- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Russian interview with Plushenko.
Oksana Ermoshina
A severe warning graces a delapidated grayish door: "Close the doors! Conserve the cold!" Having durifully obeyed the unusual instructions, I find myself in a real Snow Queen kingdom. Saved by my own hands, the cold immediately invokes nostaligia for the gloomy sky tucked in by the clouds, for the hopless rain that made me want to hide under any roof just five minutes ago. In the middle of a huge hall, on a lake of the rink surrounded by high banisters, the hero of today's interview is working on a stunning jump. At 21, Evgeny Plushenko is a three time World champion and a silver Olympic medalist of Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002. He is talented, smart, handsome, and rich. He holds the country's hopes for the Olympic gold. Many talk of fairy tale-like luck, of how together with a pair of skates the fate gave this young man the whole world. Everyone also knows that Evgeny is very much attached to his mom Tatiana Vasilievna, and considers his coach Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin almost his second father. He says he owes his success in figure skating to them. Those are the people I started talking to; Evgeny joined us as soon as he was done training.
"Tatiana Vasilieva, how did Zhenya get into figure skating?"
T.V.: It was entirely by chance. Otherwise, we would have never gove to figure skating school. We had too much on us. We just returned from BAM - Baikal-Amur magistral 1. A few years prior, my husband and I went to the Komsomol construction, with a two-year old daughter in tow; we had Zhenya on the BAM. Arriving in Volgagrad as a large family, we had to create a life for ourselves. Then, when Zhenya was 4 years and 2 months old, it happened. An acquaintant of mine took her daughter to the Volgograd figure skating school. The girld fussed, and refused to take part. Her mom then asked Zhenya, "You want to skate?" He said yes. The woman took the tiny skates off her daughter's feet and gave them to Zhenya on the spot. Turns out she gave him his fate.
"How did you end up in St. Petersburg?"
T.V.: When Zhenya was eleven, the Volgograd rink closed, and there was nowhere to skate. His then coach Mikhail Makoveev told Zhenya's dad and me that the boy must go to St. Petersburg, where an outstanding coach Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin will work with him. We were stunned. We never thought of Petersburg, nod did we know who Mishin was. We said we weren't leaving, that Zhenya should stay in school like all children, and that we didn't need any ice. But Makoveev declared, "It's not up to you. Zhenya belongs to the team, and you can't decide his life for him." My son spent half a year in Petersburg all alone. We worried terribly, we'd call evey day. He missed us a lot. We decided I'd move. My husband and daughter remained at home. Dad had to provide for the whole family, so it was very hard. Zhenya missed his father and sister. He dreamed of making enough money to buy a large appartment in Petersburg, where we could all live together. He moved the whole family here once he had the chance. So his dream came true.
"Tatiana Vasilieva, I guess you've been all over the world with Zhenya?"
T.V.: I've never been abroad. Alexei Nikolaevich accompanies Zhenya, so I have nothing to worry about. Even when Zhenya was little (he started going to championships very early), his coach went with him. At home, we'd worry, and wait impatiently. Zhenya was incredibly persistent even as a child. Had he been different, he'd never achieve success.
"Alexei Nikolaevich, what in your professional opinion determined Evgeny's success?"
A.N.: First of all, Zhenya is a very gifted boy. Early on, he directed his life to achieving high results in sport and in other areas.
He demands a lot of himself. Besides, he has unerring intuition about what's good and what's bad for him. It's a very important and rare quality, especially for the stars of his caliber. It's also necessary for anyone who wants to achieve success in what he loves and in life.
"Zhenya, how was your skate? Aren't conditions abroad better? Here at "Jubilejny", the interiors aren't exactly stunning. Actually, they're kind of spartan."
E.P.: I train five to six hours each day -- morning and evening, each time two to three hours of ice and about an hour at the gym. I'm used to this from childhood. When I moved to Peteresburg, Alexei Nikolaevich started taking me to seminars and training camps abroad. I'd skate seven, eight hours at a stretch there. I can say that Petersburg has all conditions to train. "Yubilejny" has good gym rooms and excellent quality ice. Everyone else is irrelevant. I think it's best to train in modest halls. Let me explain why. Say you come to America. It has luxurious ice, superb lighting, beautiful halls... It's pure joy to skate. And when it's too easy, you tend to relax, and consequently don't work to your full potential.
"There must be something abroad that you really like. Something you miss when you're in Peteresburg."
E.P.: Peter lacks one thing: weather. Look -- it's cloudy, rainy. We don't get much summer. Otherwise, we have everything. And each year the good increases. The highways are getting better, the people are getting nicer... I am grateful to have been born in Russia. I love my homeland and really love Petersburg. When I am abroad, I really miss Peter. I don't want to live abroad at all, though there have been many offers. Just recently, Alexei Nikolaevich and I were invited to move to America. We were promised a house in Florida on the waterfront, not to mention the very best training conditions. Yet we again refused, because our homeland is the only place where we want to live.
"Alexei Nikolaevich, do you also believe that one should train in modest surroundings?"
A.N. I think Zhenya's answer is a reflection of my world view. Do you recall the myth about Achilles? He lost his magical power once his hill left ground. For Zhenya, Russia and Petersburg is the source of strength and energy; he must feel this connection constantly. This is no pathos, it's the truth. I've received offers from almost all leading world figure skating centers, with guarantees of the best conditions for life and work. But I am also made in a way that I only feel comfortable at home. Sure we'd have more money and better training conditions aboad. Basically, a coach can make in a day there what he makes in a year here. Athletes of much lower level then Zhenya can skate as much as he wants to. Here, we train when we can. Today, Zhenya is the only skater besides Slutskaya who trains exclusively in Russia.
"Zhenya, I guess you work a lot, but when the fatigue adds up, even such a well-trained, young, and ambitious person as yourself needs relaxation. How do you regenerate your strength?"
E.P: I recently bought a summer house near Petersburg, there I can relax. I enjoy playing with my dogs -- am American bulldog and a Yorkshire terrier. I go to steamroom 2. Though in general I prefer active athletic relaxation -- soccer, hockey... I like speed - I love driving a car. I have four, all of different kinds. Since I have less and less free time, I frequent the tennis courts less and less, but I love tennis. For the same reason, I did diving only once in my life. I liked it, but there's not enough time. You have to go abroad -- where's it warm, where there's sea. Not enough time. In theory, I could go on vacation in the summer. But it only lasts a month. There is so much to do.
"Your whole life is regimented? You ever want to leave it all and start living like everyone else?"
E.P.: Many times. Sure, life hands you tough moments when you want to leave it all. Three times my mom and I decided to leave figure skating; I'd buy tickets to Volgograd and start packing. But Alexei Nikolaevich always found the right words to support us, and to breath new strength into us. Sometimes you go through serious fatigue, through physical low points. You just have no strength. You come to training, and you think, "Why do I need this?" You want to do nothing at all, just to go sleep and relax. Then you need someome to force you to work.
"How important is money for you?"
E.P.: Each and every person needs money; you can't survive without it. That's obvious. Yet not everyone realizes that it's important not to just make money, but to also spend it wisely. You should only buy what you really need. I can say that my parents taught me to spend money well.
"Tatiana Vasilievna, do you remember how Zhenya earned his first money?"
T.V.: I remember it as it were yesterday. Zhenya was thirteen. He went to his first serious championships -- Junior Worlds, where he skated brilliantly and earned one and a half thousand dollars. At the time it was huge. My son brought it home and gave them to me with pride. When we went shopping, Zhenya immediately brought me to the clothing store and said, "Mom, let's choose something beautiful for you". We chose two new suits for me. Then we bought a small TV - we were renting a tiny room and want to have our own TV. Zhenya decided that we also needed a VCR and a video camera. And still, we lived a long time on what was left. Zhenya was happy and proud for having brought money into the family, that we could buy so many needed things. He felt an adult. Actually, he matured very early, since he always had to work. Training is hard work.
"Zhenya, it seems you are very responsible. What do you want to do after you're done with figure skating career?"
E.P.: I can't say I'm thinking so far ahead. But I want to get higher education related to economics and the tourist business. It will be my second education, since I've graduated the Lesgraft Academy3.
Notes
1. BAM was the last behemoth construction project under USSR. It is a second trans-siberian railway. It was conceived by Stalin for military purposes (much of it goes through lands inhabited by native population only), and in his time mainly prisoners and POWs worked on it. After Stalin's death the project was essentially abandoned. Years later, Brezhnev resurrected it, calling your Komsomol members to work on it. The railway has officially been opened in 1991.
2. My guess is that his summer house, his dacha has a traditional Russian steam room.
3. Lesgraft Academy is a college for physical education. Most Russian athletes finish it.
EVGENY PLUSHENKO: I KNOW HOW TO SPEND MY MONEY
"Expert. NorthEaset" October 4, 2004Oksana Ermoshina
A severe warning graces a delapidated grayish door: "Close the doors! Conserve the cold!" Having durifully obeyed the unusual instructions, I find myself in a real Snow Queen kingdom. Saved by my own hands, the cold immediately invokes nostaligia for the gloomy sky tucked in by the clouds, for the hopless rain that made me want to hide under any roof just five minutes ago. In the middle of a huge hall, on a lake of the rink surrounded by high banisters, the hero of today's interview is working on a stunning jump. At 21, Evgeny Plushenko is a three time World champion and a silver Olympic medalist of Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002. He is talented, smart, handsome, and rich. He holds the country's hopes for the Olympic gold. Many talk of fairy tale-like luck, of how together with a pair of skates the fate gave this young man the whole world. Everyone also knows that Evgeny is very much attached to his mom Tatiana Vasilievna, and considers his coach Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin almost his second father. He says he owes his success in figure skating to them. Those are the people I started talking to; Evgeny joined us as soon as he was done training.
"Tatiana Vasilieva, how did Zhenya get into figure skating?"
T.V.: It was entirely by chance. Otherwise, we would have never gove to figure skating school. We had too much on us. We just returned from BAM - Baikal-Amur magistral 1. A few years prior, my husband and I went to the Komsomol construction, with a two-year old daughter in tow; we had Zhenya on the BAM. Arriving in Volgagrad as a large family, we had to create a life for ourselves. Then, when Zhenya was 4 years and 2 months old, it happened. An acquaintant of mine took her daughter to the Volgograd figure skating school. The girld fussed, and refused to take part. Her mom then asked Zhenya, "You want to skate?" He said yes. The woman took the tiny skates off her daughter's feet and gave them to Zhenya on the spot. Turns out she gave him his fate.
"How did you end up in St. Petersburg?"
T.V.: When Zhenya was eleven, the Volgograd rink closed, and there was nowhere to skate. His then coach Mikhail Makoveev told Zhenya's dad and me that the boy must go to St. Petersburg, where an outstanding coach Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin will work with him. We were stunned. We never thought of Petersburg, nod did we know who Mishin was. We said we weren't leaving, that Zhenya should stay in school like all children, and that we didn't need any ice. But Makoveev declared, "It's not up to you. Zhenya belongs to the team, and you can't decide his life for him." My son spent half a year in Petersburg all alone. We worried terribly, we'd call evey day. He missed us a lot. We decided I'd move. My husband and daughter remained at home. Dad had to provide for the whole family, so it was very hard. Zhenya missed his father and sister. He dreamed of making enough money to buy a large appartment in Petersburg, where we could all live together. He moved the whole family here once he had the chance. So his dream came true.
"Tatiana Vasilieva, I guess you've been all over the world with Zhenya?"
T.V.: I've never been abroad. Alexei Nikolaevich accompanies Zhenya, so I have nothing to worry about. Even when Zhenya was little (he started going to championships very early), his coach went with him. At home, we'd worry, and wait impatiently. Zhenya was incredibly persistent even as a child. Had he been different, he'd never achieve success.
"Alexei Nikolaevich, what in your professional opinion determined Evgeny's success?"
A.N.: First of all, Zhenya is a very gifted boy. Early on, he directed his life to achieving high results in sport and in other areas.
He demands a lot of himself. Besides, he has unerring intuition about what's good and what's bad for him. It's a very important and rare quality, especially for the stars of his caliber. It's also necessary for anyone who wants to achieve success in what he loves and in life.
"Zhenya, how was your skate? Aren't conditions abroad better? Here at "Jubilejny", the interiors aren't exactly stunning. Actually, they're kind of spartan."
E.P.: I train five to six hours each day -- morning and evening, each time two to three hours of ice and about an hour at the gym. I'm used to this from childhood. When I moved to Peteresburg, Alexei Nikolaevich started taking me to seminars and training camps abroad. I'd skate seven, eight hours at a stretch there. I can say that Petersburg has all conditions to train. "Yubilejny" has good gym rooms and excellent quality ice. Everyone else is irrelevant. I think it's best to train in modest halls. Let me explain why. Say you come to America. It has luxurious ice, superb lighting, beautiful halls... It's pure joy to skate. And when it's too easy, you tend to relax, and consequently don't work to your full potential.
"There must be something abroad that you really like. Something you miss when you're in Peteresburg."
E.P.: Peter lacks one thing: weather. Look -- it's cloudy, rainy. We don't get much summer. Otherwise, we have everything. And each year the good increases. The highways are getting better, the people are getting nicer... I am grateful to have been born in Russia. I love my homeland and really love Petersburg. When I am abroad, I really miss Peter. I don't want to live abroad at all, though there have been many offers. Just recently, Alexei Nikolaevich and I were invited to move to America. We were promised a house in Florida on the waterfront, not to mention the very best training conditions. Yet we again refused, because our homeland is the only place where we want to live.
"Alexei Nikolaevich, do you also believe that one should train in modest surroundings?"
A.N. I think Zhenya's answer is a reflection of my world view. Do you recall the myth about Achilles? He lost his magical power once his hill left ground. For Zhenya, Russia and Petersburg is the source of strength and energy; he must feel this connection constantly. This is no pathos, it's the truth. I've received offers from almost all leading world figure skating centers, with guarantees of the best conditions for life and work. But I am also made in a way that I only feel comfortable at home. Sure we'd have more money and better training conditions aboad. Basically, a coach can make in a day there what he makes in a year here. Athletes of much lower level then Zhenya can skate as much as he wants to. Here, we train when we can. Today, Zhenya is the only skater besides Slutskaya who trains exclusively in Russia.
"Zhenya, I guess you work a lot, but when the fatigue adds up, even such a well-trained, young, and ambitious person as yourself needs relaxation. How do you regenerate your strength?"
E.P: I recently bought a summer house near Petersburg, there I can relax. I enjoy playing with my dogs -- am American bulldog and a Yorkshire terrier. I go to steamroom 2. Though in general I prefer active athletic relaxation -- soccer, hockey... I like speed - I love driving a car. I have four, all of different kinds. Since I have less and less free time, I frequent the tennis courts less and less, but I love tennis. For the same reason, I did diving only once in my life. I liked it, but there's not enough time. You have to go abroad -- where's it warm, where there's sea. Not enough time. In theory, I could go on vacation in the summer. But it only lasts a month. There is so much to do.
"Your whole life is regimented? You ever want to leave it all and start living like everyone else?"
E.P.: Many times. Sure, life hands you tough moments when you want to leave it all. Three times my mom and I decided to leave figure skating; I'd buy tickets to Volgograd and start packing. But Alexei Nikolaevich always found the right words to support us, and to breath new strength into us. Sometimes you go through serious fatigue, through physical low points. You just have no strength. You come to training, and you think, "Why do I need this?" You want to do nothing at all, just to go sleep and relax. Then you need someome to force you to work.
"How important is money for you?"
E.P.: Each and every person needs money; you can't survive without it. That's obvious. Yet not everyone realizes that it's important not to just make money, but to also spend it wisely. You should only buy what you really need. I can say that my parents taught me to spend money well.
"Tatiana Vasilievna, do you remember how Zhenya earned his first money?"
T.V.: I remember it as it were yesterday. Zhenya was thirteen. He went to his first serious championships -- Junior Worlds, where he skated brilliantly and earned one and a half thousand dollars. At the time it was huge. My son brought it home and gave them to me with pride. When we went shopping, Zhenya immediately brought me to the clothing store and said, "Mom, let's choose something beautiful for you". We chose two new suits for me. Then we bought a small TV - we were renting a tiny room and want to have our own TV. Zhenya decided that we also needed a VCR and a video camera. And still, we lived a long time on what was left. Zhenya was happy and proud for having brought money into the family, that we could buy so many needed things. He felt an adult. Actually, he matured very early, since he always had to work. Training is hard work.
"Zhenya, it seems you are very responsible. What do you want to do after you're done with figure skating career?"
E.P.: I can't say I'm thinking so far ahead. But I want to get higher education related to economics and the tourist business. It will be my second education, since I've graduated the Lesgraft Academy3.
Notes
1. BAM was the last behemoth construction project under USSR. It is a second trans-siberian railway. It was conceived by Stalin for military purposes (much of it goes through lands inhabited by native population only), and in his time mainly prisoners and POWs worked on it. After Stalin's death the project was essentially abandoned. Years later, Brezhnev resurrected it, calling your Komsomol members to work on it. The railway has officially been opened in 1991.
2. My guess is that his summer house, his dacha has a traditional Russian steam room.
3. Lesgraft Academy is a college for physical education. Most Russian athletes finish it.
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