Kazan Says Goodbye to BRICS Games With Ancient Tatar Festival of Sabantuy
Over 1,000 athletes from 93 countries arrived in Kazan, republic of Tatarstan this month for the BRICS Sports Games.
The annual event organized by members of the economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, is seen as an alternate version of the Olympic Games, which Russia has been banned from due to doping violations.
Russian athletes topped the charts with 507 total medals, followed by Belarus (247), Uzbekistan (114) and China (62).
Athletes bid farewell to Tatarstan at the closing ceremony on Sunday as the region's Tatar and Bashkir communities marked the Sabantuy summer festival. Meaning "plow's feast," Sabantui was a farmers' holiday associated with sowing before it became a national festival during the Soviet period.
Today, Sabantuy is celebrated with theatrical performances, folk music, wrestling and dancing. Some BRICS visitors participated in traditional games and tried local delicacies.
A Brazilian soccer team manager even said, "Sabantui is like a Brazilian carnival."
The annual event organized by members of the economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, is seen as an alternate version of the Olympic Games, which Russia has been banned from due to doping violations.
Russian athletes topped the charts with 507 total medals, followed by Belarus (247), Uzbekistan (114) and China (62).
Athletes bid farewell to Tatarstan at the closing ceremony on Sunday as the region's Tatar and Bashkir communities marked the Sabantuy summer festival. Meaning "plow's feast," Sabantui was a farmers' holiday associated with sowing before it became a national festival during the Soviet period.
Today, Sabantuy is celebrated with theatrical performances, folk music, wrestling and dancing. Some BRICS visitors participated in traditional games and tried local delicacies.
A Brazilian soccer team manager even said, "Sabantui is like a Brazilian carnival."
Athletes wave national flags in the village of Mirny in Tatarstan to mark the closing of the 2024 BRICS Sports Games during Tatarstan's Sabantuy festival.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
A Venezuelan athlete holds a hand-crafted spoon at the festival.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
Performers in the village of Mirny during Sabantuy. The festival dates back to at least the 7th century.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
Two women try to knock each other off a log in a sack fight.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
A woman bakes traditional Tatar pies in an oven at the festival. Sabantuy once marked the beginning of the sowing season.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
A BRICS Games participant samples chak-chak, a local specialty made from fried dough.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
A performance at Sabantuy, which has come to be an important Tatar cultural event.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
An actor and a horse perform in the village of Mirny during Sabantuy.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
A woman shells eggs in front of a banner for the "Stalin" Collective Farm.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
More performers during Sabantuy festivities in Mirny.
Yegor Aleyev / TASS
