Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev is a famous domestic athlete of the early XX century. He is an outstanding athlete and wrestler. He was the organizer of the wrestling championships, worked as an entertainer and circus director. In addition, he published sports magazines as a writer and journalist, he performed in the circus. In this article we will talk about his biography and outstanding achievements.
Childhood and youth
Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev was born in 1879. He was born in St. Petersburg. His mother was a bourgeois by birth, worked in a bakery saleswoman. Father served as a lawyer. Due to class inequality, their marriage was never officially registered, as a result, the boy grew up illegitimate. Moreover, the father and his family did not constantly live. He occasionally visited his son, without providing much assistance.
Later, the future athlete repeatedly admitted that he does not hold evil on his father, as he is grateful to him for his origin. It was it that helped the humble child become a strong fighter, temper character.
Since childhood, Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev had to endure humiliation and ridicule from peers. To counter them, he was actively engaged in physical education. Desiring to develop strength and endurance, he turned over huge boulders on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. He devoted a lot of time to studying training methods that were considered advanced for that time. It is also important that the child was educated, learned to read early, and from childhood showed great interest in literature.
Education
Education Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev received at the Seventh Gymnasium of St. Petersburg. At the same time, he began to study in a circle of athletics lovers, where the fateful acquaintance for him met with the trustee and mentor of many athletes of that time, Professor Kraevsky.
They say that already in the first lesson the young man set a gymnasium record. He managed to lift a 24-kilogram weight 23 times with one hand. Training on the shores of the Gulf of Finland made themselves felt. This day became important in the biography of Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev. It is believed that from this moment began his sports career.
Kraevsky was amazed and pleasantly surprised by the youth's extraordinary strength and endurance. The professor took patronage over a promising and promising high school student. Soon he even took the trouble to appoint him a coach in his sports society.
Famous nickname
Lebedev earned the greatest fame as a sports coach. He also actively engaged in circus activities.
Surprisingly, already in 1897, when the hero of our article was only 18 years old, he received his famous nickname. He began to be called "Uncle Vanya." This was preceded by an entertaining fact from his biography.
Lebedev once argued with his friend that he could single-handedly raise a huge piano to the second floor. Surprised, the movers who watched it only opened their mouths. One of them then asked: "What is your name, uncle?" The embarrassed and very out of breath young man answered. So he became Uncle Vanya.
Coaching
In 1901, Lebedev became a student at the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg University. During his studies, he takes the initiative to start opening sports sections at higher educational institutions. This project was approved by the Ministry of Education and officially entered into force the same year.
Little time has passed. Lebedev is awarded the title of professor of athletics, which makes him already a professional coach. Later, biographers calculated that during his mentoring career he managed to prepare at least ten thousand pupils.
Parade of fighters
When Kraevsky died, Lebedev continued his work. He prepared a large number of real weightlifting titans that amazed those around him with their outstanding strength. Moreover, his talent was not limited only to sports. In his youth, he became interested in theater, having achieved considerable success in this field. The acting experience he acquired helped in the future when Lebedev became a circus artist.
At the same time, he failed to graduate from the university. In 1905, he dropped out of school to devote himself entirely to his favorite pastime. With his direct participation, a parade of fighters will be organized that summer. At it, Lebedev himself appears in a rather unusual role for himself as an entertainer.
Prior to that, he had to be an arbiter more than once during wrestling fights. Now he decided to make a completely unusual sight for the public. His great merit as a circus director and entertainer lies in the fact that celebrities such as Pyotr Krylov, Ivan Poddubny, Ivan Zaikin, Georg Lurich, Clementy Bul took part in the parade of wrestlers.
Lebedev always accompanied each athlete on the stage with unique commentaries, often with playful subtext, leading the audience into indescribable delight.
Success in the circus
After such a triumph, the hero of our article went on tour across the country. In the largest cities of the Russian Empire, Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev organized power performances and tournaments in which the country's most famous athletes took part.
In 1915, in Yekaterinburg, he organized a major international wrestling tournament, which lasted for two months. The tour of his troupe invariably gathered full houses, and each appearance on the stage of the circus artist himself, Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev, caused a storm of applause and applause.
Its unique, distinctive feature was the appearance in a classic bourgeois outfit. These were boots, a quilted undercoat, a cap, worn on one side, which emphasized its class origin. At the same time, for absolutely everyone, including athletes, he still remained the most ordinary person from the people who was called Uncle Vanya.
Raising the younger generation
In between speeches, Lebedev always arranged communication with the public. He witty and original answered any questions, being able to amuse numerous spectators. Each time, arriving in another city, he began by necessarily visiting local sports clubs, giving valuable advice to young athletes.
The wrestler remembered how hard it was for him to make his way in life, build a career, so he sought to support provincial athletes, natives of families of workers and peasants. He helped them discover new, unprecedented talents in themselves. The authority of the weight lifting athlete Lebedev in sports circles at that time was enormous.
Popularization of sports
Surprisingly, throughout his career Lebedev has not been awarded a single major title, but at the same time he managed to significantly increase the prestige and popularity of sports in the country. Thousands of novice wrestlers and weightlifters, inspired by his example, by the demonstration performances of Russian strongmen and the wise instructions of Uncle Vanya himself, went to enroll in sports sections throughout the country.
With great respect and reverence, the famous writer of the beginning of the 20th century Maxim Gorky wrote about him. He respected Lebedev, noting his great contribution to strengthening the health of the nation and the public life of the country.
The hero of our article did not forget about his teacher. In 1910, he opened his own weightlifting school, which he supervised over two years. He dedicated it to Professor Kraevsky and took on the training of physically gifted people from all over the country. Later he transferred the educational institution to the balance of the St. Petersburg sports society "Sanitas".
Media work
These were not all Lebedev's talents. He is known as a journalist, writer. Friends called him a real walking encyclopedia. Having a brilliant education, he freely read and wrote in several languages. Among them were even exotic ones, for example, Hebrew and Latin.
Back in 1905, as a student, Lebedev began to publish the Illustrated Journal of Athletics and Sports, which became the first publication of its kind in Russia. His initiative was then supported by well-known public figures who eagerly joined the work. True, the magazine did not last long. Only three issues were released, after which it had to be closed due to lack of financial resources.
Hercules Magazine
The first failure did not stop Lebedev. In 1912, he opens a new edition in St. Petersburg. The Hercules magazine begins to appear regularly every two weeks. Taught by past mistakes, the hero of our article competently builds a more thoughtful editorial policy. This allows you to quickly gain an audience.
The magazine was published until the October Revolution. Its circulation reached fabulous values for those times - 27 thousand copies. Lebedev managed to attract many famous writers of that time: Alexander Green, Alexander Kuprin, as well as coach Alexander Anokhin. Additional interest was caused by the publication of works by foreign authors. It was in Hercules that the stories of Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle were published.
At the same time, the main theme of the publication was still sport. The magazine sought not only to introduce people to a healthy lifestyle, but also talked about the successes of beginner provincial athletes. For many of them, these publications have become a real start to life.
The experience of the journalist helped Lebedev in subsequent writing. He wrote several books on weightlifting, sports and self-defense. Many of them have become bestsellers.
Life in Soviet Russia
After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks became very interested in the figure of Lebedev. They were attracted by the scale of his personality and proletarian origin. So Uncle Vanya became a propagandist and agitator. His performances around the country continued, he was still the judge of wrestling tournaments and entertainer in the circus.
Lebedev did not leave his coaching career either. With his direct participation, the “Palace of Sports and Arts” was opened in Odessa in 1920, in which he himself trained young weightlifters and wrestlers.
last years of life
When the Great Patriotic War began, Lebedev was in Leningrad. He did his utmost to help the compatriots survive the blockade, and participated in the defense of the city. After some time, he was nevertheless evacuated along the "road of life" among valuable cultural figures.
His last years have passed in Sverdlovsk. He continued to work as a trainer, raised the champion of Europe and the world Nikolai Saksonov.
The years of life of Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev - 1879-1950. He died shortly after he turned 71. He did not recognize the triumph of his pupil, who became the silver Olympic champion in 1952. Saxonov at the Olympics in Helsinki lost only to compatriot Rafael Chimishkyan. He won the gold of world and European championships in 1953.
Training principles
Lebedev everywhere and everywhere propagated his training principles, which helped him grow into one of the most famous athletes of the beginning of the century.
When performing exercises with great weight, he advised against making sudden movements. Even with the push of the kettlebell, the lunge should be smooth, since the ultimate goal is to grow muscles, and not damage them by tearing. At the time of raising the projectile, the coach forbade his pupils to hold their breath. Due to a lack of air, forces become less.
In his opinion, it was important not to disturb auxiliary muscles without need. In preparation for lifting the bar, this must be done confidently and powerfully, and not frantically clutching the bar.
It is important not to be afraid of iron internally. It should tremble before the strength and power of a weightlifter. This training principle has become for him a kind of motto. Lebedev advised a person who was not sure that he would be able to lift the chosen weight, to understand: in such a situation, the body itself warns against a rash act. In this case, it is better to take half of the planned kilograms than to shoulder a burden that will prove unbearable.
He warned his students not to chase records from the first day of class. To great weight, beginners were allowed to start only after two years of persistent and regular training. An important place in the training process of Lebedev was occupied by exercises in the fresh air. This is swimming, running, football, skiing and cycling.
A prerequisite was hardening, regular dousing with cold water. At the same time, he did not advise to wrap himself in warm blankets at night so that the muscles could breathe freely.