Zhuravlev Pavel Aleksandrovich and his family. Pavel Zhuravlev. Your current state of mind
Major General, professional security officer, intelligence officer.
Major General Pavel Matveyevich Zhuravlev left a very bright mark in the history of domestic special services. A professional security officer, he devoted most of his life to our intelligence. During the Great Patriotic War, the information he obtained was highly appreciated by the Supreme Commander and general staff Red Army.
Zhuravlev Pavel Matveevich was born in the Russian village of Karsunsky district of the Simbirsk province (now in) in 1898 in a family of middle peasants. In the parochial school, and then in the gymnasium, he was among the best students. In the characterization, his abilities for mathematics, logic and foreign languages, including German. These abilities, plus endurance and courage, later helped him to take a worthy place among the outstanding intelligence officers of our country.
The Civil War became a real school of courage. The young Red Army soldier immediately went to the front, fought against the advancing Kolchak troops in the Urals, was captured in battle, escaped and again fought against the White Guards. At the end of 1918, he was sent to the bodies of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission, to the Special Department. Zhuravlev becomes a communist.
After the defeat, Zhuravlev, along with units of the Red Army, was transferred to the Southern Front, to fight against and. With the liberation of the Crimea from the White Guards, a young promising opera worker was transferred to the Crimean Cheka. For successful activities in the fight against banditry in 1922, he was awarded the badge "Honorary Chekist" by the board of the Cheka, and was nominated to the post of deputy head of the secret operational unit of the GPU of Crimea. Soon Zhuravlev was appointed head of the Sevastopol District Department of the GPU, and then deputy head of the Special Department of the Black Sea Fleet.
1926 was a turning point in the fate of the Chekist - he was transferred to an employee of the foreign department of the OGPU (foreign intelligence). Zhuravlev worked in the Near and Middle East, in a number of European countries. Particularly fruitful was the work of the Soviet intelligence residency in Italy, led by Pavel Matveyevich. In difficult conditions, our intelligence officers obtained valuable intelligence information, they arranged for the receipt of documents prepared directly by the Italian intelligence itself, its holy of holies - plans and agents in the Black Sea ports, as well as information about the use of Ukrainian nationalists against the USSR. The residency managed to penetrate the secrets of the English embassy in Rome through the regular receipt of his secret mail sent to London.
In 1937, in his report to Zhuravlev, he concluded: “The formation of a united front with Nazism (the creation of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis, or the Anti-Comintern Pact) forces us to consider Italy as our potential adversary in a future war.”
The successful intelligence operations of the residency in Rome, the personal and business qualities of its leader were noticed in. Already in 1937, Zhuravlev received a new appointment at the Center - he became the head of the German direction, perhaps the main one at that time, since the military threat of German fascism in Europe had become a reality.
"VENTION"
As you know, our intelligence began to receive information about the threat of a German war against the USSR in November 1940. Zhuravlev by this time had started a letter case under the operational name "Zateya", in which the most important information about the Nazi military threat began to be concentrated. They often reported to the top leadership of the country, the latter used this information both to cooperate with Germany and to counteract its Nazi elite. And the information, although scattered, sometimes contradictory, came in intensively, since on the eve of the war, as Lieutenant General Sudoplatov, deputy head of intelligence, notes in his memoirs, the NKVD intelligence managed to create a powerful intelligence network in Germany, which was led by experienced and talented intelligence officers Korotkov and Zhuravlev. Information also came from Italy, England, Poland and China (from Richard Sorge). But after the conclusion of the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the USSR, this information began to irritate the leaders of the country, even when specific dates for the attack began to be called.
And the facts were clearly alarming ... In May 1941, the German Junkers-52 invaded the airspace of the USSR and, unnoticed, landed safely at the central airfield near the Dynamo stadium. The Germans worked out a legend about this, but it was also a general check. And in March, an employee of Zhuravleva noticed that many decorations and paintings had been removed from the walls in the German embassy, the employees were packing their suitcases.
Here is how Sudoplatov, Deputy Head of Intelligence of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR, recalls this time: “Although the intelligence received exposed Hitler's intentions to attack the Soviet Union, many messages contradicted each other. They lacked assessments of the German military potential: tank formations and aviation located on our borders and capable of breaking through the line of defense of Red Army units ... The intelligence data missed a qualitative assessment of the German “blitzkrieg” tactics ... Military intelligence in the NKVD could not correctly inform the General Staff that the goal of the German army in Poland and France was not to seize land, but to break and destroy the enemy’s combat power.”
And Molotov decided to at least delay the start of the military conflict, try to improve the situation, ordered the redeployment of large army formations from Siberia to the borders with Germany. They arrived to protect the western borders during April, May and early June. Today we know that Hitler, Ribbentrop and Molotov's secret consultations on a possible strategic agreement between Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union gave Molotov and him the illusion that it was possible to negotiate with Hitler. This was confirmed by the well-known TASS statement of June 14, 1941... It came out on the same day that Hitler set the final date for the invasion. "The military leadership and the environment harbored the illusion that the power of the Red Army was equal to the power of the Wehrmacht forces concentrated on our western borders."
With the outbreak of war in connection with plight on the fronts and the difficult operational situation, Zhuravlev, as the head of the German direction, had to work with great tension. The Headquarters demanded from intelligence more and more new data about the intentions and plans of Berlin in order to turn the course of events in favor of our country, its retreating Red Army, in order to stop the advancing Nazi troops, counterattack them, and find weak spots.
Together with new intelligence data, past intelligence reports were also analyzed. Invaluable was the information from the arrested Count Nelidov, a former officer of the tsarist and white armies, an international agent who worked immediately for German and British intelligence, received by Zhuravlev back in 1939 (then they were not given importance). On the instructions of Admiral Kanaris, Nelidov took part in the strategic military "games" of the German General Staff, at which the main installation of the "Abwehr" (military intelligence) sounded for the first time in reconnaissance and sabotage work on operations in a blitzkrieg. In comparison with other similar information, it became clear that the Germans planned to bet on the "blitzkrieg". The reaction of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, according to chief Zhuravleva, was immediate.
For extended interrogations of Nelidov and familiarization with all the operational documents of past years, the head of the operational department of the General Staff and the head of the intelligence department of the Red Army, generals and Golikov, arrived at the people's commissariat. They were greatly impressed by Nelidov's knowledge, connections and characteristics of the mood of the German high command. From his story it was clear that the Germans could defeat the Soviet Union only if the war continued for two or three months. At the same time, during this time they expect to take possession of Kiev, Donbass, the North Caucasus and Baku with its oil. If this does not happen, the German invasion is doomed to failure.
And already in October and November 1941, from Berlin, from a verified operational source (nicknamed "Corsican"), who worked as an adviser in one of the German ministries, reliable information was received that the German army had almost exhausted its ammunition, oil and gasoline supplies, that a pause in the offensive was approaching. operations.
"RED CAPELLA"
Important information from Germany and Switzerland came up until the middle of the war, however, due to insufficient training of radio operators and violations of conspiracy by agents-informers, the Gestapo managed to first get on the trail of the Berlin and then the Swiss intelligence groups: after a short radio game with the fall of 1943 the Germans arrested our radio operators in Geneva and Lausanne. The "Red Chapel", which included agents of military intelligence and the NKVD, fell silent forever. Many books have been written about her activities, many films have been created in the West and in, including the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring.
However, Hamburg intelligence, not connected with the Red Chapel, continued to operate. A number of agents of influence survived. But by this time, Pavel Matveyevich Zhuravlev was no longer in charge of the German direction, as early as 1942 he received a promotion and transfer to a new job site.
After the war, he was promoted to the rank of "major general", he was appointed deputy chairman of the newly created Information Committee, which united the intelligence services of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. For great services to the Fatherland, successful intelligence activities and fruitful leadership work in intelligence, Pavel Matveyevich Zhuravlev was awarded the Order, two Orders of the Red Banner of War, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, the Badge of Honor and many medals.
In 1954 he retired for health reasons and died two years later.
There is a version that P. M. Zhuravlev's retirement was caused by other reasons - one long-standing incident. In 1939, after the annexation of Western Ukraine, Zhuravlev, as the head of the German intelligence sector, was sent to Lvov with a group of professionals to study the operational and political situation on the spot. N. S. Khrushchev, at that time the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and I. P. Serov, People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, ignored Zhuravlev’s warnings, who believed that respect and patience should be shown towards local Ukrainian leaders and cultural figures, and not arrest them. She supported Zhuravlev, instructing Kiev to apologize to the former head of the independent Ukrainian Republic, Kost-Levitsky, to release him from custody and send him with honor to Lvov. The instruction was carried out, but the personal ambitions of the leaders in power were seriously hurt. And in 1954 they were in the same positions, only on an allied scale, and it was not worth much work to resolve the issue with the offender. But that's just a version...
In conclusion, I would like to talk about the purely human qualities of Pavel Matveyevich Zhuravlev. He was characterized by a natural mind, modesty and intelligence, high integrity and honesty. He was an experienced psychologist and a good educator of subordinates, in every possible way developed and encouraged the initiative of field workers, shared with them his rich professional experience.
In the UFC, brothers Nick and Nate Diaz declare themselves as almost the only fighters in the organization who do not use doping. At the same time, they are active consumers and promoters of marijuana. The Diazes insist that marijuana is not doping. Do you agree with them?
Making statements is not the same as sticking to them. I don't know Nate Diaz personally and don't know what he uses. I'm not interested. This is his own business. I know it's being tested. Uses - well done. Does not use - well done. This is his own business. What are you willing to do in order to get the coveted belt? We know that even about pharmacology they think so - you pricked something and immediately became the strongest. She doesn't work that way. You have to plow 4 times more and only then will she start to give something. Somehow restores better. And who promotes marijuana... Well, you and I live in the city of Odessa, in Ukraine. Tell me, is marijuana banned here?
Yes
Does this stop anyone from using it?
No
You answered your own question. The only question is this. It is sold by people from under the table black dealers. And this money, where does it all go? Take Holland - allowed marijuana. Well, the truth is, there are nuances - only in certain places. What is there, a lot of drug addicts? There that, the country has rolled down? Do they have a collapse, a crisis?
As far as I know, many Dutch have never tried marijuana. This is the tourism industry.
I believe that a person should always have a choice. The question is, is our society ready for this? I'll be honest - no, it's not ready. But we won't be ready for that for a very long time. But how do we prepare?
Are you ready for tea already? - Margarita, wife of Pavel Zhuravlev.
Yes, ready. Here, my wife, PhD in psychology, now works as a forensic psychologist. She found herself, loves her profession. This apartment is a family office. You see, the children's sandbox is for sand therapy. The wife works half the day as a child psychologist, and the rest of the time she is engaged in various maniacs - she helps the investigation to solve crimes. Therefore, if you need a qualified answer, then she can tell (smiles). And my opinion is that a person should have freedom of choice. Always.
Pavel Zhuravlev with his wife Margarita
Do you plan to hold training camps abroad before the fight with Artem Vakhitov?
From the very beginning, when I ended up in GLORY, everyone understood that the fight with Vakhitov was inevitable. Vakhitov is a champion. And I am the champion - interim. But what is temporary - no one knows. Will I become a permanent champion - time will tell. As for Artyom, we know him personally, he's a good guy. As a person, I respect him, I consider him a talented athlete. He will be hard (smiles).
Have you set a fight date yet?
No. I have guesses, but I don't want to guess. Everything is announced in advance.
Often there are situations when you decide not to listen to the seconds, but to act in your own way?
This is unprofessional, to be honest. But in combat, I often listen to my intuition. Lately, of course, I try to listen to the coach. But, as a rule, this applies to tactics for a fight. When I came out with the same Cavalari, I understood that I didn’t need to box with him, as with a technical fighter. I waited for his actions to work from them. Therefore, sometimes there were incomprehensible pauses. I pressed him and waited for him to come at me. I got smarter. As with Machado, I didn’t do it anymore, I didn’t chase him. Sometimes I waited: Come on, give me a low kick, and I'll hit you back!
In the comments on the Internet, you can find the opinion that Pasha Zhuravlev gained weight and became slower. What do you think about this?
I believe that I, on the contrary, have become faster and more serial. Became more powerful. Why they say that, I don't know. These are non-professionals. Now I don't pay attention anymore. The same thing when someone says: “Pasha, great fight!” He doesn't care how the fight went. Won - great. This is nice, but the value of such a comment is also zero. Another thing is to listen to the comments of an expert who understands this sport. Then his words are valuable.
As for fitness. Yes, I work a lot on my physical training and everyone sees it. Now before the fights I clean it. Only TRX for links. Because, indeed, physical training with heavy weights slows down the speed.
A month before the tournament you can swing. In two weeks you need to scatter, as we call it. We work for speed.
Gokan Saki in the UFC. What do you think about this?
Gokan Saki is one of the most talented fighters in the former K-1. As I understand it, he is no longer in Holland, he is being prepared in the Emirates. I believe that by percussion technique Saki is the strongest of all UFC fighters. Wrestling - we'll see.
Revenge Badr - Rico. Your favourite?
These are generally two opposites - Rico and Badr. Badr did a lot to popularize kickboxing. This big figure in kickboxing. And it's right, I think. He has charisma. He is a hitter. He has good timing, a sense of distance. His name will remain in the history of kickboxing for a long time. Another thing is what kind of person he is. I'm not attracted to people who beat other people in discos. I know that he can play a trick and he does not hide it.
Rico is completely different. Rico, he's like our Klitschko - positive to disgrace. I remember Rico when he first appeared in professional kickboxing. Perfect child. He was big and kind. A little bit funny. Such a plump one. I didn't box very well. And just three years ago, I would have easily won against Rico. But on last fights I understand that it will be difficult for me already with him. Because he got his shape. He is a very hard worker. People with such dimensions are hard. He works very hard. Because if he doesn't work, he'll be fat. His legs will be thick, his stomach will be. People with such complexion have it. Therefore, he only deserves respect. If Rico beats Badr, I won't be upset. If Badr beats Rico, then it will be a good shake-up for kickboxing in general.
Badr has one big minus - he is a fighter short fight. Rico is the opposite. If the fight is five-round and he goes through all five rounds, then I think Badr has no chance. Will he knock out Rico? Rico is currently training with boxers. With the same Tyson Fury. I see that he has changed a lot. He became mobile, became sharp. Really began to box. Our Odessa citizen, Sergey Lashchenko, once boxed with him, beat him. But Rico was completely different back then.
Last year, GLORY only signed Badr for one fight. And for how long did you sign the contract?
I have for a year. It can also be concluded separately. With Badr, I don't know whose initiative it was. Either Badr does not want to sign for a year, or the organizers are afraid to sign him for a long time. Because Badr is unpredictable. It could be a situation like with the younger Emelianenko. That is, he seems to be preparing, and then he beats pensioners drunk. It can happen to Badr too. He can throw whatever you want. And GLORY, as far as I understand, has such a position that they are trying to get away from all this crime. Many fighters in Holland have, shall we say, gang roots. You know that a couple of years ago there was even a proposal to even ban all fights in Amsterdam. Then they came to the fact that they removed the tables near the ring. Because, allegedly, representatives of criminal circles are sitting at these tables. Then somehow they settled. GLORY are trying to get away from this image. Therefore, Rico came in handy for them. He is flawless. And there are many questions for Badr.
The best P4P kickboxer today?
Yes.
A provocative question... I can name who I like. Definitely Badr. I would include Saki, Holzken, Riko... Levin, although I don't quite like his style. Rusmalen, Saenchay, Artur Kishenko... of course Zhuravlev and Vakhitov (smiles).
In October there will be a fight between Remy Bonjasky and Melvin Manhoef. How do you feel about such meetings of veterans?
The more fights the better. But in terms of anthropometry and the fighting technique of Bonyaska, Manhuf has nothing to catch there simply.
Biggest loss for GLORY?
I can be a little biased, because, first of all, I am interested in my category. Of course, Saki. I believe that if Saki and Spong were now at 95 kg, we would have become leaders in GLORY.
https://www.facebook.com/pavel.zhuravlev.94
Pavel "Kaiman" Zhuravlev is a fighter known to a wide range of kickboxing and Muay Thai fans. He is one of the strongest weightlifters weight category, repeatedly became the world champion both among amateurs and among professionals. For a long time, the fighter fought in fights according to the rules of K-1, which are very popular. Now he is fighting in the Glory promotion, where he got close to the reigning champion Artem Vakhitov.
Athlete characteristics
Pavel Zhuralev is a fighter with a wide range of abilities and skills. As a child, he was engaged in karate, boxing, kickboxing. Having moved to the adult level, he successfully combined performances in different types of martial arts. Nevertheless, Pavel Zhravlev himself prefers kickboxing, he feels most comfortable here. The Ukrainian fighter competes in the heavyweight division, acts tough and aggressively. His sharp, attacking style in the ring earned him the nickname "The Cayman".
Pavel Zhuravlev fought with the strongest kickboxers, on account of his duel with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovich himself. Throwing high-kicks of incredible power, Pavel is able to break the attacking ardor of any athlete and suppress him.
Dominating the ring, he acts like a real caiman and crocodile, ruthlessly clenching his jaw and not letting his opponent come to his senses.
Not without success, Pavel Zhuravlev tried his hand at Muay Thai, akin to kickboxing, fighting for the highest titles. However, more intensive work with elbows and knees was required here, in which the athlete is not particularly strong.
Possessing great muscle mass and strength, he acts in the ring with great speed. He explains this by the fact that he alternates periods of high-speed and strength training in your workouts.
The beginning of the way
Pavel Zhuravlev was born in Ukraine in the city of Saki in 1983. Since childhood, he was a very active boy, he was engaged in several sports at once. Like all boys, Pavel paid tribute to his passion for football, hitting the ball well. However, he hit not only the ball. At the same time, the guy enthusiastically hit the pear and his opponents in the karate and kickboxing sections.
At the junior level, he decided to try his hand at boxing, regularly participating in regional competitions. But boxing, limited by strict rules, did not attract Pavel as much as kickboxing, where a wide field for initiative opened up for him.
Amateur career
Having stepped over the age of majority, Pavel Zhuravlev relied on performances in kickboxing. He has achieved great success at the amateur level, immediately bursting into the world elite. Starting at the age of twenty, the fighter begins to methodically collect championship titles. Already in 2003, he became the world champion in kickboxing according to WAKO, and also took bronze at the world championship in Thai boxing. Later, he more than once makes successful forays into Muay Thai, already speaking as a professional.
Muay Thai is especially popular in Thailand. Fights of fighters gather a huge number of fans. A special Cup named after the King of Thailand was even organized here, which regularly gathers the strongest athletes. Pavel Zhuravlev also managed to take this prestigious prize into his collection, removing all rivals from his path in 2004.
In 2005, the future "cayman" last time participated in the amateur championship of the planet, finally winning the title of world champion according to IAKSA.
Early years at the professional level
Since 2005, Pavel Zhuravlev has been active in the professional ring. For 4 years he spent more than 50 fights. At this time, he breaks into the number best fighters The CIS and the world, having won victories over such reputable athletes as Alexei Kudin, Evgeny Angalevich.
The Ukrainian won his first title in 2008, becoming the WBKF world champion, performing in the weight category over 93 kg. In 2009, the fighter made a successful debut in the most prestigious K-1 kickboxing series. In his first fight, under the auspices of this promotion, Pavel Zhuravlev left no chance to the Turkish kickboxer Gokhan Saki and won by unanimous decision.
In 2009, the Ukrainian fighter took part in the World Kickboxing Championship in Moscow, which was held according to the W-5 version. This tournament brought together the CIS and was held in a very representative variant. In the semi-finals, Pavel Zhuravlev went up against Alexei Kudin and, in a stubborn confrontation, broke his resistance. Having gained excellent shape, the fighter was unstoppable in the final, defeating Konstantin Glukhov.
Exploits in K-1 and Glory
After 2010, fighter Pavel Zhuravlev concentrates on performances in K-1 tournaments. It was then that he met with Mirko Filippovich and other stars who later switched to MMA. He does not leave out of his attention and Muay Thai. In 2010 he went to title fight for the title of world champion in this sport according to WKN. The Ukrainian fighter met with the Australian Nathan Corbet, the fight took place in Melbourne. Corbet was known for his elbow work in the ring and successfully applied his skills against Pavel, outmaneuvering him in a close fight.
In the same year, a K-1 tournament was held in Russia for the first time, in which Pavel Zhuravlev managed to win. In the future, the Ukrainian did not slow down and won a variety of competitions, among which are: the SuperKombat Grand Prix, the King of Kings Grand Prix and the Legend Grand Prix.
Recently, the athlete has been performing under the auspices of Glory and is intensively preparing for the fight against Saulo Cavalari for the title of interim champion of this organization. Zhuravlev already has a victory over his future opponent, which took place in 2012 within K-1.
Pavel considers his main goal for today to be a fight against the strongest light heavyweight fighter Artem Vakhitov.
"There is no place for romance in global issues."
Until 2014 Officer of the Naval Forces of Ukraine. World Champion 2016 according to FFC in the weight category - 95kg; semi-finalist of the final Grand Prix K-1 2013, winner of the LEGEND tournament in the -93kg category, W5 world champion in the + 93kg weight category; winner of the KOK World Series; three-time WBKF world champion; two-time European kickboxing champion; two-time CIS champion in kickboxing; King of Thailand Cup winner in Thai boxing. Now he occupies the first line in the ranking of the world GLORY series in weight up to 95kg.
If all your titles are taken away, what will be left of you?
What you see now remains. Titles have no effect on me. Before you sits a man just with some kind of life experience. Titles are always temporary: today you are a champion, tomorrow you are gone. This does not affect my current behavior. Yes, this, of course, somehow corrects life, gives new experience, raises self-esteem. And this is not bad, this is the result of the work done, but “My shoes are not Me” is the result of the work done. Titles don't make me, I "make" them.
Weaknesses that helped you succeed?
There are a lot of weaknesses, but I prefer to deal with them. It helps to move forward. One of the pronounced weaknesses is the love of sweets. For any normal person, this is useless food, except for harm, carrying nothing. For an athlete, even more so. Already, scientists attribute cravings for sweets to a type of drug addiction.
Do you have to go through a lot to become a man? What did you have to go through, and did it make you a “human”?
Rather, it made me a person, not a person. Our most important experiences happen in childhood, when the question arises before you: where to go, why and why? Questions do not disappear, but you need to go. Obstacles in our path build character. I remember how in the military school I was forbidden to play sports. It was a little logical, but there was no point in arguing. Every morning I secretly practiced sports at dawn where it was forbidden. Why I did it, I don't know. It was not my plan to perform somewhere, fight for titles or medals, but I did something without which I could not just be myself. As a result, I graduated from a military university with a degree « electronic weapons of surface ships » . Many things in life are difficult to explain, one of them is my specialty.
At one time I graduated from a music school. I am proud that I myself asked my parents to enroll me there. I really liked the violin and cello, I dreamed of mastering at least one of these instruments.
Then I was 8 years old, I had already started doing karate. They didn’t take me to the violin, saying: “You either do karate or play the violin.” As a result, I studied for 5 years in the button accordion class, but after graduating from the music school I never took the button accordion in my hands. I consider myself unlucky.
Now I would like to get another education. I have a spiritual need to play musical instruments. I would like to play the piano. At home I have a synthesizer, I select music by ear, but I feel a lack of knowledge of musical notation. One of my favorite works is "Moonlight Sonata" and other works close to it in sound.
Can sports be called a business these days?
Today we communicate with you in Moldova. I want to note that the level set by the organizers of the fights here is not just high, it can be envied both in the CIS countries and in Europe. There is a structure, there is an idea, there are athletes. The idea is very important. Many organizers always lack one of three components: love for the cause, financial basis (opportunity), good attitude towards people. For many organizations, these three fundamental factors do not fit together. Some people have one but not the other, and vice versa. And here everything coincided perfectly, and this is not only my opinion, this is the opinion of the athletes who come to you for fights.
What is happening here is an incredible thing for many people in Europe, namely this sincere attitude towards people. You have no idea how rare this is.
Professional sport is a business, but in our post-Soviet space it is in its infancy. Athletes' fees do not yet allow them to feel comfortable. But work in this direction is underway. It is very important that there are people who are working on this. For me, money has never been the main motivation for playing sports. It's a way of life. But my dedication to the sport has allowed me to reach the professional ring and be successful in it.
Has the situation with Crimea affected your life personally?
Let's start with the fact that I was born, grew up and lived in the Crimea. After what happened in 2014, of course, I moved to Ukraine, and I did it in order to travel calmly and with a clear conscience to Russia, Moldova, the United States ... I believe that politicians with their pseudo goals put people in the most difficult situation. Naturally, all this affected me personally, as well as many people. The economy has changed, the mood of people in society has changed, hostilities continue. It is generally difficult for a normal person to imagine that one day, for fictitious reasons, people will start killing each other. This is hard to put up with.
I could have easily stayed in the Crimea, and they offered me good conditions, but that would have been dishonest. I do not divide Ukrainians and Russians, but what happened is wrong. There is a concept of honor. You can't do that. There will always be those who agree and those who disagree, but there are limits that cannot be crossed. I had to leave for a city unfamiliar to me, where I had absolutely no one. At that time, I was an officer in the Naval Forces of Ukraine, which doubled my responsibility. There is the concept of officer ethics, and this is not even discussed. I served in the Academy of the Naval Forces of Ukraine named after P.S. Nakhimov, and our staff was transferred to Odessa. If I had stayed, I would most likely have been Russian athlete would be on the team. Now I do not regret that I ended up in Odessa, and I do not blame those who considered it necessary to stay there. Everyone has their reasons, and everyone has their weighty ones.
An athlete who does not have the proper education, skills and experience has the right to engage in politics?
We know an athlete in politics in Ukraine and an athlete in politics in Moldova. Everyone has a different attitude towards them. I am not Vitali Klitschko, and I don’t know how he lives there today. Before all this, he was a universally respected person. He remains a legend, but he used to fight in the ring, and today he started talking. Of course, he gives out a lot of "pearls", but there are many "BUTs". What do I need as a voter from a politician: that he be honest; so that the person who puts forward his candidacy is not from this system - he is not a politician. Here is Vitali Klitschko for you. Why is he not nice to you? He gets caught for an interview and he says things that shouldn't be said, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person, that he's not trying to do something good for people. Active exaggeration of his “incidents” by the media is an elementary information war in order to once again denigrate a person.
If we take the Russian State Duma, there are worse characters there. In Europe, of course, everything is different, people there are carefully selected. A politician cannot afford to publicly make statements and then retract his words, but in our country, as in Russia, this is normal. I support Vitalik. Of course, when he goes to an interview with Posner, we understand what will happen now. There is a completely different intellectual level, but everyone should take care of themselves. We are very fond of reasoning and condemning, while they themselves are not able to connect two words. So let's start with ourselves.
Do politicians buy athletes for personal purposes, labeling them as "favorites"?
Today, a huge flurry of negativity fell on this topic in the direction of my esteemed Fedor Emelianenko. It was very strange for me to see athletes who turn away from him and say a bunch of offensive words. I am recently in in social networks put up a joint photo with Fedor and turned to all his ill-wishers, especially athletes. Many have forgotten, thanks to whom martial arts appeared in Russia and in our country, and who exactly brought this species sports to this level. Emelianenko became popular in the post-Soviet space at the end of his career. We didn’t invest a penny in him, we didn’t invest anything in Klitschko, just like in Taktarov, who is now in Hollywood ... There was no political program to support athletes, but now we are all proud of them. The Japanese and Americans made our athletes, but we still don't know how to make our champions. There is nothing wrong with the fact that there are people who invest in athletes. After all, there are human relationships, elementary friendship, for example. Let's not forget that envy has not been canceled either. If you are in the top, then there will definitely be groups of people who will put spokes in the wheels and spread gossip. Nobody has ever promoted me personally. I received all my titles abroad. No one has ever helped me, on the contrary, they have always thrown me into a meat grinder, so I am all for helping athletes, sponsoring them, and making their own local champions.
In Ukraine, the "Orange Revolution", in Georgia, the "Rose Revolution", Moldova next?
Let's start with the fact that Moldova was the first to turn over all the principles of the Soviet Union. You had Transnistria, is this not enough for you? I often come here, and I want to say that despite all the difficulties, the consequences of the crisis and everything that is happening in the world, people in Moldova think and reason differently than we do. I don’t know what this is connected with, with the location or with the fact that Moldova initially took a pro-European course, but here the mentality is different. You have not had visas for a long time, you can easily travel to other countries, many have been living and working there for a long time. This does not pass without consequences for the world outlook and mentality in general. You have long broken away from the "Soviet" look and lifestyle, which cannot be said about people living throughout Ukraine.
Time goes by, everything changes. You either keep up with the times, or you stay where there is no place for the present. The most important quality in a person is adaptability. A person can be smart and achieve nothing, he can be strong and also achieve nothing, but the ability to adapt and build the present in the present is the key to a successful life in all senses of the word.
The main factor in the greatest world upheavals?
Good stance and good deflection. (laughs). We have a conversation with you turned into politics, but I'm not a politician. Turning to historical sources, one of the pre-revolutionary factors is when "The bottom does not want, the top cannot." In this case, a collapse occurs. What happened in Ukraine in 2014 is a natural course of events. The government has become so corrupt and unpunished that the 90s seem like a peaceful time. People are tired of enduring, here is Maidan for you.
In the face of a great goal, no sacrifice will seem too great?
There is no place for romance in global issues. There is in life general rules which we for some reason forget. Life is unfair and everyone knows it. You don't have to think that tomorrow you will move your grandmother across the street, and it will be credited to you. It will never count for you, firstly, because you think about it. Any action should be natural and disinterested, especially when it comes to virtue. As for the greatness of the goal, it is extremely relative.
Does a person involved in sports, where violence and aggression are pronounced, suffer from a certain type of mental disorder?
I always tell my colleagues in the shop, especially those who have their own business or other kind of activity, but they still go to fight, train, etc., that we are all abnormal people, because a normal person does not need it. Probably, this has its own deviations from the norm and difference from the average person, but, in fact, what is the concept of the norm, and where is the border of normality?
Many years have passed since the time of gladiator fights, but do you still give bread and circuses to mankind?
MMA fighters, kickboxing, K1 are the gladiators of our time. The needs of people do not change, they will always need both bread and circuses... I think there will always be circuses and bread, but people are unlikely.
Who can be considered more bloodthirsty - an athlete in the ring doing his job, or a spectator jubilant looking at a bloody sport?
Let's take off our rose-colored glasses and remember that the world is not dandelions and butterflies. The world is very cruel in its principles and rules. Cruelty in people has always been and has not gone away. It has always been, is and will be.
Is the likelihood of being disabled in the ring worth the money that pays for a fight?
It is difficult to answer this question, probably, it's worth it. Whatever you do in life, you do not know at what moment your “brick” can find you. Each athlete has a mandatory insurance and there is an individual one. Eat different types sports, and the amount of your insurance depends on the sport. Of course, it is difficult to calculate the risks, but personally I know for sure that every two years I will have some kind of injury. Which one exactly, I don't know.
Is it important for you that your word in a dispute is the last one?
No. This is silly. My word may turn out to be wrong, and in a dispute it is important to get to the bottom of the truth, and not to assert oneself.
Can a mother's love not only elevate her child, but also make a monster out of him?
Excessive love for a child is not always beneficial. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Many mothers decide what is best for a child in life, not taking into account his desires and abilities, thereby suppressing him. A lot of children grow up psychologically traumatized precisely because of the wrong approach to their upbringing by their parents. And this affects their entire future life. For example, a healthy person with a healthy mind cannot strive for power. A normal person does not need power. It is obvious that childhood trauma is behind this, and quite deep. Children are always victims of the psychological problems of their parents.
Is every crisis a new opportunity? What do you think our crisis will bring us?
To be successful, you need to get out of your comfort zone. The crisis makes you activate, just like hunger and cold make the whole body work for you, generating energy. There is no crisis in Ukraine now, there are hostilities. This is not just a crisis, it is a crisis of crises. But we are not doing anything new, in the history of mankind everything is cyclical. This has happened more than once, and it will happen more than once. Each crisis provides an opportunity for a person to move to new level development, drawing conclusions and analyzing errors. It's uncomfortable, but necessary.
In sports, it's very simple. I don’t know if I will surprise you or not, you wait for each fight, prepare, worry, but before entering the ring (and I'm sure it's the same with every fighter) visits the thought: “Maybe not necessary? This is scary!" But it is precisely the struggle with one's own fear and victory over it that is true satisfaction.
Imagine a situation:
“You are on the railroad tracks. Three people are tightly tied in the middle of the railway, a train rushes towards them, and a person you do not know stands in front of you. You have very little time to make a decision. How will you do it:
- You will push the person in front under the train, thereby saving the tied people from death;
- You will move the arrow of the railway tracks, the train will derail, and then only the people on the train will suffer, but everyone else will be saved;
- You will remain indifferent, and come what may.
I remind you that there is no time for reflection and analysis.
I'm missing the original data. I need to know the details. This is a very serious issue, and therefore requires a deep analysis. You put me in a difficult position, I will not go on about and will not answer this question. You want me to become an accomplice or a perpetrator of a crime. No need to walk on the railroad tracks if someone is lying there. Here the question is for the railway services, why do they have people lying on the rails.
What vital questions have you not been able to find answers to?
Questions change over time. I think this question should be asked at the end of life, and now, I hope, I still have a lot of time to search for answers to any exciting questions. I think the main question that we carry through life is: “The meaning of everything, and why do we exist?”
According to statistics, a person lies three times in 10 minutes of conversation. How many times have you lied to me when answering questions?
I tried to be as sincere as possible. According to what kind of statistics, and by whom was it revealed? Show me these people who put forward this hypothesis, maybe they lied.
The most absurd act in your life?
Now nothing comes to mind. In general, I am very good.
What is your current state of mind?
Quietly waiting. I now had a short break in training due to an injury, now I have recovered and look forward to new fights and achievements.
