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RE: WORLD BODYBUILDING HISTORY. HOW IT WAS IN REAL - Secretary_International - 06-08-2026
WORLD BODYBUILDING HISTORY.
USSR BODYBUILDING FEDERATION WAS CREATED IN KLAIPEDA.
In 1986, while preparing the “Amber Prix” tournament, Edmundas Daubaras returned to active organizational work in bodybuilding in Klaipeda. The circumstances were favorable for such a return: he had completed his law studies at Vilnius State University, and his personal life had become more stable. Anatolij Goncarov, President of the Klaipeda City Bodybuilding Federation and a People's Judge, had repeatedly encouraged Daubaras to rejoin the city's bodybuilding movement. Apparently, 1986 was the right time to do so.
At that time, three bodybuilding clubs were operating in Klaipeda. There was no shortage of athletes, and many competitors regularly participated in contests. However, the city lacked outstanding personalities who could emerge as true leaders of the sport. Over time, the “Amber Prix” tournament itself had become somewhat routine. This was likely one of the main reasons why Edmundas Daubaras was invited back into active organizational work.
While organizing the 1986 “Amber Prix” tournament, Daubaras invited Vladimir Dubinin, a former prominent Soviet bodybuilder from Leningrad, to Klaipeda. Following his defeat at the 1974 Georg Tenno Memorial, Dubinin had virtually withdrawn from competitive bodybuilding and public life for nearly thirteen years. Nevertheless, he accepted the invitation and arrived in Klaipeda.
Although the competition itself proceeded according to the usual format, after the event Daubaras hosted an informal gathering at his home. Among those invited were several influential leaders of Soviet bodybuilding: Vladimir Dubinin, Moscow representative Vladimir Shubov, and Arkadiy Kashansky, who represented the Ukrainian SSR. Innar Mardo was not present, and Roman Kalinauskas was not considered for invitation due to previous disagreements.
During the meeting, Edmundas Daubaras presented two strategic issues for discussion. The first proposal was to organize a major international bodybuilding tournament within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Such an event would help attract the attention of the central Soviet sports authorities and strengthen bodybuilding’s position within the official sports structure. Vladimir Dubinin agreed to take responsibility for the initiative and began organizing the international “White Nights” tournament in Leningrad.
The second issue concerned the establishment of an official USSR Bodybuilding Federation under the USSR State Sports Committee. Until then, the informal leadership tandem of Roman Moroz and Roman Kalinauskas had failed to provide consistent direction for Soviet bodybuilding and lacked meaningful support from the central sports administration.
Drawing on his experiences in Czechoslovakia, where he had observed the successful cooperation between the Czechoslovak Bodybuilding Federation and the country's Ministry of Sports (ČSTV), Daubaras proposed a clear plan of action. Vladimir Shubov and Vladimir Dubinin, who already possessed valuable contacts within Soviet sports institutions, were tasked with pursuing the federation's official recognition through the USSR Weightlifting Federation. The participants supported the proposal and quickly began taking practical steps toward its implementation.
Later that same year, Vladimir Dubinin successfully organized the international “White Nights” tournament at the prestigious Oktyabrsky Concert Hall in Leningrad. The event soon became one of the most respected bodybuilding competitions in the Soviet Union.
Following this meeting, Edmundas Daubaras turned his attention to another important issue—the search for a new bodybuilding leader in Klaipeda. The city lacked athletes capable of competing successfully at the highest level. Although there were promising competitors, the shortage of qualified coaching had prevented Klaipeda bodybuilders from achieving top results for several years in the Soviet Union’s most prestigious competitions: the “Amber Prix,” the “Georg Tenno Memorial”, and the Kaunas “Komsomol Cup”.
In his search for the most promising candidate, Daubaras focused on Viktoras Jucys. In his view, Jucys possessed all the qualities necessary to become the new leader of Klaipėda bodybuilding. Thus began Viktoras Jucys’s journey toward sporting prominence.
The athlete’s preparation incorporated foreign training methodologies, Daubaras’s accumulated knowledge, and years of practical experience. Equally important was the influence of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding, one of whose principal architects was Ceslav Tamulevic. Special emphasis was placed not only on perfecting the compulsory poses but also on developing high-quality posing routines.
As Vitalij Asovskij, a disciple of Ceslav Tamulevic, once remarked: “If you woke any athlete from the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding in the middle of the night and pulled him out of bed, he could perform any compulsory pose flawlessly, almost while still asleep.”
These principles became the foundation of Viktoras Jucys’s preparation for future competitions and his rise within the sport.
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RE: WORLD BODYBUILDING HISTORY. HOW IT WAS IN REAL - Secretary_International - 06-09-2026
1976–1977 “AMBER PRIX” TOURNAMENTS.
THE FIRST PUBLIC BODYBUILDING COMPETITIONS IN THE USSR AFTER THE BAN.
In 1976, Edmundas Daubaras organized the “Amber Prix” tournament together with the “Zemaitija Cup” in the city of Telsiai, Lithuania. The strength events were held in one of the city’s schools, while the physique presentation program took place at the Telsiai Culture Palace. These competitions became the first publicly held bodybuilding contest in the Soviet Union after bodybuilding had been officially banned.
At that time, bodybuilding in the USSR was prohibited and actively persecuted by Soviet authorities. Nevertheless, Edmundas Daubaras succeeded in convincing the administration of the Culture Palace that the event violated no regulations. The competition was openly advertised to local residents, and the hall was filled with spectators. Organizing such an event involved considerable personal risk, but the tournament proceeded successfully and without consequences from the authorities.
Athletes from Vilnius, Klaipeda, and Siauliai participated in the event.
Winners of the 1976 Tournament
Junior Group Winners
• Rimas Apulskis
• Stasys Stanius
• Rimas Cesaitis
Youth Group Winners
• Antanas Basermanas
• Aimontas Dolgichas
• Evaldas Sorius
Adult Group Winners
• Valentinas Vandys
• Risardas Krinickis
Overall Champions
• Rimas Apulskis
• Evaldas Sorius
• Rišardas Krinickis
For comparison, an international bodybuilding event held in Kaunas the same year took place secretly in a factory cultural hall outside the city and without spectators. Another international bodybuilding competition organized in Kalinin (now Tver, RSFSR) was officially prohibited by authorities, yet athletes still staged the contest in a tiny local sports club as an act of protest. Only a small circle of supporters attended.
In 1976, while training at the Vilnius “Viktorija” club, Edmundas Daubaras met lawyer Grigorij Leonov, who had just graduated from the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University and had been appointed as a people’s judge in Klaipėda.
After Grigorij Leonov moved to Klaipeda, Edmundas Daubaras persuaded him to assume leadership of the city’s bodybuilding movement. The reasoning was practical: a judge’s position opened doors among city officials and made it easier to establish legal opportunities for athletes. While Edmundas Daubaras continued to manage organizational matters, Grigorij Leonov worked on creating legitimate legal foundations for bodybuilding activities in Klaipeda.
In 1977, the “Klaipeda Bodybuilding Federation” was officially registered under the Klaipeda City Sports Committee. This was an unprecedented development in the entire Soviet Union. Although bodybuilding remained banned throughout the USSR, Klaipeda now had an officially functioning bodybuilding federation. It remained the only legally operating bodybuilding federation in the Soviet Union until 1987, when the USSR Bodybuilding Federation was established under the USSR Ministry of Sports.
By legal means, all unofficial bodybuilding clubs in Klaipeda were closed, leaving only three clubs operating under the federation:
• “Gintaras” — headed by Edmundas Daubaras
• “Satrija” — headed by Sigitas Vilutis
• “Alksnyne” — headed by Oleg Serov
The public competitions in Telsiai caused a sensation throughout the Soviet bodybuilding community. Many were astonished that such an event could take place openly. The leader of bodybuilding in the Estonian SSR, Innar Mardo (1945–2002), sent a letter of support to Edmundas Daubaras and promoted the “Amber Prix” tournament in Czechoslovak sports publications.
Encouraged by the success in Telsiai, Edmundas Daubaras, assisted by his father Vytautas Daubaras, organized the 1977 “Amber Prix” tournament at the Klaipeda Seaport Culture Palace. This event featured only physique presentation categories without strength exercises. Once again, the tournament was public, and local athletes personally spread information about the competition among supporters. The hall was filled with enthusiastic spectators.
Athletes from Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipeda participated in the 1977 tournament, which further strengthened Lithuania’s role as the center of unofficial Soviet bodybuilding during the years of prohibition.
1977 “Amber Prix” Tournament
In 1977, Edmundas Daubaras organized the public “Amber Prix” bodybuilding tournament at the Klaipeda Seaport Culture Palace. Athletes from Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipeda participated in the competition. The hall was full of spectators invited by the athletes and their supporters. These contests became one of the first public bodybuilding events in the Soviet Union after the sport had been officially banned.
Junior Division
First Height Category
1st place – Viaceslav Chleborodov (Vilnius)
2nd place – Edvardas Burba (Klaipėda)
3rd place – Rimas Apulskis (Klaipėda)
Second Height Category
1st place – Boris Dolgov (Vilnius)
2nd place – Benas Uckus (Kaunas)
3rd place – Nikolajus Kuznecovas (Vilnius)
Third Height Category
1st place – Stepan Nevera (Vilnius)
2nd place – Evaldas Sorius (Klaipėda)
3rd place – Edvardas Miseniovas (Kaunas)
Adult Division
First Height Category
1st place – Algimantas Kersulis (Vilnius)
2nd place – Vytautas Daubaras (Vilnius)
3rd place – Jonas Zurauskas (Kaunas)
Second Height Category
1st place – Kestutis Petrosius (Vilnius)
2nd place – Risardas Krinickis (Vilnius)
3rd place – Stasys Maksimovas (Kaunas)
Third Height Category
1st place – Stasys Cukanovas (Vilnius)
2nd place – Albertas Besakirskas (Kaunas)
3rd place – Vytautas Zenkevicius (Klaipėda)
Overall Winners
Junior Division – Borisas Dolgovas
Adult Division – Stasys Cukanovas
THE 1977 STRUGGLE AGAINST THE POLITICAL DECISIONS OF THE USSR AUTHORITIES.
1977: THE INTENSIFICATION OF BODYBUILDING PERSECUTION IN THE USSR
In 1977, Edmundas Daubaras once again travelled to the Czechoslovak SSR for two months under a university exchange program. The sports activity program was similar to that of previous years and included meetings with the President of the Czechoslovak Bodybuilding Federation, Vojtech Fiala, as well as with the federation’s vice-president, Professor Frantisek Bulva.
Seeking to demonstrate loyalty to their government, the Czechoslovak officials organized a meeting for Edmundas Daubaras, as a representative of Soviet bodybuilding, with the leadership of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Sports. At that time, the Czechoslovak Bodybuilding Federation already had its own office within the ministry, where the federation’s secretary, the well-known bodybuilder Peter Tlapak, was working.
Vojtech Fiala also arranged Edmundas Daubaras’ visit to the national Olympic training center located in a mountain resort area. At that time, members of the national bodybuilding team were preparing there for the World Championships. Meetings and discussions took place with athletes and coaches.
Later, Edmundas Daubaras visited the city of Brno, where Professor Frantisek Bulva organized two meetings of the Council of the Czechoslovak Bodybuilding Federation. Edmundas Daubaras attended these meetings as a guest and delivered a presentation on the situation of bodybuilding in the USSR.
1977: THE INTENSIFICATION OF BODYBUILDING PERSECUTION IN THE USSR
In 1977, the persecution of bodybuilding in the USSR intensified even further. The USSR Ministry of Sports issued directives calling for stricter measures against bodybuilding, and the sports ministries of the Soviet republics repeated and actively enforced these orders. At the same time, a coordinated campaign against bodybuilding began in the Soviet press. Particularly aggressive criticism came from journalist Dmitry Ivanov of the newspaper Sovietsky Sport. As pressure mounted, nearly all prominent bodybuilding organizers throughout the USSR fell silent.
Refusing to accept the situation and drawing inspiration from the examples he had witnessed in Czechoslovakia, Edmundas Daubaras began corresponding with the editorial office of Sovietsky Sport, the USSR Weightlifting Federation, and officials of the USSR Ministry of Sports. However, these efforts produced no positive results.
At the end of 1977, Edmundas Daubaras, together with the best bodybuilders of the city, took part in the “Georg Tenno Memorial” held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It was one of the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions in the USSR at the time. The most successful performance came from Patras Stanius, who won third place in the junior category.
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