Nikolai Volkoff Nikolai Volkoff ( born Josip Peruzović in October 14 , 1947 ) is a wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation . Although he portrayed a Russian as a wrestler , he originated from Croatia when in Yugoslavia , and had a mixed background which was not entirely Russian . Early life . Peruzović grew up in the Socialist Republic of Croatia , which was then part of the Yugoslavia , a Communist country . His mother is Russian and his father was Croatian and Italian . He was on the Yugoslavian weightlifting team until 1967 , when he defected to Canada while at a weightlifting tournament in Vienna , Austria . He received training in Calgary from the legendary Stu Hart , followed by his arrival in the United States in 1970 . Career . World Wide Wrestling Federation . As soon as he arrived , he began wrestling in the " World Wide Wrestling Federation " ( WWWF ) ( currently known as World Wrestling Entertainment ) . Wrestling as Bepo Mongol , managed by " Captain " Lou Albano and partnered with Geto Mongol , he captured the WWF International Tag Team Titles from Tony Marino and Victor Rivera on June 15 , 1970 . After losing the titles to Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler in a match that unified the WWF International and WWF World Tag Team Titles , Peruzovic went on to singles competition under the name Nikolai Volkoff . In 1974 , Volkoff appeared in a memorable match at a sold out Madison Square Garden and wrestled one of the sport ' s most famous champions , the great Bruno Sammartino . Volkoff chased the WWF title for the majority of his early career and was always given a considerable number of title shots from whoever was the current WWF Champion . American Wrestling Association ; Mid - South . Late in 1974 , Volkoff moved to the AWA where he wrestled under the name of Boris Breznikoff ; managed by Bobby " The Brain " Heenan , he used the same gimmick with a different ring name . He reverted to the Volkoff name in his WWF return in 1976 . During this time in the WWF , Volkoff was announced as being from Mongolia . He enjoyed a very successful feud with Bruno Sammartino . The feud started when Volkoff attacked Sammartino during an interview segment . They sold out arenas all throughout the Northeast . Also during this tenure , Volkoff began a ring gimmick where he would crush a fresh apple with one hand as a sign of what he would do to his opponents . In the early 1980s , Volkoff wrestled for Cowboy Bill Watts in the Mid South region . World Wrestling Federation . In 1984 , Volkoff returned to the now WWF and teamed with the Iron Sheik . It was at this point that Volkoff really pushed the envelope and began to sing the national anthem of the Soviet Union before every match , in order to gain even more heat for being a foreign heel . The new team of Volkoff and The Iron Sheik captured the coveted WWF Tag Team Championship from The U . S . Express ( Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham ) at WrestleMania , on March 31 , 1985 . After losing the titles back to Rotundo and Windham three months later , Volkoff began to wrestle more in singles competition , picking up a notable feud with Corporal Kirchner . They faced off in a flag match at WrestleMania 2 , which Kirschner won . In the fall of 1986 , Volkoff ' s manager Classy Freddy Blassie sold half interest in his stable of superstars to the “ Doctor of Style , ” Slick ( kayfabe ) . Giving Slick co - managerial rights to Nikolai Volkoff , Classy Freddy Blassie also shared the contracts of the Iron Sheik and Hercules . Blassie eventually retired in the fall of 1986 . Sheik and Volkoff feuded with WWF newcomer Jim Duggan for the majority of 1987 . In late 1987 , Volkoff was teamed with Boris Zukhov , another alleged Russian ( actually an American ) , to form The Bolsheviks . However , this tag team combination for Volkoff did not gain the success as did his partnership with The Iron Sheik . As they lost the public eye due to many losses , they eventually lost their manager Slick . The Bolsheviks never held any titles together , and are perhaps best remembered for being defeated in 19 seconds by The Hart Foundation at WrestleMania VI . Eventually , by 1990 , The Bolsheviks split up . Volkoff publicly ended the partnership prior to a match where he confronted Zukhov and then started singing " The Star - Spangled Banner " , drawing loud cheers from the audience and turning face in the process . A short time after The Bolsheviks split , Volkoff became a fan favorite for the first time in his career . His gimmick was now that of a recently liberated Lithuanian , following the fall of the Soviet Union ; he became very pro - west which led to a feud with Sgt . Slaughter who was involved in an Iraqi sympathizer role and teamed with the Iron Sheik , who had recently began an Iraqi gimmick as opposed to his actual Iranian heritage . After this feud was over , Volkoff ' s popularity declined and he left WWF in 1992 . In 1994 , Volkoff again returned to the WWF and became a sympathetic heel by playing the whipping - boy of Ted DiBiase ' s Million Dollar Corporation . Volkoff had kayfabe fallen on hard times and was forced to take a job working for DiBiase and his new Corporation . As low man in the group he was forced to wrestle matches no one else wanted to or sent out to " soften up " opponents for other members of the stable as the sacrificial lamb of the group . The disrespect even extended to renaming him " Nickel & Dime " Volkoff and DiBiase forcing him to place a ¢ on his trunks where the Russian sickle once was along with a sign on his ring attire that read " Property Of The Million Dollar Man " . Following this last run in the WWF , Volkoff entered a semi - retirement . Semi - retirement . Volkoff made a brief cameo on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night where Todd Pettengill discovered him homeless sleeping in a box on the streets of New York . He also appeared at WrestleMania X - Seven in the Gimmick Battle Royal . On February 3 , 2005 , Volkoff was announced as one of the WWE Hall of Fame inductees for the " Class of 2005 " . He was inducted on April 2 , 2005 by Jim Ross in the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles , California . In 2006 , Volkoff took part in the World Wrestling Legends pay - per - view " 6 : 05 The Reunion " . Managed by the Iron Sheik , he wrestled a match against " Hacksaw " Jim Duggan . Before the match , he once again sang the national anthem of the Soviet Union and riled up the crowd . Volkoff made his first appearance on WWE television in over 2 years on the August 13 , 2007 edition of " Raw " as a contestant on WWE Idol , a parody of American Idol . Volkoff appeared alongside the Iron Sheik and Howard Finkel , although Volkoff was the only one who sang . Volkoff sang the Soviet Union national anthem , receiving boos from the crowd ( despite being a face ) and was insulted by judge William Regal , although judges Mick Foley and Maria both praised the performance . In response , Sheik , who was also insulted , went on a tirade until both he and Volkoff were escorted out of the building by security . The March 10 , 2008 edition of WWE Raw , featured rematches from previous WrestleMania s . The Iron Sheik appeared along with Nikolai Volkoff to face off against the U . S . Express in a rematch from the first WrestleMania . The match was cut short however by Jillian Hall , who came out to sing " Born in the U . S . A . " On the November 15 , 2010 , edition of Raw , as part of the Old School theme , Volkoff appeared with the Iron Sheik , singing the Soviet national anthem before being interrupted by Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov , the latter of whom then sung a duet with Volkoff of the Russian National anthem . Currently , Volkoff works for various independent promotions throughout North America . Personal life . Peruzovic has been married for 35 years and has two daughters . In his autobiography " Listen , You Pencil Neck Geeks " , Freddie Blassie describes Peruzovic as a good family man who helped Blassie reconnect with a daughter with whom he had been estranged for many years . In a 2009 shoot interview released by Pro Wrestling Diary on DVD , Peruzovic tearfully discusses in - depth his history with the late Fred Blassie as well as helping Blassie re - connect with his daughter . In 2010 the aging former WWF wrestler appeared along with wrestler Jimmy Cicero on Karlos Borloff ' s pop internet TV show Monster Madhouse . Peruzovic is working as a code enforcement officer in Baltimore County , Maryland . He still wrestles independent shows occasionally . Political involvement . He ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 Maryland Republican Primary for State Delegate in District 7 ( representing parts of Baltimore & Harford County ) in Maryland .