Meltha Magazine Online

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1997 Volume 3, No.1(7) pages 8-9

OUR INTELLECTUALS

THE STANCE OF A FIGHTER AND HUMANIST

Victor Avdishev

We guess every Assyrian boy likes to take part in street wrestling events. We think this readiness to fight or complete where they need both strength and craft alike the boys derive from their very distant ancestors. Wrestling in the East has always been some- thing special. It teaches the youth to be courageous and noble alike. But unfortunately for the lack of professional training many young Assyrian talents who used to be local heroes were unable to make their golden dreams come true as they just could not per- form professionally. Despite this, our small Diaspora have had many champions, and among equals there was one so much distinguished like Victor Avdishev , the greatest Assyrian world title winner .

Victor Yurievich Avdishev was born in the town of Khanlar (Azerbaijan) in 1956. At that time Assyrians were allowed to go out of Siberia where they had lived in exile since 1949. They all returned to Khanlar. In extremely difficult conditions they had to start from scratch like they always did before. They first put up houses, organized house- hold, had and reared children still hoping for a better future for them.

When he was a high school student, Victor A vdishev distinguished himself as a very good Greco-Roman wrestler as he won many republican titles. His sudden flight to success gave a shape to all his life in the following years. After school he entered the Institute of Physical Culture so he tied himself to sports for the rest of his life. In the short run he would become an outstanding athlete and coach at the end of his career. Currently V .Avdishev I the Master of Sports of International Level, is one of the most famous coach in Ukraine. He was awarded the Honored Trainer sign of Ukraine, and now he works with the Ukrainian national team on weight- lifting, where Ukrainians especially were good at the major events like World and European tournaments and Olympic games.

In 1976 Victor for the first time won the all Russian title then he got the European title as well. Then came a happy series of his victorious performances. In 1977 he won the World Universiade title. Next, in 1978 he won the USSR national title and a year later the title of All USSR peoples Spartakiades. Twice in 1978 and 1983 he won different minor titles (the silver and bronze medals) at Wrestling World Championships. And in both instances he was an absolute favorite and he would easily have made the world title if not for the injuries he was fated to get at the time.

After his first great victories V. Avdishev was offered to work on the national team of Ukraine to join the best wrestlers in the world. In the following years he would stay in Kiev where he became a popular sports activist among Assyrians as well. For this reason Assyrians of Kiev unanimously elected him president of their national association as they felt pride for this famous leader .

Many Assyrians of Kiev may feel tears of gratitude to him when they speak of his public activity .In the hardest crisis that broke out after the collapse of the USSR the life gets hard on senior people who have a very small pension so that they really live from hand to mouth. This is V .Avdishev again who come to help them bringing out the best of his feelings, namely compassion, mercy, love for the neighbor and absorption of somebody else's tragedy like his own.

The economic crisis has brought about much hardship on sports as well. Athletic clubs began to enjoy much less financing from the state. Under these circumstances, the organizing talent of Mr. .Avdishev came to the fore as he put on some very successful commercial projects in order to give athletes money to train themselves and compete equally on the international scale. Besides, he organizes money support to the elderly Assyrians who retired and cannot make their own living and so on. In the modern times bringing the bread for the people he also tries brings out spiritual aspirations in them when he started to raise the Church of Assyrians of the East in Kiev as nobody had done before.

The story of Victor Avdishev would be far from being complete if there was not a difficult time in his life. This active and highly principle stance of Victor A vdishev was gaining its momentum, and as a result, he was nominated a candidate for deputy of the Council of Kiev by Central Army Club in Ukraine. Many from top of the power resented V. Avdishev's popularity and in the long run he was arrested and on the false charge was put behind the bars. During 7 months all the public in Kiev as well as in all Assyrian Diaspora stood up as one in support of this impeccable worker for justice and truth. Finding no further pretext the authorities had to stop persecution.

Currently Victor A vdishev fills the front rank of the Assyrian movement again as he continues to work his best life dream. Mean- time, he is finishing the Church of his be- loved people.