Piseev publicly rebukes Sokolova and threatens to leave her off Russia's worlds team.

[decker]

I don't think Elena is a smoker per se; my guess is that she just has a cigarette with a glass of wine every now and then.

ITA. I am a church musician. I am an amateur, but I often sing with professionals. Smoking is just as bad for singers as it is for athletes. But at the parties after concerts, you will see people smoke. They are not addicted to nicotine, but they occasionally take a cigarette.

Often it is not as simple as being "smart" enough not to engage in unhealthful behaviors. I work in health behavior research. Why people do stupid stuff and how to convince them to stop could keep me employed for 3 or 4 lifetimes!

Also there are cultural issues to consider. My office is involved in some substance abuse projects in former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states. We even see medical doctors who smoke. The attitude just is not the same as in the West. Also, the countries where we work have a huge problem with injection abuse of opiates, which is fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic. Anti-smoking campaigns are not their top priority.

As to the harsh remarks, we have found that younger people are excited to learn Western research techniques and do new things. But younger people do not run the institutions. Older people do, and many of them had a lot more power under the Soviet system. They do not like giving up power. Sometimes they say no just to show who is still the boss. Maybe there is some of that with the skating federation, too.

Susan

 

[Spun Silver]

Institutions have their own cultures too and judging by folks like Tarasova and that other female coach whose interview we read recently (coaches Griazov now), the culture of Russian FS is authoritarian. When it works, it really works, but it's not pretty to democratic eyes.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Institutions have their own cultures too and judging by folks like Tarasova and that other female coach whose interview we read recently (coaches Griazov now), the culture of Russian FS is authoritarian. When it works, it really works, but it's not pretty to democratic eyes.

Wasn't that like the Nazi ss brigade? Do as I say, or else.....

 

[R.D.]

Yeah, I can't see how making threats and instilling fear is going to cause anything but resentment.

 

[GBerberoglu]

Institutions have their own cultures too and judging by folks like Tarasova and that other female coach whose interview we read recently (coaches Griazov now), the culture of Russian FS is authoritarian. When it works, it really works, but it's not pretty to democratic eyes.

European FS champ 2006 :
1 Irina SLUTSKAYA RUS 193.24 1 1
2 Elena SOKOLOVA RUS 177.81 2 2
3 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 172.45 5 3
4 Sarah MEIER SUI 167.16 3 4
5 Elene GEDEVANISHVILI GEO 153.27 4 6
6 Kiira KORPI FIN 146.37 11 5
7 Susanna PÖYKIÖ FIN 144.75 7 8
8 Alisa DREI FIN 141.55 9 7
9 Viktoria VOLCHKOVA RUS 131.88 6 15
10 Annette DYTRT GER 131.11 12 9
3 russian skaters.

European FS champ 2001:
1 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 174.79 2 1
2 Sarah MEIER SUI 171.28 1 2
3 Kiira KORPI FIN 151.19 5 4
4 Susanna POYKIO FIN 146.02 7 5
5 Valentina MARCHEI ITA 144.28 12 3
6 Alisa DREI FIN 141.90 9 6
7 Elena SOKOLOVA RUS 139.71 8 7
8 Elene GEDEVANISHVILI GEO 137.32 3 9
9 Julia SEBESTYEN HUN 136.05 4 10
10 Tugba KARADEMIR TUR 131.00 13 8
1 russian skater.

Is that skaters fault ? What have changed since 2006 ? (Clearly Fins have changed)

I have nearly no idea about russian federation, except this unfortunate press conference. But "being authoritarian" will not work forever. Only criticisim I accept is that she has gained weight. (Though she's still perfect as a blonde)

Sport Federations cannot cast blame, they must take responsibility.

 

[R.D.]

great quote in bold...however I think there's a line (a distinction) that should be made...in other words, sometimes it IS the skater's fault. Wouldn't say that justifies publically calling her out on it, though. It's just the way *that* system works it seems.

 

[scorekeeper]

My question is, why is she basically the same skater who first made a splash nearly 10 years ago? There's been very little improvement in her spirals, spins, footwork since...'98, was it? Somebody clearly doesn't care enough, whether it's the federation, the coaching team, or Elena herself.

 

[gio]

I guess she grew up in the soviet system and was pretty much forced to skate by her parents coaches goverment etc... why dosen't she just retire. she i obviosly is not gonna make it now.

I think that at the time Elena Sokolova started skating, things were already changing in the Soviet Union. I don't think somebody forced her.

 

[gio]

Institutions have their own cultures too and judging by folks like Tarasova and that other female coach whose interview we read recently (coaches Griazov now), the culture of Russian FS is authoritarian. When it works, it really works, but it's not pretty to democratic eyes.

Mishin seems to me very Soviet style, more than Tarasova or Vodorezova.
The old Soviet school worked till now. Is it time for a change. I don't know!

 

[SugarCranberry]

Translation of article from http://www.gudok.ru/index.php/44607

Lena seems to think of her figure skating as a trifle diversion. The consequences of this attitude are alreadly clear. If she does not change her approach to training, she will not go to the World Champions in Japan."

Who will he send to Japan ? Even being out of shape she was their top skater.

 

[decker]

Mishin seems to me very Soviet style, more than Tarasova or Vodorezova.
The old Soviet school worked till now. Is it time for a change. I don't know!

At one time I would have said the Russian people made that decision in 1991. But it is increasingly more complicated than that. People don't want to live in a society where one wrong word gets you slammed up against a wall and shot in the back of a head. But autocratic monarchy and communist dictatorship are the only forms of government tried prior to 1991.

Democracy is messy and ugly, and things don't always work out the "right" way. This is very frustrating to people who are accustomed to the up side of not having freedoms (low crime, no unemployment, etc.). PoetYevgeny Yevtushenko claims that Russians in some ways want the fist and the knout.

Putin is supposed to stand down this year per Russian constitutional law, and he announced in December he "might" do it. OMG ... there would be rioting in the streets if a US President said he "might" observe the 22nd Amendment! The Gulag is up and running again. Critics are turning up dead in scenarios worthy of a John LeCarre novel. Many signs point to a regression to the mean.

On the other hand, Putin is trying to make nice with Western powers that can infuse capital into his economy. There are huge issues with the national oil company, public health is in shambles, etc. Skating may be like smoking ... not the top priority so not a lot of effort spent in keeping it "under control."

Susan

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

I'm really hoping Irina Slutskaya comes back next year

 

[R.D.]

...hoping Irina Slutskaya comes back next year

hmm, don't think that's happening

(just like Kwan "coming back" or Cohen "coming back" or Hughes "coming back"...it just never happens)

 

[Spun Silver]

hmm, don't think that's happening

(just like Kwan "coming back" or Cohen "coming back" or Hughes "coming back"...it just never happens)

It happened with Serena Williams. (See Cafe thread.)

 

[R.D.]

but that's tennis. I heard she won the Australian open.

 

[scorekeeper]

Who will he send to Japan ? Even being out of shape she was their top skater.

True. Doronina didn't reach the Final at Euros, and Ievleva finished in 11th place. Not that any of the three really has a chance to medal at Worlds, but I think at this point the Russians are just trying to gain two ladies' berths for next year. There is a chance that Sokolova could have a top ten finish in Tokyo.

 

[hockeyfan228]

The Sunday night after Euros ended, we saw Sokolova several times in the lobby of the Novotel, the hotel at which the skaters stayed. I think it was Frank Carroll who said that they'd just look at Tonya Harding's thighs to see whether she'd be competitive. Sokolova's butt looked like the butt of a healthy, fit young civilian, and if I were a guy I would have followed it, but not like the butt of a figure skater who has to rotate triples.

 

[Zanzibar]

I just saw this thread or would have posted earlier, in regard to the smoking issue. Many skaters smoke. If they're drinking alcohol, an even larger contingency of senior level ones smoke. The Russians in particular smoke frequently - drinking or not, competing or not. Have often wondered how the stamina of a certain select few might have really improved had they not been so addicted to nicotine. A shame.

 

[Alsace]

I keep hearing different things about Russian cultural habits of bluntness. Ptichka said once (in a thread about Artunian) that Russians are much more blunt than Americans, but apparently this goes over the line for even Russians.

 

[iloveaxel]

who

Who does he want to send to the worlds anyway? This poke-faced Ksenia Doronina?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74iK9zo_U0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VojZ0iuDFM

He tried so hard to push Doronina to become the Russian National champion by tossing out those ridiculous 6s in PCS. See what happened next? Even at Euros, an event that's notorious for generous marks, poor Doronina got an average PCS under 4.

Fortunately for Piseev, the fix is already in the ice dancing.