[3] Midler was born in Moscow, in the Soviet Union, and was Jewish.

[10][3] Along with his Soviet teammates, he won the World Team Championships in Foil five times: in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1966.

[3] Midler coached fencing for the Olympic teams of the Soviet Union and Russia.

[3] From 1971 until 2000, Midler was the coach of the Soviet and later Russian national foil team.

[3] Midler was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.