Yury Petrovich Vlasov (; 5 December 1935 – 13 February 2021) was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight
weightlifter
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
, writer and politician. He competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1960 and a silver in 1964; at both games, he was the
Olympic flag bearer for the Soviet Union. During his career, Vlasov won four world titles and set 31 ratified world records. He retired in 1968 and became a prominent writer and later a politician. He was a member of the
Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union () was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.
Background
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was created as part of Mikhail Gorbachev ...
(1989) and then of the Russian
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 ...
(1993) and took part in the
1996 Russian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Russia on 16 June 1996, with a second round being held on 3 July 1996. It resulted in a victory for the incumbent Russian president Boris Yeltsin, who ran as an independent politician. Yeltsin defeated the Co ...
.
[Yury Vlasov]
sports-reference.com
Early life and competitive career

Yury was born in
Makeyevka,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, to the family of
Pyotr Vlasov (1905–1953), a military journalist and
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
agent, and Maria Danilovna Vlasova (née Lymar), a
Kuban Cossacks
Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...
. His father worked as the General Consul in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and then the Ambassador to
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
.
[ Both his parents were born in Russia.
Yury studied at the ]Saratov
Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...
Suvorov military school (1946–1953), then at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, from which he graduated with honors in 1959. In 1956, while studying at the academy he became interested in weightlifting, joined the Armed Forces sports society and soon became Master of Sport of the USSR (1957). He was noticed in 1958 when he finished third at the Soviet Union championships. Between 1959 and 1963 he won all the competitions he participated in, with a major success at the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...
where he set three world records and became the first man to clean and jerk
The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without rest ...
more than 200 kg (202.5). He was proclaimed the best sportsman of the 1960 Olympics and the "Strongest Man on the Planet". Going against the stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s attached to weightlifting, he was considered a nerdish intellectual in rim glasses.
At the 1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
he finished second, after another Soviet weightlifter, Leonid Zhabotinsky. Vlasov was breaking world records at the 1964 Olympics and was aiming to retire from competitions with the gold medal. He was bitterly disappointed by the tactical tricks played by Zhabotinsky during the final clean-and-jerk event, which he considered dishonest – Zhabotinsky intentionally failed his second attempt, and talked and behaved as if he would not compete for the gold medal. In reality Zhabotinsky merely positioned himself behind Vlasov, who started the event first, and in his last attempt would order (and lift) any weight required to win the overall competition.[YURY VLASOV: Biography]
chidlovski.net
Although Vlasov announced his retirement after the 1964 Olympics, he resumed top-level training in 1966 for financial reasons. He set his last world record on 15 May 1967, by pressing 199 kg,[ for which he received 850 rubles. Vlasov retired from senior competitions in June 1968. Around the same time he also retired from the Soviet Army, where he worked as a sports instructor. He held the rank of captain. In 1969, while lecturing in Norway, he was asked to lift 200 kg, which he easily did despite a year-long break in training.][Yury Vlasov (1989)]
Chapter 8
in ''Справедливость силы''. Lenizdat. .
Weightlifting achievements
*Olympic champion (1960); silver medalist in 1964;
*Four-time world champion (1959, 1961–1963); silver medalist in 1964;
*Six-time consecutive European champion (1959–1964);
*Set thirty four world records.[
]
Legacy and awards
At the peak of his popularity Vlasov was frequently included in international delegations visiting foreign leaders, such as Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
and Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
. He was a favorite of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
; Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...
offered him a position of a personal adviser on China, and Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...
was supervising his book ''The Vladimirov diaries: Yenan, China, 1942–1945'' as it involved Soviet intelligence activities.[
]Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
, seven-times Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...
, considered Vlasov as a major motivation for his career as a bodybuilder and a strongman. They first met at the 1961 World Championships in Vienna when Schwarzenegger was only 14. Vlasov did not recall what he said to Schwarzenegger then, but remembered that he was excited after winning the championships and encouraged Schwarzenegger to continue strength training no matter what. In 1988, while filming ''Red Heat '' Red heat'' is a practice of using colours to determine the temperature of metal
Red Heat may also refer to:
* ''Red Heat'' (1985 film), a 1985 film starring Linda Blair
* ''Red Heat'' (1988 film), a 1988 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger a ...
'' in Moscow, Schwarzenegger insisted on meeting Vlasov, who by then had fallen out of grace with the Soviet leaders, and gave him his photograph signed "To my Idol Yuri Vlasov".[
For his weightlifting victories Vlasov was awarded the ]Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
(1960) and Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...
(1965).[ He was a member of the ]Union of Soviet Writers
The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...
and was a member of the Union of Russian Writers.
Post-retirement sports activities
Vlasov's health suddenly deteriorated in 1978–1979, which was related to a nervous breakdown due to his writing activities but not to weightlifting. Later he had a few surgeries on his spine.[Yury Vlasov (1989)]
Chapter 9
in ''Справедливость силы''. Lenizdat. . In the 1980s he returned to sport as a functionary – between 1985 and 1987 he was president of the Soviet Weightlifting Federation, and from 1987 to 1989 headed the Soviet Bodybuilding Federation.[ As a dope-free athlete he was stunned by the massive use of anabolic steroids by weightlifters and bodybuilders in those years.][
Vlasov continued training with weights through most of his life. In 2004, aged 69, he took part in a masters competition in Moscow and lifted 185 kg in the clean and jerk event. By then he lowered his body weight to 109 kg,] while his maximum senior weight was 136.4 kg at the 1964 Olympics.[
]
Writing
Vlasov became a professional writer and journalist years before his retirement from competitions – his short stories were published by Soviet newspapers back in 1959. In 1961 he won a prize for best sports story from the Union of Soviet Writers
The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...
. Starting from the 1962 European Championships, he was attending international competitions not only as a weightlifter, but also as a special correspondent to the major Soviet newspaper ''Izvestia
''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, r=Izvestiya, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in February 1917, ''Izvestia'', which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of th ...
''. Before the 1964 Olympics he published his first book, a collection of short stories titled ''Overcoming Yourself''.[
After retiring both from competition and military service, in 1968 Vlasov dedicated himself to writing. He published over 15 novels, most notably the ''Flaming Cross'' trilogy (1991–93) about life during and after the ]Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, and more than 10 short story collections. His books were translated into several languages, including English. In 1973 he edited and published his father's diaries titled ''The Vladimirov diaries: Yenan, China, 1942–1945'', which were translated into six languages, including English and Chinese.[ In that book, Vlasov uses the ]pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
of his father, Vladimirov.
Other books by Vlasov (with ISBN numbers) include
*
*
* (3 volumes)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Politics
Vlasov was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies for the Lublinsky district of Moscow in 1989 and broke from the Communist Party.[
In 1993, Vlasov was elected to 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 ...
of the Russian Federation
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.[
Vlasov's tenure in the State Duma saw him take a strong departure from his earlier politics. However, he moved away from liberal politics and adopted the policies of nationalists and Christian Democrats.][ During his Soviet political career, and his very early Duma career, Vlasov had been supportive of democratic reforms.] When he first entered the Duma, Vlasov was a member of the liberal Inter-regional Deputies Group, along with Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet Physics, physicist and a List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.
Alt ...
, Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Russian politician and legal scholar, a co-autho ...
and Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
.[ However, as a member of the Duma, Vlasov subsequently strongly embraced ]authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
policies.[ Ultimately, Vlasov's post-Soviet politics would be characterized as ]nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
.[The 1996 Russian presidential election / Jerry F. Hough, Evelyn Davidheiser, Susan Goodrich Lehmann. Brookings occasional papers.] It would also feature prominent antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
rhetoric.
Presidential campaign
Vlasov ran as an independent candidate
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have polit ...
in the 1996 Russian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Russia on 16 June 1996, with a second round being held on 3 July 1996. It resulted in a victory for the incumbent Russian president Boris Yeltsin, who ran as an independent politician. Yeltsin defeated the Co ...
. During his presidential campaign, Vlasov promoted himself as patriot fighting both communism and an alleged " Zionist conspiracy" against the Russian people. He dubbed his politics as "people's patriotism". He also likened his politics to Gaullism
Gaullism ( ) is a Politics of France, French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of France, President of the Fifth French Republic. ...
. He claimed that his politics were a more effective unifying force than communist or democratic ideals.[ His campaign platform proclaimed, "There is only one single force that is able to unite almost all and at the same time become the ideological basis of the Russian state – popular patriotism".
Vlasov alleged that Yeltsin's policies had pushed 40% of Russia's populace below the poverty line and brought the government only 3% of the real value of privatized state property.][ Vlasov accused the Communists of stealing many of his ideas, including the name of his People's Patriotic Party, as Communist Party nominee ]Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as Member of the State Duma since 1993. He is also the Chair of the Union ...
had taken to referring to himself the leader of a "coalition of popular-patriotic forces".[ Vlasov's campaign saw very little media coverage.][ While Vlasov was nominally an independent candidate, Vlasov's campaign was supported by the ]People's National Party
The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...
. However, by the end of the election, many in the party grew dissatisfied with Vlasov's campaign style, believing he failed to campaign aggressively enough.[
Despite the fact that he was polling at under one percent, Vlasov had stated that he anticipated capturing between six and seven percent of the vote.][ He pledged to refuse supporting either Yeltsin or support Zyuganov in the runoff.][ Ultimately, Vlasov received only 0.20% of the vote in the first round of the election.][ Following his presidential defeat, Vlasov retired from politics.][
]
Personal life
Vlasov had a brother Boris.[ He first married in 1957, to Natalia Modorova, a student of the Moscow Institute of Arts who was visiting his gym to draw athletes. They had a daughter Yelena. Vlasov remarried in 1976, after the death of his first wife, to Larisa Sergeyevna Vlasova, a student 21 years his junior.][Юрий Петрович Власов]
olimpic.su In his memoirs Vlasov mentions that he had another daughter, perhaps with Larisa.[ According to his 1960 Olympic teammate Boris Nikonorov, Vlasov spoke fluent English at the Rome Olympics.][Boris Valiyev]
Борис Никоноров: Я и сейчас уверен, что на Олимпиаде в Риме и чемпионате Европы в Москве не проиграл
bmsi.ru (interview in Russian) Vlasov underwent several surgeries, with the final surgery occurring in 2019 or 2020. He fully recovered some time afterwards, and had no illnesses.
Vlasov died of natural causes on 13 February 2021, in Moscow, Russia.
References
External links
*
Власов Юрий Петрович
panlog.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasov, Yury
1935 births
2021 deaths
20th-century Russian sportsmen
Sportspeople from Makiivka
Candidates in the 1996 Russian presidential election
First convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)
Resigned Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Armed Forces (sports society) sportspeople
European Weightlifting Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic medalists in weightlifting
Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic weightlifters for the Soviet Union
Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics
World Weightlifting Championships medalists
Russian anti-communists
Russian male weightlifters
Russian male writers
Soviet politicians
Russian sportsperson-politicians
Soviet anti-communists
Soviet journalists
Soviet male weightlifters
Soviet male writers
Ukrainian emigrants to Russia
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery