The first Sports Athletic Societies of the Kursk Early XX Century

The relevance of the study is related to the ever-growing interest of the world community in weightlifting competitions, where since the twentieth century not only men but also women participate. In addition, weightlifting is included in the Olympic Games and at the current stage of development of society, interest in this sport is constant.
The purpose of the scientific search is to study historical materials related to the organization and activities of the first sports societies of the Kursk province in the early twentieth century, where weightlifting was becoming a popular sport in Russia.
Objectives of the research is to study archival and other materials that allow us to trace the process of the emergence and development of the first athletic societies of the provincial Kursk of the early twentieth century.
Methodology. To solve this problem, the principles of historicism and objectivity, the methods of historicalgenetic, which allows to find patterns and sequence of the studied events, and historical-comparative, which makes it possible to study the historical processes under study in detail, served as a basis.
The results of the scientific research demonstrate that since the beginning of the twentieth century, numerous attempts have been made to create sports organizations in the Kursk province, where weightlifting classes were popularized. This included the Kursk branch of the St. Petersburg Athletic Society (SPb AO), which was officially registered in 1903. The head and inspirer of the sports society was an amateur athlete B. F. Gaikovich. Since June 1905, the Kursk branch of the St. Petersburg Joint-Stock Company ceased to exist due to political events shaking Russia. The second attempt to organize weightlifting enthusiasts under the leadership of G. I. Bessarabov and B. F. Gaikovich is connected with the work of the "School of Physical Health", which existed from 1908 to 1914. The Third Kursk Athletic Circle was created in 1909 by the 3rd Company of the 123 Kozlovsky Regiment. His work was supervised by the serviceman Nikolai Ivanov, a fan of kettlebell lifting.
Conclusions. The first sports societies of the Kursk province in the early twentieth century arose on the initiative of amateur athletes, who made considerable efforts to register them and work successfully. Overcoming logistical and financial difficulties, athletic societies held sports competitions, attracting new participants to sports activities.

1. Kurskij listok [Kursk leaf], 1901, January 25.

2. Bugrov Yu. A. Istoriya sporta Kurskogo kraya [History of sports in the Kursk Region]. Book 1. Kursk, Kursk. obl. nauch. kraeved. obshchestvo Publ., 2015. 201 p.

3. K sportu [To the sport], 1902, November, 23.

4. Goloshchapov B. R. Istoriya fizicheskoj kul'tury i sporta [History of physical culture and sports]. 5th ed. Moscow, Akademiya Publ., 2008. 312 p.

5. Demeter G. S. Ocherki istorii otechestvennoj fizicheskoj kul'tury i olimpijskogo dvizheniya [Essays on the history of Russian physical culture and the Olympic movement]. Moscow, Sovetskij sport Publ., 2005. 324 p.

6. GAKO (Gosudarstvennyj arhiv Kurskoj oblasti) [State Archive of the Kursk Region], f. 1, op. 1, d. 7214, l. 2, 7, 8.

7. Kurskie vesti [Kursk news], 1904, June 5.

8. Kurskie gubernskie vedomosti (KGV) [Kursk gubernskie vedomosti (KGV)], 1904, no. 49.

9. Cukanova O. M., Karpova G. G. Razvitie fizkul'turno-sportivnogo dvizheniya v Kurskoj gubernii v dorevolyucionnoj period [Development of the physical culture and sports movement in the Kursk province in the pre-revolutionary period]. Izvestiya Yugo-Zapadnogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya i pravo = Proceedings of the Southwest State University. Series: History and Law, 2017, vol. 7, no. 2 (23), pp. 147–157.

10. Istoriya Kurskoj oblasti [History of the Kursk Region]. Voronezh, Centr.-Chernozem. kn. izd-vo, 1975. 159 p.

11. Kurskaya byl' [Kursk Byl], 1907, September 11.

12. Kursk: kraevedcheskij slovar'-spravochnik [Kursk: local history dictionary-reference book ]; ed. by Yu. A. Bugrov. Kursk, YUMEKS Publ., 1997. 495 p.