Представляем вашему вниманию сюжет глобального англоязычного информационного телеканала RT (ранее - Russia Today) о нашем клубе и об отце-основателе "Спарты энд К" Шабтае Генриховиче фон Калмановиче
Spartak&K have continued to go from strength to strength despite the murder of their flamboyant owner. Shabtai Kalmanovich was gunned down in 2009, but his legacy is still felt in the team as they prepare for their last group match of the Euroleague.
Spartak&K is a club with a fascinating history, much like their late owner, Shabtai Kalmanovich. What have he, Vladimir Putin and James Bond got in common? They were all spies. Born in Lithuania in 1947, Kalmanovich emigrated to Israel before being unmasked as a spy in 1987 and sent to jail.
But five years later, the multinational citizen and speaker of nine languages was released and arrived in Moscow, where he became a concert promoter organizing shows for Michael Jackson and Liza Minnelli.
But basketball was where his real passion lay. The former KGB man sponsored different clubs, including Lithuanian Euroleague champions Zalgiris. However he truly established his hardwood empire with Moscow Region side Spartak before leading the Russian women's team to European silver.
A life less ordinary ended tragically in 2009. The basketball lover and entrepreneur was murdered as a hail of bullets hit his car in central Moscow. He died at the scene. His killers were never found. But the legacy of Kalmanovic lives on.
Spartak quickly established themselves as a basketball dynasty winning all available silverware in Russia and Europe over the past five years, setting a record with four straight Euroleague titles, and devoting their 2010 triumph to Kalmanovich.
His wife and former player Anna Arkhipova carries on his legacy. She is now president of the club, which plays under the name "Spartak and K". It changed its name for copyright reasons, but kept the last letter K in memory of their former owner.
With an excellent infrastructure and solid roster, Sparta and K are a perennial top-flight side. And the motivation is to get back to the very top, after finally losing last year in their fifth straight Euroleague showpiece.
Yet the club is not only about its senior team. It also has a youth academy, where hundreds of kids are keen to join the next generation of stars.
Sparta&K are currently top of Group C in the Euroleague, and have a 100 per cent record in the domestic championship. Their winning traditions are firmly established, and the family traditions that make Kalmanovich's former club special are just as important.
