ISU Statement on Russia's war against Ukraine - Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus

[On My Own]

Russians should not be allowed back in until the war is over either here or in the olympics , all sports related in that country is state sponsored and they use it as a tool for propaganda, putin and his cronies are surely trying at this point to pay off the IOC but this whole neutrality nonsense doesn`t fly especially if they call them ROC.

 

[airgelaal]

Happy birthday, Violetta

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[airgelaal]

Group of European allies meet with Ukraine Sports Minister in Warsaw and urge Russian sport ban​

Group of European allies meet with Ukraine Sports Minister and urge Russian ban

A group of six European allies of Ukraine have urged the International Olympic Committee to maintain an effective ban on Russia and Belarus in interna...

www.insidethegames.biz

 

[airgelaal]

It is interesting which countries want to invite figure skaters trained by Plushenko and Tarasenko

The husband of the 2014 Olympic champion Yulia Lipnitskaya, former figure skater Vladislav Tarasenko, is serving in the Zaporozhye region, several sources familiar with the situation told RIA Novosti.

"Vladislav has been on the front line for several months now. He is in Zaporozhye," the source said.

Another source of the agency noted that Tarasenko was trained as a grenade launcher.

Муж Липницкой служит на передовой в зоне СВО, сообщил источник

Муж олимпийской чемпионки 2014 года Юлии Липницкой, бывший фигурист Владислав Тарасенко проходит службу в Запорожской области, сообщили РИА Новости несколько... РИА Новости Спорт, 01.03.2023

rsport.ria.ru

And

During the past day, on February 28, the Russian military shelled civilian infrastructure in the area of 17 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Georgia? Azerbaijan? Each one could recruit an entirely Russian team for the TE in 2026. Then they could turn their AZE or GEO jackets inside out to reveal the Russian colors and the Russian flag.

 

[airgelaal]

Georgia? Azerbaijan? Each one could recruit an entirely Russian team for the TE in 2026. Then they could turn their AZE or GEO jackets inside out to reveal the Russian colors and the Russian flag.

I just want to see how they will explain such support and participation in the war.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I just want to see how they will explain such support and participation in the war.

As far as I know, Plushenko and Tarasenko's athletes haven't participated in the war, but have competed in Russian competitions and may have -- I haven't been following this -- participated in pro-war shows.

You have Mishin's godson, Memola, who has dual citizenship, and who has been given a pass for getting additional training in Russia. Kvitelashvilli has been treated more like Memola from what I've seen, continuing to train with his Russian coaches, and he's an adult. Same with Gubanova. I haven't seen complaints about skaters who've teamed with Russian skaters to represent their birth countries or the countries that were willing to give them passports to have competitors, like Hektor Giotopoulos-Moore for partnering with Golubeva or Gamez for partnering with Kolovin.

The only skater who's been pressed is Grassl, who has only professional/coaching ties to Russia, and that has petered out, and the only public internal complaints I've seen about any of the countries who've embraced Russian skaters have been from Hungary, and that's about taking away opportunities from Hungarian-born skaters. .

So I don't think they will be explaining support and participation in the war in anything more than a perfunctory way anytime soon, unless they continue to participate in Russian events, and even if they are asked why they continue to train in Russia, if they are young, they can just say they live with their parents.

 

[skatingguy]

Kvitelashvilli has been treated more like Memola from what I've seen, continuing to train with his Russian coaches, and he's an adult.

I thought Kvitelashvili had moved to Italy?

 

[tony]

I thought Kvitelashvili had moved to Italy?

According to his most recent ISU bio, Magri is the ex-coach and Tutberidze & co. are the coaches. I think more than getting away from the coaching team, he just didn't want to be drafted to the army (didn't he even say as much?)

 

[kwanfan1818]

I thought Kvitelashvili had moved to Italy?

For a minute. It was too expensive, and he missed home.

 

[airgelaal]

As far as I know, Plushenko and Tarasenko's athletes haven't participated in the war, but have competed in Russian competitions and may have -- I haven't been following this -- participated in pro-war shows.

But I am sure that Plushenko wants to remain the coach of those who want to change the federation.
Besides, this is a private school. So skaters are comfortable with such coaches since they did not change them.

 

[kwanfan1818]

But I am sure that Plushenko wants to remain the coach of those who want to change the federation.
Besides, this is a private school. So skaters are comfortable with such coaches since they did not change them.

They are, but it's not like Kvitelashvili or Gubanova has had to change coaches.

 

[TygerLily]

You have Mishin's godson, Memola, who has dual citizenship, and who has been given a pass for getting additional training in Russia. Kvitelashvilli has been treated more like Memola from what I've seen, continuing to train with his Russian coaches, and he's an adult. Same with Gubanova. I haven't seen complaints about skaters who've teamed with Russian skaters to represent their birth countries or the countries that were willing to give them passports to have competitors, like Hektor Giotopoulos-Moore for partnering with Golubeva or Gamez for partnering with Kolovin.

I mainly lurk, so hesitate to say anything, but I've personally taken a “if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all” re: situations like these. Since the invasion, I have had a visceral negative reaction seeing most of the above even though I know that they didn't decide to represent other countries to evade the ban. I just haven't seen the point in saying anything.

 

[Karen-W]

I think there is a HUGE difference between skaters like a) Memola who has never represented Russia as a skater or b) Korovin, Efimova, Kvitelashvili, Gubanova, Kurakova, Danilova/Tsiba, etc who made the country switch long before the war and the ban, even if they still train in Russia when that has always been their training base.

It's the skaters who are now looking to make the country switch or did already this season (like most of the Russo-Hungarians) that are going to get a huge side-eye, I suspect, from the rest of the skating world. We all know what's what and what the motivations behind any upcoming country switches are. As far as how closely their support of the war will be scrutinized, I think that remains to be seen, but I don't know that the eyes will be completely blind.

 

[Lilia A]

Kvitelashvilli has been treated more like Memola from what I've seen

Maybe we're on different parts of the internet, but at least FS twitter doesn't give Kvitelashvilli a pass for continuing to train in Russia and definitely not given a pass for participating in Russian shows. Grassl is also catching a lot of heat for moving to Eteri. Some of the things I read are rather aggressive, a bit too much, not really my jam but I don't really want to get involved there so I don't say anything.

 

[hoptoad]

I mainly lurk, so hesitate to say anything, but I've personally taken a “if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all” re: situations like these. Since the invasion, I have had a visceral negative reaction seeing most of the above even though I know that they didn't decide to represent other countries to evade the ban. I just haven't seen the point in saying anything.

This is how I feel too. I can't even bring myself to root for Levito ever since I read her coach's interview about "our (Russian) girls."

I don't exactly hold it against Levito herself - she seems like a nice kid and there's lots to like in her skating, but that visceral negative reaction is there just the same.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Maybe we're on different parts of the internet, but at least FS twitter doesn't give Kvitelashvilli a pass for continuing to train in Russia and definitely not given a pass for participating in Russian shows. Grassl is also catching a lot of heat for moving to Eteri. Some of the things I read are rather aggressive, a bit too much, not really my jam but I don't really want to get involved there so I don't say anything.

Are the skaters responding to demands from FS twitter? They seem to be answering press questions, and it's the press who would ask them to justify themselves. (Or not.)

Social media can be ignored. The press, not always so much, especially if they'll fabricate quotes. Their reception in the arenas around the world may be a different story. That's not something I can judge very well through a computer screen.

I'm not arguing that this is a good thing. I just don't think they're losing any sleep or having an internal or external reckoning.

I think there is a HUGE difference between skaters like a) Memola who has never represented Russia as a skater or b) Korovin, Efimova, Kvitelashvili, Gubanova, Kurakova, Danilova/Tsiba, etc who made the country switch long before the war and the ban, even if they still train in Russia when that has always been their training base.

I don't agree. If they're so good that they would be skating in important international competition, the Russian Fed isn't releasing them any time soon. If they're not, and especially if they think they're being held back for whatever reason, they'd be leaving for the same reason that all of the skaters you mentioned left: to get a chance to compete that they wouldn't have regardless of Russia's ability to compete internationally.

 

[euterpe]

Kurakova left Russia many years before the war, and she trains in Torun and Italy under Lorenzo Magri, not in Russia under Russian coaches.

 

[Rainbow]

Kurakova left Russia many years before the war, and she trains in Torun and Italy under Lorenzo Magri, not in Russia under Russian coaches.

Agreed. Kurakova doesn`t deserve to be lumped together with the others in this list at all. She lived/lives in Poland, speaks the language reasonably well and considers Poland her home country. She talked at length in interviews about wanting to use all her experiences with foreign coaches to build up skating in Poland. Has Gubanova ever even visited Georgia by now or put in the effort to learn the language?

 

[kwanfan1818]

Kurakova left Russia many years before the war, and she trains in Torun and Italy under Lorenzo Magri, not in Russia under Russian coaches.

And neither I nor Karen-W said she did.

 

[Karen-W]

Agreed. Kurakova doesn`t deserve to be lumped together with the others in this list at all. She lived/lives in Poland, speaks the language reasonably well and considers Poland her home country. She talked at length in interviews about wanting to use all her experiences with foreign coaches to build up skating in Poland. Has Gubanova ever even visited Georgia by now or put in the effort to learn the language?

Whether Gubanova has visited Georgia or attempted to learn Georgian is irrelevant, IMO. Also, take into consideration that there werent any permanent, Olympi-sized ice rinks in Georgia until this past summer/fall, so relocating to Georgia was NOT an option for any newly-minted Georgian skaters. She also made the country switch well before Russia invaded Ukraine. Sure, she made the switch because she wanted the opportunity to compete internationally, but she didn't do it because her country was banned from international competitions due to an illegal invasion of another sovereign nation.

I appreciate that Kurakova has learned Polish and feels a great affinity to her adopted homeland. She's hardly the first skater to make a switch and put down permanent roots in a new country.

 

[hanca]

As far as I know, Plushenko and Tarasenko's athletes haven't participated in the war, but have competed in Russian competitions and may have -- I haven't been following this -- participated in pro-war shows.

You have Mishin's godson, Memola, who has dual citizenship, and who has been given a pass for getting additional training in Russia. Kvitelashvilli has been treated more like Memola from what I've seen, continuing to train with his Russian coaches, and he's an adult. Same with Gubanova. I haven't seen complaints about skaters who've teamed with Russian skaters to represent their birth countries or the countries that were willing to give them passports to have competitors, like Hektor Giotopoulos-Moore for partnering with Golubeva or Gamez for partnering with Kolovin.

The only skater who's been pressed is Grassl, who has only professional/coaching ties to Russia, and that has petered out, and the only public internal complaints I've seen about any of the countries who've embraced Russian skaters have been from Hungary, and that's about taking away opportunities from Hungarian-born skaters. .

So I don't think they will be explaining support and participation in the war in anything more than a perfunctory way anytime soon, unless they continue to participate in Russian events, and even if they are asked why they continue to train in Russia, if they are young, they can just say they live with their parents.

The majority of Hungarian team at this years junior worlds were of Russian background. Hungarian senior pair, Pavlova/Sviatchenko are also both of Russian origin.

 

[Karen-W]

The majority of Hungarian team at this years junior worlds were of Russian background. Hungarian senior pair, Pavlova/Sviatchenko are also both of Russian origin.

In Pavlova's defense, she did switch last season to skate with Balasz Nagy, who is Hungarian. The fact that the partnership didn't work out shouldn't be held against her, and given how hard it is to find male pairs partnership, you kind of take them where you find them, whatever their country of origin, IMO.

 

[hanca]

I think there is a HUGE difference between skaters like a) Memola who has never represented Russia as a skater or b) Korovin, Efimova, Kvitelashvili, Gubanova, Kurakova, Danilova/Tsiba, etc who made the country switch long before the war and the ban, even if they still train in Russia when that has always been their training base.

It's the skaters who are now looking to make the country switch or did already this season (like most of the Russo-Hungarians) that are going to get a huge side-eye, I suspect, from the rest of the skating world. We all know what's what and what the motivations behind any upcoming country switches are. As far as how closely their support of the war will be scrutinized, I think that remains to be seen, but I don't know that the eyes will be completely blind.

I can’t see much difference to be honest. So you are saying that it is ok to switch because they were not good enough to get through and be sent to international competitions, but not ok to switch because they want to compete and can’t because of the sanctions? I wonder why is it ok to punish some Russian skaters and don’t punish other Russian skaters (for war which none of those skaters have any chance to influence). Do you really naively think that skaters like Gubanova, Kurakova, Kvitelashvilli etc would change countries if they were good enough? They admitted in interviews that they had no chance to be sent competing for Russia, that’s why they changed. So it is not as if they publicly denounced Russia and the war.

 

[hanca]

In Pavlova's defense, she did switch last season to skate with Balasz Nagy, who is Hungarian. The fact that the partnership didn't work out shouldn't be held against her, and given how hard it is to find male pairs partnership, you kind of take them where you find them, whatever their country of origin, IMO.

That excuse may work if they were the only Russians on Hungarian national team, but this year at junior worlds three out of four skaters that were sent to represent Hungary are of Russian background.

 

[Karen-W]

I can’t see much difference to be honest. So you are saying that it is ok to switch because they were not good enough to get through and be sent to international competitions, but not ok to switch because they want to compete and can’t because of the sanctions? I wonder why is it ok to punish some Russian skaters and don’t punish other Russian skaters (for war which none of those skaters have any chance to influence). Do you really naively think that skaters like Gubanova, Kurakova, Kvitelashvilli etc would change countries if they were good enough? They admitted in interviews that they had no chance to be sent competing for Russia, that’s why they changed. So it is not as if they publicly denounced Russia and the war.

I have zero issue with skaters switching countries because they aren't good enough to get sent out by the country they live in. If I did, well, how many American or Canadian skaters would I need to take issue with?

There is a huge difference between skaters who are good enough to compete for Russia internationally switching countries because their government has ILLEGALLY invaded another country and the sporting world decided to ban athletes from their country as a consequence. Speak up against your government before you decide to switch countries.

 

[Karen-W]

That excuse may work if they were the only Russians on Hungarian national team, but this year at junior worlds three out of four skaters that were sent to represent Hungary are of Russian background.

I did not say that it excused the composition of this year's Jr Worlds team from Hungary. Just stated that as far as Pavliva goes, I'm willing to cut her some slack that I won't give to Vlasenko et al.

 

[caseyedwards]

I have zero issue with skaters switching countries because they aren't good enough to get sent out by the country they live in. If I did, well, how many American or Canadian skaters would I need to take issue with?

There is a huge difference between skaters who are good enough to compete for Russia internationally switching countries because their government has ILLEGALLY invaded another country and the sporting world decided to ban athletes from their country as a consequence. Speak up against your government before you decide to switch countries.

That’s too dangerous. They might “fall” out of windows. Or their mother or father may “fall” out of windows. I believe I just read about a girl who drew a picture of Ukrainian troops beating Russians like it was a good thing had her father to to jail

 

[hanca]

There is a huge difference between skaters who are good enough to compete for Russia internationally switching countries because their government has ILLEGALLY invaded another country and the sporting world decided to ban athletes from their country as a consequence.

You seem to be missing the point. Kurakova, Gubanova etc also never spoke up about THEIR government illegally invading another country. So why are you holding one group of skaters responsible, while pretending that another group of skaters of the same nationality, with the same government, are innocent? That is very illogical, in my view.

Speak up against your government before you decide to switch countries.

The bravest on this forum are always the ones who sit in their armchair and have plenty to say what others should do, while themselves never dared to speak up against their own government.

 

[Rainbow]

You seem to be missing the point. Kurakova, Gubanova etc also never spoke up about THEIR government illegally invading another country. So why are you holding one group of skaters responsible, while pretending that another group of skaters of the same nationality, with the same government, are innocent? That is very illogical, in my view.

The bravest on this forum are always the ones who sit in their armchair and have plenty to say what others should do, while themselves never dared to speak up against their own government.

Kurakova posted a video saying "I`m against the war" despite her immediate family still living in Moscow. She calls Poland her home and has said she doesn`t see herself living in Russia in the future. So I doubt she views the Russian government even as "her" Government. After all she left the country several years before legal voting age. This is very different to skaters who just got second citizenship on paper, but changed nothing about their lives and are still using the Russian state ressources like facilities for training.