- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Article by Artur Werner summing up Plushenko's whining; http://ptichkafs.livejournal.com/47914.html. Translation by Ptichka.
I must admit being shocked by words and behavior of the Vancouver Olympics silver medalist, as since 1990’s I've considered him one of the most outstanding skaters in the world, and have tried to support him in my articles the best I could. I was also among the first in the summer of 2009 to believe in his return.
However, over the many years of observing European, World, and Olympic competitions, I've never encountered an athlete planning to attend World championships with such a negative image. I'm sure you've deduced by now that I'm talking of Evgeny Plushenko, whose tongue, wholly disengaged from the thinking apparatus, has produced so many lies, that even the most faithful fans of this extraordinary skater have met their idol's words and moves with incredulity and hurt. In this, Plushenko has finally surpassed his main rival Alexei Yagudin, though only in the negative sense. So, what happened to this clearly talented skater? When has he been eaten alive by the rust of arrogance, lies, greed, and extortion?
If we look carefully at the recent past, we see that in the Yagudin vs. Plushenko battle, the former always won. Alexei Mishin pretty much drove Yagudin from his group, placing the main bet on Plushenko; this has deprived him of the well earned coaching glory in Salt Lake City. Evgeny only became the Olympic champion four years after Yagudin's exit. While Plushenko played the sexual bomber, it was to Yagudin that countless beauties from the world of sport and show business prescribed bed rest in their boudoirs. Both published their memoires. Yagudin presented a victorious novella "Straight Through"; Plushenko's was a hurt Siberian's whining called "Other Show". We can deduce from both books that Plushenko hasn't lowered himself to any friendships over his work in Alexei Mishin's group. Perhaps his friends have to match his intellect - Dima Bilan, Nikolai Valuev...
Likewise, Evgeny lost to Alexei completely in a dual over one famous skater; she clearly made the right choice. When TV shows ask for a host, it's always the lively and always smiling Yagudin, rather than the sour Plushenko. The lady Evgeny finally won (or, rather, the one he was won by), would be called non-moving merchandise by a crude journalist, and low liquidity by a warehouse worker. Then again, this lady of the secondary heart has a venereology diploma she got somewhere on Altai, which could ultimately be helpful.
According to those who've known Zhenya as a child, he was always a very introverted child; he was also highly arrogant, always needing to prove to everyone that he's the best skater in the world. That's why the young athlete never befriended anyone in Mikhail Makoveev's school, and if it weren't for the coach's belief in the young man's future, he'd have fired Plushenko in the first year of their work in Volgograd. When clouds on officialdom's intrigues began to thicken over the Volgograd school and the head of Mikhail Khrisantievich himself in 1993, Makoveev took Evgeny first to the "Chrystal Skate" in Pervouralsk to show to his friend Igor Ksenofontov. There, Plushenko demonstrated his "Biellman" and most triple jumps. Ksenofontov declared the kid "unique", and having declined to take him on due to his problems with Valentine Piseev, recommended Mikhail bring Plushenko to Leningrad to show to Alexei Mishin. This is where he's been ever since, having begun his life and schooling in the Northern capital on Mishin's dime.
Evgeny Plushenko's subsequent biography is well known and doesn't need further retelling. In 2006, Evgeny's dream came true as he became Turin Olympic champion. As his neck sagged under the weight of medals, his weak head couldn't handle the weight of all the laurel wreaths, and Plushenko first showed signed of rotting.
According to my Saint Petersburg colleague, the famous sports journalist Boris Khodorovsky, who always checks his facts carefully,
"Following his triumph four years ago, the Peter skater dismayed many of his fans by using his visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for an apartment. Supposedly, Olympic 2006 champion had nowhere to put his head down in his native Saint Petersburg. Governor Valentina Matvienko was rather surprised at the order from the nation's head to solve the housing problem of the homeless Plushenko. In line with the city's laws, Plushenko was already sold an apartment at a lower rate, but heck, if we need to, we'll give him another one. And they did."
Besides that, the Turin hero received two or three cars - from Russian president V.V. Putin, from Saint Petersburg governor Valentina Matvienko, and from his sponsors.
Following Turin, Plushenko made big money skating in shows. According to the insiders, though, he never gave Mishin the cut he awed him for choreography. Around the same time, he (with the help of a manager pushed on him by his first wife Maria Yermak) signed two parallel contracts - one for Collins tour, and one for the Bestemianova/ Bobrin theater tour, which was called "Evgeny Plushenko presents - Bobrin theater, we're 20!". Plushenko toured Russia, producing a scandal with Collins.
The much respected Elena Vaitsehovskaya was nice enough to provide the details of her conversation with Vyacheslav Fetisov regarding Plushenko's comeback. Here are some quotes:
"Who do you feel about the state of figure skating today? In particular, what's your thoughts about Evgeny Plushenko's attempted comeback?"
"His coach Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin called me. He said Zhenya's ready to come back. I said I was happy to hear that. We're ready to do everything that's needed, including paying for the ice, equipment, competitions, training, medicine, and anything else he needs. Mishin shot back - 'No, you don't understand. Zhenya will lose a lot of money by resuming his eligible career'."
"What did you sat to that?"
"That it was outside my jurisdiction. We can't be hostages to this situation. If you're really ready to represent your country, attain high results, and gain new titles - you have to sacrifice something. Today, athletes get fairly high prize money; one can also find sponsors; but saying - 'I won't come back unless you pay me' is in my opinion wrong. Make your choice - you want to return to your want money."
The scrupulous and meticulous Elena Vaitsehovskaya has done some investigating, and has published in her blog the amount Alexei Mishin's group has received for the preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It far exceeds the 900,000 rubles (~$30K) that Plushenko has mentioned in his conversation with Russian president Mr. Medvedev. Perhaps he was hoping such a high official won't lowed himself of checking the facts.
Getting back to Boris Khodorovsky's words,
"To be fair, he lost much of his money and real estate during his divorce from his first wife.
He seemed to take it all in stride, and following the Europeans in Tallinn talked about not needing anything, and being able to finance his own Olympic preparations thanks to the sponsors found by Yana Rudkovskaya, his second spouse and one of the premier business ladies of Russia.
However, Plushenko's tone changed dramatically after the Vancouver loss. At a visit with Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, he complained the Figure Skating Federation of Russian only gave his the miserly 900,000 rules to prepare for the Olympics. Then, according to "Russian News Agency", the Vancouver silver medalist said he planned to sell the Audi Q5 he got from the head of state to have the means to train for next season.
Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the top Russian skaters' financing can't help being disgusted by such lies.
According to the Russian Figure Skating Federation president Valentine Piseev, prior to the season's start, the Turin Olympic champion who's been promising to return all year and getting a stipend from the Russian Olympians help fund, has refused to sign a contract with the federation. Without such contract, it's simply against the law to provide financial help. Nevertheless, the federation tried to do all it could for Plushenko. Several times, it sent from Moscow to Saint Petersburg a doctor Evgeny needed; it also paid for training camps, and gave something extra for coach and choreographer. Sure, it didn't amount to what the skater and his entourage wanted, but the sums were quite large.
Throughout, Plushenko had the means to pay for everything through his personal sponsor. Against all rules, he showed up to official competitions not in the Russian team uniform, but in his own with the appropriate logo. You can remember what conflicts that has led to in biathlon a few years back. Plushenko got away with everything.
Likewise, federation leadership closed its eyes to the fact that for several years Plushenko kept his eligibility, yet failed to give over 10% of his show income to the federation. Theoretically, such rule breaking could have put him in the professional category, automatically barring his way to the Olympics. By the way, Plushenko was the only athlete who was accompanied to the Games officially not only by his coach but also by the choreographer and even his wife, who managed to get the accreditation of which there was such a shortage.
Most likely, the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Evgeny Plushenko failed to tell the Russian President how much time he's actually spent at his job in the city parliament or elaborate on the ethics of still receiving salary as such. Forget the salary! Peter parliamentarians have the privilege of transferring money from deputy fund (each year this sum far exceeds that which Plushenko cited as what he's received to prepare for the Olympics) as the people's servants see fit."
I apologize for such extensive quotes that my colleagues have allowed me, but after their research, it didn't make sense for me to go into it as well.
In short, it's hard to tell who gave this superb skater the idea of his complete invincibility, but he has tried the patience of sports journalists of Russia and beyond well beyond the point of endurance. Therefore, his decision to skip the Turin world championships where Evgeny could have become the 4-time World champion and bring himself and his country one more gold medal was probably not dictated by injury. More likely, our hero, who's been sarcastically dubbed by some Russian media as the "current husband of the ex-wife of the brother of Moscow's mayor", chose not to come face to face with the international media representatives at the press conference where there is nowhere to run, where you can't tell anyone to go to hell, and where you have no backs to hide behind. Or, to put it more bluntly, Plushenko has weaseled out.
It's a pity. There's a risk that his future fate will follow a very different script. Evgeny has gone to far in his own prolonged deification; he's done away with all propriety, and he has a long way to go to win back hearts and minds and to get back to the world where he was loved and respected. Let God give him strength and conscience for that.
Plush complaints from an un-lush personality
I must admit being shocked by words and behavior of the Vancouver Olympics silver medalist, as since 1990’s I've considered him one of the most outstanding skaters in the world, and have tried to support him in my articles the best I could. I was also among the first in the summer of 2009 to believe in his return.
However, over the many years of observing European, World, and Olympic competitions, I've never encountered an athlete planning to attend World championships with such a negative image. I'm sure you've deduced by now that I'm talking of Evgeny Plushenko, whose tongue, wholly disengaged from the thinking apparatus, has produced so many lies, that even the most faithful fans of this extraordinary skater have met their idol's words and moves with incredulity and hurt. In this, Plushenko has finally surpassed his main rival Alexei Yagudin, though only in the negative sense. So, what happened to this clearly talented skater? When has he been eaten alive by the rust of arrogance, lies, greed, and extortion?
If we look carefully at the recent past, we see that in the Yagudin vs. Plushenko battle, the former always won. Alexei Mishin pretty much drove Yagudin from his group, placing the main bet on Plushenko; this has deprived him of the well earned coaching glory in Salt Lake City. Evgeny only became the Olympic champion four years after Yagudin's exit. While Plushenko played the sexual bomber, it was to Yagudin that countless beauties from the world of sport and show business prescribed bed rest in their boudoirs. Both published their memoires. Yagudin presented a victorious novella "Straight Through"; Plushenko's was a hurt Siberian's whining called "Other Show". We can deduce from both books that Plushenko hasn't lowered himself to any friendships over his work in Alexei Mishin's group. Perhaps his friends have to match his intellect - Dima Bilan, Nikolai Valuev...
Likewise, Evgeny lost to Alexei completely in a dual over one famous skater; she clearly made the right choice. When TV shows ask for a host, it's always the lively and always smiling Yagudin, rather than the sour Plushenko. The lady Evgeny finally won (or, rather, the one he was won by), would be called non-moving merchandise by a crude journalist, and low liquidity by a warehouse worker. Then again, this lady of the secondary heart has a venereology diploma she got somewhere on Altai, which could ultimately be helpful.
According to those who've known Zhenya as a child, he was always a very introverted child; he was also highly arrogant, always needing to prove to everyone that he's the best skater in the world. That's why the young athlete never befriended anyone in Mikhail Makoveev's school, and if it weren't for the coach's belief in the young man's future, he'd have fired Plushenko in the first year of their work in Volgograd. When clouds on officialdom's intrigues began to thicken over the Volgograd school and the head of Mikhail Khrisantievich himself in 1993, Makoveev took Evgeny first to the "Chrystal Skate" in Pervouralsk to show to his friend Igor Ksenofontov. There, Plushenko demonstrated his "Biellman" and most triple jumps. Ksenofontov declared the kid "unique", and having declined to take him on due to his problems with Valentine Piseev, recommended Mikhail bring Plushenko to Leningrad to show to Alexei Mishin. This is where he's been ever since, having begun his life and schooling in the Northern capital on Mishin's dime.
Evgeny Plushenko's subsequent biography is well known and doesn't need further retelling. In 2006, Evgeny's dream came true as he became Turin Olympic champion. As his neck sagged under the weight of medals, his weak head couldn't handle the weight of all the laurel wreaths, and Plushenko first showed signed of rotting.
According to my Saint Petersburg colleague, the famous sports journalist Boris Khodorovsky, who always checks his facts carefully,
"Following his triumph four years ago, the Peter skater dismayed many of his fans by using his visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for an apartment. Supposedly, Olympic 2006 champion had nowhere to put his head down in his native Saint Petersburg. Governor Valentina Matvienko was rather surprised at the order from the nation's head to solve the housing problem of the homeless Plushenko. In line with the city's laws, Plushenko was already sold an apartment at a lower rate, but heck, if we need to, we'll give him another one. And they did."
Besides that, the Turin hero received two or three cars - from Russian president V.V. Putin, from Saint Petersburg governor Valentina Matvienko, and from his sponsors.
Following Turin, Plushenko made big money skating in shows. According to the insiders, though, he never gave Mishin the cut he awed him for choreography. Around the same time, he (with the help of a manager pushed on him by his first wife Maria Yermak) signed two parallel contracts - one for Collins tour, and one for the Bestemianova/ Bobrin theater tour, which was called "Evgeny Plushenko presents - Bobrin theater, we're 20!". Plushenko toured Russia, producing a scandal with Collins.
The much respected Elena Vaitsehovskaya was nice enough to provide the details of her conversation with Vyacheslav Fetisov regarding Plushenko's comeback. Here are some quotes:
"Who do you feel about the state of figure skating today? In particular, what's your thoughts about Evgeny Plushenko's attempted comeback?"
"His coach Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin called me. He said Zhenya's ready to come back. I said I was happy to hear that. We're ready to do everything that's needed, including paying for the ice, equipment, competitions, training, medicine, and anything else he needs. Mishin shot back - 'No, you don't understand. Zhenya will lose a lot of money by resuming his eligible career'."
"What did you sat to that?"
"That it was outside my jurisdiction. We can't be hostages to this situation. If you're really ready to represent your country, attain high results, and gain new titles - you have to sacrifice something. Today, athletes get fairly high prize money; one can also find sponsors; but saying - 'I won't come back unless you pay me' is in my opinion wrong. Make your choice - you want to return to your want money."
The scrupulous and meticulous Elena Vaitsehovskaya has done some investigating, and has published in her blog the amount Alexei Mishin's group has received for the preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It far exceeds the 900,000 rubles (~$30K) that Plushenko has mentioned in his conversation with Russian president Mr. Medvedev. Perhaps he was hoping such a high official won't lowed himself of checking the facts.
Getting back to Boris Khodorovsky's words,
"To be fair, he lost much of his money and real estate during his divorce from his first wife.
He seemed to take it all in stride, and following the Europeans in Tallinn talked about not needing anything, and being able to finance his own Olympic preparations thanks to the sponsors found by Yana Rudkovskaya, his second spouse and one of the premier business ladies of Russia.
However, Plushenko's tone changed dramatically after the Vancouver loss. At a visit with Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, he complained the Figure Skating Federation of Russian only gave his the miserly 900,000 rules to prepare for the Olympics. Then, according to "Russian News Agency", the Vancouver silver medalist said he planned to sell the Audi Q5 he got from the head of state to have the means to train for next season.
Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the top Russian skaters' financing can't help being disgusted by such lies.
According to the Russian Figure Skating Federation president Valentine Piseev, prior to the season's start, the Turin Olympic champion who's been promising to return all year and getting a stipend from the Russian Olympians help fund, has refused to sign a contract with the federation. Without such contract, it's simply against the law to provide financial help. Nevertheless, the federation tried to do all it could for Plushenko. Several times, it sent from Moscow to Saint Petersburg a doctor Evgeny needed; it also paid for training camps, and gave something extra for coach and choreographer. Sure, it didn't amount to what the skater and his entourage wanted, but the sums were quite large.
Throughout, Plushenko had the means to pay for everything through his personal sponsor. Against all rules, he showed up to official competitions not in the Russian team uniform, but in his own with the appropriate logo. You can remember what conflicts that has led to in biathlon a few years back. Plushenko got away with everything.
Likewise, federation leadership closed its eyes to the fact that for several years Plushenko kept his eligibility, yet failed to give over 10% of his show income to the federation. Theoretically, such rule breaking could have put him in the professional category, automatically barring his way to the Olympics. By the way, Plushenko was the only athlete who was accompanied to the Games officially not only by his coach but also by the choreographer and even his wife, who managed to get the accreditation of which there was such a shortage.
Most likely, the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Evgeny Plushenko failed to tell the Russian President how much time he's actually spent at his job in the city parliament or elaborate on the ethics of still receiving salary as such. Forget the salary! Peter parliamentarians have the privilege of transferring money from deputy fund (each year this sum far exceeds that which Plushenko cited as what he's received to prepare for the Olympics) as the people's servants see fit."
I apologize for such extensive quotes that my colleagues have allowed me, but after their research, it didn't make sense for me to go into it as well.
In short, it's hard to tell who gave this superb skater the idea of his complete invincibility, but he has tried the patience of sports journalists of Russia and beyond well beyond the point of endurance. Therefore, his decision to skip the Turin world championships where Evgeny could have become the 4-time World champion and bring himself and his country one more gold medal was probably not dictated by injury. More likely, our hero, who's been sarcastically dubbed by some Russian media as the "current husband of the ex-wife of the brother of Moscow's mayor", chose not to come face to face with the international media representatives at the press conference where there is nowhere to run, where you can't tell anyone to go to hell, and where you have no backs to hide behind. Or, to put it more bluntly, Plushenko has weaseled out.
It's a pity. There's a risk that his future fate will follow a very different script. Evgeny has gone to far in his own prolonged deification; he's done away with all propriety, and he has a long way to go to win back hearts and minds and to get back to the world where he was loved and respected. Let God give him strength and conscience for that.
