The tallest person is being sought in Vitebsk and its surroundings

June 15, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The tallest person is being sought in Vitebsk and its environs. The open city competition "Vitebsk Giant" in memory of Fyodor Makhnov will be held in the regional center during the City Day celebrations, the Vitebsk City Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent. All giants and giantesses are invited to participate in the competition. Their height will be publicly measured right on Freedom Square on June 26. Based on the results, the tallest participant will be announced and will receive prizes from sponsors - city enterprises. As noted in the City Executive Committee, the competition is dedicated to the memory of Fyodor Makhnov for a reason, because, according to some sources, this peasant, a native of the village of Kostyuki in the Vitebsk region, was the tallest person who ever lived in the world. His height reached 2.85 m, his foot length was 51 cm, and his palm was 31 cm, he weighed 185 kg, while the officially recognized record height of 2.72 m belongs to the American Robert Pershing Wadlow. The Vitebsk giant was born on June 18, 1878. His enormous height and extraordinary strength brought him worldwide fame. Working in the circus, he toured Europe and the USA. After finishing his circus career, he returned to his homeland, where he died at the age of 34. His grave has survived to this day in the cemetery in Staroye Selo. A whole exhibition dedicated to Fyodor Makhnov has been created in the local school museum, the main exhibit of which is the frame of the bed on which the giant slept. The Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore also has documents confirming his enormous height. Interestingly, none of the giant's five children exceeded two meters. -0-