Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev (Russian: Василий Иванович Алексеев; 7 January 1942 – 25 November 2011) was a Soviet weightlifter.

He set 80 world-records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 games.

During one of his early world records, Oscar State OBE remarked that the weight of over 460 pounds (209 kg) in the Olympic press looked so easy it could have been a broomstick.

Under his leadership, the Unified Team earned ten medals in weightlifting at the 1992 Summer Olympics, including five golds.

[5][7] The Russian Weightlifting Federation reported his death and called him a "Soviet sports legend" and "one of the strongest people in the world".

[3] Vladimir Vysotsky devoted his "Song about weightlifter" (Russian: Песня о штангисте, 1971) to Alekseyev.