Popenchenko, Valerii
Popenchenko, Valerii Vladimirovich
Born Aug. 26, 1937, in Kuntsevo, now within the Moscow city limits; died Feb. 15, 1975, in Moscow. Soviet boxer. Honored Master of Sports (1964). Candidate of technical sciences (1968) and docent (1972). Member of the CPSU from 1960.
Popenchenko was second middleweight boxing champion of the USSR six times from 1959 to 1965. He was champion of Europe in 1963 and 1965, and Olympic champion at the Tokyo Olympic Games of 1964.
From 1970 to 1975, Popenchenko was head of the physical education subdepartment at the N. E. Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School. He served as a member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth League (Komsomol) from 1966 to 1970. Popenchenko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.