Latvia was an independant country between the wars and was part of the Soviet Union for just 45 years.Calling a Latvian Russain is similar to calling a Welsh or Scots wrestler English
Not quite the same, it depends on perspective. The French call Andy Murray an English tennis player. It seems more permissible when it's not your own country. It's only people within the UK who are tetchy about regional differences within the country of the UK. The whole notion of the UK is unfathomable to most who live outside it; and I think the USSR was to lots of outsiders for many years. Latvia and Palestine were in the World Cup; but so are Wales and Scotland so there's no point looking to football for any logic.
The Isle of Man, with its special UN status - now that's a good one to argue about after a few drinks!
The Soviet Union did not let most of its citizens travel beyond the Iron Curtain.Any Russains in the UK were usually from families that left before the revolution
I think I did read somewhere that he had a pub in another place at one time but I only knew him from living in Warwick , that's where he settled and his restaurant was in the market square and is now called Totally Thai. .
Well everyone, it looks like we may have to discount Yuri Borienko from our list of Russians, as he appears to be Polish.
I was watching "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" last week, on ITV 4 (the channel that regularly shows the Bond films), and afterwards, was reading about the film. While I was checking up on it, I looked into Yuri Borienko's film and TV credits and didn't realise that his acting career lasted for 21 years, much longer than his wrestling career. Anyway, I decided to get more information on him from the A-Z on this site, and it said he started his career here, in 1951, as "Red Staranoff", (maybe a play on Red Star?) and then disappears, in 1953, possibly to the USA, before returning in 1960.
It struck me that it might not be too easy for a Russian male to enter the USA, in the early to mid 1950's (I could be wrong) and so wondered if he was Polish or Ukrainian, and turned up his real name (as far as I know), Jan Boleslaw Kadlubowski. Then found that his son, Stefan Kadlubowski had owned a couple of car dealerships down south (Volvo and Mazda dealerships with a turnover of 18 million pounds), but had died in 2016, and his daughter, Nina Westbury (married name, I assume), had lived and worked for a time, in Vancouver (but was now back in the UK) and was a make up artist in film and TV. Borienko died in Vancouver in 1999, so I wonder if his daughter, Nina, came back to the UK after his death?
This is a listing, from the London Gazette, December 20th, 1966, including an address, and it mentions that he is a "Professional Wrestler":-
This is the link (below) to Nina Westbury's web site, with a picture, and I think you can see the family resemblance:-
https://www.ninawestbury.com/about-me
Maybe one of our sleuths, like Ron can track down further information?
I don't think Borienko wrestled in the USA in the 1950's, or at least not under the names, Red Staranoff or Yuri Borienko, so I wonder what he did there (if he was indeed in the USA)?
Also, he seems to have left wrestling in 1969, or thereabouts, his TV appearances finish in that year, from what I can see. But not every year, following that, has a lot of film work; 1971 seems to show he made just one episode of "The Persuaders", and 1973 just one episode of "The Protectors", and nothing at all for 1975 and 1976. So what was he doing during that time?, was he working a normal 9-5 job or was he wrestling overseas under another name that we don't know about?
Most of the "russian" wrestled in austria also wasnt realy from there. Ivor Koroshenko was billed from the Ukranie was realy Elemér Köröskényi born in hungary and raised up in the CSSR. Ivan Strogoff was belgien Omar van de Schuren. Goliath Yawrenko was a canadian with ukraine parents. Yes Zaranoff as talked before was really born in russia. Then there was a guy named Michael Schneider and yes he was a real russian. Born in Odessa, there was always a large german community. He was a sovjet champion in sambo and judo but never send to to the olympics because his name sounds not russian. Thats the story I heard. He later settled down in germany wrestled there and in austria but later his famous song was the "jailhouse rock".
Yeah makes sense, in Europe and America every citizen of Russian Empire or Soviet Union was called Russian. Both those countries were multi-national but yes the state language was Russian.
On the fringes of Russia is Ivan Penzecoff, the Anglo-Latvian.
The thing is, he looked just like we wanted a Russian villain to look (in the days when we didn't know what Latvia was). But the promoters were at pains to bill him from Bolton.
Both Josef Zaranoff and Yuri Borienko were born in Russia. Zaranoff was a top-flight heavyweight who was capable of holding his own and defeating the very best, and often appeared on television. On his retirement he became a pub landlord.
Yuri Borienko often play the "heel", but frankly I always regarded him as something of a pantomime villain. He sometimes entered the ring dressed as a cossack and I remember announcer George Lawson Peake describing Yuri as the fighting cossack from the steppes of Russia. I think this description must be open to conjecture!!
Josef Zaranoff (billed as Ivan Iosifovich Zaranov born in Leningrad, Russia) and Yuri Borienko (billed as Russian born in 1932)...sounds great were they really of Russian (or Ukrainian) descent or it was their pro wrestling gimmicks.
The excellent Josef Zaranoff and Yuri Borienko come to mind, but of course they were domiciled in the UK, and for obvious reasons could not travel back to Russia at that time.
Latvia was an independant country between the wars and was part of the Soviet Union for just 45 years.Calling a Latvian Russain is similar to calling a Welsh or Scots wrestler English
We always refer to our Anglo-Latvian as being from Bolton.
But in this context his Latvian bit could be explored. If it is indeed legit! And if you want to consider Latvia as Russia, then.
The Soviet Union did not let most of its citizens travel beyond the Iron Curtain.Any Russains in the UK were usually from families that left before the revolution
Didn't Zaranoff have a pub at the Charing X Road end of Old Compton Street at one time ?
Joe Zaranoff lived in Warwick and had a restaurant called Zaranoff's,he had huge strong looking hands
Well everyone, it looks like we may have to discount Yuri Borienko from our list of Russians, as he appears to be Polish.
I was watching "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" last week, on ITV 4 (the channel that regularly shows the Bond films), and afterwards, was reading about the film. While I was checking up on it, I looked into Yuri Borienko's film and TV credits and didn't realise that his acting career lasted for 21 years, much longer than his wrestling career. Anyway, I decided to get more information on him from the A-Z on this site, and it said he started his career here, in 1951, as "Red Staranoff", (maybe a play on Red Star?) and then disappears, in 1953, possibly to the USA, before returning in 1960.
It struck me that it might not be too easy for a Russian male to enter the USA, in the early to mid 1950's (I could be wrong) and so wondered if he was Polish or Ukrainian, and turned up his real name (as far as I know), Jan Boleslaw Kadlubowski. Then found that his son, Stefan Kadlubowski had owned a couple of car dealerships down south (Volvo and Mazda dealerships with a turnover of 18 million pounds), but had died in 2016, and his daughter, Nina Westbury (married name, I assume), had lived and worked for a time, in Vancouver (but was now back in the UK) and was a make up artist in film and TV. Borienko died in Vancouver in 1999, so I wonder if his daughter, Nina, came back to the UK after his death?
This is a listing, from the London Gazette, December 20th, 1966, including an address, and it mentions that he is a "Professional Wrestler":-
This is the link (below) to Nina Westbury's web site, with a picture, and I think you can see the family resemblance:-
https://www.ninawestbury.com/about-me
Maybe one of our sleuths, like Ron can track down further information?
I don't think Borienko wrestled in the USA in the 1950's, or at least not under the names, Red Staranoff or Yuri Borienko, so I wonder what he did there (if he was indeed in the USA)?
Also, he seems to have left wrestling in 1969, or thereabouts, his TV appearances finish in that year, from what I can see. But not every year, following that, has a lot of film work; 1971 seems to show he made just one episode of "The Persuaders", and 1973 just one episode of "The Protectors", and nothing at all for 1975 and 1976. So what was he doing during that time?, was he working a normal 9-5 job or was he wrestling overseas under another name that we don't know about?
Jan Boleslaw K
Most of the "russian" wrestled in austria also wasnt realy from there. Ivor Koroshenko was billed from the Ukranie was realy Elemér Köröskényi born in hungary and raised up in the CSSR. Ivan Strogoff was belgien Omar van de Schuren. Goliath Yawrenko was a canadian with ukraine parents. Yes Zaranoff as talked before was really born in russia. Then there was a guy named Michael Schneider and yes he was a real russian. Born in Odessa, there was always a large german community. He was a sovjet champion in sambo and judo but never send to to the olympics because his name sounds not russian. Thats the story I heard. He later settled down in germany wrestled there and in austria but later his famous song was the "jailhouse rock".
Ron's Belle Vue 47' bills featured Stanislaus Borienko Champion of Ukraine !!!
Well, Hackenschmidt was the Russian Lion. The Estonian Lion doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Yeah makes sense, in Europe and America every citizen of Russian Empire or Soviet Union was called Russian. Both those countries were multi-national but yes the state language was Russian.
On the fringes of Russia is Ivan Penzecoff, the Anglo-Latvian.
The thing is, he looked just like we wanted a Russian villain to look (in the days when we didn't know what Latvia was). But the promoters were at pains to bill him from Bolton.
What about Georges Hackenschmidt?
I once saw a Russian striptease artiste called Eva Vestoff.
Both Josef Zaranoff and Yuri Borienko were born in Russia. Zaranoff was a top-flight heavyweight who was capable of holding his own and defeating the very best, and often appeared on television. On his retirement he became a pub landlord.
Yuri Borienko often play the "heel", but frankly I always regarded him as something of a pantomime villain. He sometimes entered the ring dressed as a cossack and I remember announcer George Lawson Peake describing Yuri as the fighting cossack from the steppes of Russia. I think this description must be open to conjecture!!
Josef Zaranoff (billed as Ivan Iosifovich Zaranov born in Leningrad, Russia) and Yuri Borienko (billed as Russian born in 1932)...sounds great were they really of Russian (or Ukrainian) descent or it was their pro wrestling gimmicks.
The excellent Josef Zaranoff and Yuri Borienko come to mind, but of course they were domiciled in the UK, and for obvious reasons could not travel back to Russia at that time.
I can't think of any off hand. It wasn't easy for Russians to travel during the World of Sport era.