Vladas Česiūnas

Vladislavis "Vladis" Česiūnas (born March 15, 1940) [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ce/vladislavas-cesiunas-1.html Sports-reference.com profile] - accessed September 21, 2008.] is a Soviet-born Lithuanian flatwater canoer who competed in the early 1970s. He won one Olympic medal and six ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships medals during his career. He later became known for his role in "The Česiūnas Affair" when he defected from the 1979 ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships in Duisburg, West Germany (now Germany near Dusseldorf) only to return to the Soviet Union afterwards for his "misconduct".Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Pairs 1000 Meters". In "The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics: 2008 Edition". London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 483.]

porting career

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Česiūnas won gold in the C-2 1000 m with Yuri Lobanov. [ [http://visualrian.com/images/item/146147 Photograph of Česiūnas (front of canoe) and Lobanov in action during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.] - accessed September 21, 2008.] He also won six flatwater racing 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). [* [http://www.canoeicf.com/site/canoeint/if/downloads/result/Medal%20Winners%20ICF%20updated%202006-Korrektur_18.02.07.pdf International Canoe Federation historical results (Olympic and world for all disciplines).] ]

The Česiūnas Affair

At the 1979 flatwater canoeing World Championships 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 ballet star Alexander Godunov and figure skaters Oleg Protopopov and Ludmila Belousova [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947515,00.html "KGB Kidnapping". "TIME" October 22, 1979.] - accessed September 21, 2008.] The West German government claimed that Česiūnas had defected, later changing it to being kidnapped. While studying German in Dortmund, KGB agents 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 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 a 2002 "Los Angeles Times" telephone interview, Česiūnas was threatened with fifteen years of hard labor in a coal mine for his defection, but was saved to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Moscow. [http://apse.dallasnews.com/contest/2002/writing/over250/over250.enterprise.second15.html APSE "Dallas Morning News" featuring the September 9, 2002 "Los Angeles Times" interview with Česiūnas.] - accessed September 21, 2008.] 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 break up of the Soviet Union in 1991. They were the Order of the Cross of Vytis ("Cross of the Knight") and the Commemorative Medal of 13 January. [ [http://paksas.president.lt/ordinai/table_e.phtml?sort=surname,10050,0 Lithuanian President decree listing as of June 18, 2004. This list includes Vlaislavis "Vladas" Česiūnas.] - accessed September 21, 2008.] 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.

References