Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin ( rus, Александр Александрович Карелин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈrʲelʲɪn; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete. Karelin competed in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

, representing the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Russia between 1986 and 2000. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear", "Russian King Kong", "Alexander the Great", "The Experiment", and "The Crane from Novosibirsk", he is widely considered to be the greatest and most dominant Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

under a different flag each time (Soviet Union, Unified Team, and Russia respectively), and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. His wrestling record at the senior level was 887 wins and two losses, both considered controversial and both by a single point. Prior to his defeat to American Rulon Gardner at the 2000 Olympics finals, a point had not been scored against him in competition the previous six years. He went undefeated in the World Championships, having never lost a match, winning nine gold medals. He was the national flag bearer at three consecutive Olympics: in 1988 for the Soviet Union, in 1992 for the Unified Team, and in 1996 for Russia. In addition to his success in wrestling, he was a sambo champion during his service in the Internal Troops, and participated in a strongman contest. Due to his dominance and accomplishments, he was named the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), and is part of the class of ten inaugural inductees into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2007, Karelin, alongside Buvaisar Saitiev, were voted the best wrestlers in the history of the sport by FILA. Four times he was awarded the "Golden Belt" as the best wrestler of the planet by FILA – in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1994. Karelin was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996. Karelin entered politics in 1999, being elected a deputy of the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

that year. He sat in the Duma through various convocations until 2020, when he entered the Federation Council as a senator.

Wrestling career

Karelin was born as a baby.Александр Карелин: Борьба – это условие жизни
. karelin.ru. 25 October 2013. The 6.8 kg figure reported by the ''Time'' journal was an exaggeratio
КАРЕЛИН Александр Александрович
. biograph.ru He was an avid fan of literature and mathematics during his school years. He began training in 1981, under Viktor Kuznetsov, who remained his coach through his entire career.Kareline, Alexandre (RUS)
. iat.uni-leipzig.de He initially started boxing, following in the footsteps of his father, until he decided against it. He also tried weightlifting, volleyball, basketball, skiing and swimming, excelling in all the sports he tried.Александр Карелин – гордость нашего спорта, колоритная личность, великий спортсмен, который и в 46 лет держит себя в великолепной форме! Поговорим о секретах успеха русского богатыря
. fizvosp.ru. 21 March 2014. Being naturally very big, he came to a wrestling gym, aged 13, standing tall and weighing ,Karelin: Legends Live On
(Documentary).

Olympic Channel Olympic Channel is an over-the-top Internet television service operated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was launched on August 21, 2016, alongside the closing of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The service aims to maintain year-round ...

, 5 April 2018. Karelin grew physically very fast and from 16 years of age throughout his entire career he competed in the

super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Int ...

division. In 1985 he came to an international competition and won a junior world title. He won gold at Friendship-84 in Greco-Roman wrestling as a junior. In 1986, he competed in 14 tournaments, winning all of them. He had his first loss (score 0–1) at the senior level at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning Russian and European champion Igor Rostorotsky, which was considered controversial; he then defeated Rostorotsky at the next USSR Championships, while recovering from a flu and a recent concussion, by fall, and again in a match that would decide which of the two would go to the Summer Olympics, winning 2–0, effectively retiring Rostorotsky. Karelin would go on to become a 13-time champion of the USSR, CIS, and Russia from 1988 to 2000, which were considered just as hard to win as the European Championships, and arguably higher in level than the World Championships. He is listed as runner-up to David Koplovitz at the 1992 Wrestling World Cup, for while he won all of his matches at the event, his partner Andrey Grishin competed in the rest of the rounds, and so they did not accumulate enough ranking points to beat the American team. In the 1988 Olympic final Karelin beat Rangel Gerovski, by executing his signature Karelin Lift and won. With his win, Karelin became the youngest Greco-Roman wrestler to become an Olympic champion at super heavyweight (130 kg) at the age of 21 years and two days. At the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Karelin won one of the fastest Olympic wrestling matches, pinning Ioan Grigoraş in only 14 seconds. At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Karelin faced American Matt Ghaffari for the gold medal. Karelin had come off a shoulder surgery and looked vulnerable against a strong Ghaffari, who was able to repel Karelin's efforts to lift and slam him, forcing Karelin to use all of his skill and experience to defend a 1–0 lead.Jack McCallum (27 September 2000
Unheralded American slays Russian wrestling legend
''Sports Illustrated''. After going 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up a point, he eventually lost 0–1 to Rulon Gardner of the United States in the final of the Sydney Olympics.The Sporting News, Miracle on the mat – wrestler Rulon Gardner wins the gold medal in the Olympics, 9 October 2000 Karelin had previously beaten Gardner in 1997 with a score of 5–0 and throwing him three times. His loss to Gardner is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. His loss in the final of the Sydney Olympics was his first and only international loss, having previously been unbeaten throughout his international career. Karelin retired from competitions in 2000. Thus his only two losses at the senior level were in finals, those ultimately being the 1987 USSR Championships to Rostorotsky, and 2000 Summer Olympics to Gardner. However, both of his losses are considered controversial, with him also only losing to both opponents by a single point. Some argue, such as Finnish former wrestler Tuomo Karila, that Gardner should not have been awarded the point, and that Karelin should have won. Karelin lost a few matches at the junior level, but his senior level record was an astounding 887–2. Karelin holds the record for most world-level gold medals at 12, the most for either freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling in men's competitions, and also holds the joint-record for most medals at the world-level, with 13, which is tied with the American wrestler Bruce Baumgartner. In addition to his wrestling success, twice was Karelin the winner of the

Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR The Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR (, Spartakiada narodov SSSR; ; ) were mass multi-event competitions in the Soviet Union in 1956–1991, descendants of the 1928 All-Union Spartakiad that took place in Moscow. The competitions were designed t ...

, in 1986 and 1991.

Training style

Karelin was revered for his extraordinary strength and unprecedented success in international competition. He competed in the heaviest weight class of his day, 130 kg (286 lb). His coach was at first skeptical about a big but undeveloped boy, yet he accepted Karelin and motivated him for hard training, both in wrestling technique and physical strength. As a result, over the years Karelin progressed from 0 to 42 pull-ups.Dawidoff, Nicholas (13 May 1991
A Bruiser and a Thinker: Soviet Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin is a rare combination of massive physique and imposing intellect

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

His conditioning and quickness combined with his dominance of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment". When asked why he thought he was called that (referring to a biased opinion on his alleged PED use), Karelin noted that: "No one can completely believe that I am natural. The most important drug is to train like a madman – really like a ''madman''. The people who accuse me are those who have never trained once in their life like I train every day of my life." Karelin's daily training drills included hours of

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

and long runs through

Taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

forest often with a large log on his back. He favored the

overhead press The overhead press, also known as the shoulder press, strict press or military press, is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior de ...

and also used standard 2- pood kettlebells () for arm exercises at a daily weight routine. He would

clean and press The clean and press is a two-part weight training exercise whereby a loaded barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulders (the clean) and pushed overhead (the press). The lift was a component of the sport of Olympic weightlifting from 1928 to ...

. He would reportedly do 10 reps of of Zercher deadlifts. Karelin would routinely bench press or more as part of his workout. Tuomo Karila, a Finnish wrestler, while following Karelin's training routine, observed that Karelin was able to do around 50 chin-ups within a minute, and praised his strength and agility. Despite his large physique, he was flexible and agile enough to do backflips and splits. When asked about his toughest opponent, Karelin instantly replied: "My refrigerator," referring to the time for which he

bear hug The bear hug is a grappling maneuver often seen in sports, such as wrestling. It also exists outside sports, such as street fighting, martial arts personal defense, military hand-to-hand combat, and even affectionate hugging. Bear hugs can be d ...

ged his

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

, weighing over 500 lbs, and carried it up through eight flights of stairs of his hometown 9-storied

apartment building An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) ...

. Karelin also took part in a strongman competition, that being the 1991 European Hercules, and without prior preparation, he managed to place 8th.

Wrestling style

Karelin was famous for his reverse body lift, the Karelin Lift, where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin hoisted his opponents into the air and slammed him violently to the mat. This devastatingly effective maneuver, when properly executed, awarded Karelin 5 points per throw, the maximum awarded in Greco-Roman wrestling. The throw had long been in use by lighter wrestlers but not by heavyweights – because of the immense strength required to raise, spin and hit the mat with a 560+ lbs combined weight of both athletes (280+ of which resist desperately to the performed maneuver). Karelin's ability to perform this throw against elite opponents weighing as much as 130 kg amazed other participants and observers of the sport. His exceptionally long reach, with measurements between and , helped him to grip his opponents' bodies. Furthermore, his incredible grip strength was described as being similar to that of "an anaconda", which allowed him to hold down his opponents and prevent them from escaping from his grasp. His strength, size, explosiveness, flexibility and agility led

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

to describe Karelin as a "human panther".

Injuries

Like most top wrestlers, Karelin had a number of severe injuries through his career. He credits his fast recoveries to Valery Okhapkin, physician of the national wrestling team, and claims that Okhapkin extended his competition lifetime by several years. At the age of 15, Karelin broke his leg while training; having learned about this accident, his mother burned his wrestling uniform and forbade him to wrestle. At the 1988 USSR Championships, Karelin won and also defeated Igor Rostorotsky in a rematch, despite suffering from a concussion and high temperature. He won the 1993 World Championships despite breaking two ribs in the opening bout against Matt Ghaffari. Another injury occurred at the 1996 European Championships in Budapest, as he had torn the right pectoralis major muscle so badly that doctors predicted he would not be able to use his right hand for several months. Karelin won the Championships, but he had to be urgently operated on in Budapest. Despite not being fully recovered, he won the 1996 Olympics three months later. He has avoided multiple ear cartilage injuries of both ears, unlike many wrestlers.

International competition record

, - ! Res. ! Opponent ! Method ! Time/
Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , align=left, Rulon Gardner , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 0–1 , style="font-size:88%", 2000-09-25 , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, - , Win , align=left, Dmitry Debelka , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , style="font-size:88%", 2000-09-25 , - , Win , align=left, Georgiy Saldadze , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 4–0 , style="font-size:88%", 2000-09-25 , - , Win , align=left,

Mihály Deák-Bárdos Mihály Deák-Bárdos (born 30 January 1975) is a Hungarian amateur Greco-Roman_wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. He is a four-time Olympian, and a six-time medalist at the FILA European Wrestl ...

, style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , style="font-size:88%", 2000-09-25 , - , Win , align=left, Sergei Mureiko , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , style="font-size:88%", 2000-09-25 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Héctor Milián , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

1999 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 1999 World Wrestling Championships. Men's Freestyle competition were held in Ankara, Turkey. Men's Greco-Roman competition were held in Piraeus, Greece and Women's competition were held in Boden, Sweden. ...

, rowspan=6 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, - , Win , align=left, Sergei Mureiko , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 0–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , - , Win , align=left, Georgiy Saldadze , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , - , Win , align=left, Eddy Bengtsson , style="font-size:88%", Tech Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , - , Win , align=left, Giuseppe Giunta , style="font-size:88%", Tech Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , - , Win , align=left, Mindaugas Mizgaitis , style="font-size:88%", Tech Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1999-09-23 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Matt Ghaffari , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 8–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1998-08-27 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1998 World Wrestling Championships , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

, - , Win , align=left, Georgiy Saldadze , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 4–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1998-08-27 , - , Win , align=left, Yuri Evseichik , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 8–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1998-08-27 , - , Win , align=left, Juha Ahokas , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1998-08-27 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 11–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1997-09-10 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1997 World Wrestling Championships , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, - , Win , align=left, Rulon Gardner , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 6–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1997-09-10 , - , Win , align=left, Sergei Mureiko , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 2–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1997-09-10 , - , Win , align=left, Young-Jin Yang , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 6–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1997-09-10 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Matt Ghaffari , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 1–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1996-07-22 , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1996 Olympic Games , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia , - , Win , align=left, Panagiotis Poikilidis , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1996-07-21 , - , Win , align=left, Juha Ahokas , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1996-07-21 , - , Win , align=left, Sergei Mureiko , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 2–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1996-07-21 , - , Win , align=left, Omrane Ayari , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 10–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1996-07-21 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Tomas Johansson , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1992-07-29 , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1992 Olympic Games , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, - , Win , align=left, Ioan Grigoraş , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1992-07-27 , - , Win , align=left, Juha Ahokas , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 8–1 , style="font-size:88%", 1992-07-27 , - , Win , align=left, Cándido Mesa , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1992-07-27 , - , Win , align=left, Andy Borodow , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1992-07-27 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, László Klauz , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 7–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1989-08-26 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1989 World Wrestling Championships , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants ( ...

, - , Win , align=left, Craig Pittman , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", 3:16 , style="font-size:88%", 1989-08-24 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Rangel Gerovski , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 5–3 , style="font-size:88%", 1988-09-22 , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1988 Olympic Games , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, - , Win , align=left, Duane Koslowski , style="font-size:88%", Tech Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1988-09-20 , - , Win , align=left, Alexander Neumüller , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1988-09-20 , - , Win , align=left, László Klauz , style="font-size:88%", Passivity , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1988-09-20 , - , Win , align=left, Tomas Johansson , style="font-size:88%", Decision , style="font-size:88%", 5–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1988-09-20 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=left, Jeff Blatnick , style="font-size:88%", DQ , style="font-size:88%", 13–0 , style="font-size:88%", 1987-10-15 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%", 1987 Wrestling World Cup , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center; font-size:88%",

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, - , Win , align=left, , style="font-size:88%", Walkover , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1987-10-15 , - , Win , align=left, Juan Poulot , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", 1:26 , style="font-size:88%", 1987-10-14 , - , Win , align=left, Kenichi Mikosawa , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", 1987-10-14

Mixed martial arts

On 21 February 1999, Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a

shoot wrestling Shoot wrestling is a Japanese hybrid grappling style and combat sport. Shoot wrestling incorporates techniques from various wrestling, submission grappling, kickboxing and karate styles. It was particularly inspired and influenced by catch ...

contest put on by RINGS that drew a gate of over $1 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including mentions in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

''. The match took place in the Maeda-owned professional wrestling organization ''RINGS''. Though widely considered to have been a shoot style wrestling contest, the match is counted as an official mixed martial arts (MMA) match in

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

's record database. Karelin weighed in at . , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Akira Maeda , Decision (Unanimous) , Rings: Final Capture , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Japan ,

Political career

Between 1995 and 1999, Karelin served with the Russian tax police and retired in the rank of colonel. Upon invitation from

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, in 1999, he began his political career. He joined the

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

party and was elected to the

as a representative of

Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative center, administrative and economic center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of N ...

in 1999 and 2003. In 2007, he was elected to the Duma as a representative of Stavropol Krai. He was a member of Duma's committee on international affairs. In 2017, he entered the PutinTeam, a social movement aimed at promoting Vladimir Putin's policies. In 2020, Karelin was appointed as senator from the Legislative Assembly of Novosibirsk Oblast in the Federation Council. He took up the post on 25 September 2020, and is a member of the council's committee on International Affairs. He was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in 2022 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Personal life

Karelin graduated from the Novosibirsk Institute of Transportation in 1985, followed by the Siberian Academy of Physical Culture, a military school of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD USSR) and the Saint Petersburg University of MVD USSR. In 1998 he defended a PhD and in 2002 a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in sport-related

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

; he also holds a degree in law. His PhD is titled: "Methods of execution of

suplex A suplex is an Offense (sports), offensive move used in Wrestling, sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and Bridge (grappling), bridging or rolling to slam the ...

throw counters" (), and "Integral training system for top-level wrestlers" (). Karelin's father was a truck driver and an amateur boxer. Karelin is married to Olga, they have two sons, Denis and Ivan, and one daughter, Vasilisa. Denis (born c. 1986) tried wrestling, but gave it up in favor of car racing. Ivan (born 1994) is coached by Kuznetsov and competes in the Greco-Roman superheavyweight division. Vasilisa (born c. 1999) is a

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

. Karelin had an older brother, Sergei Aleksandrovich Karelin, who died in 2017 at the age of 56. Karelin is an Orthodox Christian. Since he was young, Karelin has sought to be a "classical man", and is well-versed in music and literature, with an interpreter of his stating "His knowledge and his feeling for poetry, literature and music are incredible." Starting in 1985, he served in the West Siberian Directorate of the Internal Troops of the USSR and Russia. While serving he competed in sambo, and became a sambo champion. From 1986 to 1991, Karelin served as a sports instructor of the 2nd category for the West Siberian Directorate, then sports instructor of the highest qualification from 1991 to 1992, and then coach of the sports team from 1992 to 1995.

Legacy and awards

Karelin was named as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), and is one of the class of ten inaugural inductees into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2007, Karelin, alongside Buvaisar Saitiev, were voted the best wrestlers in the history of the sport by FILA. Four times he was awarded the "Golden Belt" as the best wrestler of the planet by FILA - in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1994. He was also included in the 25 best world athletes of the 20th century.Karelin, Alexander Alexandrovich
. Karelin.ru. Since 1992, an annual wrestling competition is held in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

in his honor. He is cited as being one of the most dominant athletes of all time, and as being one of the greatest of all time. He is also remembered as being one of the most feared and intimidating athletes ever. He is also seen as one of the most gifted athletes of all time due to his combination of explosiveness, strength, intellect, flexibility, and agility. He has been praised as one of the greatest wrestlers ever by, or usually as the single greatest ever, by other combat athletes like Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Alexander Romanov, Mark Madsen, Juha Ahokas, and even by Rulon Gardner himself. Rulon Gardner stated about Karelin that:Karelin was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996 and awarded the

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1989), Order of Honour (2001) and

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

IV class (2008). He was awarded the Serbian Order of Saint Sava. In 2017, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Republic of Dagestan". He was also named a Merited Master of Sports of the USSR (1988). He is a hidden playable character in the Japan-only, AKI Corporation-created,

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

video game: Virtual Pro Wrestling 2.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karelin, Aleksandr 1967 births Living people Martial artists from Novosibirsk Soviet male sport wrestlers Russian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Russia Olympic wrestlers for the Unified Team Olympic wrestlers for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Wrestling Championships medalists Russian sportsperson-politicians Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Recipients of the Order of St. Sava United Russia politicians European Wrestling Championships medalists Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Sixth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Seventh convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Russian sambo practitioners Russian male professional wrestlers Russian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling 20th-century Russian sportsmen Soviet professional wrestlers