Natalia Mishkutenok interview(she's getting remarried) | Golden Skate

Natalia Mishkutenok interview(she's getting remarried)

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
A new interview with the elusive N.Mishkutenok. :)

Part of the interview (as of now) has be translated on FSU by Lipned

Here are some highlights:

She still looks great! :love:

She & the Hockey dude (aka Craig Sheppard) have gotten divorced. And from the way she discribes him, he doesn't sound like "husband of the year" material either. :sheesh: He didn't want Natalia to speak Russian. Natasha said his "intolerance" was one of the reasons they got a divorce. Go Natalia! :rock: (I had read an interview with Artur Dmitriev from the velena.ru website-where he doesn't speak in very glowing terms about the former Mr. Mishkutenok either).

Natalia is getting remarried to Allan-an interior designer. Who looks more like a hockey player. ;) Allan has two daughters-who live with their mother. Allan & Natalia are getting married in the spring. She says Allen is a very nice guy-and she wants to start a family ASAP.

She said that she still maintains a good relationship with Artur Dmitriev (whom she refers to as "Dima" in the interview :biggrin: :laugh: ). But they haven't seen each other since 1997.

She is working at a rink in Dallas as a coach-where she gets paid $75.00 an hour. She has one junior team (Schmidt & Potteger-they were at the JGP Final), but most of her students are younger. She notes that she likes to work with the kids.

The interview also talks to her mother and her former coach back in Minsk.

URL: http://www.kp.belkp.by/2005/02/18/doc53465/


She also notes that since living in the US, she now thinks in English. There were also sometimes when she forgets the Russian word for something.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I'm happy for her too.
And glad we finally got an update on her.

The interviewer also asks about dating your skating partner. ;)

However, the "fish" didn't give me enough of an accurate translation of what she said.

Here is it from the original Russian.

Нередко фигуристы, выступающие в паре, женятся друг на друге. Никого бы не удивило, если бы вы создали семью с вашим знаменитым партнером Артуром Дмитриевым.

- Я насмотрелась на семьи фигуристов - мне этого хватило. Сорятся на льду, сорятся дома. Решила - никогда замуж за фигуриста не выйду!

- Но вы поддерживаете связь с Артуром Дмитриевым?

- У нас остались хорошие отношения. Дима со своей семьей живет в США, в Нью-Йорке. Но виделись мы давно, где-то в 1997-м.
 

76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Thanks for partial translation!

I was interested in what had happened with her. I had a feeling that the first marriage was not idyllic; she seemed to just disappear without a trace. I am very glad that she seems happier. As she is still involved with teaching skating, it seems like she would have maintained more Russian contacts.

I hope someone will translate the Russian snippet you posted. That part came out very strangely for me with the online translator also. I could just barely surmise that she was not in favor of skating partners dating! It was odd anyway to ask that in reference to Artur. He has been married for a very long time and quite happily, I believe.
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Translation:

Q: It is common to see skating parters marry each other. Nobody would have been surprised had you created a family with your famous partner Artur Dmitriev.

A: I've seen the skater families, and that was enough. They fight on the ice, they fight at home. I decided - I'll never marry a skater!

Q: But you keep in touch with Artur Dmitriev?

A: We remain friendly. Dima and his family live in USA, in New York. But we last saw each other a long time ago, may be around 1997.
 

curious

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
76olympics said:
I was interested in what had happened with her. I had a feeling that the first marriage was not idyllic; she seemed to just disappear without a trace. I am very glad that she seems happier. As she is still involved with teaching skating, it seems like she would have maintained more Russian contacts.

I hope someone will translate the Russian snippet you posted. That part came out very strangely for me with the online translator also. I could just barely surmise that she was not in favor of skating partners dating! It was odd anyway to ask that in reference to Artur. He has been married for a very long time and quite happily, I believe.




Didn't natalia had a thing for artur? Too bad he didn't feel the same about her,seems happy now. they were may fave couple.
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
curious said:
Didn't natalia had a thing for artur? Too bad he didn't feel the same about her,seems happy now. they were may fave couple.
That's what the speculation was in any case. However, Artur married in 1992 and his marriage at least seems happy enough.
 

ChiSk8Fan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Artur Dimitriev

Artur is a big fellow. Over 6'0" and when he was skating, about 190-195 pounds. He is married to a former champion rhythmic gymnast (Druschinina, Tatiana) who I believe was an Olympian in 1988 and/or 1992. I have a tape of a competition (Kodak) from around 1987-88, and she is in this event, and came second or third. She was very, very dramatic and very, very flexible. In that competition, they stated her height at 5'3" and weight of 78 pounds!

All the rhythmic gymnasts are tiny like this. Imagine what their son, Artur Jr. looks like! Maybe he will do gymnastics, ballet or skate or all three.
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Oooooh, the passion of it all.

One main thing that split up Gelsey Kirkland and Mischa Barishnikov was the constant English v. Russian conversations. She said some pretty embarrasing things about him in her book.

Has Craig Shepherd made any retorts on this?

Joe
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
1. I believe Artur Jr. does skate; I think he participated in his Dad's show this year.

2. As to Natalia's ex-husband, she actually doesn't talk too badly about him (as "talks about the ex" go). Here is the translation to avoid any misundersanding:


Q: In one interview Tamara Moskina said that your ex-husband was almost a tyrant, and just couldn't stand Russian language. Is that so?

A: In general, yes. He would get very upset if people used Russian with him present, even though he's lived in Russia and played for the hockey team "Dinamo". This intolerance was why we broke up. Besides, he didn't want to have kids. Now, though, my personal life is back on track.


In my personal opinion, it's a tough call. On the one hand, it's hard not to use your native language. On the other hand, I can certainly understand who infuriating it is to have people in your presence speak a language you do not understand.
 
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ChiSk8Fan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Joesitz said:
One main thing that split up Gelsey Kirkland and Mischa Barishnikov was the constant English v. Russian conversations.
Joe

But her cocaine and alcohol issues and eating disorders didn't have anything to do with it? ;) :sheesh:

Prima ballarinas!
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
I remember reading about Natalia and Craig a number of years ago. They had tried to make a go at it as a pro figure skating pair, and they progressed far enough to skate exhibitions, but not competitively. Craig was a hockey player, not a figure skater - that's not meant as an insult - it's just stating the facts.

IMHO, if Craig had a problem with Natalia speaking Russian - why didn't he learn some Russian so he could converse with his wife in her native tongue? After all, she learned English. DUH! :mad:

Good luck to Natalia. However, marrying a divorced guy with two kids isn't exactly an easy thing to do. :sheesh:
 

76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Actually, reading Ptichka's translation, it sounds like children were the make or break issue. I can't blame her at all there if that is important to her. That is certainly something that husband and wife must agree upon.

I was so focused on G and G who were my favorites that I don't know as much about M and D. I chiefly remember them for the flexibility. I wish one of them would write a book. I would like to know a lot more about the Soviet Sports system; that was one of the most interesting aspects in "My Sergei" to me.
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
As for her marrying a man with two children, the children live with the mother (at least that was in the interview on FSU) and Natalia is probably in her mid thirties (or at least close to that) so I don't think of this as much of an issue. Once you get that age, there aren't a lot of men who have been single all of their lives and don't have children (at least normal men).

I wonder why Natalia didn't go to Nagano with Artur. I certainly liked her a lot better than Kazakova. I feel a little sad for her that she isn't as widely recognized as Artur Dmitriev. It's as though she's the forgotten partner.

I'm not sure about the love thing with Artur as Natalia was dating Alexei Urmanov in 1992. Artur is quite charismatic but I always thought she went best with Alexei. They both seem like quiet, unassuming people. Too bad it didn't work out between them.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
It would be interesting to get Natalia & Artur's observations on their partnership and their break up, because we have mostly have had to rely on innuendos and bits and pieces from fluff pieces. But, they both seem like private people-so I doubt we will ever get their full history straighten out.
Although it is nice to hear that they aren't throwing darts at each other and are "friendly" towards one another.

I didn't follow figure skating back in 1992. But, at the time was there any reference to Tatiana & Artur dating each other, or her pregnancy or their marriage?
I don't mean a fluff piece about Artur's dating life. :laugh: But, rather, if commentators, ever casually mentioned doing an M&D routine during 1992 that he was engaged to be married or he was going to be a dad, or what have you?

According to a later fluff piece (in 1996-when he skated with Oksana). Tatiana & Artur got married 6 months after M&D won the OGM, and their baby was born in September of that year.
But as far as I know, it wasn't until after Artur jr. was born that the commentators made any reference to Artur's family. And it wasn't until 1994 Olys Fluff piece that there was any photographic evidence that they actually existed. ;)
But, like I said before, I didn't follow skating during this time-and I haven't seen every single performance.

I'm not trying to imply that T&A kept their relationship hush-hush either.
It just seems like some fans (in the US at least) were suprised when they heard that Artur had gotten married & had a kid.
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I do remember that they were being interviewed, with their coach, and he said he was getting married and Natalia didn't know it until then and was really upset. I always had the feeling that she was really in love with him. It seems like they were already expecting when they got married. I don't remember that part as well. I know then or later the coach said they had gone to everything together, like the opera, and it left her hanging.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Not wishing to defend the hockkey-player, but I can well understand if he was not happy to be in a room with all the other people speaking a language he did not understand. Besides, I think it was not polite towards him from the others to behave in that way. He apparently was no linguist, and my guess is that Russian is not one of the easiest languages, LOL.
 
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