There were two Russian Jews named Mikhail Romm. One of them was praised for directing movies about Lenin. This profile is not about him; we're going to go even more obscure.

A century ago, the other Mikhail Romm was one of Russia's best soccer players. The fledgling footballing nation was supposed to take part at the 1912 Olympics, and Romm was the captain. Unfortunately, when it became time to pick the team, Romm was left at home. Why, you ask? Well, antisemitism, of course! (Considering Russia was whacked 16:0 by Germany, specifically by Gottfried Fuchs, Jew (see his profile), it's hard to imagine it going worse with Romm in the lineup...)

After the disappointment of missing the Olympics, Romm went on vacation to Italy. There, he was spotted by locals, and just like that, the "colosso russo" turned out for the Firenze team. (A decade later, Firenze became the famed Fiorentina team that still plays today.)

Why is Romm playing in Italy so important? Well, he was the first Russian to play abroad... and the last one for 70 years! Communists didn't exactly allow their athletes to leave.

After Romm returned home, he played in the local leagues, became a journalist, and... spent eight years in a gulag. Oh, the fate of Russian Jews! Not all of you could survive by making films about Lenin...