Grigorii Pylnov

Born Sept. 15 (28), 1907, in the village of Karlovka, now in Pugachev Raion, Saratov Oblast; died Jan. 22, 1942, in the village of Staraia Bryn’, Sukhinichi Raion. Soviet athlete. Honored Master of Sports (1942). Member of the CPSU from 1941.

From 1933 to 1941, Pyl’nov was on the teaching staff of the State Central Institute of Physical Education in Moscow. He was one of the country’s best Greco-Roman wrestlers in the 1930’s and champion of the USSR seven times between 1933 and 1941. From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, Pyl’nov served with the Detached Special Mission Mechanized Rifle Brigade; he died while carrying out a combat mission. Since 1958 competitions in Greco-Roman wrestling dedicated to Pyl’nov’s memory have been held in Moscow.