I think it's going to get interesting to watch. In the mix we have:
-Bobrova/Soloviev, loved by judges, usually consistent when other teams are not, but prone to injuries
-Stepanova/Bukin, innovating twizzles and showing creativity, solid podium finish at second GP event, loved by Tarasova
-Yanovskaya/Mozgov, everything but a lock for winning Junior Worlds, consistantly fairly good, well matched on the ice, they're dating - will it be a chemistry increase or lead to ruin should they split?
-Monko/Khalavin, very good short dance, good debut at GPs, mainly lost a medal from careless mistakes in the FD
-Pushkash/Guerreiro, will they improve under the tutelage of Krylova and Camerlengo?
and lastly:
-Ilinykh/Zhiganshin, great emoters, good actors, clicked fast and apparently look quite good together
-Sinitsina/Katsalapov, look good together, powerful coach in the form of Zueva
I think there's not a lack of talent, but a lack of us having one team that looks poised to dominate - it's not 'Russian ice dance is failing' it's 'Russian ice dance is unpredictable,' which isn't as big of a problem.
There is no more Pushkash/Guerreiro! Pushkash retired. Guerreiro skates with Zahorski, but she needs to be released from France.