RUSSIAN WRESTLING

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32564, 25 March 1971, Page 22

RUSSIAN WRESTLING

From early boyhood every youngster in the Soviet Tuva Automous Republic, located in a narrow mountain valley in the heart of jAsia, dreams of entering the “KhUresh”, a national wrestling competition that in popularity perhaps equals the corrida, or bullfight, among the Spanish, says the Novosti Press Agency. The wrestling itself is accompanied by a whole pa-

geant, and plays an important recreational role in Tuvinian national life.

The names of champion wrestlers are known to everyone, and there is a long tradition of songs and stories which have been woven around such men since -the earliest times. Many sculptors have used the Khuresh’s dramatic contest as a source of subject matter. (See picture below.

The Khuresh attracts thousands of spectators from

neighbouring towns, villages and republics, and from as far afield as Mongolia. The pageant begins with the traditional march-past of wrestlers, dressed for the contest, in waistcoast, trunks and high boots. The popularity of the Khuresh has spread among Other Siberian nationalities to such an extent that the U.S.S.R. Sports Federation has drafted a special statute to organise regular tournaments in the sport.