January 30, 2024

Gym Teacher's Charity a Slam Dunk


Gym Teacher's Charity a Slam Dunk
Great spot for a game of dodgeball. The Russian Life files

A boundless love of sports and the sting of childhood poverty motivated Khabarovsk gym teacher Ilya Chikvintsev to found the charity Iriska. Iriska (a play on his mother's name, Irina, and the word for "toffee") will supply local children with sports equipment that their families are not able to provide.

The idea stemmed from a difficult time in Chikvintsev's childhood: economically-devastated 1990s Russia. Despite young Ilya's love for soccer, his family could not afford to buy him adequate sneakers. Today, Chikvintsev wants to ensure no other children are deprived of the joy of sports. 

Growing up with a single mother in the small town of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, a former gold-mining hub that has since fallen into disrepair, Ilya found solace in his extracurriculars. Fortunately, several years after his hopes to play on his school's soccer team were dashed, Chikvintsev was able to join his school's basketball team. A scholarship to a university in Khabarovsk and a fulfilling career as a gym teacher later, Chikvintsev now wants to give back to students in similarly tough situations. 

Chikvintsev (along with his wife Maria) has secured sufficient local sponsors to provide over 40 children with their dream sports gear, ensuring their ability to play regardless of their ability to pay.

You Might Also Like

Russian Hoop Dreams
  • November 01, 2011

Russian Hoop Dreams

Top WNBA players are streaming to Russia to play pro basketball. And while they are unquestionably having an effect on Russian basketball, Russia is having its effect on them.
Support Ukrainian Charities
  • December 24, 2022

Support Ukrainian Charities

Some useful resources where you can easily, and safely, help those suffering from Russia's War on Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955