Vasili Shoumanov

Vasili Shoumanov is a historian, archivist, graphic designer, freelance photographer, calligrapher, and wrestling coach.

He obtained a Master of Arts degree in the History of Eastern Civilizations from St. Petersburg State University, Russia, in 1993. The title of the thesis was Assyrians: History and the Present.

Vasili was a professional wrestler and a certified coach in Freestyle Wrestling. In 1980, he won the St. Petersburg International Wrestling Tournament, also known as the Victory Day competition, and was awarded the title of Master of Sports of the Russian Federation (MS).

In 1986, he established the inaugural Assyrian cultural club in the USSR, which he named Semiramis (Shamiram). He occupied the position of club chairman until 1995.

Vasili's professional background included roles as an editor and author of some publications, with a notable tenure as the Editor-in-Chief of Atra Magazine from 1990 to 1996. He is also credited with authorship of the Russian-Assyrian Dictionary (Pras-Atra Publishing, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1993), and the books Assyrians of Chicago (2001) and Assyrian American Association: 100 Years (2018), published by Arcadia Publishing, USA.

From 2006 to 2008, he fulfilled the role of wrestling coach at Truman College in Chicago. From 2009 to 2010, he fulfilled the role of wrestling coach at Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, he won the 2009 U.S. Open in the veterans division.

He has also served as Cultural Director of the Assyrian American Association of Chicago since 2018.