Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin is a Russian politician and retired athlete.
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Adamovich was a Soviet Belarusian writer, screenwriter, literary critic and democratic activist. He wrote in both the Russian and Belarusian languages.
Emam-Ali Habibi Goudarzi is a retired Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1958 Asian Games; 1959, 1961 and 1962 world championships; and 1956 Olympics, placing fourth in 1960. In 2007 he was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame. Habibi was the fourth and the last son in a large family. He lost his father at the age of 12.
Ebrahim Javadipour is a retired Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won a world title in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1973 and a gold medal at the Asian Games in 1970 and 1974, but placed third at the 1972 Olympics. He is listed in the FILA wrestling hall of fame.
Kustaa Kustaanpoika Pihlajamäki was a Finnish wrestler. He competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won two gold and one silver medal. Between 1930 and 1943 he won nine European and 28 national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.
Soslan Petrovich Andiyev was a Soviet heavyweight freestyle wrestler. He was an Olympic champion in 1976 and 1980, world champion in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1978, European champion in 1974, 1975 and 1982, and Soviet champion in 1973–78 and 1980. He won the World Cup in 1976 and 1981, but missed the 1984 Olympics due to their boycott by the Soviet Union and retired the same year. After that he first worked as a national wrestling coach, but in 1989 returned to his native Ossetia to become a sports functionary. In 1990–98, he served as vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee. In 2006 he was inducted into the FILA Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Csaba Hegedűs is a retired middleweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Hungary. In 1971, he won a world title and was named the Hungarian Sportsman of the year. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1972. In 1973, he barely survived a traffic accident. He recovered by 1975, when he placed fourth at the world championships, and won European titles in 1976 and 1977. Between 1979 and 1989 he coached the Hungarian wrestling team and later became a sports administrator, working at the national wrestling association, the Hungarian Olympic Committee, and the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées (FILA).
Vladimir Sergeyevich Yumin was a Russian freestyle wrestler. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1976 and world titles in 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1979, placing second in 1975 and third in 1973. He was also European champion in 1975–77. Domestically, Yumin won Soviet titles in 1973–75 and 1978. He placed third at the 1980 Soviet Championships and did not qualify for the Olympics. After that he retired and worked as a wrestling coach with the Turkish national team. In 2009 he was inducted into the International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. Between 1970 and 1980 he won all his major international competitions, except for the 1970 and 1974 European championships where he placed second. Yarygin was an Olympic champion in 1972 and 1976, being the first wrestler to go through an Olympic competition with straight pin victories and no foul points, a world champion in 1973, a World Cup winner five times, has never lost a single match in World Cup competition, and a European champion in 1972 and 1975–76, and won a world cup in 1973, 1976–77 and 1979–80. He also set a record for the fastest pin victory in the World Cup history at 27 seconds. After retiring in 1980, he headed the Soviet freestyle wrestling team from 1982 to 1992 and the Russian Wrestling Federation from 1993 until his untimely death in a car crash in 1997. An exceptional upper-body wrestler, Yarygin was widely regarded for his tremendous physique and high-strength aggressive style, always aiming to pin down his opponents, with most of his stoppage wins came by way of fall achieved through rapid fireman's lift and slamming the opponent to the mat. One of the most prestigious tournaments in the World was put together in his honor - The Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament is held annually in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and has the reputation of being one of the hardest tournaments in the World. The Yarygin Memorial annually sees the world's best wrestlers come to Siberia, with the added element that Russia's autonomous oblasts and republics such as Dagestan and Chechnya field independent teams alongside an All-Russia selection.
Oleg Nikolayevich Karavayev was a Soviet bantamweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the world title in 1958 and 1961 and an Olympic gold medal in 1960.
Osman Duraliev was a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler with Turkish origin. Between 1967 and 1972 he won ten silver medals at major international competitions, including the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics. An archrival of the Soviet Aleksandr Medved, to whom he lost eight high-profile finals subsequently winning only the Silver medals. He came close to winning at the 1971 World Championships in Sofia, where he led the match 4:3 with 43 seconds left. Yet Medved equalized the score and won the title because of his lower body weight. Considering that Medved was named one of the greatest wrestlers in history and is the most decorated men's freestyle wrestler of all time, Duraliev could be deservedly placed in the same rostrum with Medved and a select few others.
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Roshchin was a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Russia. Between 1962 and 1972 he won nine medals at the Summer Olympics and world championships, including four gold medals.
Anatoly Alekseyevich Beloglazov is a retired Russian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics and 1977, 1978 and 1982 World Championships, placing third in 1983. In 2010 he was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame.
Nikolay Fyodorovich Balboshin is a retired Soviet heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He rarely lost a bout in the 1970s, winning five world titles, six European titles, and an Olympics gold medal in 1976. At the 1976 Olympics he pinned all his five opponents, in total spending less than 17 minutes on the mat. He was the Soviet flag bearer and a clear favorite at the Moscow Olympics, but injured an Achilles tendon in the second bout and withdrew from the tournament. He recovered by 1984, when he won his last Soviet title and was selected for the 1984 Games, but could not compete because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott by the Soviet Union. He retired from competitions to become a wrestling coach n Moscow. In 2006 he was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Sergei Yevgenyevich Artyukhin, also known as Siarhei Artsiukhin, was a Russian-Belarusian heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He was born in Moscow and won the 2001 World Cup while representing Russia. After that, to avoid severe competition within Russia, he competed for Belarus and won the European title in 2005 and bronze medals at the world championships in 2005 and 2006. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he was eliminated in his second bout. He was initially trained by his father, Evgeny Artyukhin, Sr., who was also an international heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler.
Sandeep Tomar is an Indian male wrestler who competes in the men's freestyle 55 kg category.
Reza Atri Nagharchi is an Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won the silver medal in the 61 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. He won a gold medal at the 2019 Asian Championships, and bronze medals at the 2017 Asian Championships and 2018 Asian Games.
Renald Ivanovich Knysh was a Soviet and Belarusian coach in artistic gymnastics. Considered one of gymnastics' pioneering coaches, he was the coach of Olga Korbut. He was later accused of child rape by Korbut and other gymnasts he coached. He was an Honored Сoach of the BSSR and the USSR and Honorary Сitizen of Grodno.
Mahamedkhabib Zaynudzinavich Kadzimahamedau or Magomedkhabib Zainudinovich Kadimagomedov is a Russian naturalized Belarusian freestyle wrestler and professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. He is the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist in men's 74 kg, 2020 European Champion at 79kg and 2017 Russian National Champion at 70kg. He also placed seventh at the World Championships 2017. In 2020, he received citizenship of Belarus.
"And now I will show you, where they were preparing the attack on Belarus from" is a phrase widely spread on Russophone internet communities said by Alexander Lukashenko, which attempts to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine in regards to Belarus. The phrase subsequently became very popular in many countries of the former Soviet Union and started being used as a meme in various videos from mid-March 2022.
