One year they were 4th though, then 10th, then didn't make it this season. So they could rebound next season, right? Provided Mr. Katsalapov isn't injured. What other senior teams do they have? Z/G? P/M? Russian ice dance has truly sunken to the gutters I tell you.
4th or 10th either one is possible so while upside is good s/k can be worse than z/g or p/m or l/d! I mean what are you going to do? Beg beg beg b/s never to retire? Rush juniors? It’s all disaster. Maybe Bukin can be rehabilitated and get apology from ioc!One year they were 4th though, then 10th, then didn't make it this season. So they could rebound next season, right? Provided Mr. Katsalapov isn't injured. What other senior teams do they have? Z/G? P/M? Russian ice dance has truly sunken to the gutters I tell you.
No, not nearly enough nepotism or money or natural thinness working in their favour. Besides isn't Mr. Shibnev in trouble with the law, how would that work out? Their juniors, they need to develop their juniors. Drozd is good though, but I can't say the same about his partner so in essence Russian ice dance is in the pits.
Shibnev is according to Tsl! I don’t know what kind of case he has in Hackensack though. So just forget all old skaters! Just do what they did to ladies in 2008. Push them away. Make sotnikovas and tuktamysheva replace anyone over 16!
Maybe Ilinykh could get Drozd?
So many copycat videos of the kind @Karpenko originated.I do not think Maria Sotskova is a star nor a skater worthy of being on the Olympic podium. She's a good jumper and a determined striver. She's not a great performer, nor a great skater. Med and Zagitova deserve the credit for their precocious talents and jumping (rotational) strengths. They are good at what they do, but also lucky to have clout of RusFed & Eteri behind them, which helps with the judging, particularly the high PCS scores. When you are freakin' consistent all the time, and do the difficult tech stuff, the judges go whole hog on the PCS whether deserved or not.
"One nation has risen above the rest. As legends pass into history [shot of Julia Lip in a latter day demise comp], new ones are born to take their place [shots of uber-queens Janny & Alina]. Some have tried to discredit their dominance. But the dirty little games they play will not change the inevitable. Now the world's best figure skaters will claim what belongs to them..."
Background music lyrics: "We're ready for war..." Shot of Sotskova
Aside from the great production values and editing, I see so much desperation in this hype-driven video. Why all the desperation? It is what it is, with a lot of help from RusFed politicking. And the ladies in question are very talented. They don't have the speed, power and maturity of some other top competitors, but yeah, they are usually more consistent. The need and hunger to promote and flaunt Russian hegemony in ladies by RusFed even surpasses their thirst and conceit to regain traditional Russian dominance in pairs. Meanwhile, they continue to seek viable contenders to rebuild competitiveness in ice dance, forget about dominating in that discipline, for the moment.
Of course Janny Med and Alina Zag are expected to rock Pyeongchang arena with their determined consistency and jumping exploits. I think Alina is a better jumper, as Janny has tech issues on her jumps that are ignored. Neither are great artists on ice, notwithstanding the judges' PCS assessments. Ahem.Janny has some special aura and ethereal precocity about her, and Zagitova appears to have good technique and wonderful potential artistically (despite not actually being particularly balletic, even with her exaggerated posing in tutus). In any case, ladies that young need to mature in order to fully develop their artistic side. Neither Med nor Zag are as good as Michelle Kwan in Salome and Julia Lipnitskaya in Schindler's List. And even Julia and Michelle were not fully developed skaters artistically when they performed those respective programs.
Another point is that Julia had a hothouse flower, hot minute of a career. Maybe her SL performance in the team event at Sochi Olympics is legendary, but Paul Wylie's exhibition Schindler's List was better and much more profound. The symbolism of the little girl in the red coat that we remember from the Stephen Spielberg movie is what provokes emotions during Julia's memorable SL performance. It was a great vehicle that helped camouflage Julia's weaknesses. Also, real legends do not 'pass into history,' they transcend history.
What it boils down to obviously is that the Civil War is between Med and Zag. I do not think Sotskova will be a factor. If Sotskova performs well, she'll get good scores, but I can't see her taking the podium. She's not better than a slew of other ladies. It does come down to how everyone performs on the ice, and it seems clear that the judges and rest of skating community await the inevitable battle between Med and Zag for top of podium. If everyone is at their best though, Sotskova won't be climbing on the podium. She's rather bland and average compared to other top contenders. An exciting upset for the top spots would be a fitting end to the figure skating extravaganza in Pyeongchang. But I'm expecting status quo as usual.
I've done really similar Russian Ladies fan videos before, and just wanted to complete the set for the Olympics. They're all supposed to be really tongue-in-cheek, but I'm sorry for coming off as desperate! 
You have to watch my vids like you do pro wrestling...just know that they are fake, over the top, maybe stupid, but that they are just for fun anyway . Good thing I didn't go with the more (potentially) offensive, original version! As for Sotskova's inclusion, I just thought it would be more interesting if the video featured a trio. That's all! LOL! There is something I am actually desperate for, and that's a miracle podium finish for Mirai, but let's not get into that right now lol
I almost feel bad lol.
Can you do one of these for Chock and Bates and Shpilband?
Pretty Please?
Oh for sure @alchemy void! It's just a promo vid, and very very well done too, as inspired by @Karpenko's original inspirational fs promo vids. No problema. It is what it is, and it got me to thinking about the nitty-gritty realities.
Of course fans of Russian ladies have a right to love them and to promote them and to cheer for them. The text is a bit OTT. When you great, there really ain't no need to defend and shout it from the mountaintops.
Enjoy all the rest of the Olympics skating!
Jesus woman, relax. It's a fan video.
The youtube is full of them. I love Karpenko, he's my friend as well. But he's not the only one doing them. And actually he does a different thing, cause he does that for work also. The objective is different.
These are just fan videos, made for fun and "uber" their favorites. Without been paid or anything. It has more to do with that, the creativity and the production quality of the one who makes them.
That's an interesting excuse. She's definitely pretty enough to be included. 
).
Agreed! Resolve is so important. When they “fired” anyone having anything to do with ladies pre 2007 in 2008 that was a big moment.
Tutberidze is clearly getting ready for the change of rules. If having all jumps in the second half doesn’t bring the extra points due to new limitations on the number of jumps in the second half, Tutberidze’s skaters will get the points through having several quads. I wonder what those who wanted the rule changed will say next. Ban quads in junior ladies?Aleksandra Trusova's LP at the Russian Cup Final
4S, 4T< , 3lz-3Lo, 3F-1Lo-3S, 3F-3T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-2M7gR9pPM
Child is ready for Junior Worlds
Well, considering how many of the juniors she has, she needs at least one or two to be able to keep them. They don’t all have to keep them. So the numbers are on her side. (It is not as if she had one promising junior. This season she had four successful at JGP and fifth one (with skills comparable to those four) injured. As long as at least two survive, Tutberidze will achieve it. (Horrible, but that’s life.)
Touch of pogosplat there
Not all. Asada did not have the same bodyshape as Harding, Ito and Tuktamysheva. And I think Asada kept her triple axel much longer than the ladies you mentioned.
The original YT link (posted on Feb. 10) no longer works -- I assume this was the video? (Russian version is linked at the bottom) https://rtd.rt.com/films/ice-princess/
Her jumps were spectacular, especially putting them in the second half, smart move. And Medvedeva gave a great performance as well; she didn't give up without a fight. They both should be proud!
A far cry from the days of Yagudin versus Plushenko, et al. So many can learn from this imho.I just came from IN and was touched to see the pic of Zagitova hugging & comforting her teammate Medvedeva. Now this is sportmanship at its very finest!
ps: if it was up to me I would've given the top 3 an individual Olympic Gold Medal. All three were outstanding!!!!
