Speech biography

Crowds of people were filled in different historical periods of the Circus Theater of the merchant Peter Sichkarev, the circus of the merchant Ilya Chirikov, the circuses of Erasmus Strepetov and Bibo Calvitsa in Omsk, to look at the exciting performances of self-proclaimed strongest men in the world. At that time of the active interest of the circus in sports, a significant place on arenas begins to occupy the struggle: first Russian, the so-called waist, and then spectacularly more spectacular-classic French, Greco-Roman.

Of particular interest were the championships of wrestlers. And their choice in the circus of the merchant Peter Sichkarev was rich-there were Russian, foreign wrestlers and even female wrestlers. Giving a report on the ladies' struggle, an employee of the Omsk newspaper Akmola Regional Vedomosti reported: “The borsh are trained very badly, the techniques and parades are made unconditionally, inconspicuously.

Nevertheless, all the streets of the city were filled with posters. Where did the first generation of the wrestlers come from? Some of the artists began to fight, but most often the wrestlers were nominated from among Masters, Hammers and representatives of other professions requiring extraordinary power. In the first and second departments there was a circus performance, in the third - matches of the struggle.

The struggle is a purely sports sight, devoid of figurative essence, therefore, of course, the struggle cannot be attributed to circus art in the full sense of the word. It should be noted here that the professional struggle in the circus played a positive role in the development of Russian athletic sports. Spectacular, but very dangerous power numbers for working with weights, for example, moving the athlete lying on the athlete arena with the whole team, as a result of which unprepared drivers, caused serious injuries to athletes, or the fight of professional fighters with those who wish to measure their forces often led to serious injuries of the latter.

Circus have long been used in their programs for strong men.

The people in their everyday life loved strong men and brave men. Go out one on one with a horn to a bear, cut down and bear a huge tree, transfer the millstone or roll, grabbing the horns, a ferocious bull - all these were exploits that deserve respect and glory. The Russian people also loved the struggle and fist fights. And the circuses, showing power numbers, initially sought to ensure that the artists-lines create the image of a Russian epic hero.

However, in the absence of professional directors of circus performances, systematic rehearsals that allow you to grind the number and most beautifully show human capabilities, all this was vulgarized to the level of the booth, where the sodes turned into monsters showing experiments on themselves, and sometimes on spectators. So, people with “iron” jaws appeared in the circuses, capturing their teeth and threw them through themselves, people with “iron” skulls, whose bricks broke on their heads, women with “steel” braids, they weaved into their hair instead of ribbons, on which the weights were suspended.

An interesting attraction of the trio of the Gren brothers, who kept a “living carousel” weighing 70 pounds. At the turn of Sandwin's athlete kept a platform with an orchestra of ten playing musicians. In Russia, the lady-athlet of Balanotti, the great-grandmother of the famous jugler N. Olkhovikova, who completed the number, performed her crown trick - carried a chair with a shirt with a shirt with an assistant sitting on it.

The world fame was won by the Brumbas Psevd. Catherine the Great, who appeared in the sundress and kokoshnik and performed her crown stunt "Hell forge" - on the chest of the artist placed a heavy anvil, on which two dozen well done, dressed under devils, forged hot iron. Spectators in the circus delved little into the specifics of heavy athletics - forms, technology or accurate weight.

They were interested in the questions more practical: can you take the horse on your shoulders? And breastfeeding the chain? And withstand a car passing around the neck? And raise the elephant up the stairs? Each strongman tried to develop his own specialization in order to stand out. Sigmund Bratbart with his bare hands could score a railway crutch after five oak boards with a thickness of 2 with a thickness of 2.

John Holtum became famous for caught the kilogram nuclei, shot from a gun, Alexander Zass “Amazing Samson” or “Iron Samson” was known that the steel rods were virtuoso. This talent, they say, helped him escape from Austrian captivity during the First World War. Once Alexander Zass on his shoulders carried a horse from the battlefield under him, he remained in world history as one of the most powerful people of the planet.

He could carry a horse on his shoulders, tear the steel chains with his hands and raise the piano with the musician. One of his first independent numbers was the “balance”. During this trick, Zass went out into the arena and put a large samovar with hot water and hot water on his forehead. Holding balance, the strongman passed with a dangerous load around the Manege.Once, having argued with another circus athlete, Sergei Nikolaevsky, Zass arched the steel bars of the cage with a lion.

At the same time, the stronger’s external data was completely impressive. He was short, all cm and could not boast of massive muscles, such as Ivan Poddubny. Zass looked fit and muscular, no more. It was this contrast between an ordinary appearance and incredible power that largely contributed to the success of a circus artist. In it, the athlete was laid on a board with nails, and a stone block weighing kg was installed on top.

After that, the assistants broke the block with sledgehammers right on the artist’s body. Having retired, the circus strongman took up another favorite thing - training. Zass worked with dogs, monkeys, lions and, of course, with horses. The life of the artist broke off tragically when he saved his pets. In the year, a van with monkeys caught fire and the strongman rushed to save the animals.

He received an extensive head burn and died in a hospital from a heart attack. Ivan Poddubny was a famous person - almost a symbol of the country, an indicator of its power and strength, thereby the “bear” with whom the Russians were associated in the West in those distant years. At the dawn of his youth, Poddubny did not even think about the career of a fighter, working as a simple loader in Feodosia, there he first saw a circus of the brazier.

The circus sodes invited everyone to compete with them on sedics, and in case of victory they promised a reward. Without thinking twice, Poddubny volunteered and took turns defeating all athletes except the strongest, a draw came out with him. After that, Poddubny quit his job in the port, began to work hard and got a job in a circus, where he acted as a wrestler and a weightlifter.

Together with his troupe, Poddubny toured all over Russia and soon gained considerable popularity. People came to the circus specifically to see how an invincible giant-bearean put on the shoulder blades of the next opponent. Ivan Poddubny was a true hero: powerful, honest, incorruptible - “I am a Russian fighter. I will stay. " And the athletes returned to their origins.

Pyotr Krylov - Russian and Soviet circus artist, weightlifter and fighter. He had the nickname “King of the Gir”, squeezed a two -pound weight 86 times with his left hand, being in a “soldier's rack”. In the year, in the Kiev Athletic Society, he squeezed the bar pounds with his left hand, spread two weights of pounds down down, brought the right weight to the pounds to the rod with his left hand in pounds, took pounds from the bridge, receiving a gold medal as records.

Evgeny Sandov, nee Friedrich Wilhelm, like many strong men, demonstrated his remarkable abilities in the circus arena. His tricks were incredibly spectacular, he: he kept on his chest a platform with an orchestra of 8 people with a piano - sometimes, for a variety, they were replaced with three horses; He fought on stage with a huge adult lion, throwing him aside, like a puppy, the lion was in a muzzle; relying on two chairs only by his head and heels, he held on the body of two adults and another 22 kg in each hand; He sat down, laid down and got up, manipulating a kilogram bar in one hand.

In the year there was a tragedy - Sandov moved in his car in a ditch, and, according to the old memory, decided to flaunt with power - pull the car with one hand. The experiment ended with a hemorrhagic stroke and the death of the athlete. Soldress Evgeny Sandov is the founder of the circus genre of the Steven. The circus strong man Stefan demonstrates his strength, dragging his teeth on the streets of Berlin.

Edward Rice demonstrates his strength. He supports four actresses, being in a limbo between two chairs. Joe Smith, a blacksmith from Gloucester, lifts and holds his teeth in equilibrium a road sign notifying about work on the road. The strongest man in the world Ivan "The Great" demonstrates his strength, holding a board with five dancing pairs. Do not repeat, is dangerous for life!

The material was prepared by Andrei Akhramovich.