Alexander Tikhonov

Alexander Tikhonov

Alexander Ivanovich Tikhonov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ти́хонов) (born January 2, 1947 in the village of Uyskoye, Kolkhozny District, Chelyabinsk Oblast) is a retired Russian biathlete who represented the USSR. Tikhonov trained at Dynamo in Novosibirsk. He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time, with nine world championship gold medals and four Olympic gold medals. He lacks an individual Olympic gold medal in his cupboard, but took part in the gold medal relay winning teams in 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980.

In May 2002, he was chosen as vice president of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). He lived in Austria for several years in the early 2000s.

In 2000, he was accused of participating in planning the murder of Kemerovo Oblast governor Aman Tuleyev. According to the prosecution, a businessman named Mikhail Zhivilo and his company MIKOM had a business conflict with Tuleyev, and Zhivilo decided to organize Tuleyev's murder as revenge. Zhivilo knew Tikhonov and, allegedly, asked him for help. Tikhonov got him in touch with his younger brother, Viktor Tikhonov, who found two potential killers—Vladimir Kharchenko and Sergey Nikanorov. Kharchenko and Nikanorov went to FSB and told them about the murder plans. Viktor Tikhonov was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to four years imprisonment. Since Alexander Tikhonov lived in Austria for several years, he was indicted separately from the other accused. On July 23, 2007, he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment. However, he was amnestied immediately and will not spend any time in prison.