Volkov Collection EU, Moscow (2026)

03/01/2022

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

In the photo I took you can see not only the great Soviet skier, but also the girl who surprised the doctors after the operation ... But first things first.

Galina Kulakova – is 4-time Olympic champion, 5-time world champion, World Cup winner, 39-time USSR champion! It's not easy to imagine, but her professional sports career started by chance.

The girl went to school on skis and was engaged in the sport section. She participated in the competitions without much success. But in 1964 the amazing incident happened. Her sister, an athlete, fell ill and asked Galina to go to the competition instead of her: “Nobody knows you, nobody knows me. You will say: "I am Kulakova, and that's it!" Galina went to the competition and took the 2nd place. But the next day, it turned out that during that competition she was noticed by the coach Pyotr Neymushin and he offered her to go to the next competition.

In 1968, Galina had a chance to become an Olympic champion, but she could not cope with the descent and flew off the ski track. However, she returned home with two medals and began to work hard on her technique. Then Galina began to prepare for the 1970 World Championship and won in all races. But a disaster struck. She was taken to the hospital, and after the operation she had to learn to go again.

No one believed that Galina would be able to get up on the skis and return to sports. But she did everything possible and impossible. After a few weeks, she got to her feet and returned to training. When she won every single Olympic medal in Sapporo in 1972, not many people knew what the victory cost her.

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine what kind of fortitude, hard work and perseverance are worth such victories. Thanks to the story of Galina Kulakova, I want to believe that the impossible things can be possible! Do you agree?

▪️More stories on
▪️Visit our site where you can find rare photos

COLLECTIBLE PICTURES
Volkov Collection

14/11/2021

WHY DID A FAMOUS SPORTSMAN GET THE SECOND NAME?

◾️Photo by me, Volkov Evgeni◾️

The best goalkeeper of the USSR and the winner of the Asian Super Cup, Valeri Sarychev, has a lot of achievements as a goalkeeper. But do you know that Valery has got two different names? Valeri and Shin Eui-Son!? I'll tell you how it has happened.

From 1982 to 1991 Valeri played in “Torpedo”, where he won the bronze medal of the USSR championship twice (1988 and 1991). At the end of the 1991 season Valeri Sarychev went to see the South Korea: he was going to play there for a couple of years before retiring, but then he signed a contract with “Sonnam Ilhva Chunma”. In the first year, the team rose from the penultimate place to the second, while the skills of the new goalkeeper's game caused complete delight among the fans of the club: the club became a three-time champion of K-League - the top football division of South Korea, and the successful footballer decided to pursue a career ... But not everything was simple.

By the end of the 1990s most of the goalkeepers of K-League clubs were foreigners: there was a new ban on the presence of foreign goalkeepers in the teams. What did Valeri do? In 1999 he passed the exams and received South Korean citizenship and the Korean name Shin Eui-Son, which means “Hand of God”.

In 2005 he became a coach. He founded the first school for goalkeepers in Korea.

More stories about sportsmen on

10/10/2021

WHO DECEIVED IVAN PODDUBNY?

Ivan Poddubny became famous throughout the world for his strength and numerous victories in different battles. But once due to one unfair fight on the part of his rival, he wanted to leave the sport ... So there are some interesting facts about this great athlete:

▫️Ivan had several nicknames: Russian hero, Ivan “Irony”, Champion of champions, King of wrestlers;

▪️For 40 years of his performances he had not lost a single competition, tournament or championship (excepting some individual fights);

▫️The growth of “Bogatyr” (a hero of folk Russian legends) and the strength of Hercules were inherited from his father: Ivan considered him the only person who was stronger than him. But from his mother he inherited another ability - an ear for music: as a child the future wrestler sang in a church choir;

▪️From 1897 he performed in the circus arenas as a weightlifter and a wrestler: he visited many countries on tour;

▫️Some of the most famous fights were the fights with the Frenchman - Raoul Le Boucher. In the first fight Ivan didn’t win: his rival used a dishonest method of avoiding Ivan’s wrestling locks: Raoul Le Boucher smeared himself with oil. The decision of the judges on the victory of Raoul Le Boucher caused the anger of the public, and Ivan wanted to leave the sport after it. But there was the second fight where Ivan took revenge from the rival: he kept him in a knee-elbow position for 20 minutes and then the judges recognized Ivan's victory.

In the age of 55 Ivan continued to participate in tournaments and was recognized as the champion of America, who impressed everyone: not only with his strength, but also with sports longevity!

06/10/2021

On page there are more and more stories about famous football players: their childhood, career, victories and defeats.

My family has managed to take pictures of sportsmen’s lives: from the beginning of their careers to their end.

Here you can find an exclusive photo of Eduard Streltsov and the photos of such a legendary goalkeeper as Lev Yashin: their pictures are innumerable in our collection. I have not managed to show everything yet.

Follow for new posts with rare photos and interesting stories of football stars!

04/10/2021

FORBIDDEN ELEMENT

▪️The picture was taken by me, Volkov Evgeni ▪️

The Internet is full of the news about great results in Tokyo! We`d like to congratulate not only the Russian Olympic Committee, but also the Great Britain`s team: the women’s gymnastics team scored 164.096 and took an outstanding bronze. They have made history, winning a sensational bronze medal!

The first Olympic gymnastics competition was in 1896 and only men took part in it. Women`s gymnastics was not competed until 1928.

In the picture you can see the outstanding champion – Olga Korbut. Korbut's acrobatics and open high-level gymnastics brought her the fame. To this day, Korbut Flip is still very popular. But Korbut Loop is forbidden technique in gymnastics: the world famous element, which was named in the honor of the gymnast, who first performed it, appeared during the training sessions. But because of the risk of injury it was prohibited.

Follow and read posts about sport!)

06/07/2021

THE GRANDMOTHER OF FIGURE SKATING: “YOU MUST GIVE EVERYTHING TODAY! YOU WON`T HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE!”
Tatyana Granatkina stood at the origins of formation of Russian Figure Skating School. She was a trainer for many children, who she found everywhere and a lot of them became the world stars then. Her working place was the stadium of young pioneers and it felt like she never left it. Her voice was heard even at the underground!
Among her students there was Elena Osipova (Chaikovskaya), Ludmila Pahomova, Tatyana Nemtsova and others. She went into sport coaching in the 30th of the last century and she didn’t quit her performances in single skating and pair skating with Aleksandr Tolmachev, her future husband. During the war she organized exhibition competitions for soldiers. Her executive talent had no borders! Around her everything was going round and round!
Her brother Valentin Granatkin was a sportsman too, a hockey and a football player. He used to go to the figure skating competitions. At that time there was no international contest, that’s why the success was limited to All-Soviet Union competitions.
Tatyana Granatkina became Merited Master of Sport, a sevenfold champion in single and twofold champion in pair skating. Along with that, she got the title of Honored coach. Tatyana and other famous enthusiasts such as Panin N. and Glayzer S. organized the sport school. She was strict, but fair-minded. She scolded “blockheads and featherheads” who couldn’t do jumps. She ran to the ice to show how to do some elements! She fell, stood up, laughed and said «Do you want to kill the trainer!? Blockheads!” Though she was strict, she never scolded for the failures and said “not a big deal! Next time you`ll be more concentrated!” But that next time she would say: “you must give everything today! You get this in your nut – you won`t have another chance!”

24/04/2021

Lyubov Paradieva and her famous picture in the air

Lyubov is a famous rhythmic gymnast, we can list her merits forever.

For example, did you know that Lyubov was the one who introduced rhythmic gymnastics to the Olympic Games? After her report presentation at Sports Congress in 1974, the President of the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education Sir Philip Noel-Baker promised Lyubov that he'd done everything he could to make rhythmic gymnastics an Olympic sport. 6 years later, rhythmic gymnastics has officially become one of the Olympic Games sports.

Lyubov has also succeeded in her education and in working as a University professor. After graduating from a romano-german department at Kyiv State University, she became an English language professor. All that while training and performing professionally at various competitions in rhythmic gymnastics!

Lyubov is admirable and just an amazing athlete! Did you know that she has done that much during her career in sports?

Happy International Women's Day! Dear women, we wish that you always be in a good mood and all your dreams come true!🌸

Picture taken by Evgeny Volkov, 1963

Volkov Collection EU

03/01/2022

14/11/2021

10/10/2021

06/10/2021

04/10/2021

06/07/2021

24/04/2021

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category