Russian figure skating news & updates in 2022

[Amy L]

My favorite FD was from Zhdanova/Babaev-Smirnov, they had a cool Georgian themed program.

Варвара Жданова - Тимур Бабаев-Смирнов. Произвольный танец. Танцы на льду. Чемпионат России 2023

Варвара Жданова и Тимур Бабаев-Смирнов вновь порадовали арбитров турнира и зрителей ледовой арены своим оригинальным произвольным танцем и завершили выступле...

youtu.be

And here is Khuda & partner and whatever the hell happened in the knc:

Елизавета Худайбердиева - Егор Базин. Произвольный танец. Танцы на льду. Чемпионат России по фигурно

Елизавета Худайбердиева и Егор Базин — новоиспеченные чемпионы России в танцах на льду. В представленном прокате фигуристы допустили падение на элементе, но ...

youtu.be

 

[Bigbird]

My favorite FD was from Zhdanova/Babaev-Smirnov, they had a cool Georgian themed program.

Варвара Жданова - Тимур Бабаев-Смирнов. Произвольный танец. Танцы на льду. Чемпионат России 2023

Варвара Жданова и Тимур Бабаев-Смирнов вновь порадовали арбитров турнира и зрителей ледовой арены своим оригинальным произвольным танцем и завершили выступле...

youtu.be

And here is Khuda & partner and whatever the hell happened in the knc:

Елизавета Худайбердиева - Егор Базин. Произвольный танец. Танцы на льду. Чемпионат России по фигурно

Елизавета Худайбердиева и Егор Базин — новоиспеченные чемпионы России в танцах на льду. В представленном прокате фигуристы допустили падение на элементе, но ...

youtu.be

Oh my. Something is not quite right with this girl, that is, Liza.

 

[On My Own]

Maybe I'm just looking at the wrong places, but I couldn't see anything about it on weibo? @raruki @Gris

I confess I have zero interest in going and looking at those Russia stan accounts on weibo, but it's almost hilarious how this event is now over, and I didn't hear a single whisper.

 

[rfisher]

To say this is an atypical season for the Russian skaters is the understatement of the decade.

 

[TAHbKA]

Rofl, Zhulin on the ice dance judging: Both my teams skated mediocrily. We'll keep working. I can't comment on the judging, I don't understand a thing

 

[Finnice]

Rofl, Zhulin on the ice dance judging: Both my teams skated mediocrily. We'll keep working. I can't comment on the judging, I don't understand a thing

Great that he finally admits his cluelessness.

 

[Willin]

Liza Khud, IMHO, looks emaciated and out of sorts mentally. She had two falls in the tournament. Are she and Yegor not training properly, will they break up or is she injured? It just looks rather strange.

She's always been super emotional, but she was completely OTT even for her. I have no idea what's going on with them! They won Nationals anyways and don't have much in the way of direct competition at the moment, so I don't think they'll break up unless there are major issues.

There's a post on Reddit right now sharing that her husband is a TV producer (I guess some Russians are thinking their win is due to him being a TV producer for the channel that airs the competitions). He's 15 years older, met her when she was underaged, and treats her in a very sexual/creepy manner on his social media. So maybe it's to do with that whole mess...

 

[rfisher]

There's a post on Reddit right now sharing that her husband is a TV producer (I guess some Russians are thinking their win is due to him being a TV producer for the channel that airs the competitions). He's 15 years older, met her when she was underaged, and treats her in a very sexual/creepy manner on his social media. So maybe it's to do with that whole mess...

false rumor. He has nothing to do with the federation and has no influence on scoring.

 

[Lanochka]

Has Khuda been looking this fragile all season? I haven’t really been tuning in to the Russian events. I feel for her, honestly, she doesn’t appear well.

 

[LoisAGOEs]

I have chosen not to watch the Russian competitions this season, but she had a pretty bad back injury about just under two years ago. She also definitely used to have issues with eating, when she was younger she posted that she used to eat 500 calories a day, but I think she has posted since that she knows better as she’s gotten older. I was surprised to read just how many times they’ve fallen in competition this season, because at least in Khuds case, she’s a very talented skater and it’s surprising to me that that hasn’t been fixed by the time they got to Nationals and that it was so bad she was almost having a panic attack in the kiss and cry over whether they’d secure the title or not.

 

[Amy L]

Has Khuda been looking this fragile all season? I haven’t really been tuning in to the Russian events. I feel for her, honestly, she doesn’t appear well.

I noticed that she was rail-thin in her wedding dress and she's looked that way ever since. Now it's like she can barely hold herself up on the ice.

There's a post on Reddit right now sharing that her husband is a TV producer (I guess some Russians are thinking their win is due to him being a TV producer for the channel that airs the competitions). He's 15 years older, met her when she was underaged, and treats her in a very sexual/creepy manner on his social media. So maybe it's to do with that whole mess...

The Russians on the YouTube live chat were going crazy about this. I don't think her husband being a producer for this event actually influenced the results (that's just classic Nationals judging for the only team in the last group who isn't brand new) but that is a hell of a workplace relationship and that dude creeps me out. A man in his thirties shouldn't be trolling for teenage brides at a figure skating competition.

 

[Holy Headband]

I have chosen not to watch the Russian competitions this season, but she had a pretty bad back injury about just under two years ago. She also definitely used to have issues with eating, when she was younger she posted that she used to eat 500 calories a day, but I think she has posted since that she knows better as she’s gotten older. I was surprised to read just how many times they’ve fallen in competition this season, because at least in Khuds case, she’s a very talented skater and it’s surprising to me that that hasn’t been fixed by the time they got to Nationals and that it was so bad she was almost having a panic attack in the kiss and cry over whether they’d secure the title or not.

I don't really want to comment on her body, but I think it's pretty obvious she's relapsed. Most people with EDs "know better," but it's extremely difficult to break the pattern for good. And if your self-esteem or sense of control over your life starts to slip, relapsing becomes all the more likely. What is more, controlling a partner's food intake is an extremely common form of domestic abuse.

If you piece that together with the evidence of her middle-aged husband's Instagram feed, where every other post is of him posing her across his lap in his luxury car with a proprietary hand over her knee or some other objectifying stunt where he's bragging to his followers about how hot she is, the idea that their relationship has contributed to her present state doesn't seem far-fetched.

 

[muffinplus]

I've seen lots of comments saying Pasechnik/Nekrasov should have won Nationals...

 

[aliona22]

Love Khuda but those scores were a gift. Where were those numbers last year when K/B were skating so well and losing to the mediocre Davis/Smolkin?

Really nice for Nekrasov to get on the podium with his new partner after languishing in juniors for what felt like a decade with Ushakova!

 

[hanca]

Great that he finally admits his cluelessness.

It wasn’t his way of saying that he is clueless. He was trying to suggest that Khubardieva/Bagin shouldn’t be first if she fell in SP and again in FS, but he didn’t have the balls to spell it out. So he is trying to do just hints. Surprising. He never had to hold back.

 

[Bigbird]

I've seen lots of comments saying Pasechnik/Nekrasov should have won Nationals...

Because they are the full package. But if they continue to improve it will happen.

Edit: as per Khud, I think she's relapsed. She seems to have little or no strength and coordination. Maybe she needs real treatment.

 

[Finnice]

It wasn’t his way of saying that he is clueless. He was trying to suggest that Khubardieva/Bagin shouldn’t be first if she fell in SP and again in FS, but he didn’t have the balls to spell it out. So he is trying to do just hints. Surprising. He never had to hold back.

Yes, I understood that, but could not help making the other assumption.

 

[Bigbird]

Yes, I understood that, but could not help making the other assumption.

Or as others have hinted regarding the health of Khud, he didn't want to overstate the obvious, for fear of repercussions to her? She seems very fragile emotionally. But what do you expect given Russia's penchant for supporting form rather than substance. Ice dance isn't really a sport in Russia but rather an exclusive social club. Why S/D are so close to Nekrasov and partner just perplexes me. Right now the other disciplines hold my attention. Case in point Valieva missed her axel hence she lost the SP. But dance? An alternate universe....

 

[hanca]

Case in point Valieva missed her axel hence she lost the SP. But dance? An alternate universe....

But the judges let her lose the SP because they knew that they would reward her so generously in the FS that they can make it up to her.

 

[Bigbird]

But the judges let her lose the SP because they knew that they would reward her so generously in the FS that they can make it up to her.

Truth. But the didn't have the audacity to let her win.

 

[irenemulindwairen]

There's a post on Reddit right now sharing that her husband is a TV producer (I guess some Russians are thinking their win is due to him being a TV producer for the channel that airs the competitions). He's 15 years older, met her when she was underaged, and treats her in a very sexual/creepy manner on his social media. So maybe it's to do with that whole mess...

Russia is known for its extreme toxic masculinity and its mal- treatment of Women, so not surprised there.

 

[irenemulindwairen]

Because they are the full package. But if they continue to improve it will happen.

Edit: as per Khud, I think she's relapsed. She seems to have little or no strength and coordination. Maybe she needs real treatment.

BTW, some interesting piece of trivia, Ted Barton once praised Paschenik, (Nekrasov's new partner) for her technique when she was skating with her former partner afew years back.

 

[Ananas Astra]

Valieva's exhibition program as Wednesday Addams will forever be my favorite program of hers. This is brilliant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78k-OTHoTtM

 

[karmena]

Who is a choreographer of this program?

 

[znhurston]

Who is a choreographer of this program?

Danny G.

 

[tony]

Valieva's exhibition program as Wednesday Addams will forever be my favorite program of hers. This is brilliant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78k-OTHoTtM

Haven’t even watched the show yet but this really was fabulous.

 

[Rukia]

Valieva has always been a natural performer, but I wouldn't give Danny G too much credit since large portions of that choreography were lifted exactly from the show.

 

[karmena]

if he brought out this of Kamila, perhaps he deserves a credit

 

[rfisher]

I've never understood people who said she wasn't expressive or artistic. Her Girl on a Ball program when she was just a novice (she used it in her 2 junior years as well) was just wonderful.

 

[Ka3sha]

In some interview during the test skates back in September Kamila herself admitted that she was tired of the same lyrical snot type of programs and asked her team for something fun and upbeat. She is friends with a young and rather popular Russian vogue dancer and started doing some dance classes on her own.