This truly honorary title doesn't sound anything like the pro wrestling titles we are accustomed to hear about. And yet, it was a pro wrestling title in the USSR. The thing is, in Soviet Union all pro wrestlers were employees of the State Circus and obviously went under the category of performers, entertainers so to speaks artists. The pro wrestling style in Soviet Union was Lutte Classique which is Greco-roman style of wrestling. The championship tourneys were run by the State Circus in every big city of the country. In 1939 the former world heavyweight pro wrestling champion Ivan Poddubny was awarded the title of a HONORED ARTIST OF RUSSIA. Pro wrestlers even though many of them had amateur wrestling background weren't considered sportsmen and their victories in the circus tourneys weren't valued as sports achievements. For the sportsmen though there was another honorary title called MASTER OF SPORTS. By the way it was awarded to Poddubny as well (in 1945) but it was an exception rather than the rule.
I am glad to share with everyone this article about 'rasslin and theatre' which always go together. An article about the legendary pro wrestler of Russian Empire peer of Poddubny - the Great Kazakh Kazhymukan Munaitpasov
The music accompanying the wrestlers is Gracie Fields "Sing as we go"
Hack, enjoy these unique videos, its from the movie, but the videos were made during an actual circus wrestling performance. The pro wrestler from this videos is Alexander Mazur who at some point his circus career on hold and decided to try it with the top amateurs of USSR, and he did it really well, in 1955 he became World's Greco-Roman Amateur Champion, at the age of 42!!!
Hack, pro wrestling ceased to exist in USSR in the early 1970s, so I never had a chance to watch it live. But I grew up on the stories about legends or Russian circus wrestling told to me by the elderly members of my family.
Hi Hack, and yes in Kazakhstan he's a national symbol, just like Ivan Poddubny is for the Russian and Ukrainian people, and not only that he has gotten his own museum, but there's his MAUSOLEUM like that of the heroes of Antiquity.
Plaque on the wall of his Mausoleum.
Persian Imperial Order of the Lion and Sun.
Some other trophies.
King Sigismund of Poland Champion Belt.
Thats an interesting piece Ruslan. Wrestling and entertaining not so far removed from what we watched, though we were less open.
And he was a wrestler with a museum in his honour. Can any other match that?