Vladas Cesiunas
Encyclopedia
Vladislovas "Vladas" Česiūnas (born March 15, 1940) is a Soviet
-born Lithuania
n sprint canoer
who competed in the early 1970s. He won one Olympic medal and six ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medals during his career. He later became known for his role in "The Česiūnas Affair" when he defected from the 1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
in Duisburg
, West Germany
(now Germany
near Düsseldorf
) only to return to the Soviet Union
afterwards for his "misconduct".
in Munich
, Česiūnas won gold in the C-2 1000 m
with Yuri Lobanov
. He also won six canoe sprint world championship medals with four golds (C-2 1000 m: 1974
, C-2 10000 m: 1973, 1974, 1975
), one silver (C-2 1000 m: 1973), and one bronze (C-1 1000 m: 1971).
in Duisburg, West Germany, Česiūnas attended the event as a spectator. During the event he vanished, the first in a series of defections that would later include principal ballet dancers
Alexander Godunov
, Leonid Kozlov
and Valentina Kozlov, and figure skaters
Oleg Protopopov
and Ludmila Belousova
.
However, while he was studying German
in Dortmund
, KGB
agents allegedly swooped in and took Česiūnas back to the Soviet Union
.
The Soviets claimed that Česiūnas had met a woman named Ursula Vorkhert who invited to spend the night with him and then drugged him up. Česiūnas later appeared with anti-Communist Lithuanians and being asked to speak out in favor of a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics
in Moscow
, two months before the Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan
and almost six months before American
President
Jimmy Carter
's actual boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Česiūnas made his way to the Soviet Embassy in Bonn
- "not without incident" and returned to the Soviet Union and imprisoned with a fractured skull according to Kurt Rebmann, West Germany's chief federal public prosecutor in 1979. Another reason the Soviets were concerned also had to do with a possible book Česiūnas had planned to publish on doping
in the Soviet Union prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Soviets later toned down their rhetoric on the incident, stating Česiūnas had "got[ten] into dubious company" while the West Germans continued to maintain he had been kidnapped.
In 2002 telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times
, Česiūnas stated he returned from West Germany voluntary but was threatened by Soviet officials with fifteen years of hard labor in a coal mine for his defection and was not imprisoned only due to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Moscow. As a result, Česiūnas was demoted from his custom agent position to being a civilian coach at a children's sports school which paid only a third the salary of his customs position.
("Cross of the Knight") and the Commemorative Medal of 13 January. In 2000, Česiūnas was informed that Vorkhert, whom he met in Lithuania in 1998 after the country's 1991 independence, had died at 75. Česiūnas later returned to his customs position, becoming head of shifts for Lithuanian customs as of 2002. He also received monthly pensions from the Soviet and Lithuanian Olympic Committee of USD
30 and USD 120, respectively.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-born Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n sprint canoer
Canoe racing
This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....
who competed in the early 1970s. He won one Olympic medal and six ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medals during his career. He later became known for his role in "The Česiūnas Affair" when he defected from the 1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, West Germany.The men's competition consisted of six Canadian and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak....
in Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(now Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
) only to return to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
afterwards for his "misconduct".
Sporting career
At the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Česiūnas won gold in the C-2 1000 m
Canoeing at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's C-2 1000 metres
The men's C-2 1000 metres event was an open-style, pairs canoeing event conducted as part of the Canoeing at the 1972 Summer Olympics program.-Medalists:-Heats:The 16 teams first raced in two heats on September 5...
with Yuri Lobanov
Yuri Lobanov
Yuri Lobanov is a Soviet-born Tajik sprint canoer who competed from the early 1970s to the early 1980s...
. He also won six canoe sprint world championship medals with four golds (C-2 1000 m: 1974
1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mexico City, Mexico in neighboring Xochimilco. This marked the first time the championships took place out side of Europe. , all championships have taken place either in Europe or North America...
, C-2 10000 m: 1973, 1974, 1975
1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for the second time, having hosted them in 1971. This also equaled the most times a city had done so with Copenhagen, Denmark ....
), one silver (C-2 1000 m: 1973), and one bronze (C-1 1000 m: 1971).
The Česiūnas Affair
At the 1979 canoe sprint World Championships1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, West Germany.The men's competition consisted of six Canadian and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak....
in Duisburg, West Germany, Česiūnas attended the event as a spectator. During the event he vanished, the first in a series of defections that would later include principal ballet dancers
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....
Alexander Godunov
Alexander Godunov
Alexander Borisovich Godunov was a Russian-American ballet danseur and film actor, whose defection caused a diplomatic incident between the USA and the USSR.-Biography:...
, Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov is a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and New York City Ballet. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.-Biography:...
and Valentina Kozlov, and figure skaters
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
Oleg Protopopov
Oleg Protopopov
Oleg Alekseyevich Protopopov is a Russian pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With his partner Ludmila Belousova, he is a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion .- Career :Protopopov started skating relatively late, at age 15...
and Ludmila Belousova
Ludmila Belousova
Ludmila Yevgenyevna Belousova is a Russian pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With her partner Oleg Protopopov, she is a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion .- Career :Belousova started skating relatively late, at age 16. She met Protopopov in 1954 and they began...
.
However, while he was studying German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agents allegedly swooped in and took Česiūnas back to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The Soviets claimed that Česiūnas had met a woman named Ursula Vorkhert who invited to spend the night with him and then drugged him up. Česiūnas later appeared with anti-Communist Lithuanians and being asked to speak out in favor of a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, two months before the Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
and almost six months before American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's actual boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Česiūnas made his way to the Soviet Embassy in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
- "not without incident" and returned to the Soviet Union and imprisoned with a fractured skull according to Kurt Rebmann, West Germany's chief federal public prosecutor in 1979. Another reason the Soviets were concerned also had to do with a possible book Česiūnas had planned to publish on doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
in the Soviet Union prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Soviets later toned down their rhetoric on the incident, stating Česiūnas had "got[ten] into dubious company" while the West Germans continued to maintain he had been kidnapped.
In 2002 telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Česiūnas stated he returned from West Germany voluntary but was threatened by Soviet officials with fifteen years of hard labor in a coal mine for his defection and was not imprisoned only due to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Moscow. As a result, Česiūnas was demoted from his custom agent position to being a civilian coach at a children's sports school which paid only a third the salary of his customs position.
Later in life
Česiūnas earned two presidential decrees from Lithuania after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. They were the Order of the Cross of VytisOrder of the Cross of Vytis
The Order of the Cross of Vytis is a Lithuanian Presidential Award conferred on people who heroically defended Lithuania’s freedom and independence.-History:...
("Cross of the Knight") and the Commemorative Medal of 13 January. In 2000, Česiūnas was informed that Vorkhert, whom he met in Lithuania in 1998 after the country's 1991 independence, had died at 75. Česiūnas later returned to his customs position, becoming head of shifts for Lithuanian customs as of 2002. He also received monthly pensions from the Soviet and Lithuanian Olympic Committee of USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
30 and USD 120, respectively.