Gorodki

Gorodki (Russian: Городки, lit. 'townlets'; Swedish: Poppi; Lithuanian: Miestučiai) is a Russian folk sport. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at them. The skittles, or pins, are called gorodki (literally "little cities" or "townlets"), and the square zone in which they are arranged is called the gorod ("city"). Its popularity has spread to Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Ingria, parts of Lithuania, and Estonia. In the Scandinavian and Baltic languages, the game has many different names, such as kurnimäng, kriuhka, köllöi, keili, and miestučiai. The Finnish variant is called kyykkä, or Finnish skittles. The game was known in a form that is quite close to the modern one at least from the 17th century, since one of the most notable gorodki players was Peter the Great. It has survived in the contemporary period.