Giant people, whose height exceeds 2 meters 50 cm, are extremely rare. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the tallest person on our planet was American Robert Wadlow. Its height was 272 cm. However, Belarusians do not agree with the opinion of this respectable publication. After all, they certainly know that the giant, worthy of the title of the tallest man in the world, lived in the Vitebsk province, and his name was Fedor Andreyevich Makhnov. His growth, according to some reports, was as much as 285 cm. At the beginning of the last century this unique person was known all over the world, and today they almost forgot about him.
Giant's childhood
Fate prepared Makhnov for a short but incredibly interesting life. Fedor Andreevich was born back in 1878 in the village of Kostyuki, located near Vitebsk. His parents were poor peasants whose ancestors moved to the Russian Empire from Syria. Makhnov became the first giant of his kind. His father, mother, brothers and sisters were taller than average, and although his grandfather was considered a tall man, no one could name him a giant.
Already at birth, Fedor Makhnov was distinguished by unusually large growth. His mother could not stand the difficult birth and died, without having seen the baby. The boy spent the early years with his grandfather, who did not have a soul for his grandson. Fedya differed from his peers not only in gigantic size, but also in heroic strength. At the age of 12, his height exceeded the mark of 2 meters. Young Makhnov easily lifted up adults, dragged heavy carts on his own and helped neighbors in building houses, carrying logs with his bare hands. The children laughed at the giant, and in revenge for this he took away their hats and hung them on the skates of the roofs.
Meet Otto Bilinder
When Fedya was 14 years old, his father had to raise the ceilings in the house, because the guy had ceased to fit in it. The bed for the young man was ordered by individual standards from a local blacksmith. Shoes and clothes for him had to be sewn to order. Since Fedor’s family was poor, he had to earn money for his clothes and food on the market in Vitebsk. It was there that the owner of a German traveling circus Otto Bilinder once noticed him. The foreigner was impressed by the giant growth of the guy, and he quickly realized that you can make good money on this. Without thinking twice, he turned to Makhnov’s father with a request to release his son with him to Germany. Having received consent from this, he took the young man to his circus troupe. From that moment, the 14-year-old ordinary giant Fedya left his father's house and went to conquer the sophisticated European public with his non-standard appearance.
Moving to Europe, circus life
After arriving in Germany, Makhnov settled in the house at Bilinder. The employer hired German teachers for the boy and personally began to teach him all the wisdom of circus art. Under the leadership of Bilinder, Fedor learned to break bricks with one hand, bend horseshoes, twist thick metal rods into a spiral, lift wooden platforms with people standing on them. At the age of 16, Makhnov signed a contract with his mentor and began performing in the circus arena along with other artists. By this age, his height reached 253 cm, and Otto Bilinder presented him to the public as the largest man on the planet. Together with the troupe, Fedor traveled many countries and became a giant-strongman known throughout Europe. In those days, giant people were a curiosity, so many viewers went to the circus to Bilinder specifically to look at Makhnov.
Fedor has been performing in the arena for 9 years. Throughout this time, its growth continued to increase and by the age of 25 reached 285 cm. The appearance of the Belarusian giant was impressive. He weighed as much as 182 kg. The length of his feet was 51 cm, his palms - 31 cm, his ears - 15 cm. Fedor Andreyevich Makhnov, like most people, ate 4 times a day, however, the portions that he absorbed were truly gigantic. His regular breakfast consisted of 2 liters of tea, 8 loaves of bread and butter and 20 eggs. For lunch, Makhnov easily ate 1 kg of potatoes and 2.5 kg of lamb or pork, drinking all this with three liters of beer. The giant's evening meal consisted of a huge piece of meat, 3 loaves of bread, a bowl of fruit and several liters of tea.
Return to Kostyuki
Over the years of his acting career, Makhnov managed to earn a lot of money and become a well-to-do person. At 25, he decided to leave the circus troupe and return home. Giant growth brought the young man many inconveniences during the tour. He did not fit in hotel rooms and restaurants, and transport was forced to choose only with an open top. Tired of endless travels, Makhnov at the beginning of the 20th century warmly said goodbye to Bilinder and returned to his village of Kostyuki. For the money earned during the performances, he acquired the estate from the local landowner Korzhenevsky. Fyodor Makhnov converted the house to fit his height, ordered suitable furniture for the rooms and healed for his pleasure.
Marriage to teacher Efrosinje
Shortly after returning home, the giant thought about getting married. The girls were afraid of the huge guy and bypassed him. It was not easy to find the bride to the giant-strongman, but, finally, luck smiled at him. His chosen one was the rural teacher Efrosinya Lebedeva. The girl was 2 meters tall, but still looked next to Fedor, like a child.
Over the years of marriage, Fyodor and Efrosinya had 5 children (they all grew tall, but their growth did not exceed two meters). The family lived in the estate of Makhnov, to whom he gave the ironic name Velikanovo. In order to feed his wife and young children, Fedor had to remember his acting past. He did not refuse to perform in Russian circuses, took part in wrestling tournaments.
Future life
In 1905, the giant Fyodor Makhnov went on a tour of foreign countries, taking with him his wife and children. He visited England, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Italy. The Belarusian giant was awarded an audience with the Pope himself. Later, the Makhnov couple went on a boat to the United States. For Fedor’s sake, the crew of the ship had to redo the cabin for his height. With its appearance, the circus everywhere made a splash. In many countries, he was invited to receptions to dignitaries, where without hesitation he lit cigarettes from candles in chandeliers. In France, Makhnov had a serious conflict with the local population. Arriving police officers wanted to put the giant behind bars, but could not find a suitable camera for him and were forced to let him go free.
Efrosinya liked living abroad so much that she considered staying there forever. However, the incident with German doctors forced her to change plans. Doctors began to persuade Makhnov to sign a contract, under the terms of which, after his death, they would be able to put scientific experiments on his body. Efrosinya was horrified by what she heard and, frightened that some unhappiness could happen to her husband, persuaded him to return to his homeland.
The first serious health problems
From frequent relocations, Fedor Makhnov began to complain about his well-being. The growth of 285 centimeters did not affect his health in the best way. After returning to Velikanovo, the man exacerbated the chronic joint disease received in childhood. His legs hurt so much that it was difficult for him to walk. But, despite health problems, Makhnov tried to lead a familiar life. He did not leave performances in the circus and even entered the wrestling ring.
Giant's death
The ordinary giant from Kostyukov was a kind man and a caring husband. With Euphrosyne he lived in love and harmony, did not cherish a soul in his children, did not refuse help to any of his fellow countrymen. Unfortunately, fate took Fedor a short 34 years. He died in 1912, leaving his wife with five small children in her arms (the younger twin sons Rodion and Gabriel were only 6 months old at the time of his death). The sudden departure of the circus from life gave rise to a lot of rumors. According to one version, the cause of his death was pneumonia. German doctors believed that the giant died due to tuberculosis of the bones - an ailment that affects most people of gigantic growth. There is also a version that Fedor was poisoned by ill-wishers.
Even after death, the growth of the tallest man on the planet continued to amaze others. When the undertaker received an order for the coffin and grave fence for Makhnov, he decided that the relatives of the deceased had confused something with the standards. He made a dominion and a fence of standard sizes. When it turned out that Fyodor’s relatives hadn’t mixed up anything, he had to hurry down the red coffin in order to catch the funeral. There was no time to make a new fence, so I had to be content with the one that was. Fedor was buried in a cemetery near Kostyukov. In 1934, the remains of the circus performer were exhumed and sent for research to the Minsk Medical Institute. During the war they were irretrievably lost.
