Aleksandr Borisovich Kozhukhov (russian: Александр Борисович Кожухов; 3 June 1942 – 4 September 2008) was "The USSR Merited Master of Sports", "The Merited Coach of the USSR national handball team", and the "USSR Merited Figure of Physical Culture". He was a Russian,

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player, who became president of the

USSR Handball Federation The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(1990–1992) and a president for the

Handball Union of Russia The Handball Federation of Russia (russian: Федерация гандбола России) commonly known by its acronym, HFR, is the national sport governing body, governing body of team handball, handball in Russia. Its headquarters are in Mo ...

(1992–2004) before being the Honorary President of the

(2004–2008).

Life and career

Kozhukhov was born in Shubarkuduk village of

Aktobe Province The Aktobe Region ( kk, Ақтөбе облысы, Aqtöbe oblysy; russian: Актюбинская область, translit=Aktyubinskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. The name ''Aktobe'' comes from Kazakh language, Kaz ...

of modern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. He started his handball career in 1957 as an amateur player, then he was invited to join

Avangard L'vov Avangard can mean: * Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle) a Russian weapon system ** Avangard, the R&D codename for the RS-26 Rubezh, a Russian ICBM * Avangard Budy a bandy club from the Ukraine * Avangard Omsk an ice hockey team in Omsk, Russia * A ...

a second division handball team in the USSR Handball Championship. Aleksandr stayed for eleven years in

Lvov Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

city of modern

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

playing for

Avangard Lvov Avangard can mean: * Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle) a Russian weapon system ** Avangard, the R&D codename for the RS-26 Rubezh, a Russian ICBM * Avangard Budy a bandy club from the Ukraine * Avangard Omsk an ice hockey team in Omsk, Russia * A ...

and SKA Lvov before he moved to MIA Moscow in 1968 where he started a career, winning the USSR Handball Championship for five times. In 1967 Kozhukhov was called up to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

when he made his first appearance during the Military

Spartakiad The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

of the Friendly Armies of the Socialist Countries and a third-place finish for the USSR. He also participated in the

1970 World Men's Handball Championship The 1970 World Men's Handball Championship was the seventh team handball World Championship. It was held in France between 26 February-8 March 1970. Romania won the championship. Qualification :1First Canada was qualified but was disqualified be ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, finishing ninth, coming third in group stage after

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Kozhukhov retired in 1977 and became the head coach for the USSR handball national team. Aleksandr remained as the USSR handball national team head coach until 1992 even after he was elected by the Congress of the Handball Union of the USSR to be the president of the Union until the dissolution of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In 1992 the second conference of the

was held in

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, and Sasha was elected the first president of the Handball Union of the independat Russian Federation following Vladimir Maksimov the president of the Handball Union of

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. In 1993 Sasha became a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Olympic Committee, till he finally became the Honorary President of the

in 2004. Kozhukhov died in 2008.

Honours

MIA Moscow

* Champions of the USSR Handball Championship: 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975

USSR

* Champion of the Trade Unions Spartakiade in 1969 * Bronze medal of the Military Spartakiade of Friendly Armies of Socialist Countries in 1967

HUR President

IHF Ring of Honour The Ring of Honour may be awarded on special occasions (personal anniversary, selection as the World Handball Player of the Year, etc.) to outstanding individuals for their exceptional contribution to the sport of handball Handball (also known ...

* Silver Olympic Order *

Hans Baumann Trophy The Hans Baumann Trophy, which was endowed by the Spanish members of the IHF, commemorates the late President of the IHF (1950 to 1971), Hans Baumann. It is awarded to IHF member federations from 1972 to 2015. In 2017, the IHF Council decided to ...

in 2002

Individual

Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовое отличие») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour o ...

(russian: За трудовое отличие) *

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовую доблесть») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or ...

(russian: За трудовую доблесть) *

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(russian: Орден "Знак Почета") * Order of Honour (russian: Орден "Почета") *

Order For Merit to the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(4th Class) (russian: Орден "За заслуги перед Отечеством" - 4 степени)

References

External links

Honorary President of the Handball Union of Russia
(Russian) (English)
IHF mourns passing of Alexander Kozhukhov

Handball world mourns death of Alexander Kozhukhov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozhukhov, Aleksandr 1942 births 2008 deaths Russian male handball players Soviet male handball players Presidents of the Handball Union of Russia Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery People from Aktobe Region