Fedor Makhnov - the tallest man on the planet at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, (8 photos). The tallest man on earth lived in the Russian Empire Return to the Motherland

Fedor Makhnov - the most A tall man on the planet.

Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov, who lived on turn of XIX-XX centuries, is called the tallest man in the world. His height was 285 centimeters! The dimensions of the giant were such that a 12-year-old child could fit in his boot. Each meal consisted of several kilograms of food, and Makhnov could sleep for as long as 24 hours. In Europe, the giant was a real curiosity and a favorite of the public.


Fedor Makhnov's height was 285 cm.

Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov comes from the village of Kostyuki, Vitebsk district (former Russian Empire, now Belarus). In addition to him, two more sons grew up in the Makhnov family. Their growth was above average, but Fedor "outdid" everyone. The grandfather took his grandson to be raised, because Fedor's mother died in childbirth, the fetus turned out to be too large.

As they say, the boy grew by leaps and bounds. At the age of 12, his height was already 2 meters. Fedor also had the corresponding strength in his hands. He could lift an adult man on one arm, dragged huge logs, harnessed instead of horses and transported hay carts.


Fedor Makhnov plays cards with friends.

IN young age the boy was hired by a local landowner to clear the river of boulders. They interfered with the normal functioning of the mill. Work in cold water turned into diseases for Fedor, which more than once manifested themselves in the future.

When the young giant was 14 years old, he began to hit his head on the ceiling, he had to rebuild the hut. They were supposed to make an individual bed for Fedor, but the blacksmith delayed the execution of the order, and the boy managed to outgrow it.

One day, a giant teenager, who worked part-time at the Polotsk Bazaar in Vitebsk, was seen by Otto Bilinder, the owner of a traveling circus. It is worth considering that this was the end of the 19th century, at that time the performances of miracle people were enormously popular. The German persuaded Fyodor's relatives to let him go to Germany.


Poster with the image of Fyodor Makhnov.

So the young giant came to Europe. At first, Fedor studied German and, in parallel with this, mastered the circus craft. He learned to effectively unbend horseshoes, break bricks with his palm.

At the age of 16, Fedor Makhnov signed a contract to work in a circus. The audience was delighted. People came to the performances not only to look at the tricks, but simply to see with their own eyes the giant, whose height was more than 2.5 meters. Fyodor Makhnov, lying down, easily lifted the platform with a small orchestra.

Fedor Makhnov next to people of ordinary height.

By the age of 25, Fedor Makhnov's height was already 285 cm. Naturally, with such dimensions, the giant also had proper nutrition. For breakfast, he ate an omelette of 20 eggs, 8 loaves of bread, and drank 2 liters of tea. Lunch consisted of 2.5 kg of meat, the same amount of potatoes, a bowl of vegetables. The giant could sleep for more than 24 hours.

Fedor Makhnov worked for 9 years in a circus, and then returned to his native village. With the money earned, the giant bought the land and his house from the local landowner, which he rebuilt for himself. It is worth noting that Otto Bidinder always continued to help him. The circus owner and artist remained friends.


Left: Fyodor Makhnov with his wife Efrosinya Lebedeva.

Fyodor Makhnov married a local teacher, Efrosinya Lebedeva. Her height was more than 180 cm, but the wife still looked like a baby next to her husband. The family had five children.

When the supply of money came to an end, the giant again went to Europe, where he was met with invariable success. After the speeches, Fyodor Makhnov and his wife were invited to social events. Even there, Fedor managed to amuse the audience: he lit cigarettes directly from the chandeliers. Several times for hooliganism or non-compliance with the contract, the police tried to arrest him. But every time Makhnov was released, because there was simply no cell in which he would fit.


Fedor Makhnov is the tallest man in the Russian Empire.

Fedor Makhnov died at the age of 34. According to one version, the consequences of a cold suffered in childhood affected. It is written on the tombstone that the giant's height was 3 arshins 9 inches, i.e. 254 cm. However, this information is not correct. The figure was taken from Makhnov's contract with Bidinder when the giant was only 16 years old. Then he grew another 31 cm. The wife wanted to correct the unfortunate oversight, but the outbreak of the First World War prevented her.

Tombstone of Fyodor Makhnov.

135 years ago, the biggest man on the planet Earth was born in an ordinary Belarusian village.

The 1905 calendar wrote: “In order to have an idea of ​​​​the extraordinary growth of this giant, it is enough to say that boots with tops that barely reach his knees reach the waist of an ordinary mortal, and a 12-year-old boy can fit in them completely freely with his head. A silver ruble passes through the ring that the giant wears on his index finger,” writes the Historical Truth website. (Total 10 photos)

This is about Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov - the very big man on planet Earth, who was born in the small village of Kostyuki, near Vitebsk. It happened on June 18, 1878.

Fedya was the firstborn in a young peasant family. The boy was born very large. During childbirth, his mother died. The orphan was taken in by his grandparents. At first, Fedya grew up as an ordinary child and did not stand out among his peers in anything special. But somewhere from the age of 8, Fedya began to grow rapidly and gain strength. During this period, the boy slept for days on end.

At the age of 10, his father took Fedor to help with the housework. By this time he had remarried. From the second marriage, two half-brothers and a sister grew up, who were of normal height. Peasant work hardened Fedor. On a dare, he could easily lift an adult or drag a peasant cart with hay uphill.

Local residents often called him to help lift logs during the construction of houses, and the landowner Korzhenevsky hired a young strong man to clear the Zaronovka River from boulders that interfered with the operation of the water mill. The river is notable for its icy spring water. Long-term waist-deep work in cold water made itself felt by various ailments throughout life.

Like a true hero, Fedor was cheerful and good-natured. He often enjoyed playing with local children and playing the harmonica during gatherings. Among the locals, stories are passed from mouth to mouth about how children hid in the giant's felt boots, and a cheerful big man took off his hats from the "offenders" and thrust them under the log cabins of baths and sheds or hung them on the roof ridge.

By the age of 14, the youth had grown up to 2 meters, and his father had to raise the roof of the house by several crowns. An individual bed was ordered from a local blacksmith. For the whole summer, the blacksmith forged a bed in snatches from the main affairs. Upon completion of the work, it turned out that Fyodor had already grown out of this bed over the summer. Clothes and shoes for a tall boy were also made to special order. All required money to the detriment of the rest of the family.

Therefore, when in Vitebsk an unusual teenager, towering over the Polotsk bazaar, was spotted by the owner of the German circus, Otto Bilinder, he quickly persuaded Father Fyodor to let his son go with the circus to Germany. The German promised to put on and dress the giant. In addition, he assured that the young man, with his height and strength, would earn a lot of money and then be able to help the family.

So, or something like this, the “Belarusian Gulliver” at the age of 14 left to surprise and conquer Europe with his unusual natural abilities.

Otto Bilinder treated Fedor very well. Since the boy had only three years of education, the German hired teachers to teach him to read and write. German, and he taught the teenager the basics of circus art. Only when the young man was 16 years old, the first contract in his life was signed, and Fedor began to perform in the circus.

During the performance, our giant easily bent horseshoes with one hand, twisted iron rods in a spiral, and then straightened them. With a blow from the edge of his hand, he broke bricks. Lying on his back, without much difficulty, Fyodor lifted a wooden platform on which a three-piece orchestra played.

Makhnov performed in the circus and as a wrestler. His rivals were the most eminent, because not everyone dared to compete with the giant. Only the most technical and dexterous wrestlers went to the duel with the hero, so Makhnov did not achieve particularly large successes on the carpet. However, his mere appearance in the arena delighted the public.

For nine years of work in the circus, Fedor Makhnov became a wealthy person.

At the beginning of the 20th century, he returned to his native place. First of all, Makhnov buys land and a house from the landowner Pavel Konstantinovich Korzhenevsky, who left for France. He rebuilds the dwelling according to his height.

Building materials and furniture were sent to him from Germany by Otto Bilinder. Then the giant decided to bring his wife into the house. Although Fedor was kind by nature, and a rich groom, the matchmakers had difficulty finding a bride for him. She turned out to be a village teacher, Efrosinya Lebedeva. She was above average height, but still below her husband by almost a meter.

Soon after the wedding, a daughter, Maria, was born in the family, and a year later, a son, Nikolai.

From time to time, to replenish the family budget, Fyodor Makhnov left his Velikanov farm "to earn money." He attended wrestling tournaments, demonstrated his natural abilities in circuses and museums in the capital and other cities of the Russian Empire. During such trips in popular Russian newspapers details of the life of "Vitebsk Gulliver" were published.

In them, in particular, it was written that the weight of the giant reaches 182 kg, and growth slightly decreases in weekdays, but increases after Sunday rest. The reader was also impressed by the anthropological details of Makhnov: the ears were 15 cm long, and the lips were 10 cm wide, the length of the foot and palm were 51 cm and 32 cm, respectively.

In 1905, Fedor Makhnov again went abroad. But now he's gone to Europe just to travel with his family. Fedor visited England, France, Belgium, Holland. In Italy, he was received by the Pope himself. A family tradition says that “during the audience, the Pope, admiring the beautiful daughter Maria, took off and gave the girl a golden cross on a chain.”

Having previously converted the cabin of the ship for himself, Makhnov crossed the Atlantic Ocean in June 1906. In America, he was received by then President Theodore Roosevelt.

From the archives of the Berlin Central Historical Museum, you can find out some details of our fellow countryman's trip abroad: “In Paris, Makhnov quarreled with several townspeople, and they tried to cool his ardor behind bars, but they could not find a cell corresponding to his height, so they got by with a conversation ...

During receptions in palaces, the giant amused himself by lighting up from the candles of the upper tiers and thereby extinguishing them...

When visiting the Chancellor of Germany during dinner, a huge tea service was placed in front of Makhnov. Fedor did not appreciate the “joke” and asked to replace the “bucket” with a human mug ...

The giant ate four times a day, like ordinary people, but the volumes of food were many times greater than the diet of an average person. Every morning he ate 20 eggs, 8 round loaves of white bread with butter, drank 2 liters of tea. Lunch consisted of 2.5 kg of meat, 1 kg of potatoes, 3 liters of beer. In the evening, the giant ate a bowl of fruit, 2.5 kg of meat, 3 loaves of bread and drank 2 liters of tea. And before going to bed, he was served 15 eggs, a loaf of bread, 1 liter of milk or tea...”.

Despite the cordial receptions at the highest level, it was still difficult for Fyodor Makhnov to travel: transport, hotels, restaurants were not adapted to his growth. In addition, scientists increasingly began to offer the giant to conclude a contract with them so that after his death the skeleton would go to them for study. Fearing that he might be killed or poisoned, Makhnov urgently returned to his farm.

The hardships of nomadic life and everyday problems of Gulliver in the country of the Lilliputians did not add to his health. Aggravated diseases earned in the icy waters of the Zaronovka river. With great difficulty he had to move his huge legs.

To facilitate the movement of the giant, Otto Bilinder from Germany sent a heavyweight horse as a gift. Fedor became very attached to the horse, but she did not solve the problem of movement, because when riding, his legs dragged along the ground. When he traveled long distances, he preferred a troika as a means of transportation.

Fyodor Makhnov was a strong master. One of the first in the district, he used agricultural machines, which Bilinder kindly sent him. At one time the giant tried to breed horses.

At this time, the composition of the Fedor family also changes. In 1911, his daughter Masha was born, and a year later, the twins Rodion (Radimir) and Gabriel (Galyun).

In 1912, 6 months after the birth of the babies, the tallest man on the planet died. The cause of death has not been established for certain. According to some sources, he died of tuberculosis, according to others - from chronic pneumonia.

An obituary appeared in the Russian Sport magazine announcing the death of the famous giant wrestler.

Fyodor Makhnov was buried at the cemetery in the village of Kostyuki.

The coffin and the fence for the giant of coffin affairs were made by the master as for an ordinary person, believing that a mistake had crept into the order. I had to urgently remake the coffin, and the fence was temporarily left brought.

On the stone tombstone one can still read: “Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov, born on June 6, 1878, died. On August 28, 1912, in the 36th year, the Biggest Man in the World Rostom Was 3 arshins 9 vershoks.

In fact, the giant lived for a full 34 years, i.e. died at the age of 35, and the height of 3 arshins 9 inches (254 cm) - almost 30 cm less than the actual one, was taken from the first contract of a 16-year-old growing boy.

The giant's wife subsequently wanted to correct the mistakes on the tombstone and remake the fence, but the First World War and the revolutionary events that followed her prevented her from doing so.

During the Great Patriotic War in these places there were fierce battles. The monument, as a silent witness of those events, still keeps traces of bullets.

Instead of a conclusion

Officially, the tallest man in the world is the American Robert Wadlow, who lived at the beginning of the last century and reached a height of 272 centimeters. But this admission is wrong. After all, the growth of Fedor Makhnov is 285 centimeters.

This was recorded during his lifetime by the Warsaw anthropologist Lushan. In addition, the record growth of our countryman was noted in the journal "Science and Life" for 1970, in the book of the French biologist J. Rostand "Life" and in the science fiction writer Alexander Belyaev in the story "The Island of Lost Ships".

At one time he was known all over the world, but now he is almost forgotten. He would have turned 135 this year. With a weight of 182 kilograms, his height was ... 285 centimeters!

Fedor Andreevich Makhnov was born on June 6 (18 according to the new style) June 1878 in the village of Kostyuki, Staroselsky volost, Vitebsk district. He came from ancient family, whose ancestors moved to Russia from the south, from Syria. Makhnov's parents, as well as his two sisters, were of quite normal growth; his grandfather was very tall, but in any case not a giant.

The boy was born very large, and his mother died in childbirth. Fedya was brought up by his grandfather, who loved him very much. The gifts of an amazing child appeared early. At the age of 8, the kid could lift an adult, his father taught him to play the harmonica.

At the age of 12, he took the “bar” of 2 meters. I could sleep more than 24 hours in a row.

Other children laughed at him because of his height. For this, he took off their hats and hung them on the ridge of the roof of a bathhouse or a shed. Due to the growth of his son, Fyodor's father had to rebuild the hut, raising the ceilings. With the increase in growth, the strength of the boy also grew. He could lift an adult man, pull a hay cart on his own, help in the construction of houses, lifting heavy logs.

The local landowner Korzhenevsky, having learned about the abilities of the young strong man, hired him to clean the nearby Zaronovka River from boulders that interfered with the operation of the water mill. Prolonged work in very cold water played a very unfavorable role in Fedor's life. He caught a cold, and the illnesses that followed later made themselves felt for the rest of Makhnov's life.

By the age of 14, a 2-meter young man ceased to fit in the house. Because of this, my father had to build up walls on several crowns. The local blacksmith was ordered to make an individual bed, but he, overloaded with work, made it all summer. In the end, it turned out that Fedya had outgrown this bed as well.

It was problematic to dress and shoe a tall guy. Everything was made to order. Money for clothes had to be earned in Vitebsk at the Polotsk Bazaar. It was there that the German Otto Bilinder, who owned a traveling circus, noticed an unusual teenager.

The enterprising German quickly realized what benefits could be drawn from the growth of the boy and suggested that Fedya's father let his son go to Germany to perform in the circus.

Speeches poster

It didn’t take long to persuade his father, and the 14-year-old boy went to conquer Europe with his abilities. Otto Bilinder took custody of Fedor. First, for an illiterate guy, he hired teachers who taught him German. Otto took over the teaching of circus art. Fedor's training lasted almost two years. When he was 16 years old, a contract was signed with him for performances. So Fedor Makhnov became a circus artist.

In Berlin, Otto Bilinder settled the guest at his home, taught him circus tricks. Fyodor broke bricks with the edge of his hand; unbent and bent horseshoes and thick nails; lying on his back, he raised the platform with three musicians along with the instruments. But people came to the circus to look first of all at the artist himself - the real Gulliver. And he grew by leaps and bounds. By the age of 25, he reached 2 m 85 cm.

The bet in his speeches was made on power numbers. More than two and a half meters tall, the giant bent iron horseshoes with one hand, smashed bricks with a blow of his hand, twisted metal rods into a spiral, and then straightened them again. Particularly successful were the numbers when he, lying on his back, raised a wooden platform with an orchestra of three musicians. In those days, Greco-Roman (classical) wrestling tournaments were very popular in circuses. Famous strongmen and world-class wrestlers, including Russian titans Zaikin and Poddubny, took part in them.

Fedor Makhnov also participated in similar tournaments. True, he did not become a great athlete due to the fact that the world's best wrestlers always came out against him, and a chronic back disease did not allow him to fully show his talents. However, his appearance in the arena alone caused a storm of delight from the public.

Makhnov devoted nine years to work in the circus, after which he became a completely wealthy person. However, great growth also brought a lot of trouble to Fedor. It was hard for him to move, since all transport, hotels, catering establishments were calculated only for people of standard sizes. Because of this, Fedor returned home to his native Kostyuki at the very beginning of the 20th century. For the money earned in circus performances, he bought from the landowner Korzhenevsky, who left for France, his land and house. Makhnov rebuilt the estate to fit his height, furnished it with suitable furniture and renamed it Velikanovo. All the necessary building materials and furniture were sent to him from Germany by Otto Bidinder, with whom Fedor maintained close friendly contacts until the end of his life.

Having settled in a new place, Makhnov decided to get married. And although by nature he was very kind, and he was not deprived of finances, he found a bride with great difficulty. She became Efrosinya Lebedeva, who worked as a rural teacher. As a girl, she was tall, but still inferior to her fiancé by almost a meter. In 1903, the first daughter Maria appeared in the family, and the next year the son Nikolai was born.

To replenish the family budget, from time to time Fedor went to various wrestling tournaments, performed in circuses, demonstrating his abilities in various cities of the Russian Empire.

Fedor in Europe

Archival information about the stay of the giant Makhnov in the German capital in 1904 has been preserved. The Germans were ready to fulfill any whims of the Belarusian Gulliver. In the middle of winter, Fyodor wanted strawberries - they delivered them to him. In Holland, in Paris, he repeatedly violated the contract, once they wanted to imprison him for hooliganism, but the cells of the Paris police could not accommodate people of such height.

Fedor with his wife Efrosinya

In 1905, the Makhnov family went on a tour abroad. Traveling through Western Europe, they visited France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Italy. The Pope himself honored them with an audience. According to family tradition, he took off his golden cross and gave it to the giant's daughter. The Makhnovs also visited the USA. To do this, however, had to redo the cabin of the steamer.

These trips were not without incidents. At receptions in palaces, Fedor lit cigarettes from candles from the upper tiers of chandeliers, which extinguished them.

In Paris, he had a skirmish with several citizens. The policemen who arrived wanted to send the giant to jail, but not finding a suitable cell, they limited themselves to a conversation.

During dinner at the German Chancellor, a huge tea set was placed in front of Makhnov, but Fyodor did not appreciate such a “joke”, demanding to replace it with an ordinary mug.

Fedor on a trip abroad

While in Germany, Fedor always wanted to return home. When he saved up enough money, he left for his native Kostyuki, despite the fact that the owner persuaded him to stay. Height did not allow living in his father's house. At this time, the landowner Krzhizhanovsky was just selling his estate. Makhnov bought it along with the land, rebuilt the house according to his own parameters. From Germany, Otto Bilinder sent him furniture. Thought about getting married. It turned out to be the hardest question! Girls of ordinary height did not dare to marry such a thug. And where to find him to match? Finally, the whole world found a bride - teacher Efrosinya Lebedeva. For a girl, she was tall - 1 m 85 cm. She was two years younger than Fedor, but outlived her husband by 35 years, she died in 1947. Played a wedding. In 1903, their daughter Maria was born, in 1904 their son Nikolai was born. In 1911-12, the Makhnovs had three more children. Thus, the Makhnovs had five children in total. None of them grew above two meters. They lived together, in love and harmony. Fedor was kind person, loved his children, helped the peasants. And from Germany there were invitations to return to the circus again ...

Together they traveled the world. Fedor attended a reception at the German Chancellor, at an audience with the Pope, who liked Fedor's little daughter Maria so much that he took off his gold cross on a chain and presented it to the girl, at a reception at US President Theodore Roosevelt. So that Makhnov could cross the ocean, the cabin of the ship was remade for him. Efrosinya liked this life, she even wanted to stay in Germany.

But when the German doctors began to persuade them to sign a contract, according to which, after death, the corpse of a giant would be left to them for scientific research, she was afraid that something might suddenly happen to Fedor, and they went home.

In Paris, almost all members of the Anthropological Association showed great interest in the extraordinary physical data of the giant. They wanted to examine it more thoroughly, but Makhnov refused all his life to undress in front of doctors, allowing them to measure only the length of his feet and palms - 51 cm and almost 35, respectively.

His ears were 15 cm long and his lips were 10 cm wide, which must have made a certain impression on his wife, a woman of normal size, when they kissed. After a few days of rest, he always got taller. This was due to the extraordinary ability of his spine to decrease and contract under the influence of large loads.
He ate, like everyone else, four times a day, but his breakfast could feed the average family for two days. According to the materials of the press, it is known how our giant ate. In the morning he ate 20 eggs, 8 round loaves of white bread with butter, drank 2 liters of tea. For lunch - 2.5 kg of meat, 1 kg of potatoes, 3 liters of beer. In the evening - a bowl of fruit, 2.5 kg of meat, 3 loaves of bread and 2 liters of tea. And before going to bed, he could still swallow 15 eggs and a liter of milk.

As anthropologists rightly noted, this resident of Belarus is “one foot.” His boot, barely reaching the giant’s knee, reached his chest normal person, and a 12-year-old boy could fit his head in it. If Fedor had been born without legs, he would hardly have reached average height. His head, which was unusually small with such a huge body, gave him an unusually ridiculous appearance, which he tried to hide by wearing a richly decorated Cossack uniform.

A long nomadic life undermined Makhnov's already not very good health. The chronic disease of the joints, earned in childhood in the cold water of Zaronovka, aggravated. It became more and more difficult to walk. Otto Bilinder tried to help Fedor by sending a heavyweight horse from Germany. Unfortunately, the sent animal did not solve the problem, because with its nearly three-meter height, the giant's legs still dragged along the ground when he mounted it. And although Fedor became very attached to the horse, he preferred to take the troika as the main means of transportation on trips.

Traveling abroad brought a lot of new things to the economic life of Fyodor Makhnov. Almost the first in the district, he began to use agricultural machines, purchased by him in Germany and kindly sent by Bilinder. For a while, he even bred horses.

Unfortunately, Fyodor Makhnov did not live long. In 1912, chronic illnesses finally crippled the giant's health, and he died at the age of 34, having, however, managed to rejoice before that at the birth of three more of his children: daughter Masha (1911) and twin sons Rodion (Radimir) and Gabriel (Galyun) born just six months before his death. The exact reason for such an early departure of Makhnov's life was never determined. German doctors believed that Makhnov died from bone tuberculosis, which many giants suffered from. According to other sources, he caught a cold and got pneumonia. The version of poisoning by rivals on the wrestling mat is also not ruled out. According to the grandson, there is a version that Fedor, having moved to the farm, did not leave the performance in the circus. He often traveled to Germany with his family.

The Vitebsk giant was buried at the local cemetery near the village of Kostyuki. Russian Sport magazine published an obituary announcing his death.

The growth of Fyodor Makhnov, even after his death, continued to amaze everyone. The undertaker, thinking that there had been a mistake in the order for the coffin and the fence, did the job for the average person. When it turned out that he was mistaken, he had to urgently redo the coffin, and there was no time left to remake the fence, and he had to leave it.

On the surviving tombstone, one can still read the inscription: “Fedor Andreevich Makhnov, born on June 6, 1878, died. On August 28, 1912, in the 36th year, the Biggest Man in the World Rostom Was 3 arshins 9 vershoks.

The story about Fyodor Makhnov can be supplemented by the fact that his height on the tombstone is indicated incorrectly. He was taken from a contract with Bilinder, signed by the giant at the age of 16. Since that moment, Fedor has grown another 30 cm.

The giant's wife subsequently wanted to correct the mistakes on the tombstone and remake the fence, but the outbreak of the First World War and the revolutionary events that followed prevented her from doing this.

In 1934, the remains of Makhnov were exhumed for scientific purposes and sent to the Minsk medical institute for studying. During the war, the giant's skeleton was lost, like many other things. Only a photograph and a description made by Professor D.M. have survived. Dove.

There is also such a version of how this happened: in 1935, the son Rodion studied at the Minsk Medical Institute, and at one of the lectures on giantism, the professor cited the example of Fyodor Makhnov. What was the amazement of everyone when Rodion got up and said that this was his father. It was then that he was asked to talk to the family about the sale of his father's skeleton. The mother agreed to sell for 5 thousand rubles. After the death of her husband, she married a second time, gave birth to three more children. Money was needed... Many people were present during the exhumation, including a widow and children. In 1936, Minsk professor D.M. Golub published an article on the skeleton of acromegalic in the collection of works of the Psychoneurological Institute of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. Acromegaly is characterized by hyperplastic changes in the skeletal system, soft parts, and most internal organs. Simply put, all giants suffer from gigantism.

However, according to descendants no one opened the grave, much less sold anything! The remains disappeared after the Second World War, they were supposedly taken to Germany, because. even before the revolution, the German Academy of Natural Sciences wanted to get them.»

Today, the children of Fedor and Efrosinya Makhnov are no longer alive. Everyone lived through a difficult, but decent life. During the years of collectivization, the Makhnov family wanted to be dispossessed and deported, but the peasants interceded and were left in peace. Nikolai and Gavrila were officers, they went through repressions. Rehabilitated. Rodion became a doctor and during the Great Patriotic War he was shot by the Nazis for his connection with the partisans. The elder Maria worked all her life as a livestock specialist, and the younger Masha worked as an accountant. All children were more likely to grow to their mother - 180 - 190 cm. Makhnov's descendants were scattered around the cities and villages of Belarus and Russia. On the site of the former estate, only a birch remained, perhaps planted by Fyodor Makhnov himself. And the names of the Giants' Farm, the Giants' Forest remind the locals of the tallest man in the world who once lived in these places.

Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov, who lived at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, is called the tallest man in the world. His height was 285 centimeters! The dimensions of the giant were such that a 12-year-old child could fit in his boot. Each meal consisted of several kilograms of food, and Makhnov could sleep for as long as 24 hours. In Europe, the giant was a real curiosity and a favorite of the public.

Fyodor Andreevich Makhnov comes from the village of Kostyuki, Vitebsk district (former Russian Empire, now Belarus). In addition to him, two more sons grew up in the Makhnov family. Their growth was above average, but Fedor "outdid" everyone. The grandfather took his grandson to be raised, because Fedor's mother died in childbirth, the fetus turned out to be too large.

As they say, the boy grew by leaps and bounds. At the age of 12, his height was already 2 meters. Fedor also had the corresponding strength in his hands. He could lift an adult man on one arm, dragged huge logs, harnessed instead of horses and transported hay carts.

At a young age, the boy was hired by a local landowner to clear the river of boulders. They interfered with the normal functioning of the mill. Work in cold water turned into illnesses for Fedor, which manifested themselves more than once in the future.

When the young giant was 14 years old, he began to hit his head on the ceiling, he had to rebuild the hut. They were supposed to make an individual bed for Fedor, but the blacksmith delayed the execution of the order, and the boy managed to outgrow it.

One day, a giant teenager, who worked part-time at the Polotsk Bazaar in Vitebsk, was seen by Otto Bilinder, the owner of a traveling circus. It is worth considering that this was the end of the 19th century, at that time the performances of miracle people were enormously popular. The German persuaded Fyodor's relatives to let him go to Germany.

So the young giant came to Europe. At first, Fedor studied German and, in parallel with this, mastered the circus craft. He learned to effectively unbend horseshoes, break bricks with his palm.

At the age of 16, Fedor Makhnov signed a contract to work in a circus. The audience was delighted. People came to the performances not only to look at the tricks, but simply to see with their own eyes the giant, whose height was more than 2.5 meters. Fyodor Makhnov, lying down, easily lifted the platform with a small orchestra.

By the age of 25, Fedor Makhnov's height was already 285 cm. Naturally, with such dimensions, the giant also had proper nutrition. For breakfast, he ate an omelette of 20 eggs, 8 loaves of bread, and drank 2 liters of tea. Lunch consisted of 2.5 kg of meat, the same amount of potatoes, a bowl of vegetables. The giant could sleep for more than 24 hours.

Fedor Makhnov worked for 9 years in a circus, and then returned to his native village. With the money earned, the giant bought the land and his house from the local landowner, which he rebuilt for himself. It is worth noting that Otto Bidinder always continued to help him. The circus owner and artist remained friends.

Fyodor Makhnov married a local teacher, Efrosinya Lebedeva. Her height was more than 180 cm, but the wife still looked like a baby next to her husband. The family had five children.

When the supply of money came to an end, the giant again went to Europe, where he was met with invariable success. After the speeches, Fyodor Makhnov and his wife were invited to social events. Even there, Fedor managed to amuse the audience: he lit cigarettes directly from the chandeliers. Several times for hooliganism or non-compliance with the contract, the police tried to arrest him. But every time Makhnov was released, because there was simply no cell in which he would fit.

Fedor Makhnov died at the age of 34. According to one version, the consequences of a cold suffered in childhood affected. It is written on the tombstone that the giant's height was 3 arshins 9 inches, i.e. 254 cm. However, this information is not correct. The figure was taken from Makhnov's contract with Bidinder when the giant was only 16 years old. Then he grew another 31 cm. The wife wanted to correct the unfortunate oversight, but the outbreak of the First World War prevented her.

While Fyodor Makhnov entertained the public in Europe, on the other side of the ocean in the United States, people went to the performances of a married couple.

In 1905, a note was published about him: “To have an idea of ​​​​the extraordinary growth of this giant, it is enough to say that boots with tops that barely reach his knees reach the waist of an ordinary mortal, and a 12-year-old boy can fit in them completely free with your head. A silver ruble passes through the ring that the giant wears on his index finger.

And in December 1906, the St. Petersburg newspapers wrote: “The other day, the Russian giant Fedor Makhnov, who is 2 meters 68 cm tall, has arrived in St. Petersburg and will be shown in one of the auditoriums, which growth has not yet been seen in any part of the globe” ...

By that time, the Russian giant had already managed to turn into a “world famous living exhibit”, and this fabulous exclusivity was not comparable to the short life that this amazing person lived.

IN tsarist Russia the peasant Fyodor Makhnov was called the Russian giant. Despite the quite decent growth of his parents and two brothers, the growth and size of the young Fedor were impressive - already in his youth he was about 2.5 meters. The length of his foot was 51 cm, the length of the palm was 31 cm. At the same time, he weighed 182 kg and was extremely strong.

At that time, Fedor was considered not only the tallest man in the Russian Empire, but also the tallest man who ever lived on Earth. His height, according to unofficial data, was 285 centimeters. And the officially recognized record is 272 cm. It belongs to the American Robert Wadlow. It is the growth of the American giant that is considered to this day undoubted and recognized, listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Fedor Andreevich Makhnov, a native of the small village of Kostyuki near Vitebsk, was born on June 6, 1878.

The boy was the firstborn in an ordinary peasant family. Fedor's mother soon dies after a difficult birth. The newborn was too big. The child was taken in by the grandparents.

Until the age of 8, Fedor's growth did not cause much surprise and did not differ much from the growth of his peers. However, after that it began to grow "prohibitively" quickly.

Fedya grew up as a very strong boy.

At the age of 10, the father took the grown boy to him. Helping his father with the housework, Fedya got stronger and hardened.

Large for his age, he could easily drag a peasant cart loaded with hay up the mountain or lift an adult on a dare.
Neighbors often used his abilities in the construction of houses, where he helped to lift logs.

The local landowner Korzhenevsky, having learned about the abilities of the young strong man, hired him to clean the nearby Zaronovka River from boulders that interfered with the operation of the water mill. Prolonged work in very cold water played a very unfavorable role in Fedor's life. He caught a cold, and the illnesses that followed later made themselves felt for the rest of Makhnov's life.

By the age of 14, a 2-meter young man ceased to fit in the house.

Because of this, my father had to build up walls on several crowns. The local blacksmith was ordered to make an individual bed, but he, overloaded with work, made it all summer. In the end, it turned out that Fedya had outgrown this bed as well.

It was problematic to dress and shoe a tall guy. Everything was made to order. Money for clothes had to be earned in Vitebsk at the Polotsk Bazaar. It was there that the German Otto Bilinder, who owned a traveling circus, noticed an unusual teenager. Being a business man, he quickly realized the prospects of this man in his troupe, and persuaded his father to let Fedor go with the circus. Bilinder undertook to take over all the content of the guy, and in addition he promised that Fedor with his data would be able to make good money and help his family.

It didn’t take long to persuade his father, and the 14-year-old boy went to conquer Europe with his abilities. Otto Bilinder took custody of Fedor. First, for an illiterate guy, he hired teachers who taught him German. Otto took over the teaching of circus art. Fedor's training lasted almost two years. When he was 16 years old, a contract was signed with him for performances. So Fedor Makhnov became a circus artist.

Makhnov became a circus artist. The bet in his performances was made on power numbers. More than two and a half meters tall, the giant bent iron horseshoes with one hand, smashed bricks with a blow of his hand, twisted metal rods into a spiral, and then straightened them again.

Particularly successful were the numbers when he, lying on his back, raised a wooden platform with an orchestra of three musicians.
In those days, Greco-Roman (classical) wrestling tournaments were very popular in circuses. Famous strongmen and world-class wrestlers, including Russian titans Zaikin and Poddubny, took part in them. Fedor Makhnov also participated in similar tournaments. True, he did not become a great athlete due to the fact that the world's best wrestlers always came out against him, and a chronic back disease did not allow him to fully show his talents. However, his appearance in the arena alone caused a storm of delight from the public.

Makhnov devoted nine years to work in the circus, after which he became a completely wealthy person. However, great growth also brought a lot of trouble to Fedor. It was hard for him to move, since all transport, hotels, catering establishments were calculated only for people of standard sizes. Because of this, Fedor returned home to his native Kostyuki at the very beginning of the 20th century. With the money earned in circus performances, he bought from the landowner Korzhenevsky, who left for France, his land and house.

Makhnov rebuilt the estate to fit his height, furnished it with suitable furniture and renamed it Velikanovo.
All the necessary building materials and furniture were sent to him from Germany by Otto Bidinder, with whom Fedor maintained close friendly contacts until the end of his life.

Fedor with his wife Efrosinya

Having settled in a new place, Makhnov decided to get married. And although by nature he was very kind, and he was not deprived of finances, he found a bride with great difficulty. She became Efrosinya Lebedeva, who worked as a rural teacher. As a girl, she was tall, but still inferior to her fiancé by almost a meter. In 1903, the first daughter Maria appeared in the family, and the next year the son Nikolai was born.

To replenish the family budget, from time to time Fedor went to various wrestling tournaments, performed in circuses, demonstrating his abilities in various cities of the Russian Empire.

Such trips, together with some anthropological details of "Vitebsk Gulliver", were regularly covered by the then press. It was written, in particular, that Fedor has a weight of 182 kg, 15-centimeter ears and 10-centimeter lips. The length of his palm was 32 cm, his feet - 51 cm. Makhnov's height slightly decreased on weekdays and increased over the weekend.

Fyodor Makhnov is preparing dinner for himself

The giant's meals were four times a day, but the portions were truly impressive.

For example, breakfast was a set of 8 round loaves of bread and butter, 20 eggs and 2 liters of tea. Lunch was 1 kg of potatoes, 2.5 kg of meat and 3 liters of beer. Dinner consisted of 2.5 kg of meat, 3 loaves of bread, 2 liters of tea and a bowl of fruit. And before going to bed, he was served 1 more loaf of bread, 15 eggs and 1 liter of tea or milk.

In 1905, the Makhnov family went on a tour abroad. Traveling in Western Europe, they visited France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Italy.

The Pope himself honored them with an audience. According to family tradition, he took off his golden cross and gave it to the giant's daughter.
The Makhnovs also visited the USA. To do this, however, had to redo the cabin of the steamer.

These trips were not without incidents. At receptions in palaces, Fedor lit cigarettes from candles from the upper tiers of chandeliers, which extinguished them.

In Paris, he had a skirmish with several citizens. The policemen who arrived wanted to send the giant to jail, but not finding a suitable cell, they limited themselves to a conversation.

During dinner at the German Chancellor, a huge tea set was placed in front of Makhnov, but Fyodor did not appreciate such a “joke”, demanding to replace it with an ordinary mug.

Makhnov on a trip abroad

But although receptions at the most high levels and were hospitable, traveling the world was difficult. First of all, the unsuitable sizes of transport, housing and restaurants affected. In addition, various scientists began to besiege Makhnov, who offered to conclude a contract for him to transfer his skeleton to them for study after death. Suspecting that they might kill him for this, Fedor interrupted his foreign tour and returned to his home at Velikanov Khutor.

A long nomadic life undermined Makhnov's already not very good health. The chronic disease of the joints, earned in childhood in the cold water of Zaronovka, aggravated. It became more and more difficult to walk. Otto Bilinder tried to help Fedor by sending a heavyweight horse from Germany. Unfortunately, the sent animal did not solve the problem, because with its nearly three-meter height, the giant's legs still dragged along the ground when he mounted it. And although Fedor became very attached to the horse, he preferred to take the troika as the main means of transportation on trips.

Traveling abroad brought a lot of new things to the economic life of Fyodor Makhnov. Almost the first in the district, he began to use agricultural machines, purchased by him in Germany and kindly sent by Bilinder. For a while, he even bred horses.

Fedor Makhnov in Velikanovo with friends

Unfortunately, Fyodor Makhnov did not live long. In 1912, chronic illnesses finally crippled the giant's health, and he died at the age of 34, having, however, managed to rejoice before that at the birth of three more of his children: daughter Masha (1911) and twin sons Rodion (Radimir) and Gabriel (Galyun) born just six months before his death.

The exact reason for such an early departure of Makhnov's life was never determined. In some documents it is written that he died of tuberculosis, in others - from chronic pneumonia.

The Vitebsk giant was buried at the local cemetery near the village of Kostyuki. Russian Sport magazine published an obituary announcing his death.

The growth of Fyodor Makhnov, even after his death, continued to amaze everyone. The undertaker, thinking that there had been a mistake in the order for the coffin and the fence, did the job for the average person. When it turned out that he was mistaken, he had to urgently redo the coffin, and there was no time left to remake the fence, and he had to leave it.

On the surviving tombstone, one can still read the inscription: “Fedor Andreevich Makhnov, born on June 6, 1878, died. On August 28, 1912, in the 36th year, the Biggest Man in the World Rostom Was 3 arshins 9 vershoks.
The story about Fyodor Makhnov can be supplemented by the fact that his height on the tombstone is indicated incorrectly. He was taken from a contract with Bilinder, signed by the giant at the age of 16. Since that moment, Fedor has grown another 30 cm.

Tombstone on Makhnov's grave

The giant's wife subsequently wanted to correct the mistakes on the tombstone and remake the fence, but the outbreak of the First World War and the revolutionary events that followed prevented her from doing this.

Once one of the sons of the Belarusian giant, having entered the medical university, told the professors what an unusual person his father was. Then the scientists persuaded the widow Euphrosyne to give permission for the exhumation of the remains. The skeleton of Gulliver from the Belarusian outback was studied by scientists from Belarus and Russia, and they came to the conclusion that the huge growth was the result of a disease of the pituitary gland of the brain, which did not produce hormones correctly, but was not hereditary, so Makhnov’s children most likely received their usual human height from her mother - she was not a little lady at all.

Before the war, the skeleton of the tallest man in the world was kept in the anatomical museum of the medical institute. And when the Nazis occupied the capital of the BSSR, the unique exhibit disappeared along with many other relics.

According to the stories of old-timers, Minsk Gauleiter Wilhelm Kube was very proud of this "find" and was awarded for it, because Hitler, who, as you know, raved about the idea of ​​an Aryan supernation, was delighted to receive such a gift, and Nazi scientists spent a lot of time and human resources. lives, trying to influence the pituitary gland in order to get a whole army of such giants.
The granddaughter of the giant, Alla Dmitrieva, lives in Minsk and knows her grandfather only from the stories of her mother: “He was a very kind and generous person, he did not refuse help to anyone, they turned to him from all around for money. Grandfather generally loved his homeland very much, because he was treated like a person, and completely refused the offer of his entrepreneur to be buried in Berlin - he did not want them to make an attraction out of him even after his death.