|
|
USSR joins IFBB
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
Ben Weider, OC, CStJ, CQ, PhD
IFBB Founder and
Honorary Life President
|
|
In the aftermath of World War Two, conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for over 50 years and became known as the "Cold War". A large part of the world lived under Communist rule; most notably, the USSR, China and numerous Eastern European countries. Distrust and paranoia between East and West was the order of the day.
Despite these difficult times, Ben Weider received and answered letters requesting training information from young bodybuilders in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. In his latest book, BROTHERS OF IRON, Ben says, "You would have been hard put to dream up a challenge more impossible than taking bodybuilding into the Communist World in the 1950s. This, however, is exactly what I decided to do."
On the invitation of then-Minister of Sport Nikolai Romanov, Ben made his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1952. Thirty-six years later, in 1988, Ben’s persistence and determination has paid off; his mission accomplished. The USSR joins the IFBB. Below is the original 1988 report.
|
|
|
| |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
After 36 years of persistent effort by Ben Weider and the IFBB, the Soviet Union has recognized bodybuilding as an official sport. Soon it will become one of the most popular sports among Soviet youth.
Madaar Merike, winner of the first
Soviet women’s bodybuilding championships in Leningrad – the USSR’s first woman bodybuilding champion.
|
|
Soviet and IFBB bodybuilding officials meet in Moscow’s Red Square. From left: Vladimir Dubinin, Deputy Chairman Leningrad Federation, Rafael Santonja, President Spanish Bodybuilding Federation and Executive Assistant to the President of the IFBB, Vasily Tchaikovsky, President Soviet Bodybuilding Federation, Ben Weider, CM, PhD, IFBB President, Vladimir M. Shubov, Chairman Soviet Judges Committee, and Leonid A. Ostapenko, General Secretary Soviet Athletic Federation |
|
The Soviet national bodybuilding champion Dubickas Vincas has an outstanding physique, which meets the standards of a world champion.
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 Dear Friends,
This message is addressed to all those for whom bodybuilding has become a way of living and thinking.
I would like to share my great joy in announcing that bodybuilding has received official recognition in the Soviet Union and we have reached and entirely new level by joining the IFBB.
This historical event has become a reality because of the new revolutionary developments in the Soviet Union "perestroika" along with the great efforts, good-will and perserverance of Mr. Ben Weider, C.M., Ph.D., founder and President of the IFBB.
Contemporaries usually find it difficult to perceive the historical values of the day-to-day work of leaders who are paving the way for the future. Early in 1952 when the Soviet Union considered bodybuilding "alien", Mr. Weider fought for the recognition and development of bodybuilding in our country. Our sport leaders saw him as a futurologist. Gradually, step by step, Mr. Weider paved the way for bodybuilding, foreseeing the sport as a means of developing mental and physical awareness in all nations.
In our country the bodybuilding believers withstood difficulties and kept things moving and now are pround to say – "we are with you IFBB!"
We have a difficult time ahead with regards to Olympic participation, but the development of bodybuilding, the sport of the future, is expanding rapidly. I am sure that we will receive recognition as an Olympic sport soon, President Weider.
My best wishes to all the IFBB family members.
Mr. V. Tchaikovsky
President of the
USSR Bodybuilding Federation
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
Moscow, 1952: I am in the Soviet Union at the invitation of Mr. Nikolai Romanov, the USSR’s Minister of Sport. The Soviets are interested in developing a strength conditioning program to complement their technique training. The objective is that Soviet athletes in all sports should achieve peak athletic performance, through the application of Bodybuilding.
After a long meeting with Mr. Romanov, who praised the strength conditioning work I was doing, I asked him to recognize bodybuilders as Soviet sportsmen. His response was a polite "nyet": no. Mr. Romanov stated that bodybuilding was not considered a sport in the USSR and would not be recognized as such.
I replied that I sincerely hoped Mr. Romanov would change his mind so that bodybuilding would eventually receive the recognition I thought it so richly deserved.
|
Moscow, 1988: I am in the Soviet Union at the invitation of Mr. Vasily Tchaikovsky, the President of the USSR’s Bodybuilding Federation. Soviet sports authorities granted bodybuilding official recognition in August, 1987. It took 35 years of dedicated effort to obtain this result.
I was happy to accept Mr. Tchaikovsky’s invitation so I could meet Soviet bodybuilders, and then confer with leading Soviet sport officials. I hoped to persuade them to allow the USSR’s Bodybuilding Federation to affiliate with the IFBB.
|
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
|
Traveling with me on this delicate mission was my Executive Assistant, Mr. Rafael Santonja, President of the Spanish Amateur Bodybuilding Federation. We were met at Moscow’s airport by Mr. Tchaikovsky and Mr. Vladimir Dubinin, head of the Soviet bodybuilding judges committee, together with a group of athletes and bodybuilders from Leningrad, Moscow and other republics of the USSR. Mr. Vladimir Shubov, President of the Moscow Bodybuilding Federation, acted as our host in that city. We were cleared through customs in a VIP fashion, then taken directly to our hotel. On our arrival we held some meetings in order to plan our agenda, which proved extremely hectic during our entire stay.
The next day, our first Moscow meeting was with Mr. Vyacheslav M. Gavrilin, Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports and First Vice
|
|
President of the USSR National Olympic Committee. Mr. Gavrilin welcomed us, expressed his pleasure that I’d come to the USSR and accepted my offer to help promote bodybuilding and to make the sport a popular one in the USSR. He asked me to develop the sport futher amongst the general public because he believed that bodybuilding was good for nation-building. He felt that everybody should practice bodybuilding. He also expressed his pleasure that bodybuilding had met with official Soviet approval. Mr. Gavrilin approved the affiliation of the Soviet Bodybuilding Federation with the IFBB, and promised to discuss this matter with his colleagues.
Also present at this historic meeting were Messrs. Santonja, Tchaikovsky and Dubinin, along with other Soviet bodybuilding officials. We all left feeling great excitement at Mr. Gavrilin’s direct and progressive decision.
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
After 36 years of diligent work on all sides, bodybuilding has official Soviet recognition, and is now a member nation of the IFBB!
Mr. Gavrilin proved to be a harbinger of the progressive attitudes of Soviet sports dignitaries. We next met with Mr. Vitaly Smirnov, member of the USSR Olympic Committee, Chairman of the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports and a member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee. Having met Mr. Smirnov previously, I was delighted to see him again.
Mr. Smirnov bid us welcome and expressed pleasure that bodybuilding was now an official Soviet sport. He expressed confidence in bodybuilding, and showed great interest in opening gyms all around the USSR. He believes that bodybuilding is beneficial not only as a sport
|
|
per se, but also as training for all athletes and the general public. Our meeting with him was both friendly and fruitful. Mr. Smirnov is an internationally known sport figure. His support is important for bodybuilding, both inside and outside the Soviet Union. We thanked him profusely for helping the bodybuilders, and for agreeing to the Soviet federation’s IFBB affliliation.
Our final meeting in Moscow was with Mr. Anatoly I. Kolesov, Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports. Mr. Kolesov received us warmly in his office. He thanked me for my patience and my continuous work with his country’s bodybuilders, which led to our sport’s official recognition by the highest Soviet authorities.
|
| |
 |
| |
|
I asked Mr. Kolesov to approve the organization of the 1990 European Bodybuilding Championships to be organized in Leningrad. He seemed favorably disposed to this request and said he would let us know in due time. We left his office with a feeling of exhilaration. We now had the top Soviet sports official on our side! Since preparing this report, I am proud to announce that the European championships will be held in Leningrad in 1990.
Although we were very busy during our brief time in Moscow, we had a chance to visit some of that city’s famous historical sites, including Lenin’s Tomb, Red Square, the Church of St. Basil and various museums. One of the highlights and important aspects of our Moscow trip was the tremendous assistance extended to us by Ms. Nina Koroviakina, chief of section of the international department of the USSR State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports. Her help and cooperation played an important role in making our visit both pleasant and effective. Our official photographer was Mr. Aleksander V. Chernykh, and you see his working illustrating this report so beautifully.
|
|
I thank him for his efforts on our behalf.
After a busy but fulfilling few days in Moscow, Rafael Santonja and I boarded the night train for Leningrad. When we arrived the next morning, we were greeted by approximately 50 bodybuilders, delegates and representatives of the Soviet and Leningrad Bodybuilding Federations. I was extremely honored that Mr. Njkolai K. Popov himself came to meet us. Mr. Popov is a member of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Soviet as well as Chairman of the City’s Physical Culture and Sports Committee. Both Rafael and I were bombarded by kindness, warmth and even flowers by the throng that greeted us. It was a reception which I’ve seldom experienced before.
We drove by limousine to the Leningrad Hotel facing the Neva River. Of all the world’s cities I’ve had the pleasure to visit, Leningrad is right at the top for both beauty and historicity. On the opposite side of our very hotel, the famous battleship "Aurora" rides at anchor. The Aurora is a museum now, but in 1917 it was the vessel from the first shot of the Russian Revolution was fired.
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
In fact, in Leningrad one is likely to encounter history around any corner. Although I was exceptionally busy, I managed to visit Peterhof, the home of the Czars, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage Museum and many other historical venues. The monuments and historic buildings of Leningrad are spotlessly maintained. This city was once the Imperial Capital of all the Russias, and it is still a lovely place.
In the month of June, Leningrad enjoys "White Nights". Around the time of the summer solstice, there is daylight almost 24 hours a day! The Soviet Bodybuilding Federation organized a White Nights contestm designated as the national championships of the USSR, for mid-June – when I was supposed to arrive. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to postpone my trip by a week. The contest went on as planned. It attracted an overflow crowd of 15,000, and many were turned away because the theater was filled to capacity. I certainly consider the warm reception accorded this contest to be an indication of the growing popularity of Soviet bodybuilding.
|
|
I was able to see the first Soviet women’s bodybuiding championships, which attracted over 1,500 Leningrad fans. The event had the formal sanction of Mr. Njkolai Popov, Chairman of Leningrad’s Physical Culture and Sports Committee, and it featured 48 entrants from the Crimea, the Urals, Siberia, the Ukraine, and all over the vast USSR. The women bodybuilders had trained extremely hard and were in good shape. Many incorporated gymnastic routines in their posing routines. Each athlete was met with a burst of enthusiastic applause as she took the stage. Journalists and TV reporters from most of the socialist countries were present. The Soviet Bodybuilding Federations boasts over 700,000 members, and this number increases each year.
I visited a number of Bodybuilding clubs in Moscow and Leningrad. I saw that most gym administrators translate articles from MUSCLE & FITNESS and FLEX and distribute the information, so all athletes can be kept up to date with the latest training methods. All told me of the positive results they’d had using Joe Weider training principles.
|
| |
 |
| |
| |
 |
| |
|
I’ve rarely in my life met such enthusiastic people as the people of Leningrad. Everyone was so friendly, so supportive of bodybuilding! There were banquets organized almost every evening, but one in particular stands out. It was a typical Russian banquet held in Vladimir Dubinin’s Leningrad home. Over 20 people attended, and evereyone expressed great friendship. There was caviar, sturgeon, vegetables and fruits of all kinds, desserts, vodka, cognac, wine, mineral water – and, of course, the melodious Russian music! It was an evening of such charm and graciousness that I shall remember it always.
Mr. Dubinin, head of the Soviet bodybuilder’s judges’ committee, is the very model of a progressive socialist sports dignitary. He has such great character and extraordinary determination that he is able to work with great intelligence to achieve the results he plans. His wife is a lovely and charming hostess who makes all who pass her threshold feel welcome and at ease.
|
|
I was pleased to renew my friendship with Dr. Romanas Kalinauskas of Lithuania. he came with some outstanding bodybuilders to participate in the contest. He made a wonderful speech that expressed his great pleasure in seeing bodybuilding unified and approved by the state authorities. Helena Averianova did a wonderful job translating. The Dubinin’s banquet was tremendously enjoyed by everyone fortunate enough to attend it.
One of the highlights of Leningrad was my meeting with Mr. Lutjanchenko Vital. This gentleman from Byelorussia lives in Leningrad and heads the Cooperative Vital. Soviet cooperatives are a form of private enterprise, and they are flourishing. Restaurants and businesses are now run by cooperatives. It is not often I like someone as immediately as I liked Mr. Vital. He is extremely intelligent, competent and hard-working, and meeting him was an extraordinary experience. He has decided to open a fitness center in the heart of Leningrad. His center will be built by a Swedish construction company, and will contain only Weide equipment. It will be called the "Ben and Joe Weider Fitness Center", and will be the most modern in all of Europe.
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
Although Mr. Vital’s several cooperatives are conspicuous outposts of business in a socialist economic landscape, Mr. Vital is an individual with great interest in his staff, and in people in general. He is building the Weider Center strictly because he wishes to offer the Soviet people the latest in health and fitness information and equipment. Mr. Vital did me the great honor of making me a member of his cooperative after we had met many times. I have great respect for this man.
The night before we left Leningrad, the Soviets gave a banquet in honor of Rafael and me. The entire Soviet bodybuilding executive was there for this farewell dinner. They voted to make me Honorary President of the Soviet Bodybuilding Federation. Other national federations have offered to do this in the past. I have always declined, because I think it would show national favoritism for the IFBB’s International President to accept an Honorary Presidency from one country and not another. But I could not refuse the Soviet Union’s offer. It was a momentous meeting of east and west, an historical occasion – the affiliation of the USSR with the IFBB.
Rafael and I left the Soviet Union feeling greatly satisified in the knowledge that bodybuilding is in good hands there. The Soviet Federation’s President, Mr. Vasily Tchaikovsky, is a doctor of biochemistry who has dedicated his life to bodybuilding. He is energetic, sharp and extremely hard-working. Very soon, I think, bodybuilding will become one of the most popular sports in the Soviet Union. When that happens, the Soviets will become a dominant force in world bodybuilding. When that day comes, grateful bodybuilders across the USSR will have Mr. Tchaikovsky and his extraordinary bodybuilding administrators and the progressive-minded sports authorities to thank for their success.
I, also, would like to thank the Soviet sports authorities and bodybuilding dignitaries who helped make our trip to Moscow and Leningrad so agreeable – Swetson Alexander, the main translator of MUSCLE & FITNESS articles into Russian; Vladimir A. Strelkov of the Protocol Department of the USSR State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports; Vadim Sokolov, photographer from Leningrad; Sergei Mazurenko
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
of Sovietsky Sport; Anatoli A. Issajev, of the National Olympic Committee of the USSR; Prochortsev I.V., coach of the Olympia Gym in Leningrad; Valeri I. Steinbach and Vinokurov Valeri Isidorovich of the editorial office of Physical Culture and Sport Publishing House; Mr. V. Pukalov, head of the Central Agency of Imports; Sergey K. Dmitriev, Director of the Copyright Agency for the USSR; and Sergei V. Komarov; Export and Import Department (Books Division) in the USSR. To these officials and many more that I met during this historic trip, I say "Thank you".
Encouraging the youth of the world to become interested in their health through fitness and intelligent nutrition, and to discourage them from using drugs, alcohol and tobacco is indeed a worthy cause. The IFBB is proud to be in the forefornt of this great world crusade. With 134 nations now part of the great IFBB family, our last goal would be the recognition by the International Olympic Committee of our sport.
That too shall come to pass!
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
