna Ioannovna played almost every day, and such love, of course, only benefited the popularization of overseas entertainment. Gradually, from palaces and noble estates, billiards reached clubs, taverns, hotels and other establishments. It is not surprising that he also got to the classic works of Pushkin:

“And then, at home all day,
Alone, immersed in calculations,
Armed with a blunt cue,
He's playing billiards with two balls
He's been playing since the morning."

(Eugene Onegin)

In addition to Alexander Sergeevich, such famous personalities as Lomonosov, Lermontov, Tolstoy played billiards in past centuries. Many stories have been told about the performance of Vladimir Mayakovsky...

By the way, if at first the Western three-ball carom game and the so-called Russian five-ball carom game were cultivated in Russia, then later, starting in the 30s of the 19th century, the “Small Russian Pyramid” appeared, which marked the beginning of a full-fledged Russian billiards And the first table with pockets was made in Russia by the German entrepreneur Karl Schulz around the twenties of the 19th century. Ten years later, the first literature on the rules of the game appears. The development of the high-quality work of subsequent well-known billiard manufacturers: Erykalov, Freiberg, Gotz also seriously contributed to the development.

Almost the entire subsequent history of Russian billiards can be associated with the name of Freyberg. It was he who developed the optimal profiles of the sides, established the most suitable sizes of the balls, made patterns for the correct pockets, and replaced the wooden boards of the base of the playing field with slate slabs. Until this moment, billiard tables were produced “as many as you like.” Now the game principles were noticeably more unified, and, by the way, it became impossible to roll the ball into a pocket along the side. Freyberg's innovations very quickly became fashionable, and, at their core, modern tables remain the same as they were 150 years ago.

It may very well be that the complexity of Russian billiards is dictated by Russian psychology itself, because our people have never looked for easy ways. Therefore, in Russian billiards the ratio of the size of the pockets to the size of the balls is almost equal, which cannot be found in pool or snooker. And the blows must be extremely accurate and precise.

Around this era in the development of the game, the appearance of one of the outstanding masters of billiards - Anatoly Ivanovich Leman (June 1, 1859 - September 11, 1913) occurred. Violin maker and writer Lehman is known today for his work “The Theory of Billiard Game.” The violins of his authorship, alas, are long gone, but the above-mentioned book was recognized for a long time the best literature about billiards and included: a description of the playing technique, analysis of various games, interesting problems and a comparison of tables from major manufacturers. Lehman called billiards exceptional sports activity, developing human nature. In the author's words: "The experienced, impeccable master of the game is a philosopher, a stoic and an expert of the human heart."

Lyrical digression: in 1868, a famous French master of the game named Perrault visited Russia. He came with the goal of captivating the “eastern barbarians” with his beautiful game. The clever trickster began each game with a rare trick that no one could repeat. Four fingers right hand he took the ball and threw it in a twisting motion to the center of the table. The ball stopped at one point and rotated madly. After him, Perrault threw another ball in the same way. After some time, the rotation of the balls weakened, and they began to describe circular movements, gradually increasing their radius, after which they collided and rolled along a parabola towards Perrault. And this trickster beat several strong players in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after which he lost in smoke to the marker of the St. Petersburg English club Andrey “Clockmaker”.

With the passage of time, three varieties of Russian billiards acquired their own characteristics and clear rules: the classic Russian pyramid, the Moscow pyramid and the American one. The first one arose towards the end of the 19th century, and the last two developed later: the American one from the 20-30s, and the Moscow one from the 60s. twentieth century.

It must be admitted that the post-revolutionary fate of billiards was difficult and sad. Billiards was forgotten and, in fact, was considered a game of the Western bourgeoisie. Only a decade and a half later it began to come to life again and enjoy success. In the early 30s, a billiards section was created under the Committee on Physical Education and Sports. Its main functions were holding and organizing tournaments of various sizes. Mass tournaments in the USSR began in 1935, when the city championship was played in Moscow at the F.E. Dzerzhinsky club among the billiard sections of the All-Union Society of Old Bolsheviks, CDKA, Writers' Club, House of Scientists, House of Printing, House of Masters of Arts, House of Cinema and the Police Club. Shortly before the Great Patriotic War, the country's best players: N. Berezin, N. Kobzev and A. Milyaev were awarded the title of "Master of Sports of the USSR in billiards."

Wartime left its mark on the life of an entire generation, not to mention billiards, and only the great love of the officers for this interesting game, as well as Stalin’s own passion for billiards, did not allow billiards to sink into oblivion. However, for an ordinary Soviet citizen, billiards was inaccessible.

Stalin's contemporaries and inner circle praised his performance very highly. With a certain degree of caution, the rivals stood up to “play a pyramid game” with the leader, since winning was fraught, knowing the character of Joseph Vissarionovich, and giving in was doubly stupid. Knowing billiards very well, Stalin could immediately figure out such a henpecked guy.

In the most difficult year of 1944, practically at the apogee of the Great Patriotic War, a landmark billiard tournament was held in Moscow to help the front. The competition was held at the Polytechnic Museum, and among the visitors were seen: Stalin, Budyonny, Voroshilov and other government officials.

Here, perhaps, we should make some historical digression. Kliment Voroshilov, who became one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union in 1935, ordered the production of 10,000 billiard tables, copied from famous masters, back in 1931. “Voroshilov” tables were distributed among military units, garrisons and officers’ houses. This fact clearly demonstrates that in military circles billiards was elevated to the rank of game No. 1.

According to the testimony of the most famous Soviet player and coach Georgy Mitasov, after the war, billiards fully claimed to be a full-fledged sport. There was a full-fledged Spartak team, tournaments were held, and the area was full of game enthusiasts. As generations of athletes changed, interest in billiards either faded or flared up again. There is an opinion that the party once banned billiards as such, but this is not true, or there is a misunderstanding of the situation.

Mitasov also recalls that for a long time Billiards stood on a par with gambling. Often men did not bring home their salaries, saying that they had lost at billiards. Women who disagreed with this state of affairs united, went to the authorities, right up to the district committees... Since this did not help much, it came to extreme cases. In Moscow Sokolniki, women doused two clubs with gasoline from canisters and burned them. The case went to trial, they were almost imprisoned, but, nevertheless, they were acquitted. However, measures were taken - the official authorities banned playing for money. But people still played... Slowly.

Bureaucratic red tape did not make it possible to legalize billiards as a sport, and time passed inexorably. In fact, decades passed, and only in 1989 the All-Union Billiard Sports Federation was founded. But until that day, billiards, naturally, could not remain in the shadows - bright personalities saved the situation.

Contemporaries call Ashot Potikyan the best and unsurpassed master of billiards of the seventies. He elevated the game to the level of an art and masterfully found the keys to his opponent, not allowing himself to be beaten. When in the capital they simply refused to sit at the same table with Ashot (and the game was played, of course, for money, sometimes not at all small), Ashot went to the southern part of Russia, to the Caucasus, where, according to words, local residents played incredibly large sums, and never came down from the mountains and never heard of other billiard players. Inspired by the idea, Ashot arrived at his destination, and what a disappointment he was when the first person he met joyfully exclaimed at the sight of him: “Ashota has arrived!!!” The master returned to Moscow without any profits.

So, shortly before its collapse, Soviet Union recognized billiards as a sport, and things took a completely different turn. It became possible to hold national championships, host international competitions, and so on. The pyramid began to acquire sporting characteristics, and the first professional athletes appeared. Time dictates its requirements for each game. This is primarily due to the development of means mass media, namely television. It’s not surprising that the pyramid is different now than it was 30 years ago...

For example, relatively recently, in 2005, a new game- “Dynamic pyramid”. And, if I may say so, modern rules The pyramids are quite young. That is, its history is far from being written and there will be new changes ahead.

Today the game has become more aggressive, fast, attacking. The corresponding rules of the pyramid, and all its varieties, have been changed. Without unifying the requirements for billiard equipment, putting the rules in order was, to say the least, strange. Therefore, the corresponding norms formed, at the same time, both the rules of the games and the basis of the technical requirements approved by the European and International Pyramid Committee. These documents came into force in 2006 and are valid to this day.

The main organizations promoting the once Russian billiards, and today the pyramid, are the ICP - International Pyramid Committee and the ECP - European Pyramid Committee. On the initiative of the Russian Billiard Sports Federation, in June 1998 in Moscow, during the World Youth Games, demonstration performances were held by the strongest billiard players, representatives of all types of billiards, which were attended by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

This event contributed to the growth of popularity and authority of Russian billiards. Foreign guests were able to see how interesting and unique Russian billiards is. The result of the activity was the decision of the World Confederation of Billiard Sports to create, within the framework of the World Pool Association, the International Pyramid Committee, which conducts official world and European championships and popularizes this type of billiards throughout the world. The committee has existed since January 1999.

A historical event for Russian sports billiards took place in Kirkel (Germany), where, from June 7 to 9, 2000, under the auspices of the World Billiard Sports Confederation, the first official World Pyramid Championship took place. 62 athletes from 28 countries took part in it. Russian Evgeniy Stalev became the champion.

The decision to create the European Committee of Pyramid association was made in Vilnius on November 24, 2000. The main goal of the association is the development of billiard sports and, in particular, Russian billiards in Europe. The Statutes of the European Pyramid Committee were adopted, agreed with the national federations, the European Pocket Billiards Federation and the International Pyramid Committee. The first members of the ECP were Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. Then other countries joined. The first European Championship was held in Minsk in 2002. Russian Vladimir Petushkov won gold.

In addition to the World and European Championships, international competitions such as the European Cup, Asian Cup, Team World Cup, Kremlin Billiard Tournament, World and European Championships among youth and veterans attract significant interest. Modern billiards is open to players of any gender and age.

The game of billiards today is very popular all over the world. The very fact that billiards has almost become Olympic view sport speaks for itself. Has it always been like this? Let's take a look at the history of billiards to find the answer to this question.

The roots of the game of billiards are in the distant past, so deep that it is impossible to say exactly when the game appeared and where it happened. It is known for sure that the birthplace of billiards is Indochina, but billiards was not widespread there: it did not go beyond the scope of ordinary children's fun. Billiards were brought to Europe by Genoese merchants in the 15th century.

However, there is no reason to say that before that Europe did not know what billiards was. Games similar to billiards existed until the 15th century: in Germany in the Middle Ages they played Bafkespiel, the essence of which was to drive a stone ball into a recess on a long table with the help of a club and the invariable “Das is is fantastic!”; in England there was a Pall-Mall - whose participants tried on a compacted platform, following certain rules, push the balls into the goal. However, all these games took place on fresh air, and Genoese merchants in the 15th century. brought the game to the home of the cream of society.

Billiards became a game for the rich and was so widespread among both the stronger sex and the fair half of humanity that almost every self-respecting house (not a peasant one, of course) had a billiard table.

The name of the game, according to some sources, comes from the Old Saxon words “ball” - ball and “yerd” - stick. Other sources claim that the origin of the word is French: “bille” is a ball, or “billart” is a wooden stick.

Billiards was called the game of kings. It was they who, throughout its history, influenced its development in different ways: either prohibited it (King George II of England), or encouraged it in every possible way (Charles IX, Napoleon Bonaparte, Peter I). The Scottish Queen Mary Stuart, even on the day of her execution, in a letter to the Archbishop of Glasgow, asked to find a suitable home for her pool table(this letter, by the way, written on February 17, 1587, is one of the first mentions of billiards).

Peter I, a great lover of everything European, brought billiards to Russia. A.S. Pushkin was fond of billiards; there is even information that he handled the cue quite professionally.

Of course, the game was not like today's game of billiards. A lot of time passed before the table acquired a rectangular shape (it was hexagonal, octagonal and even round), the number of pockets was reduced to six, all the balls were equal in size, nets appeared, hammers turned into cues, the sides hardened, and the balls began to bounce off them .

In the 30s of the 19th century, the “small Russian pyramid” appeared, better known as Russian billiards. The game became more exciting, because in order to pocket the ball, extraordinary accuracy was required.

At the end of the 19th century, the game turned into a sport. Billiards did not lose its popularity in the twentieth century.

Today, billiards is not just a game, it is an entire culture with a huge history that has never lost its popularity. Players note that it not only helps train the body, but also develops logical thinking and requires mathematical abilities.