Evgeniy Rene: Big buhurts are the trend of next decade!

Now every HMB athlete is waiting for the largest event of the next season - the HMB Russia Fest 2024, which attracts the attention of fighters almost as much as the most popular event in the world of historical medieval battle - the International Championship "The Battle of the Nations". The ideological inspirer of both projects is Evgeniy Rene, who answered the burning  questions in his long interview.

Evgeniy, after the closure of your largest HMB project “Battle of the Nations”, what prospects does the HMB movement have?

Let's start with summarizing the past two years. I believe we have found a way that has replaced "Battle of the Nations" for our fighters - the HMB Russia Fest in Vyborg, Russia. We see that for the second year in a row, thanks to the work of everyone involved in this project, the number of participants is growing. And we set ourselves the ambitious goal of reaching 500 fighters on the field in a couple of years. Additionally, there will be a shift towards a more historical event, and the team is preparing an entertainment and cultural program for next year. So, let's prepare historical camps and costumes. Ideally, I see that Vyborg can become a large, two-week multi-era festival with the participation of reenactors from different periods. Interest in Vyborg is growing among foreign participants, and I assume an increase in their numbers in the following years. We are always ready to help arrange things, provide visa support, and offer hospitable reception on-site. Sane men, who understand that politicizing our sport is a dead-end, will come to us.

What are your predictions for international organizations? The fate of HMBIA, Buhurt League, and Buhurt International?

In the past, our team put in a lot of effort and spent loads of resources on organizing and structuring HMBIA, as well as organizing the Battle of the Nations. However, when we faced a situation where it became impossible to continue organizing, none of the participants wanted or were able to take over the project. This demonstrates the inertia and lack of initiative within the international community. In this situation, we had the opportunity to focus our efforts and resources on cool projects within the country - in Vyborg, the new format of the Russian Championship, and the development of HMB Schools. So, this forced isolation has been beneficial for us, which can`t be said for international projects. From personal observations, I have noticed that the overall level of participants in European tournaments has declined, and the level of judging raises significant questions among the participants. There are tendencies towards a softening of authenticity requirements.

In the past, when Russian teams visited Western tournaments, our participation helped improve our opponents, showing them the level they should strive for, and they developed as a result. Now, this is no longer the case, and any movement without development gradually fades away. Currently, I would say that it is detrimental for us to participate in foreign tournaments because there are no serious opponents there. All the teams have been defeated by us multiple times, and if someone dares to challenge Russian leadership, it shouldn't be just written online but they ought to gather the courage to offer us a battle.

In the past, IMCF split from HMB, where the main performers were Americans and Poles. However, they could not come up with anything new, they simply copied the principles of "Battle of the Nations" but with their own idea that if there were no Russians, they would win medals. This is how the so-called "second league" emerged, for those who were afraid to compete and lose in fair combat.

The same situation is happening now with the newly invented Buhurt International, where people shamelessly take our developments, structure, rules, and ideas and make a copy without Russians. I call it “cargo cult”, historically - when someone thinks that by copying the format, they can achieve the same effect as before. But there is no understanding of the amount of work and ideas that have been invested to make the mechanism work and produce a quality product.

My prediction is that BI will merge into one structure with IMCF because both organizations have weak management to undertake serious projects at the level we have set.

As for us, we will continue to work with sane people, helping them to create and develop cool projects, as the Russian team currently has the most experience in the world in organizing high quality events.

So Russian fighters will not return to the international arena?

I`d like to remind everyone that at the last session of the HMBIA, the issue of banning Russian participants was raised in the spirit of fashionable trends, but this didn't happen democratically after the voting. There are a number of activists who say daring things on the Internet, but I don't think we will ever see such loudmouths on the battlefield, which is why they show such impudence.

I would say that I hold such individuals in disgust, as their behavior has removed them from being worthy opponents, betraying the universal ideals of chivalry.

No one has banned Russian teams at the international level, but it is currently not very convenient for us to travel there, both organizationally and financially, and as I mentioned before, there is no one to fight against. American teams formed their dream team and have been actively going to Europe in the past year, but they only started doing so after we stopped. I believe that despite their recent victories in European tournaments, the reasonable fighters there understand that as long as they can`t win against us, they will always be second.  From this it follows a series of nervous comments from Ivey. Well, we should understand the person - he has been losing to Russians his whole life, and now there's a chance to become a champion. Let's be happy for such success instead.

In reality, the world has split not because of political motives, but because of reasonable and unreasonable people. We will continue to work and communicate with reasonable fighters and organizers. Once the situation gets stable, we will choose who we want to fight on the battlefield with, and who we don't, because the internet remembers everything.

Russian and friendly events will continue to grow and develop, and we are open to all participants who want to join us. We don't force anyone to sign political declarations, but we simply promote international communication among sensible people. I believe that the organizers, represented by HMB Russia, will allocate a separate email and manager for those who want to visit our events next year.

What should participants in tournaments expect in Russia in 2024?

The plans include more polearm fights in Vyborg, more battles, a beautiful camp, music, and feasts. We are also preparing a presentation of the new Russian Championship, with a clear number of stages, media coverage, and prize fund. We also plan to organize the final tournament - the Russian Cup, mandatory for all teams registered for the Championship. We also want to make it open to partners, so we plan to regain the audience of the Dynamo Cup.

Are there any plans to restore international movement?

In the international aspect, I don't believe in the near restoration of competitions among national teams, as there is too much politics at this level. I am more inclined towards mass battles with the participation of multinational Banners united by the idea of chivalry and friendship. The unity will not be based on sporting criteria, but on the criteria of chivalric worldview. People who view the world through the prism of chivalry, honor, and nobility will always find common ground, despite modern realities or flag colors, as they share the same life principles. And these principles of mutual respect and a sense of belonging to a common cause are much more important than legal committees, federations, and sports bureaucracy. At some point, international sports took a wrong turn, promoting principles and approaches that are not close to us at all. The future will be at the intersection of chivalrous sports and cultural-historical events.

What directions in the development of our movement do you consider a priority?

Big buhurts will be the new trend of the next decade, as five-on-five tournaments are already running on inertia, without any idea, and with a clear division into teams of different levels. Big buhurts give everyone a chance to participate in a celebration of medieval violence, regardless of their physical form, and will promote interethnic communication more than sporting events.

We can`t help but ask the question that has been actively discussed in Russia for the past month - about the ban on those associated with the HMB in Rusborg. What do you think about this?

I take this with humor. Honestly, I don't really care about some declarations and statements from different figures. We organize cool events, dynamic ones, sometimes sports-related, sometimes historical. The HMB community and those involved in it are constantly growing because what do we need in this life - loyal friends around, fair fights, and fun communication afterwards. Love reenactment in yourself, not yourself in reenactment :)

Well, in our plans, of course, is to set up a mobile stage on a truck with concert speakers, lights, and sound, with a guitarist from the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" and send it as a gift to Rusborg. So that they understand the difference between a true HMB enthusiast and a random historical tourist.