Gorbenko: Victory tournament confirms interest in Russian wrestling school

A recent publication on the official website of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says that on October 17 and 18, the X International Greco-Roman Wrestling Tournament “Victory” is held in the Russian capital, timed to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia.

More than a thousand young athletes aged from 5 to 16 years, representing the regions of Russia and 10 foreign countries, namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Turkmenistan and Turkey, will participate in the competitions.

The program of the anniversary competitions for the first time will unite culture and sport. So, on October 18, spectators and guests of the tournament will have the opportunity to see the premiere of the play directed by Zarina Mukhitdinova, dedicated to the life of the outstanding wrestler Ivan Poddubny and timed to the 155th anniversary of his birth. The main role in the production will be played by Russian athlete and actor Oleg Taktarov.

In addition, participants and guests of the event will be able to visit the art exhibition dedicated to sports, play checkers and chess with robots in the interactive zone of the Robot Corporation and meet with favorite heroes of the Soyuzmultfilm film studio. There will also be open lectures, where the audience will be told how spaces for major sporting events are created in Russia and other countries of the world.

On the days of the competitions, an exposition will be shown on media screens telling about the participating countries – their culture, scientific discoveries, sports achievements and prospects for cooperation. The tournament will be visited by honorary guests, including, in particular, Olympic champions Alexander Karelin and Roman Vlasov, Honored Coach of Russia Irina Viner, President of the Russian Wrestling Federation Mikhail Mamiashvili, as well as ambassadors and official representatives of the states participating in the competitions.

“The tenth anniversary tournament “Victory” proves that the interest in the Russian school of Greco-Roman wrestling and our sports traditions from the foreign community remains consistently high,” said Alexander Gorbenko, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Regional Security and Information Policy.

The deputy head of the Russian capital drew attention to the fact that in modern realities such competitions go far beyond the limits of judicial protocols, becoming an effective platform for strengthening interstate ties, cultural dialogue and the formation of mutual respect among the younger generation. The format of the tournament allows to lay a solid foundation for long-term international cooperation in the field of physical culture and youth sports.

As Gorbenko noted, this year the project exceeded the framework of classical competitions, combining wrestling fights, modern technologies and high art on one platform. The wrestlers here not only compete, but also communicate, learn from their opponents, learn from each other’s traditions, and this format helps to educate an open and diverse generation.

The competitions are organized by ANO “Victory League” with the support of the Moscow Department of Sports. The tournament has been held since 2023, during which time more than seven thousand wrestlers came out on the carpet. The event corresponds to the goals of the state programs of the Russian Federation “Development of Physical Culture and Sports” and “Sport of Russia” and the information campaign “Motivation to engage in sports and promotion of sports infrastructure”, one of the objectives of which is to increase the proportion of citizens systematically engaged in physical culture and sports to 70% by 2030.