To whom did Ivan Poddubny lose? Ivan Poddubny - invincible champion of champions

Ivan Poddubny- this name has become the embodiment of physical power and unyielding Russian character. A fight with him was a real test of strength for every fighter, and only a few dared to take revenge. Above all, he valued honesty in people, respected strength, and severely punished meanness and deception. Our article is devoted to the biography of the legendary “Champion of Champions” and a true Russian hero.

Hereditary Cossack Ivan Poddubny.
Childhood and athlete's youth

Ivan Poddubny born on October 8, 1871 in the village of Bogodukhovka, Poltava province. Childhood and athlete's youth took place in Ukraine. He was from a family hereditary Cossacks, famous for their enormous strength and longevity. According to rumors, Ivan’s grandfather lived for 120 years, however, there is no documentary evidence of this. However, the heroic power of the Poddubnys is an undeniable fact. The head of the family, Maxim Ivanovich, had powerful strength and a stern disposition. They tell how one day, already world famous, Ivan decided to show off his strength and tied a poker in a knot. The father calmly unbent the iron rod and gave it a good smack on the back of his careless son, so that in future he would not spoil things.

The father and his eldest son often entertained the villagers by staging belt fights - a favorite heroic pastime of Russian strongmen. Ivan more than once managed to lay his parent down on his shoulder blades, although he was always sure that he simply gave in to him. When the future champion was once asked if there was a person stronger than him in the world, he answered without hesitation: “There is - my father!”

From childhood, Ivan was accustomed to hard peasant labor: he helped cultivate the land and worked as a laborer for wealthy relatives. The strongman inherited an excellent ear for music from his mother and sang in the church choir on Sundays.

If fate had decided otherwise, the world might never have known about the “Champion of Champions” Ivan Poddubny. But in the life of the village strongman there came a time turning point, forcing him to leave his parents' home and go in search of a better life. This happened after they refused to marry Ivan to the girl with whom he was madly in love. The parents were looking for a more profitable match for their daughter than a young farm laborer. Poddubny, who had a hard time experiencing this breakup, could no longer remain in his native land. In 1892 he moved to Sevastopol.

Becoming a "Champion of Champions" It started in Crimea. To earn a living, Ivan Poddubny gets a job as a loader at the port. Colleagues were amazed at his colossal strength and endurance. Ivan tirelessly carried heavy-duty boxes and bales along the gangway, without even bending under their weight. IN free time The strongman went to the circus, watching with delight the performances of acrobats and strongmen. One day he volunteered to participate in a Swiss wrestling match. The straightforward hero, who did not know all the tricks of this competition, was almost immediately knocked down.

The defeat forced the strongman to think hard and reconsider his lifestyle. Among his friends were avid fans of wrestling and weightlifting. They gave Ivan the idea do strength training. Poddubny begins to exercise every day with three-pound weights and a 112-kilogram barbell, and pours himself cold water. In addition, he sets for himself strict diet, completely eliminating tobacco and alcohol. Explores the intricacies of modern wrestling.

His re-entry into the arena was met with deafening whistles. Remembering the previous failure, the audience prepared to watch a boring spectacle. But the challenger surprised everyone by putting the circus strongman on his shoulder blades. Poddubny had a series of brilliant fights, defeating, among other things, the famous Russian wrestler Georg Lurich , and a duel with another famous athlete, Peter Yankovsky ended in a draw. After such a deafening triumph, the name of Ivan Poddubny thundered throughout Russia.

In 1897, he got a job with the Italian Truzzi Circus, which toured all over the world. Black Sea coast. Performs in the arena, demonstrating miracles of strength. So, in one of the rooms they broke a lamppost on his back. On the advice of a colleague, the athlete grows a lush mustache, which has since become his integral attribute.

World famous And
the most spectacular fights
Ivan Poddubny

One of the most famous fights of Ivan Poddubny took place during his circus tour in Novorossiysk. Quite quickly putting the massive Swedish wrestler Anderson on his shoulder, the Russian strongman made many doubt the fairness of the fight. Outraged by such rumors, Ivan invited his opponent to have a rematch. Having agreed with the organizers, the Swede agreed, but on the condition that Poddubny would lose.

A refusal could destroy the reputation of both the circus and the athlete himself, since the fight had already been announced, and all tickets for it were sold out in advance. Yielding to the persuasion of his colleagues, Ivan agreed to go against his conscience. However, at the sight of his opponent’s smug face, he couldn’t stand it. The Swede did not have time to come to his senses when he found himself hanging a few centimeters above the ground. Ivan Poddubny lay on his back, feigning defeat, and without visible effort held his squirming opponent at arm's length. Burning with shame, Andersen fled from the circus, amid the laughter and hooting of the crowd.

By 1903 in Russia Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny there were no equals in strength and sportsmanship. Among the strongest wrestlers of the Russian Empire, he is recommended for participation in the World Championship in French wrestling. This type of martial arts was new to the athlete, but thanks to hard training and perseverance, he managed to master it in just three months.

At the tournament, which brought together famous athletes from all over the world, the Russian wrestler won 11 victories in a row. In the final, Poddubny had to fight with a young but promising athlete Raoul Le Boucher . The fight was extremely tense, the initiative passed from one opponent to another. However, it soon became clear that the Frenchman was outright cheating by smearing himself with oil before the fight. By all international rules the fight should have been stopped immediately and the victory awarded to the Russian athlete. However, there was a lot of money at stake, which decided the outcome of the confrontation.

The judges made a very dubious and illogical decision to wipe down the French wrestler every five minutes. Within an hour, Poddubny failed to put the enemy on his shoulder blades, and Raoul Le Boucher was declared the winner on points. The decision of the panel of judges was met with deafening whistles. By that time " Russian bear"managed to captivate the French public, who were extremely outraged by the unsportsmanlike behavior of their compatriot.

For the honest and straightforward Poddubny, this defeat was a real shock. Not wanting to be a puppet in the hands of greedy businessmen, he decides to leave the sport. But a year later he returns to take part in the world championship in French wrestling, held in St. Petersburg. Here he again met his offender. Realizing that this time defeat could not be avoided, Raul offered his opponent a substantial bribe for the loss.

Ivan Poddubny answered the way he knew best - harshly, but within the rules. During the fight, he forced his opponent to kneel and held him in this position for a quarter of an hour, until the judges took pity on Raul, asking him to be released. By that time the Frenchman was already on the verge of hysterics.

In the final battle Poddubny managed to defeat the great Paul Pons . The fight lasted almost two hours, after which the Frenchman was completely exhausted and presented an extremely sad sight. Under the deafening roar of the crowd, the Russian wrestler laid him down on his shoulder blades, becoming the new world champion in French wrestling.

Another interesting one fight of Ivan Poddubny occurred in the summer of 1904 in Moscow. His opponent was famous for his rudeness and unsportsmanlike behavior Johann Abs. The fight was so fierce that within half an hour the fighters literally smashed the stage decorations to pieces. Finally, enraged by his opponent’s antics, Poddubny threw him out of the lists. A few minutes later he came back, dragging the struggling German by his belt, and with all his strength he pressed his forehead against the floor of the arena. Abs soon came to his senses, but he remembered the lesson taught by the Russian hero for the rest of his life.

In 1908, at a tournament in Berlin Ivan Poddubny defeated the German champion in the decisive battle Jacob Koch. And the day before, the German recklessly tried to bribe the Russian champion. The next day, the German press came out with revealing materials, branding Koch as a swindler and a coward. And Poddubny, in the apt expression of one of the journalists, has since been called “ Champion of champions».

"Golden" period in It is generally accepted that the years 1905-1910 were when the Russian athlete dominated the fight, leaving no chance to his opponents. During this time, he managed to become a four-time world champion. Ivan Maksimovich kept his awards in a separate chest, which by the end of his sports career weighed more than 30 kilograms! Tired of the behind-the-scenes intrigues of big-time sports, the wrestler decides to stop performing and retire.

Return to native land.
Personal life of Ivan Poddubny

Return to homeland passed without unnecessary pomp. The family greeted Poddubny with great warmth. Even Maxim Ivanovich, who repeatedly threatened to hit the prodigal son with shafts because he appeared in public “in a shameful state” (in wrestling tights), changed his anger to mercy.

Using the money accumulated over the years of performances, the athlete bought his own estate and 120 acres of land, which he divided among his closest relatives. That same year he married the first beauty of his village - Antonina Kvitko-Fomenko. But alas, the former champion did not have a calm and happy life. The farm quickly fell into disrepair, and his wife, having appropriated part of his rewards, ran away with her lover. For the honest and respectable Poddubny, his beloved’s betrayal came as a bolt from the blue. Black melancholy took possession of the “Champion of Champions”, almost driving him to the grave. Much later, Antonina repented of what she had done and begged for forgiveness, but she never received it.

However, this was not the first time that a gullible hero became a victim of female cunning. While working in the circus, he started an affair with the beautiful tightrope walker Emilia, but she, having played with his feelings, ran away with a fan. Poddubny once bitterly joked about this that if anyone managed to lay him down, it was only women.

Talking about personal life Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny, one cannot fail to mention his main love - a circus acrobat Masha Dozmarova. Masha performed mind-blowing stunts under the circus big top, without any insurance, and she paid for it by falling to her death during the performance. A piece of the “Russian Bear” himself died along with her.

With his last wife, Maria Semyonovna Mashonina, Ivan met in 1922 while touring in Rostov-on-Don. The athlete lived with her until the end of his days.

Return of the champion.
Conquest of the New World

Having survived his wife’s betrayal and sold off his failed household in order to cover the debts of negligent relatives, Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny decides to do what he has always done best - fight and win. Return of the Champion was a resounding success. In the spring of 1915, he holds two victorious fights against Alexandra Garkavenko, nicknamed “Black Mask”, as well as his friend and one of the strongest fighters in the world -.

IN troubled years civil war the invincible “Russian Bear” did not support any of the warring parties, promoting only sports and healthy image life. World famous helped him and his family get through it hard time. However, it became more and more difficult for the legendary athlete to earn a living in the “land of the Soviets” every year, and he made the difficult decision to leave for America.

Conquest of the New World began by the Russian champion in 1925, when he was already 55 years old. However, even in mature age He was in such good health that he was allowed to participate in the competition without question. In the United States by that time, freestyle wrestling was very popular, fights in which often had the character of a bloody spectacle, without any rules.

Ivan Poddubny, who valued sporting honor above all else, was simply not ready for this. In the very first fight, the opponent tried to grab the Russian hero by the mustache, which he greatly regretted in the next minute. The Soviet press widely covered the successes of the “Champion of Champions,” turning him into a tool of socialist propaganda.

Fight with the invincible American champion Joe Strencher, famous for its steely grip, ended in a draw. Soon after this Ivan Poddubny decides to leave a country alien to him, where everything is subordinated to the cult of money, and sport has degenerated into an ugly spectacle that promotes violence and cruelty. Having broken all contracts and at the same time losing fabulous money, in 1927 he returned to his homeland.

Leaving the sport.
Years of war and occupation

Back in Soviet Union, Ivan Poddubny continued to perform as a circus wrestler and strongman. Despite the fact that he had already crossed the 60-year-old mark, few young athletes could compete with his strength.

One of the few who managed to put the “Russian Bear” on his shoulder blades was a young Ryazan wrestler Ivan Chufistov . This happened in 1924. After that defeat, Ivan Maksimovich hugged his opponent and said with a sigh: “I lost not to you, but to my old age!”

In 1939 for outstanding sporting achievements Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny The Order of the Red Banner of Labor was solemnly awarded, which the athlete was very proud of and did not remove even during the years of fascist occupation. In addition, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

In 1941, Poddubny announced his leaving sports. Together with his wife and adopted son, he settled in the resort of Yeisk, where a couple of years earlier he bought a cozy house with a large garden. Here the former athlete experienced years of war and occupation. He flatly refused to leave the surrounded city, citing the fact that he was already old and had nothing to lose.

And again worldwide fame Poddubny became his ticket to life. The Germans invited him and his family to go to Germany and train young athletes, but the Russian hero responded with a firm refusal. For such insolence, anyone could be thrown to the wall without trial, but the German leadership, appreciating the courage of the elderly athlete, left him alone. Moreover, in order to feed his family, he was asked to work as a security guard in a billiard room. The old athlete agreed to this and honestly fulfilled his duties. Quite a few tipsy fascist soldiers were reasoned with by the stern “Russian Bear”, which they were quite proud of and boasted to their colleagues that Ivan Poddubny himself threw them out of the door.

Sunset of life.
The tragedy of the strongman

Sunset of life the legendary athlete met in poverty and oblivion. In 1945 he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, but no financial assistance The outstanding athlete was not provided with any assistance; even a request for a daily free bowl of soup remained unanswered. In order not to die of hunger, Poddubny sold the remaining awards. IN recent years he practically did not walk due to a compound fracture of his leg. This time Ivan’s good health failed him - the damaged bone stubbornly refused to heal. The life of the legendary "Champion of Champions" Ivan Poddubny broke in 1949. He died of a heart attack at the age of 78.

The great athlete was buried in Yeisk, modestly, without celebrations. Much later, grateful townspeople installed a tombstone on his inconspicuous grave with the carved inscription: “Here lies the Russian hero.” And in 2011, a monument to the great athlete was unveiled in Yeisk. A museum has been opened in the house where Ivan Maksimovich spent the last years of his life.

In memory of the “Champion of Champions” several documentaries and artistic paintings, including: " Ivan Poddubny: The tragedy of the strongman» (2005) and " Poddubny"(2014). The role of the legendary strongman in last movie performed by a famous Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov.

Interesting facts from biographies
Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny

IN biography of Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny there are many facts indicating that the life of the “Champion of Champions” sometimes hung by a thread. The first time this happened was during his Parisian tour. Raoul Le Boucher, remembering his humiliating defeat, hired four thugs to deal with the offender. But the raiders did not know who they had contacted. Having received a fair beating, they returned to the employer empty-handed and began to extort money for the damage caused. The next morning, the French wrestler was found at home, beaten to death.

In 1919, Poddubny was almost killed by the Makhnovists, and in 1920, the security officers miraculously avoided shooting him, mistaking him for an enemy of the people. In Kerch, a White Guard officer shot at him. The only thing that saved the athlete from inevitable death was that the shooter was dead drunk and therefore missed, slightly scratching his shoulder.

The symbol of Ivan Maksimovich’s truly heroic strength was his famous cane. Made to special order, it weighed 16 kilograms! Not everyone could even simply lift such a weight, but the athlete himself walked with it so easily and naturally, as if it were carved from wood.

It's hard to believe, but IvanPoddubny was a convinced vegetarian. He did not recognize meat in any form. He ate mostly porridge and was very fond of borscht and cabbage pies. The “Russian Bear”’s appetite matched his colossal strength, but at the same time the athlete never suffered from obesity, but on the contrary, he always remained bravely strong and fit.

Of course, heroes, like Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny– these are unique and naturally gifted people. However, it is absolutely not necessary to be a descendant "Champion of Champions" or becoming a vegetarian to help realize the potential within each of us. Intensive work on oneself and perseverance in achieving goals is the secret to the success of all natural athletes. But at the same time we must not forget about proper nutrition. To improve your physical performance, it will be useful to include complexes of vitamins and minerals in your daily diet.

The Cossack family from which Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny came was known and famous in the Poltava region. One of Ivan’s ancestors took part in the Battle of Poltava (the family always lived near Poltava), captured the Swedish banner and was awarded by Emperor Peter personally. The legend about this was kept in the family, passed down from generation to generation. All the Poddubnys were tall and strong people. They say that until the end of his life Poddubny was convinced that the only person who was stronger than him is his father. The Poddubnys were also famous for their health. Ivan's grandfather lived to be 120 years old. It is also known that Ivan was born with an excellent ear for music and voice. His date of birth is September 26, 1871. He had three brothers and three sisters.

Poddubny’s first love was the daughter of a rich merchant, Alyonka Vityak, but the difference in class did not allow the lovers to marry.

Ivan's entire childhood passed in the fields on heavy physical work. Even then he showed enormous strength - while in amusing village battles, in wrestling with sashes. In his youth, Ivan fell in love with Alyonka Vityak, the daughter of a local rich man, for whom he worked as a sheep shepherd. The feeling was mutual, but it was difficult to imagine the two families becoming related. The external reason was the property situation between the Poddubnys and the Vityaks. True, Poddubny himself later said that Alyonka’s father came secretly to his father and told him that Alyonka was Ivan’s second cousin, therefore their marriage was impossible, and Ivan should be immediately sent somewhere far away so that he would not do anything stupid. In any case, Ivan Poddubny’s heart was broken for the first time, and he left for the sea.

Ivan Poddubny liked to say that his only trainer is “Mother Nature”

For several years, Poddubny worked as a port loader in Sevastopol and Feodosia. In the evenings, after a fourteen-hour workday, he and his friends trained, lifted weights, and wrestled. In the mornings, Poddubny went for a run and doused himself with cold water. It was the friends with whom he rented a house who told him what sports was and taught him basic training skills. In 1896, the famous Beskorovainy circus came to Feodosia. For three days Poddubny went to all the circus performances. He seemed to be carefully studying the tricks that athletes perform in the arena. Maybe that was the case, but there is a version that he went for the sake of a circus gymnast, forty-year-old Hungarian Emilia, who performed in a separate act. Every evening the athletes offered anyone who wanted to fight them in the arena and receive a reward if they won. They say that Poddubny decided to take part in the competition (“to rip,” as he said) precisely in order to hit the Hungarian. By that time, he had a lot of love victories, and this was supposed to be a resounding triumph.

Film fragment
Coming on stage, Poddubny defeated all the circus athletes in the belt fight, except for the strongest, but this loss was simply deafening for him. Poddubny always took defeats very hard, but here there were two of them at once, because he could not hit the gymnast. Shocked by the loss, Poddubny began to train even more actively (he had two 32 kg weights and a 112 kg barbell) and soon quit his job at the port to get a job in a circus. He was a member of the troupe of the Italian Enrico Truzzi. There were legends about his numbers. It seems that he put a telegraph pole on his shoulders, ten people were hanging on both sides of it, and then the pole broke under their weight. It was 1898, the beginning of Ivan Poddubny's fame. By the way, there is a version that only then did he meet Emilia. In any case, besides him, she had many lovers, and with one of them she once ran away from the circus, and Poddubny’s heart was again broken.

Poddubny “gave the circus director some pasta to eat,” that is, he forced him to eat the contract.

The film “Poddubny” shows an episode of how Mikhail Porechenkov’s hero forces the circus director to eat a contract

Meanwhile, Poddubny was gaining more and more fame, and the reason was not his tricks with pillars, but his victories in circus wrestling. It was quite primitive and most often represented the same fight with sashes, but winning it was still not so easy. The fact is that this fight was similar to modern wrestling, that is, the winner was known in advance, and it had to be main star circus This means that you had to become a star, and victories came one after another. Poddubny’s artistry and charm helped him a lot in this, but the problem was that he did not want to play by these rules. Once, as they say, he even forced the circus director to eat a contract that he did not like - in circus circles this was called “letting him eat pasta.”

Before a fight, Poddubny always reflected on himself sign of the cross. And on the mat he was mercilessly cruel: he broke his opponents’ bones, knocked out his teeth on the floor, etc.

Poddubny refused to lose according to the script and wanted to fight for real. He became especially furious if the enemy tried to use a dishonest technique. Here there was no mercy to be expected; the unfortunate people were carried away unconscious from the arena. Poddubny’s cruelty was perceived very favorably by the public, he knew this and emphasized, sometimes theatrically, his mercilessness. Poddubny always tried to improve his wrestling technique. He added Caucasian and Tatar wrestling methods to his style. Experimented with diet. True, how exactly is not completely clear. Some say that he practically did not eat meat and did not drink vodka. Others - that he ate meat in large quantities and that he was always not against drinking a glass of vodka and singing his favorite “I Wonder at the Sky” in company. He loved vinaigrette, ate a lot of vegetables and cereals, and drank up to several liters of milk a day. The main thing that everyone agrees on is the iron discipline of training, which Poddubny observed until his death, without making any concessions to himself.

Poddubny received a stern letter from his father, where he condemned the buffoonery antics of his son, who runs around the arena in shameful tights, and even has affairs with gymnasts and not only. Meanwhile, the gymnast, as already mentioned, ran away, and Poddubny, who did not like being thrown, in serious condition spirit went to Kyiv, where his performances soon began to sell out. In Kyiv, he struck up a friendship with a guy who wanted to become a trainer and constantly rehearsed with animals. Here he met a new great love- gymnast Maria Gazmarova, she was a small girl and, as they say, next to Poddubny she seemed very tiny. The three of them spent a lot of time together, dreaming about the future. Poddubny felt absolutely happy, basking in love and glory.

During her first performance, a friend-trainer was killed by a lion, and the next day Gazmarova crashed during her performance.

All this happened before Poddubny’s eyes; at that time he was backstage and waiting for his turn to perform. Ivan Maksimovich plunged into deep depression, he even wanted to go home, but the circus contract did not allow this, and he began to seek solace in sports. He began to regularly visit the Kiev athletes' club, where many nobles and celebrities visited.

Poddubny met the writer Alexander Kuprin, who made a note in his diary:

The club members were fond of French wrestling, which, in fact, contained only a few acceptable techniques, but each of them, again, required enormous accuracy and good physical development. Poddubny began to master this technique with curiosity. Soon he was invited to the capital of Russia by the chairman of the St. Petersburg Athletic Society, Count Georgy Ivanovich Ribopierre, who invited Poddubny to go to Paris for the World Wrestling Championship. Poddubny agreed: this was an excellent reason to change the situation.

Poddubny rarely mentioned his coach, believing that he was raised by “Mother Nature.”

Poddubny was given a French coach, a former wrestler, who was supposed to short time to teach our athlete all the tricks and subtleties of French wrestling, which they might not know about in Kyiv. The Frenchman Eugene de Paris was merciless, and Poddubny was tireless, they trained almost around the clock, but Poddubny’s mental trauma and his explosive nature sometimes led to incidents. Once, in a fit of rage, Ivan Maksimovich severely beat the coach and translator and even wanted to return to his homeland. He himself subsequently hardly mentioned the merits of coach Eugene; he called “Mother Nature” his main educator.

Poddubny's coach was the Frenchman Eugene de Paris, played by Denis Lavant

In 1903, Ivan Poddubny’s first trip abroad took place. In Paris, a commission examined him, they compiled a medical card for him: height 184 cm, weight 118 kg, biceps 46 cm, chest 134 cm at exhalation, hip 70 cm, neck 50 cm. These data, taken shortly before Poddubny’s 33rd birthday, amount to one from the few objective documents about his life. There were 130 fighters at the championship. Poddubny defeated all his opponents, but in the final he lost on points to the 20-year-old Paris champion Raoul le Boucher. Le Boucher was said to be closely associated with criminal world Paris, and before the fight he rubbed himself with oil, which could not be completely removed even by regular wiping with a towel. Le Boucher was declared the winner based on total points: he did not allow Poddubny to complete a single move. Poddubny, as usual, plunged into depression, sat in his room for three days and did not want to see anyone.

They say that Poddubny drank a glass of beer before the fight so that the sweat released was slimy and made Poddubny invulnerable to capture.

Poddubny could not forget his rival, the Frenchman Raoul le Boucher, until the end of his life

Le Boucher's cunning was not unprecedented. To this day, in many countries it is customary for wrestlers to rub themselves with oil even at international championships, although this is considered not very ethical. The following year, 1904, the wrestling championship was held in St. Petersburg, and there Poddubny defeated Le Boucher, becoming a national hero and the first Russian world wrestling champion. A few years later, Le Boucher organized an assassination attempt on Poddubny when he was in Paris, but the attempt failed, and Le Boucher refused to pay for it, for which he was killed by the same gang. In his old age, Poddubny got himself a cat and named him Raul. Until the end of his days, he could not forgive Le Boucher for his loss in Paris. Until 1909, Poddubny went to world championships, winning six times and receiving the nickname “Champion of Champions” from journalists. All these years he has led the most strict lifestyle in terms of training - and at the same time the most unrestrained in relation to women. He said that he had an unprecedented number of mistresses. Poddubny squandered his money, but did not forget to send decent sums to his relatives. He retained the same character. He was irritable in life, cruel in battle, clumsy in society, but all this was extremely charming and only increased his fame. This even applied to his habit of extending his hand to those whom he considered “strong” people, and extending only two fingers to everyone else. Although barely literate in Russian, Poddubny spoke fluent German and understood French. It is believed that Poddubny, with his uncompromisingness, turned the world of European wrestling upside down, sharply opposing the pre-planned outcomes of battles, which were as common abroad as they were here.

Poddubny claimed that the French marquises brought their wives to him to “improve the blood.”

In 1910, Poddubny returned to his native village to settle there and live as a master. He bought himself and his family about 200 hectares of land, several mills, built himself a huge estate and married the noblewoman Antonina Kvitko-Khomenko. Evil tongues said that she weighed more than 100 kg. First, he began to settle complex family affairs (his brother burned down the mill, and the farm acquired with the money he sent was in decline). Then he began to waste money and yearn for the circus life. After two years of such a pastime, Poddubny left his wife at home and went on tour again, but only in his own country. He charged 130 rubles for entering the arena; any other wrestler received a maximum of 10. Poddubny generously distributed alms and visited his wife and mother. This lasted until the start of the Civil War.

In his old age, Poddubny got a cat and named him Raoul - the name of his French rival Le Boucher, whom he could not forget until the end of his days.

Next known facts about Poddubny date back to 1919. Once Nestor Makhno was in the area where Poddubny was touring with the circus, and, waving a pistol, forced all the circus wrestlers to compete with his strongmen. Everyone gave in for fear of being killed. Poddubny, crossing himself, threw the best one on the floor. He turned around in anticipation of a shot, and Makhno laughed and ordered the fighters to be given sausages and wine. The second fact also dates back to 1919. Poddubny mistakenly ended up in the Odessa basement of the Cheka to be shot. There everyone was waist-deep in icy water, and Poddubny also waited for his fate for a week. Then they apologized to him and released him. There he also learned that his wife had gone to the white officer Denikin and took with her a chest of jewelry that Poddubny kept at home. She went abroad, went broke, then wrote him letters of complaint, but he did not answer them.

Poddubny again took the departure of his wife very hard, not understanding how one could leave such a strong and successful person.

In 1923, Poddubny went to Moscow, where he got a job at the Moscow State Circus. Poddubny didn’t like Moscow, but on tour he met bagel seller Maria Semyonovna, a semi-literate woman who already had a son, Ivan. Poddubny fell in love with this woman so much that he tried to go to Rostov as soon as possible and live there with her. There was not enough money, and Poddubny’s ambitions did not give him peace, and then the opportunity arose to go to the USA on tour. The Russian revolutionary Anatoly Lunacharsky helped with the documents, who thus took care of the international image of the country.

Entrepreneurs in the USA were horrified when they learned that Poddubny was 52 years old. According to US laws, you could start participating in wrestling championships at the age of 38. However, the medical commission found that Poddubny’s body is quite consistent with 38 years. Perhaps this diagnosis was paid for by interested parties, but for American newspapers it became an excellent reason for a sensation. Poddubny was nicknamed “Ivan the Terrible,” and he began to urgently retrain himself in the American style of wrestling, which was more like fighting without rules. In essence, this is modern American wrestling, only much more contact. They kicked Poddubny in the ring, pressed their fingers on his eyes, and tried to pull out his famous mustache. He was also merciless in response. He did not like the USA, unlike Europe. He considered the local public wild and bloodthirsty, and found the sport itself too corrupt. Two years later, he had about half a million dollars in his American account, but he could receive it, according to the terms of the deposit, only by accepting American citizenship.

Poddubny left the money in the USA and sailed back to Russia by ship. They are still in his account.

Ivan Poddubny did not want to become a US citizen and returned to Russia, leaving the money in his accounts

The ship arrived in Leningrad in 1927, and was met at the pier by Maria Semyonovna and the orchestra. There are two versions about Poddubny’s return. The first, legendary one, is that the beggar Poddubny came from the USA with a single suitcase containing only a robe, tights and a teapot. Then he went to his home near Poltava, found his savings there and bought a house in Yeisk on the shore Sea of ​​Azov. The second version is more plausible: although he returned not a millionaire, he was by no means poor, and big house in Yeisk he bought it with this money. It is difficult to establish the truth today. Everyone has seen the teapot from the USA at Poddubny’s. He also went to his village. A terrible picture awaited him there: his relatives were declared kulaks, they were all threatened with deportation. And all this is due to the fact that Poddubny gave them gifts in the form of money and land. Poddubny fell into depression and left his native village forever. Almost all of their relatives were expelled after this.

In Yeisk, Poddubny initially led a very quiet life. He constantly fished on the shore, bringing his catch home. Played backgammon with friends. Rastil adopted son Ivana. Poddubny did not have his own children. Two reasons were given. They said that Poddubny had strained himself during training and therefore could not have children. And he himself said that there are no sexually transmitted diseases that he would not have picked up at one time. He was cured of all his illnesses, but, again, without the opportunity to have children. But Poddubny always agreed if he was asked to become a godfather, and then he always enjoyed meeting his godchildren. From them the largest part memories of him, so different and contradictory. Poddubny amused his godchildren by pouring tea into his huge palm and drinking straight from it, eating dry bread. Or he would take three nails and braid them into a braid, after which he would give it as a keepsake.

The tragic events “unsettled” Poddubny, after which he fell into depression, similar to going into a trance.

Over time, the circus passion awakened again in Poddubny. He opened his own club, began training local strongmen, and then with this club he began to travel around the country and participate in competitions. He had many fans, and so that they would not annoy him too much, he took his wife with him on tour. He trained the fighters very harshly. He could easily beat anyone for violating discipline and demanded victory at all costs. In 1939, Soviet military commander Klim Voroshilov named Poddubny a national hero and awarded him the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. At 70, Poddubny continued to perform and fight with young wrestlers, defeating them in a fair fight.

These were the last “star” years of Poddubny, then a difficult time began. It all started with Poddubny’s refusal to respond to Lavrentiy Beria’s call to become Dynamo’s coach. Poddubny referred to age. Soon he was given a passport, where it was written that he was Russian. Poddubny crossed out this and wrote that he was “Piddubny”, “Ukrainian”. He went to change his documents and returned home a month later under NKVD escort. His house was searched several times. The wife was summoned to the NKVD and interrogated, demanding to say where she and Ivan Maksimovich were hiding American dollars. Then an order came from Moscow not to touch Poddubny, and they left him behind for a while.

In the Screening Hall he talks about the film “Poddubny”. “Cinema Industry” from 07/04/14
When the war began, in 1941, Poddubny and his wife “forgot” to evacuate from Yeisk. There is a myth that Poddubny himself refused due to poor health. Just this year he wrote a letter of resignation, where he indicated his length of service - 55 years. The wife's son Ivan, who grew up and also became a circus wrestler, went to the front and died in the first battle. In 1942, Yeysk was occupied. Poddubny behaved defiantly and walked along the embankment with his order on his chest - this is what he did for the rest of his life. A representative of the German command spoke to him and offered to leave for Germany, but was refused. Then the officer appointed Poddubny as head of the billiard room at the German hospital - so that Poddubny could feed his family. There is a version that this officer was an elderly soldier who had known Poddubny since his German tours. Poddubny worked in the billiards room, but held himself proudly. He communicated with the Germans using gestures or swearing in Russian. He fed all his friends and helped with money.

In 1943, they wanted to shoot Poddubny, and in 1945 he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports.

When Yeisk was liberated in 1943, they wanted to shoot Poddubny. They interrogated me for several days. In the end, they released him, but left him with a minimal ration - so small that from that moment on Poddubny always went hungry. His wife secretly slipped him some of her rations, but he didn’t even notice. Then grandfather Ivan and grandmother Mura lived worse and worse. Poddubny exchanged his gold medals for bread in order to somehow feed himself. He exchanged them all, leaving only a commemorative ribbon for the first world championship won. None of them have yet been found. They lived so poorly that Maria Semyonovna hid the fact that she was Poddubny’s wife. She introduced herself as a housekeeper because she was ashamed of her appearance and her illiteracy. Poddubny, despite all these disasters, remained proud and trained, as always, hard and for a long time.

In 1945, Poddubny was called to Moscow and in Gorky Park he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports. But the pension was left minimal; Poddubny did not even have the opportunity to eat his fill. His health was beginning to fail him. He was prescribed medicinal mud - there he planted his heart. In 1948, he fell and broke his hip. In the last years of his life, he almost never left the house, leafing through old posters of his performances, re-reading newspaper clippings. Neighbors and friends tried to help his family as best they could.

On August 8, 1949, Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny died. Found in his bedroom unfinished letter with these words:

After 22 years happy marriage Maria Semyonovna was left alone. Poddubny did not have a suit for the funeral; he was urgently obtained through friends. But Maria Semyonovna didn’t even have a scarf to go for her pension, and she borrowed it. When her friends bought her a warm scarf, she died. The monument at Poddubny’s grave appeared only 8 years after his death. The epitaph on the monument is: “Russian hero Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny, Honored Master of Sports, world champion in wrestling.” Today in the center of Yeisk there is a park named after Poddubny and the Poddubny Museum. The place where his wife and the main love of his life is buried is unknown.

Trailer for the film "Poddubny"

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Each country has its own national heroes that the people are proud of. And it doesn’t matter what the political situation is, what forces rule today: a person who brought glory to his country should be revered, and even more so a person like Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny, whose biography is similar to interesting novel with all the ups and downs of life.

Childhood and youth

Ivan Poddubny was born on October 9, 1871. His family lived in Ukraine, in the village of Krasenivka, Poltava province. Today this is where in those days peasants were engaged in arable farming. The future champion spent his childhood and youth in his native places, where he lived until he was 21 years old. It was Ivan who was the eldest. But besides him there were six more children: three brothers and three sisters. Both parents and children were physically very strong and healthy. Maxim Ivanovich, the father of the family, was healthy person and possessed enormous physical strength. A real hero, who was compared to Hercules.

Ivan Poddubny: biography, family

The eldest son, Vanya, grew up just as strong. He was still 15 years old, but he had already taken part in belt wrestling and was not afraid to fight his father. When he turned 22, he left home and worked in Sevastopol as a loader at the port. After working for two years, Poddubny moved to Feodosia. Here he got a job as a worker at the Livas company. During this period of his life, Ivan begins to study seriously physical exercise. In the morning he runs and does exercises. He constantly works out with dumbbells and lifts weights.

The young years of Ivan Poddubny’s life are closely connected with work in the circus. In 1896, Beskorovainy’s circus came to Feodosia on tour. Ivan attended one performance and went there every evening after that. He was especially interested in the performance in which athletes performed various tricks: lifting weights and barbells, breaking horseshoes, bending thick metal rods. When at the end of the performance the athletes offered those who wanted to repeat their tricks for a reward, Ivan Poddubny decided to test himself and entered the arena. The first attempt was unsuccessful. But Ivan Poddubny is a belt wrestler, and he managed to defeat almost all his opponents. There was only one thing he couldn’t master: the huge giant Peter Yankovsky.

After such a performance, an invitation was received to work as an athlete in the circus. Since then the passion has come circus art. The Truzzi Circus operated in Sevastopol, where Poddubny went in 1897. He was recruited into a wrestling troupe led by Georg Lurich. After some period of time - work at Nikitin's circus. And already in 1903, serious training in French wrestling began. From that time on, the life of Ivan Poddubny changed: he became the winner of all the championships that were held in the country.

Sports achievements

An athletes club was created in Kyiv, which was founded by doctors E. Garnich-Garnitsky and A. Kuprin. Ivan Poddubny, a wrestler by vocation, conducted his training in this club. According to the observations of the club doctor, the ability of an athlete is that he is able to develop such strong energy in right moment, which is like an explosion. In difficult and dangerous moments During the struggle, he did not feel confused, did not lose courage. Poddubny was an intelligent and artistic athlete who was very popular with the public.

By 1903, Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny became a professional belt wrestler, who was already known in Kyiv, Odessa, Tbilisi, and Kazan.

The biography of Ivan Poddubny (October 8, 1871 - August 8, 1949) reflects the most difficult time in the development of Russia, and Ivan Poddubny’s personal life, his achievements in sports, have always been and will be an example for athletes and wrestlers. Family of the Russian Bogatyr: his parents, younger brother, his wife and children (adopted son and godson) helped him on the thorny life path. The most dear person who gave him family happiness was Ivan Poddubny’s wife, Maria Semyonovna Poddubnaya.

Ivan Poddubny's wife - Maria Semyonovna Poddubnaya

Maria Semyonovna was born in the village of Kagalnik, Azov region, Rostov region. She married Ivan Maksimovich at the beginning of 1927. They met by chance. Ivan Maksimovich then performed in the city of Rostov-on-Don. The athlete, whose idol was I.M. Poddubny, invited him to visit. There Ivan Maksimovich met his future wife.

Friendly and homely, Maria Semyonovna was the same age as Ivan Poddubny. However, her natural charm and spiritual warmth warmed this invincible Champion so much that Ivan Maksimovich invited Maria Semyonovna to become his wife. She did not agree immediately, and only on the condition that they get married in church. I. M. Poddubny, who was never known as a religious person, went with his beloved to the altar and lived with this woman until a very old age.

Biography of the famous Champion

Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny was born in the Poltava province. His father M.I. Poddubny was known as a strongman, and his mother A.D. Poddubnaya had an excellent ear for music, which Ivan inherited. Brothers of I. M. Poddubny - Mitrofan Maksimovich Poddubny and Emelyan Maksimovich Poddubny. Sister - Evdokia Maksimovna Poddubnaya.

At the invitation of the circus wrestlers, Ivan once went out onto the mat and defeated the strongmen. A little later, Poddubny decided to become a wrestler himself. His height is one hundred eighty-four centimeters, weight is one hundred eighteen kilograms. And this is with a chest volume of one hundred thirty-four centimeters. The strongman's biceps are forty-four centimeters in girth, and his neck is exactly fifty. He performed in fourteen countries, visited four continents, and for half a century did not lose a single championship.

He said about himself that he had never met any wrestlers on the mat who would knock him down, but he considered himself stronger than his father. Somehow, as a joke, he admitted that only women could defeat him. His first youthful love forced the guy to leave his native village to earn money. Ivan’s second lover, Maria, performed in the circus. Their engagement had already been announced when the trapeze artist fell from her trapeze.

So that nothing would remind him of the tragedy, Ivan Poddubny accepted the offer of the St. Petersburg sports community of athletes and went abroad to defend the honor of Russia on the wrestling mat. Ivan Poddubny was invited to different countries. After the Champion returned from abroad with two suitcases filled with gold medals, at the age of forty he finally decided to start a family: a wife and children.

At this time, Ivan Poddubny met Antonina Nikolaevna Kvitko-Fomenko, a woman of amazing beauty and artistry, whom he married for the first time. However, his fees in Russia were very modest, so Ivan Poddubny’s personal life began to crack. While on tour in Odessa, in 1919, Ivan Poddubny learned that his wife Antonina ran away with a young officer, stealing most of his gold medals.

Ivan Poddubny was invited to work at the Moscow Circus in 1922. He was already over fifty, but after the Russian Bogatyr’s performances in the arena, doctors did not notice any changes in Ivan Maksimovich’s heart function. Poddubny’s body allowed him to quickly concentrate energy and splash it out during a fight, like an explosion.

All my life Great Fighter dedicated to sports. He constantly trained himself and regularly conducted classes with young people. Being a professional, he did not spare his students, practicing all the techniques with them until they became automatic, since he knew that champions are not born, they become champions through hard training.