Vladimir Samoylov

Vladimir Samoylov enlisted in the Russian Imperial Army in 1893 and was commissioned as an officer three years later. By 1909, he was a staff captain in the 148th Caspian Infantry Regiment.

At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, he competed in the individual foil event. There, he lost all his bouts in round one and was eliminated. In 1913, he became champion in spadroon fencing at the First Russian Olympics as a member of the Main Gymnastics and Fencing School team. He also placed third in the individual foil and spadroon fencing. Participating in World War I, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1915. In the following year, he was awarded the St. George’s Cross. After the Russian Revolution, he stayed in the Soviet Union and worked in Leningrad as an instructor for the Society for the Promotion of Defense, Aviation, and Chemical Construction (Osoaviakhim), a pre-military organisation.

In 1931, Samoylov was persecuted during the first purge against Red Army personnel who previously served in the Russian Imperial Army, the so-called “Vesna” case.