A crackdown on quiz community. What’s next for “What? Where? When?” players in Russia after “undesirable” designation

What is “What? Where? When?”

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of “What? Where? When?” (ЧГК or ChGK) a televised Russian quiz show that debuted in the 1970s, created by Vladimir Voroshilov and Natalia Stetsenko. It became a cultural phenomenon in the USSR, much like the Soviet-era comedic contest KVN; both survived the Union’s collapse and thrived in Russia and other countries.

ChGK’s iconic elements like the black box (a mystery item players must guess), a roulette-style spinner picking questions on the table, the experts’ tuxedos and the owl mascot have become mainstays of Russian popular culture. Top players—Alexander Byalko, Nurali Latypov, Alexander Druz, Boris Burda, Fyodor Dvinyatin, Maxim Potashev, Rovshan Askerov, and Ilia Novikov—became widely recognised TV personalities.

The show’s popularity during the Soviet period led to a grassroots movement known as Sport ChGK, or Sport “What? Where? When?”, where amateur teams and enthusiast groups began holding their own competitions. The rules are quite straightforward: teams listen to a question, then have one minute to write their answer on a slip of paper. The TV format features a single team of experts facing questions submitted by viewers, with games played to six points; competitive tournaments see multiple teams tackling 2–3 dozen questions per round, with all teams attempting the same questions to determine rankings.

Today, hundreds of thousands participate in these games across Russia and beyond, in school, university, and adult leagues. Teams compete for ranking points, championship titles, and occasionally for prizes from sponsors or local governments. Although this community remains largely informal, it follows specific ranking systems and codes of conduct similar to professional sports.

Organising the games falls to local clubs or even the players themselves. They register a venue with a specific tournament’s organising committee and receive a set of questions, which the participants then “play out.” For many years, an umbrella organisation known as the International Association of Clubs (MAK) coordinated these events. Founded in Soviet times, MAK managed the rulebook and handled ethics disputes and player conduct complaints.

The Split

In recent years, the intellectual games movement has faced a series of scandals, all linked to a struggle for control over independent Sport ChGK.

The TV show is produced by Igra-TV, whose CEO Natalia Stetsenko—one of the show’s original creators—also serves as honorary president of MAK. In 2021, Igra-TV moved to trademark the term “Sport ‘What? Where? When?’ ” and demanded that tournament organisers obtain licences for its use. This takeover attempt sparked outrage in the player community. In response, many players broke away to form a new organisation—the International Association of Intellectual Games (MAII)—registering it as Internationale Assoziation für Intellektuelle Spiele in Liechtenstein.

A sport ChGK enthusiast interviewed by Mediazona said the new association arose from frustration with MAK’s conservative approach and the controversies involving famous players, management conflicts, and allegations of inaction on issues like harassment.

“Most members of the community just want to keep playing the games they love […] when and with whom they want, without anyone interfering. Ideally, there would be some help resolving disputes, standardising rules, banning cheaters, and holding major in-person tournaments,” a MAII founding meeting announcement explained.

A Clash of Games and Governance

Over two years, MAII established its own rules, tournament standards, and ranking system. It supervises tournaments, ensuring rules are upheld and disciplining cheaters. Monthly, 8,000 to 10,000 people take part in MAII-backed events, forming a core community.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, MAII banned participants from competing under Russian or Belarusian flags and suspended prominent players supporting the invasion. Membership in MAII is not required to participate in ChGK tournaments. According to MAII’s Telegram posts, only 213 members were on its books as of July 2021, dropping to nearly half by August 2024.

Mediazona reviewed tournament records, showing that MAII-affiliated events became dominant from late 2021, with 81% of tournaments since then held under its auspices.

The movement divides into three distinct groups: the largest comprises around 31,000 school and university students; about 25,500 players participate only in MAII tournaments; and some 19,300 players participate across various tournament types.

Over three years, 44,925 players participated in MAII tournaments, or 57% of all intellectual games participants from Russia.

Russia’s “undesirable” label will likely impact this core base of dedicated players.

What’s Next

ChGK enthusiasts believe that, following the MAII’s “undesirable” designation, some tournaments will shift to MAK, now seen as state-aligned and likely to censor questions. Television personality and MP Anatoly Wasserman told RTVI that future tournaments will likely be held under both MAK and Znanie, which increasingly promotes state-sanctioned narratives.

“The movement itself will probably survive. People won’t be barred from gathering in bars to play quizzes (well, at least not yet),” one ChGK player told Mediazona. “The MAII’s ban might mean a new body handles tournament rankings and cheater bans, without any political statements. Much of the infrastructure—local organisers, the tournament website—has no official ties to MAII and existed well before it. It’ll likely carry on without much disruption.”

However, the Prosecutor General’s ruling does create grounds for administrative or criminal prosecution of MAII members in Russia. In response, the association has advised its Russian members to file for disassociation and remove any links to it or its publications from social media.

Editor: Dmitry Tkachev