The Battle of the Nations was an international armored combat sport world championship series, first held in 2009, in Khotyn, Ukraine and held in Europe, in April, every year until the 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2022 cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It is a full contact competition using metal weapons and a standardized list of rules. National teams compete in several standard events, with all being full contact - no stage reenactment battles are included.
Teams from up to 60 countries have entered the tournaments.
History The first meeting for the organization of the festival and the championship was held in Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2009. Its participants, captains of the first national teams, came to a consensus concerning how to hold the event. Since the rules could vary in different countries and even in different regions of one country, they also agreed of a set of unified international rules for the conduct of battles.
The first "Battle of the Nations" event was held in 2010 in the Khotyn Fortress (Ukraine)."Inside The Violent, Geeky World Of Hardcore International Medieval Combat", Mar 1, 2014, Tim Chester, Buzzfeed.com It was attended by the national teams of four countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland. Russia won most of the first places. The program included three categories: a duel (1 vs 1), group battles (5 vs 5) and mass battles (21 vs 21). For those who were not members of the national teams, but came to support the comrades, there were non-security buhurts.
The second event, in 2011, was also held at the Khotyn Fortress. Seven national teams participated; the previous four and three novice teams: Italy, Germany and Quebec. Two more categories were added to the three classic ones, namely the “professional fight” and “all vs all”. The latter category allows participants who are not members of the national teams to fight for their countries. The first places were won by Russia. The festival was attended by about 30,000 spectators and a documentary about the life of the participants was shot.
The 2012 event, the third held, was in Warsaw, Poland, and included representatives of twelve countries. A feature of the festival were battles of mounted knights, that were included in the program of the traditionally on-foot world championship in HMB for the first time. The top four teams were Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and USA.
The 2013 event, the fourth, was held in Aigues-Mortes, France. Twenty-two teams from Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific Rim took part. With the increase in teams, there were no "pro rules" fights or mounted jousting in the main arena. The top four teams were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and USA.
In 2014, due to the dissatisfaction of some of its members with the HMBIA, the organisers of the Battle of the Nations, some member states went on to create the International Medieval Combat Federation.
The 2014 event was the fifth held, and was in Trogir, Croatia. Around 30 countries were expected."Watch Fighters Literally Go Medieval on Each Other in This New Documentary", Victor Luckerson, April 28, 2015, Time.com
The 2015 event was the sixth held, and was held in Prague.
The 2016 even was the seventh held, and was also held in Prague. 35 countries were expected.
The 2017 event was the eighth, and was held in Barcelona, Spain and was the first year that the Chinese, Brazilian and Turkish team joined Battle of the Nations.
The 2018 event was the ninth, and was held in Rome, Italy.
The 2019 event was the 10th held, and was held in the Smederevo Fortress, in Smederevo, Serbia.
The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 tournament was cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2024 HMB Russian national governing body after having been alienated from the rest of the international buhurt community, would create a replacement for Battle of Nations, an ongoing tournament series called HMB Russia Fest in Vyborg, Russia, attended by Russian and allied athletes.
Main provisions National teams of different countries compete at “Battle of the Nations”. Under the rules of BN, a national team has to consist of at least 8 and a maximum of 50 fighters. Any representative of any of the historical medieval battles (HMB) clubs, as well as an individual fighter, provided they have gone through a selection process conventional for a country, can become a member of a national team.
Qualifying tournaments are competitions, where battles are held in accordance with the unified international rules for the historical medieval battle. National teams organize qualifying tournaments to find the best HMB fighters of a country. The unified international rules, according to which battles are held, have been written especially for "Battle of the Nations”. Before the unified rules were written, the countries had different HMB rules.
The tradition for this combat/competition has largely come from Russia, where enthusiasts have held previous events where full contact "battles" of large numbers of armoured combatants, are held, often in historical sites. The emphasis is put on the combatants wearing historically accurate equipment and heraldry, and the use of appropriate weapons for the combat.
The heraldry, however, reflects the modern competition teams, rather than necessarily historically correct heraldic device that may have been worn by combatants in the medieval period. The first tournament was held at the Khotyn Fortress in Ukraine in 2010."Second International Festival on Historical Reenactment - World HMB Championship "Battle of the Nations" - Welcomes Guests and Participants" 19:11, UN-Ukrainian News Monday, April 18, 201 The combatants depict armoured fighters from the 12th - 15th century. A number of different forms of combat take place, including some involving individuals, 5 a side or 21 on each side. Over 200 armoured men at arms take place in the competition, and in addition to melee/hand-to-hand weapons, archery is also featured."Second International Festival on Historical Reenactment - World HMB Championship "Battle of the Nations" - Welcomes Guests and Participants" UN Ukrainian News, April 18, 201
Team Quebec (also known at Ost du Quebec) was the first non-European team to enter the tournament in Ukraine in 2011. Their captain put a team together of 9 fighters and 3 support staff who traveled from Montreal Quebec to take part in the tournament. They also held the first friendly tournament under the HMB rules in St-Eustache in February 2012 where participants from Ontario and USA took part.
US combatants entered a team for the first time in 2012, with a number of their members coming from the Society for Creative Anachronism.Browning, Tamara, "Area men to compete in Battle of the Nations in Poland" The State Journal-Register, 4:44, 2 April 2012 http://www.sj-r.com/ The US team is a cross-group association of historic martial arts organizations.
"Battle of the Nations 2012" gathered participants from 12 countries.
By the following year, that number increased to 22 teams which participated in the "Battle of the Nations 2013", which was held in Aigues-Mortes in southern France. This was the first time the event was held outside east Europe.
"Battle of the Nations 2014" took place on 12 June in Trogir, Croatia. This was the year of the first female official nomination in the fencing "Triathlon". An innovation for the championship.
"Battle of the Nations 2015" was held in Prague, Czech Republic, 7–10 May. The women's buhurt category: all vs all - was promoted to be the innovation for that year's championship.
List of participants (Sorted by first-year participation):
2010 — Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland 2011 - Germany, Italy, Quebec 2012 - Austria, United States, Israel, Denmark, The Baltic States- union of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia 2013 - Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic & Slovakia, France, Japan,Luxembourg, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom Fighters from Portugal also attended, and fought with the Luxembourg team. 2014 - Chile, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Mexico.
About 25,000 attend the event annually."Second International Festival on Historical Reenactment - World HMB Championship "Battle of the Nations" - Welcomes Guests and Participants" 19:11, Monday, April 18, 201 UN Ukrainian News
List of host cities by year
2025 Visegrad Palace, in Hungary 2019 Smederevo Fortress, in Smederevo, Serbia 2018 Santa Severa, in Rome, Italy 2017 La Monumental, in Barcelona, Spain 2016 Petrin Hill, in Prague, Czech Republic 2015 Petrin Hill, in Prague, Czech Republic 2014 in Trogir, Croatia 2013 Aigues-Mortes, in Gard, France 2012 in Warsaw, Poland 2011, Khotyn Fortress, in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine 2010, Khotyn Fortress in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine
Medals
BoN 2010 in Khotyn Fortress, in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine standings Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1. 1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia 2. Mikhail Babynin, Russia 3. Franck de Gouil, France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. Ukraine 1 3. France 1
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. France 3. Belarus
BoN 2011 in Khotyn Fortress, in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine standings Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1. 1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia 2. Ivan Vasilev, Russia 3. Aleksandr Nadezhdin, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. Russia 2 3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. Belarus
BoN 2012 in Khotyn Fortress, in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine standings Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1. 1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia 2. Marcin Waszkielis, Poland 3. Alexey Petrik, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. France 3. Poland
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. France
BoN 2013 in Warsaw, Poland standings Full Standings of 2013
Male category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Sergei Ukolov, Russia 2. Evgenii Lapik, Russia 3. Krzysztof Szatecki, Poland
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. Russia 2 3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. Belarus
BoN 2014 in Trogir, Croatia standings Full Standings of 2014
Male category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia 2. Alexeey Petrik, Russia 3. Evgenij Lapik, Russia
Female category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Tatiana Guseva, Russia 2. Gulina Kokhvakko, Russia 3. Yana Zabolotnikova, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 2. Russia 3. France
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. Belarus
BoN 2015 in Petrin Hill, in Prague, Czech Republic standings Full Standings of 2015
Male category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Yevgeny Lapik, Russia 3 2. Sergei Ukolov, Russia 1 3. Alexeey Petrik, 2
Female category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Galina Kokhvakko, Russia 2 2. Christelle Carbeaud, France 3. Yana Zabolotnikova, Russia 3
Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Aleksei Naiderov, Russia 2. Mikhail Morgulis, Israel 3. Egor Tomassin, France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. Ukraine 1 3. France 2
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. France
BoN 2016 in Petrin Hill, in Prague, Czech Republic standings Full Standings of 2016
Male category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Aleksey Petrik, Russia, Fighter 2 2. Sergey Ukolov, Russia, Fighter 1 3. Aleksandr Nadezhdin, Russia, Fighter 3
Female category “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Galina Kohvakko, Russia, Fighter 1 2. Denise Brinkmann, Germany, Fighter 1 3. Marina Golovina, Russia, Fighter 3
Male Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Evgeniy Baranov, Belarus 2. Jeff Galli, USA 3. Aleksey Nayderov, Russia
Female Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1. 1. Ekaterina Obade, Moldova 2. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine 3. Alina Abdullaeva, Russia
Female Category “Group Battles” 3vs3. 1. Ukraine 2. Russia 3. France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5. 1. Russia 1 2. Ukraine 1 3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21. 1. Russia 2. Ukraine 3. Belarus
BoN 2017 in La Monumental, in Barcelona, Spain standings