- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Original
Another interview with Vasiliev. Like always, he impresses me as a bit of an a**.
[size=+2]”Totmianina and I had an on-the-job affair”[/size]
March 14, 2007
Olympic figure skating champion believes, that if a woman is not a hellcat, there is something wrong.
For the past year there have been many rumors around the Olympic champions’ coach Oleg Vasiliev. One version had him marrying his student Tatiana Totmianina; another had him breaking it off with her completely. The renowned coach tells the “MK” correspondent in Pete what really happened, and how he broke up with his ex-wives.
I wasn’t peeping in on Totmianina and Plushenko
“Oleg Klimovich, so did you marry Tatiana Totmianina, or didn’t you?"
“No, though there were many rumors about our supposed wedding. Tanya and I had a good relationship, both working and personal. However, when the Olympic race was over, a new life began for us. Different lives for us. I had new students and new challenges, whereas she and Maxim Marinin and new tours, shows, and performances. What kind of personal relationships can we be talking about if I last saw them at Tatiana Tarasova’s anniversary a few weeks ago? Actually, “saw” is an exaggeration. We crossed paths for 15 minutes. Next time we’ll see each other in June.”
”What attracted you to Tatiana?”
“Any person has something interesting about them. You just have to look. I did look, because I had to make her into a champion. We had an on-the-hob affair. I can say that she is a very strong person. If she decides something, she will do it for sure. She approaches her goals confidently, making everyone around dance to her tune. This quality of hers was very important to us on her way to Olympic gold. Besides all that, Tanya is just a really nice girl.”
”Did you understand right away that Tatiana is more than a student to you?”
“No. At first, it was just work. During the first year there was no time for anything else. A different relationship developed later on, when we got to know each other better after spending so much time together on the ice.”
”Lately, there have been many rumors about a close relationship between Tatiana and Evgeny Plushenko. Did those reach you?”
“Obviously, I’ve heard the rumors, but I don’t know anything about it. I wasn’t peeping in on them. Perhaps they had something, or may be they were just friends outside the rink. People are used to seeing us as a triangle – I, Tanya, and Maxim Marinin. Now that her circle goes outside this frame, people find it unusual. Again, Tatiana and I broke up after the Games, and I have no intention on following what she’s doing.”
Women leave, I stay
“You have already been married twice, and both times it ended in divorce”
“Right. The first time I was brought to the altar was in 1984. We had a fancy wedding with my partner Elena Valova. The banquet was in a restaurant on the corner of Nevsky and Litejni prospects. I think it’s a hotel now. There were about a hundred guests. In short, it was an awesome party. The second wedding was far simpler. Valentina and I flew to Las Vegas, and became husband and wife in a small chapel there. We kept it a secret seven from friends. As to divorces… My divorce with Lena took three days. With Valentina, divorce proceedings took almost three years.”
”She didn’t want to let you go?”
“No. We just lived different lives, and it was hard to get all the paperwork squared away. By the way, I have just recently become a free man.”
”Are you afraid of women now?”
“It so happened that I have to deal with women at work. Being afraid of them wouldn’t be smart. It’s better to study them. However, this study led to some not so good consequences in my family life. The more I know women, the less I want to tie myself to the only one for a long time. Because women come and go, but I stay.”
”Perhaps you’re having trouble with your personal life because you’re rich and famous?”
”I doubt it. My brother’s life approach is “less money means less trouble”, but he has difficulty with women too. Dating, break ups. There are underwater reefs everywhere.”
”Your first on-the-job affair wasn’t successful. Why repeat the same mistake?”
“First of all, comparing my relationship with Lena Valova and Tanya Totmianina is like comparing apples and oranges. Totally different people, totally different relationships. Secondly, in my case on-the-job affairs just happened. I didn’t look for them, though I didn’t avoid them either. Work is a part of my life. It’s not surprising then that warm feelings developed on the rink as well. It’s like we’re under a looking glass there. All the qualities are there to see.”
”What do you like most in women?”
“Everything! All women are interesting. At least all women I’ve ever met. Every person has something special about it. It can be on the outside or on the inside. A woman should be a hellcat. In a good sense. If she’s not a hellcat, then she’s not really a woman.”
”Is there something you can’t stand in women?”
“I can’t stand filth. I can live with anything else.”
Farewell the American dream!
“Does Petersburg differ from other cities you’ve lived in?”
“Of course. Bad roads, for example. However, Petersburg’s beauty can only be compared to Paris. I guess the only two cities where I can live simply and naturally are Peter and France’s capital.”
”Nonetheless, you’ve lived in Chicago for several years”
“That’s where I worked. But America is not my country. I never liked it, I don’t like, and I will never like it.”
”Is it boring? Are you nostalgic?”
“Neither. Chicago has almost a million Russian speakers. There is a Russian radio station, a TV channel, not to mention newspapers. There are stores with Russian goods and Russian music. If you get nostalgic, there is no need to fly anywhere, just drive a couple of blocks, and it’s like you’re in Russia. People are different. They have different interests, different values. You and I can talk about weather, theater, or movies, but in America all conversations are just about money.”
”Listening to you, one shouldn’t even think about the future.”
“That’s not true. One should think. It’s important to maintain one’s health, to stay active. This way, old age won’t be so infirm. I wouldn’t want to be dependent on others in old age.”
”You’re one of the few athletes who doesn’t have a business on the side.”
“That’s true. At one point I tried selling cars with friends. Then I tried selling produce, even dabbled in real estate. In all cases the business wasn’t bad, and my friends who stayed in it are successful. It just wasn’t interesting for me. I didn’t enjoy making a hundred dollars one day, or five hundred the next. So I went back to figure skating.”
[size=-1]Conversation was conducted by Alena Skorbareva[/size]
Another interview with Vasiliev. Like always, he impresses me as a bit of an a**.
[size=+2]”Totmianina and I had an on-the-job affair”[/size]
March 14, 2007
Olympic figure skating champion believes, that if a woman is not a hellcat, there is something wrong.
For the past year there have been many rumors around the Olympic champions’ coach Oleg Vasiliev. One version had him marrying his student Tatiana Totmianina; another had him breaking it off with her completely. The renowned coach tells the “MK” correspondent in Pete what really happened, and how he broke up with his ex-wives.
I wasn’t peeping in on Totmianina and Plushenko
“Oleg Klimovich, so did you marry Tatiana Totmianina, or didn’t you?"
“No, though there were many rumors about our supposed wedding. Tanya and I had a good relationship, both working and personal. However, when the Olympic race was over, a new life began for us. Different lives for us. I had new students and new challenges, whereas she and Maxim Marinin and new tours, shows, and performances. What kind of personal relationships can we be talking about if I last saw them at Tatiana Tarasova’s anniversary a few weeks ago? Actually, “saw” is an exaggeration. We crossed paths for 15 minutes. Next time we’ll see each other in June.”
”What attracted you to Tatiana?”
“Any person has something interesting about them. You just have to look. I did look, because I had to make her into a champion. We had an on-the-hob affair. I can say that she is a very strong person. If she decides something, she will do it for sure. She approaches her goals confidently, making everyone around dance to her tune. This quality of hers was very important to us on her way to Olympic gold. Besides all that, Tanya is just a really nice girl.”
”Did you understand right away that Tatiana is more than a student to you?”
“No. At first, it was just work. During the first year there was no time for anything else. A different relationship developed later on, when we got to know each other better after spending so much time together on the ice.”
”Lately, there have been many rumors about a close relationship between Tatiana and Evgeny Plushenko. Did those reach you?”
“Obviously, I’ve heard the rumors, but I don’t know anything about it. I wasn’t peeping in on them. Perhaps they had something, or may be they were just friends outside the rink. People are used to seeing us as a triangle – I, Tanya, and Maxim Marinin. Now that her circle goes outside this frame, people find it unusual. Again, Tatiana and I broke up after the Games, and I have no intention on following what she’s doing.”
Women leave, I stay
“You have already been married twice, and both times it ended in divorce”
“Right. The first time I was brought to the altar was in 1984. We had a fancy wedding with my partner Elena Valova. The banquet was in a restaurant on the corner of Nevsky and Litejni prospects. I think it’s a hotel now. There were about a hundred guests. In short, it was an awesome party. The second wedding was far simpler. Valentina and I flew to Las Vegas, and became husband and wife in a small chapel there. We kept it a secret seven from friends. As to divorces… My divorce with Lena took three days. With Valentina, divorce proceedings took almost three years.”
”She didn’t want to let you go?”
“No. We just lived different lives, and it was hard to get all the paperwork squared away. By the way, I have just recently become a free man.”
”Are you afraid of women now?”
“It so happened that I have to deal with women at work. Being afraid of them wouldn’t be smart. It’s better to study them. However, this study led to some not so good consequences in my family life. The more I know women, the less I want to tie myself to the only one for a long time. Because women come and go, but I stay.”
”Perhaps you’re having trouble with your personal life because you’re rich and famous?”
”I doubt it. My brother’s life approach is “less money means less trouble”, but he has difficulty with women too. Dating, break ups. There are underwater reefs everywhere.”
”Your first on-the-job affair wasn’t successful. Why repeat the same mistake?”
“First of all, comparing my relationship with Lena Valova and Tanya Totmianina is like comparing apples and oranges. Totally different people, totally different relationships. Secondly, in my case on-the-job affairs just happened. I didn’t look for them, though I didn’t avoid them either. Work is a part of my life. It’s not surprising then that warm feelings developed on the rink as well. It’s like we’re under a looking glass there. All the qualities are there to see.”
”What do you like most in women?”
“Everything! All women are interesting. At least all women I’ve ever met. Every person has something special about it. It can be on the outside or on the inside. A woman should be a hellcat. In a good sense. If she’s not a hellcat, then she’s not really a woman.”
”Is there something you can’t stand in women?”
“I can’t stand filth. I can live with anything else.”
Farewell the American dream!
“Does Petersburg differ from other cities you’ve lived in?”
“Of course. Bad roads, for example. However, Petersburg’s beauty can only be compared to Paris. I guess the only two cities where I can live simply and naturally are Peter and France’s capital.”
”Nonetheless, you’ve lived in Chicago for several years”
“That’s where I worked. But America is not my country. I never liked it, I don’t like, and I will never like it.”
”Is it boring? Are you nostalgic?”
“Neither. Chicago has almost a million Russian speakers. There is a Russian radio station, a TV channel, not to mention newspapers. There are stores with Russian goods and Russian music. If you get nostalgic, there is no need to fly anywhere, just drive a couple of blocks, and it’s like you’re in Russia. People are different. They have different interests, different values. You and I can talk about weather, theater, or movies, but in America all conversations are just about money.”
”Listening to you, one shouldn’t even think about the future.”
“That’s not true. One should think. It’s important to maintain one’s health, to stay active. This way, old age won’t be so infirm. I wouldn’t want to be dependent on others in old age.”
”You’re one of the few athletes who doesn’t have a business on the side.”
“That’s true. At one point I tried selling cars with friends. Then I tried selling produce, even dabbled in real estate. In all cases the business wasn’t bad, and my friends who stayed in it are successful. It just wasn’t interesting for me. I didn’t enjoy making a hundred dollars one day, or five hundred the next. So I went back to figure skating.”
[size=-1]Conversation was conducted by Alena Skorbareva[/size]
