Russian figure skating news in 2026

[spin2win]

Eteri is back with a sharp forthcoming interview with Okko— from telegram leaks:

• she went after the Russian federation with bias accusations and claims of unfavorable subjective judging at internal competitions
• she was not impressed with Benoit Richaud’s programs for her students and shaded him while also saying she and Gleikhengauz do better programs
• she also made some unfortunate remarks about Alysa Liu:

“Alice Liu used to land almost all of her quads. She just gained some weight, and triple jumps became completely effortless for her - so she skated for pleasure. For her, it’s easy, like a transition. She said she tried a triple axel, she even landed it in practice, but it’s not something she does consistently. We won’t say that if she had lost 10 kg - she would have been flying in a quad lutz. But she already won against everyone. So why did she need that?”

 

[Amy L]

She needs to lose 20lbs but won anyway. Thanks again Eteri.

 

[skateboy]

“Alice Liu used to land almost all of her quads. She just gained some weight, and triple jumps became completely effortless for her - so she skated for pleasure. For her, it’s easy, like a transition. She said she tried a triple axel, she even landed it in practice, but it’s not something she does consistently. We won’t say that if she had lost 10 kg - she would have been flying in a quad lutz. But she already won against everyone. So why did she need that?”

As we all know, Eteri is well-known for her diplomatic, classy comments.

 

[Wyliefan]

Eteri's grapes are so sour I can smell them from here.

 

[PRlady]

She really is a consistently crappy person. I didn’t notice bone-thin Adelia landing any quads in Milan.

 

[Ka3sha]

By Eteri's standards, that's basically a compliment
Her obsession with weight is permanent though

 

[Theatregirl1122]

The idea that she and Danny G do better programs than anyone.

And the idea that judges have ever been biased AGAINST her students is even funnier.

 

[Vagabond]

• she was not impressed with Benoit Richaud’s programs for her students and shaded him while also saying she and Gleikhengauz do better programs

Eteri Tutberidze, how dare you?!

 

[rfisher]

Eteri Tutberidze, how dare you?!

Oddly, a number of FSU posters don't like his programs either. How ironic that they share the same opinion.

 

[PRlady]

Ah, but do they prefer his programs to Danny the Mule Kick? It’s all relative.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Yeah, even 1% > 0%.

 

[Sylvia]

July 16 - Eight Russian figure skaters have received neutral status from the ISU:

Восемь российских фигуристов получили нейтральный статус от ISU

Восемь российских фигуристов получили нейтральный статус для выступления на турнирах под эгидой Международного союза конькобежцев (ISU), сообщается на сайте... РИА Новости Спорт, 16.07.2026

ria.ru

"Neutral status was granted to Adelia Petrosyan, Margarita Bazylyuk, Alisa Dvoeglazova, Anna Frolova, Alina Gorbacheva, Grigory Fedorov, as well as pair skating competitors Victoria Dvinina and Artem Petrov, who have not worked with each other."

ETA:

JGP slots will be decided at a test skate on July 28-31 in Novogorsk [RIA Novosti]

Russia's allocated JGP spots:
#1 Xi'ian City CHN: 1 man, 1 woman, 1 pair, 1 dance team
#3 Bangkok THA: 1 man, 1 woman, 1 dance team
#4 Ankara TUR: 1 pair
#7 Gdansk POL: 1 pair

 

[Wyliefan]

So ... two individual pairs skaters? Are they going to have to team up with each other then? Interesting variation on a meet-cute ...

 

[TAHbKA]

Anna Scherbakova got engaged.

 

[Vagabond]

So ... two individual pairs skaters? Are they going to have to team up with each other then? Interesting variation on a meet-cute ...

According to someone at the Russian Federation watched Blades of Glory and was inspired to do something that would fit within Russian standards of propriety.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Anna Scherbakova got engaged.

To who?

 

[TAHbKA]

To who?

A guy. Not a skater

 

[Amy L]

Someone on reddit said he's a former hockey player turned real estate agent named Artem Shakirov.

 

[Ka3sha]

Young, unmarried, not under sanctions. That’s the most important things

 

[jägerbomb]

Oddly, a number of FSU posters don't like his programs either. How ironic that they share the same opinion.

Oh please. Benoit is a pretentious fop, but his choreography is far superior to Gleikhengauz's cluttered slop.

 

[Ka3sha]

Adeliia Petrosian left Eteri Tutberidze’s group. She announced it on her social media

 

[spin2win]

This is what she said (on telegram and instagram)

"
This decision was not an easy one for me.

I am leaving my coaching team. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Eteri Georgievna, Daniil Markovich, and Sergei Viktorovich for the journey we shared together. Thank you for the incredible programs, for all our victories, and for the invaluable experience I gained working alongside you.

I have the utmost respect for you and truly appreciate everything you have done for me.

I wish you and your athletes nothing but the best. "

Will have to see what's going on because this came out of nowhere

 

[Amy L]

... but did she send Eteri flowers?

 

[spin2win]

Information is flying fast after she made the announcement, I guess that was the greenlight for reporters to drop information:

• Adeliia enrolled at GITIS to study choreography as her focus. She was not preparing for the season, only training once or twice a week. She was dealing with a hip injury earlier in the offseason. Apparently many expected Adeliia to skip the season or reduce her competitive schedule. Her departure from Tutberidze was unexpected. (RIA Novosti Sport)
• Adeliia was never given programs for the upcoming season. Large number of senior skaters in the Eteri camp is playing a role (Alexandra Trusova, Daria Sadkova, and Dina Khusnutdinova). There is a clear favorite in the group. (RIA Novosti Sport/Vlad Zhukov)
• She said goodbye on July 19th (TASS)
• Adeliia was apparently fed up with everything. She has not chosen a new coach and is focused on addressing her health issues. She is in second year of studies at GITIS. (Sport24)

 

[Amy L]

The Eteribots never really disappeared from YouTube chatrooms, but I expect the rabidness will significantly increase with Russia's return to international competitions. Adelia's skating does nothing for me but she doesn't deserve Armenian Prostitute the Sequel.

 

[rfisher]

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DavkPl9Nsr_/ Trusova's work out regime. With a cameo by Misha.

Adelia never really recovered from the injury last summer. I'm not surprised she wasn't training as I think she totally lost interest after the Olympic disappointment. And, Trusova is back at the rink which pretty much knocked her out of contention. Sadkova has the skills but is as much of a head case as Adelia, but Kushnutdinova is a rising star. And, I agree that she didn't deserve the hate. She didn't make the selection for the Olympics, the Russian fed set the criteria for who would be considered and the IOC wouldn't let them make a change after her injury, otherwise, I doubt she'd have been sent. It was pretty clear that she wasn't ready at Russian nationals, but there was nothing to do but send her and hope for the best.
But, she got the blame by a lot of fans. Rumor is she'd been accepted into an elite ballet school and further aggravated her hip injury so it seems she was retiring from figure skating all along. Elite ballet is just as hard or harder than skating.

 

[PRlady]

I hope she’s able to tell the truth about her experiences at some point. I felt sorry for her in Milan and am actually relieved she’s out of there.

 

[Ananas Astra]

On a lighter note, Yagudin has trolled Trump in his latest Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD44K4iO8G/

 

[Karen-W]

On a lighter note, Yagudin has trolled Trump in his latest Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD44K4iO8G/

How is this pertinent to the Russian skating news thread? Other than blatantly bringing politics into this thread...

 

[Ka3sha]

AIN 2 entries for Xian JGP
Lev Lazarev
Elena Kostyleva
Maria Fefelova / Andrei Valov (ice dance)
Polina Shesheleva / Egor Karnaukhov (pairs)

Subs
Arseniy Fedotov
Sofia Dzepka
Victoria Streltsova

Final decision will be made after test skates