Valery Nikititch Rukhledev (born 18 January 1948) is a Russian sports activist. He is also a 6 time gold medalist in wrestling for the

Soviet Union 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 ...

at the

Deaflympics The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...

from 1969 to 1977. He served as the president of the Comite International des Sports des Sourds (International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), in English) from 2013 to 2018. He retired from the position as President of ICSD on 31 July 2018 after being charged on embezzlement charges in a corruption scandal, in which he was accused of embezzling $803,800 from the All-Russian Society of the Deaf. He was later replaced by Australian

Rebecca Adam Rebecca Adam is an Australian lawyer and business executive. She was President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) between 2018 and 2019, who also served as a former President of Deaf Sports Australia. On 1 August 2018, ...

as ICSD President on 1 August 2018 which created further controversy in the Deaf sports world.

Biography

Born on 18 January 1948 in

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Siber ...

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

, Rukhledev studied at deaf schools in

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast — Kuzbass (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть — Кузба́сс, translit=Kemerovskaya oblast — Kuzbass, ), also known simply as Kemerovo Oblast (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть, label=non ...

and in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

Sports career

Rukhledev was a 6-time champion in men's wrestling at the Deaflympics from 1969 to 1977. He represented the

in 1969,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, and in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. He was voted as one of the best deaf athletes across the world of the 20th century. In addition to wrestling, he specialized in other martial arts such as

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

. Rukhledev was the Soviet national champion at the 1971 Sambo Championship.

Administration

In 1993, he founded the Sports Union for the Deaf in Russia after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

and served as the first President of the Federation. He is currently a member of the Russian Presidential Council on People with Disabilities, headed by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. In 2013, he was elected as the 9th President of the

International Committee of Sports for the Deaf International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ICSD). Rukhledev also ran for the Presidential post in 2005 and 2009. * President of All-Russian Society of the Deaf (2003–2018) * Chairman of the Russian Committee of Deaf Sports (2010–2013) * Member of the

World Federation of the Deaf The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends. WFD aims ...

(2007–2011) * President of the ICSD (2013–2018)

Allegations

In May 2018, he was reprimanded and arrested for involving in forgery charges regarding the embezzlement of $803, 800 from the All-Russian Society of the Deaf while he was serving as the post of the society as well as the post of ICSD President. He was kept in house arrest for more than 2 months until 23 July 2018. While he was under house arrest, Kang Chen; one of the key members of ICSD was appointed as the acting President of International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. On 31 July 2018, he announced his resignation as ICSD President following the scandal and was replaced by

on 1 August 2018 after being unanimously selected for the position until 2021 during the ICSD committee meeting. However this incident created further controversy as top Deaf sports movements criticised the appointment of Rebecca Adam without proper consent and approval. The arrest of former president, Rukhledev cautioned concerns over Italy in hosting the 2019 Winter Deaflympics but was later confirmed that the games would proceed despite the change in administration.

Awards and honours

* One of the top 10 ICSD/ Deaflympics athlete of the Century Recipients * Edward Miner Gallaudet Award at the

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

(2016) * Doctorate in Philosophy from

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rukhledev, Valery 1948 births Living people Russian male sport wrestlers Deaf martial artists Deaf activists Russian deaf people