Latest / The Grapplezilla Podcast
#73 - Jewish Wrestling Champions of the USSR: The Untold History of Soviet Wrestling
In the Soviet Union, "Line 5" (pyataya grafa) on your internal passport listed your ethnic nationality. If it said "Jewish," it could quietly close doors to university spots, job promotions, and career ceilings for your entire life.
But there was one place in the USSR where a bureaucrat with a stamp and a quota couldn't touch you: the wrestling mat. Because a pin is a pin, and either your back touches the ground or it doesn't.
In this episode of the Grapplezilla Podcast, we break down the extraordinary history of the Jewish wrestlers and coaches who didn't just survive the brutal Soviet…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.