2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Scott512]

Her back is better but she said she wont do a bielmann ever again. It seems that this is a consequence of her back injury.

Quite possibly. But Zhenya must be in good health because she's going to learn the 4S because that's not an easy move to train and Implement in competition. It takes time and persistence and she has both. This is a big summer for Evgenia. I think everyone expects her to be better this season than last season.

By the way since you Vandy and others seem to think that Alina and Evgenia were never good friends I think you should watch a video on YouTube about both of these great young ladies and what good friends they were around the time of the Olympics. It's an RT special and the interactions between the two of them were tremendous to see. I know it's not the same now for various reasons the one of them said they were good friends in the video competitors on the ice but good friends off the ice. If you've never seen it it's worthwhile to watch. And for anyone who has seen it before it's worthwhile to watch again in my opinion.

It's good to see you having a good time in here FabI. The way it should be.

 

[Vandevska]

By the way since you Vandy and others seem to think that Alina and Evgenia were never good friends I think you should watch a video on YouTube about both of these great young ladies and what good friends they were around the time of the Olympics. It's an RT special and the interactions between the two of them were tremendous to see. I know it's not the same now for various reasons the one of them said they were good friends in the video competitors on the ice but good friends off the ice. If you've never seen it it's worthwhile to watch. And for anyone who has seen it before it's worthwhile to watch again in my opinion.

Nah I wasn't saying that they were enemies. But I recall them saying that they weren't that friendly. Which honestly makes sense, considering that they are of different age. Alina is very good friends with Eteri's daughter and Evgenia has other friends so it's fine. Honestly, it's really not that big of a deal that they weren't such good friends, I really don't think that should get that much attention. I was just mentioning it since someone was saying that it's weird that this drama was happening now since they were friendly or something like that. But yeah, I don't think they were super friends or anything like that, and especially not now when they're in different countries and they've said that they aren't really messaging each other.

 

[Sugar Coated]

Although I love Kostornaia she does not do quads. There is a possibility of her regaining her 3A over the summer, but I think the first priority would be to return to the level she showed at junior nats since she was out with an injury

I got all excited for a minute. I was like, “did I miss an Instagram video?” Was about to scroll back through the posts before I read yours.

 

[Claudalie]

Quite possibly. But Zhenya must be in good health because she's going to learn the 4S because that's not an easy move to train and Implement in competition. It takes time and persistence and she has both. This is a big summer for Evgenia. I think everyone expects her to be better this season than last season.

By the way since you Vandy and others seem to think that Alina and Evgenia were never good friends I think you should watch a video on YouTube about both of these great young ladies and what good friends they were around the time of the Olympics. It's an RT special and the interactions between the two of them were tremendous to see. I know it's not the same now for various reasons the one of them said they were good friends in the video competitors on the ice but good friends off the ice. If you've never seen it it's worthwhile to watch. And for anyone who has seen it before it's worthwhile to watch again in my opinion.

It's good to see you having a good time in here FabI. The way it should be.

I believe they were close but not friends at one point, before the OG. The OG changed so much in so many ways but they do treat each other civilly now, which is normal. I wish them both great luck and success. They both deserve to stay in FS for a long time, like Carolina Costner.

 

[Vandevska]

Now this had to be in a separate post because this and the previous I wrote aren't related.

I wanted to watch videos of most Russian ladies and make a compilation with who has which favourite element for me. And I've concluded that with the exception of Zhenya's salchow, Polina Tsurskaya wins across the board for me for every other jump. In second place is Anastasia Tarakanova. I love their height and ice coverage and in my opinion it's hard to come close to those two in terms of those 2 qualities.

Favourite spin EVER is definitely Kamila's I spin. I've seen it multiple times, and no matter how many times I see it, it always makes me feel like . Gubanova has a similar spin. I wanted to try to find other favourite spins but it's hard because I honestly still don't understand all the different spins.

Craziest jump entries are by Trusova (3Lz from cantilever, and that insane 4T from cantilever) and then by Alina (I think the 3Lz from a Charlotte is more impressive, but the 2A is impressive too).

Queen of EXs is definitely Evgenia and there's really no argument against this. She's the only one I know that has so many different gala programs and different styles in them as such. Also here is her ability to portray the program, although Kostornaya has won me over this season as my 2nd favourite, and by the time the season was over Shcherbakova got so much better than at the beginning and I am intrigued by her program portrayal abilities as well (my favourite is the ex she did at Russian nationals that used to be a competitive program in the past).

As far as "skating and gliding", I was amazed by Gubanova, she has a beautiful flow.

Special mention for Anna's 4Lz when she lands it, it's probably my favourite "girl quad" right now; also for Sasha's 4T, because it super impressive to the point of having a delay in rotation lol; last but not least my favourite 3A ever was Kostornaya's one from last summer and it would be one of my wish-come-true's if she gets it back.

Give me more suggestions for other favourite things to choose, and tell me yours as well. ^_^

 

[Autumn Leaves]

When anyone mentions spins, I just have to mention Julia, even though she is no longer competing. Hers is out of this world. I agree that Kamila has a extraordinarily beautiful I spin too, but nothing compares to Julia's.

Also, I have never seen Alena's 3A, but Liza's 3A is impressive. If you don't choose Liza for the 3A, at least give her the 3Lz. It is probably the best in the field right now, not just among Russian ladies.

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

Anna’s 3Lz from a biellmann, Alyona’s 3Lo from a Kerrigan spiral, and Dasha’s 3F from a spiral are very impressive too.

 

[melgirl25]

Nah I wasn't saying that they were enemies. But I recall them saying that they weren't that friendly. Which honestly makes sense, considering that they are of different age. Alina is very good friends with Eteri's daughter and Evgenia has other friends so it's fine. Honestly, it's really not that big of a deal that they weren't such good friends, I really don't think that should get that much attention. I was just mentioning it since someone was saying that it's weird that this drama was happening now since they were friendly or something like that. But yeah, I don't think they were super friends or anything like that, and especially not now when they're in different countries and they've said that they aren't really messaging each other.

I think they were friendlier before because they spent so much time together at Sambo. There are videos of them goofing around on the ice and on an airplane. Friendships can forge because of that but when one moves or some other circumstance it changes.

 

[LenaRadiFan]

Now this had to be in a separate post because this and the previous I wrote aren't related.

I wanted to watch videos of most Russian ladies and make a compilation with who has which favourite element for me. And I've concluded that with the exception of Zhenya's salchow, Polina Tsurskaya wins across the board for me for every other jump. In second place is Anastasia Tarakanova. I love their height and ice coverage and in my opinion it's hard to come close to those two in terms of those 2 qualities.

Favourite spin EVER is definitely Kamila's I spin. I've seen it multiple times, and no matter how many times I see it, it always makes me feel like . Gubanova has a similar spin. I wanted to try to find other favourite spins but it's hard because I honestly still don't understand all the different spins.

Craziest jump entries are by Trusova (3Lz from cantilever, and that insane 4T from cantilever) and then by Alina (I think the 3Lz from a Charlotte is more impressive, but the 2A is impressive too).

Queen of EXs is definitely Evgenia and there's really no argument against this. She's the only one I know that has so many different gala programs and different styles in them as such. Also here is her ability to portray the program, although Kostornaya has won me over this season as my 2nd favourite, and by the time the season was over Shcherbakova got so much better than at the beginning and I am intrigued by her program portrayal abilities as well (my favourite is the ex she did at Russian nationals that used to be a competitive program in the past).

As far as "skating and gliding", I was amazed by Gubanova, she has a beautiful flow.

Special mention for Anna's 4Lz when she lands it, it's probably my favourite "girl quad" right now; also for Sasha's 4T, because it super impressive to the point of having a delay in rotation lol; last but not least my favourite 3A ever was Kostornaya's one from last summer and it would be one of my wish-come-true's if she gets it back.

Give me more suggestions for other favourite things to choose, and tell me yours as well. ^_^

Well I might be biased but I do think that Elenas Exhibitions are always miles miles better than her competitive programs(usually) also her biellman spin must be one of the prettiest in the ladies

 

[Scott512]

Nah I wasn't saying that they were enemies. But I recall them saying that they weren't that friendly. Which honestly makes sense, considering that they are of different age. Alina is very good friends with Eteri's daughter and Evgenia has other friends so it's fine. Honestly, it's really not that big of a deal that they weren't such good friends, I really don't think that should get that much attention. I was just mentioning it since someone was saying that it's weird that this drama was happening now since they were friendly or something like that. But yeah, I don't think they were super friends or anything like that, and especially not now when they're in different countries and they've said that they aren't really messaging each other.

You may be right and it certainly is not a big deal but Alina is quoted on the video saying they are good friends. But yeah that's not the case now. For me and others back then their relationship was precious and very warm. Alina even referred to Zhenya as her mentor. But things change and that's what happened. As I've said many times that's okay because that's sports and that's life.

 

[Vandevska]

I wasn't choosing elements just from girls who are competitive. Also, I guess I was mostly talking about triples and 2A.
It's nice to hear what other people think because I might have forgotten some things (like mentioning Liza's 3A lol) and this way we can all enjoy more beauty that maybe otherwise we wouldn't have thought of.

Let's just please not make this into agree/disagree thing because that really isn't the point. It doesn't have to be something we argue about

 

[Scott512]

I believe they were close but not friends at one point, before the OG. The OG changed so much in so many ways but they do treat each other civilly now, which is normal. I wish them both great luck and success. They both deserve to stay in FS for a long time, like Carolina Costner.

Well said. The video does show how close they were before the Olympic Games. Yes it would be great to see them both around for a long time. But the competition in Russia is so strong and so deep it will be interesting to see how long they last competitively speaking.

 

[moriel]

I think they were friendlier before because they spent so much time together at Sambo. There are videos of them goofing around on the ice and on an airplane. Friendships can forge because of that but when one moves or some other circumstance it changes.

Friendships are something that has degrees.
For example, people here can look at their previous jobs, or school - while you were friendly and goofed around with some of the coworkers or school mates. But then it not necessarely converted into friendships once you left. Its not because people started hating you and you started hating them because you left, but because that is not enough to forge a friendship that will remain if you stop spending time together.

Imho, Zagi and Med relationship is somewhat like that. They were sharing same rink and spending lot of time together, and had fun, but once that ended, there were not enough common interests to remain closely in touch and so on.

Diana's case is different here. First, its much more personal for her, since Eteri was obviously hurt by Medvegate and Eteri is Diana's mom.
Just a personal example here: my father is a university professor. When I was finishing school, my dad got this undergraduate student, lets say John. Then, John went through master degree and PhD with my dad, and at that point John was basically part of family. He stayed with us for a couple of months when he had $$$ issues. He would come to my parents house to work on research with my dad and so on. Then, at some point, John gave up academics and decided to move on and work in a bank. Now see, my dad is a very strict person, and he could get rather nasty - as he indeed got when I chose to not pursue academic career, and we didnt speak for over a year - and I totally understand John's decision of not say anything to my dad, and simply avoid and ignore him. But my dad was devastated with that (devastated as in spending over a year depressed). Now back to my point of view as daughter: both my father (for being strict and not tolerating weaknesses) and John were in fault. But my dad is my dad, and John hurt him deeply. John may be a nice guy, but i have this resentment about him. I dont want to be his friend, and I dont want to interact with the guy who hurt my dad like that, period.
THen, there is a second factor: Diana was heavily bullied by Medvedeva's fans (who demanded her to support Zhenya against Eteri), and it was quite unpleasant, so I wouldnt be surprised if she chose to avoid as much as possible simply because of that.

 

[nussnacker]

Friendships are something that has degrees.
For example, people here can look at their previous jobs, or school - while you were friendly and goofed around with some of the coworkers or school mates. But then it not necessarely converted into friendships once you left. Its not because people started hating you and you started hating them because you left, but because that is not enough to forge a friendship that will remain if you stop spending time together.

Imho, Zagi and Med relationship is somewhat like that. They were sharing same rink and spending lot of time together, and had fun, but once that ended, there were not enough common interests to remain closely in touch and so on.

Diana's case is different here. First, its much more personal for her, since Eteri was obviously hurt by Medvegate and Eteri is Diana's mom.
Just a personal example here: my father is a university professor. When I was finishing school, my dad got this undergraduate student, lets say John. Then, John went through master degree and PhD with my dad, and at that point John was basically part of family. He stayed with us for a couple of months when he had $$$ issues. He would come to my parents house to work on research with my dad and so on. Then, at some point, John gave up academics and decided to move on and work in a bank. Now see, my dad is a very strict person, and he could get rather nasty - as he indeed got when I chose to not pursue academic career, and we didnt speak for over a year - and I totally understand John's decision of not say anything to my dad, and simply avoid and ignore him. But my dad was devastated with that (devastated as in spending over a year depressed). Now back to my point of view as daughter: both my father (for being strict and not tolerating weaknesses) and John were in fault. But my dad is my dad, and John hurt him deeply. John may be a nice guy, but i have this resentment about him. I dont want to be his friend, and I dont want to interact with the guy who hurt my dad like that, period.
THen, there is a second factor: Diana was heavily bullied by Medvedeva's fans (who demanded her to support Zhenya against Eteri), and it was quite unpleasant, so I wouldnt be surprised if she chose to avoid as much as possible simply because of that.

So well said!
People want quick and easy explanations for everything and in reality those are human lives and relationships and they are oh so complex.

 

[Fluture]

I think the favourite-element-by Russian-ladies-posts are a great idea.

And there‘s really no agreeing or disagreeing about favourites. That‘d be like saying: “You can‘t have chocolate as your favourite icecream!! Vanilla is a lot better!!“

So, here we go:

2A: Alena and Polina

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btc_sj3n9Ta/?igshid=lxbobdp6e3tw

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw_av9wH6Ta/?igshid=1krn4obldx5qc

3S: Zhenya

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxTNfG7Izyb/?igshid=7uxlhhr5go8w

3Lo: Zhenya

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqYa7F8BeBJ/?igshid=95b4r9m4s4p1

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv2Ok0bH3di/?utm_source=ig_embed

3F: Alena

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bth87VYA58d/?igshid=13a2ks8bjwjgz

3A: And that‘s where I should name Liza‘s 3A but I won‘t. It‘s a good jump but aesthetically I prefer Alena‘s. I know we haven’t even seen it in competition yet so technically, it doesn‘t count but I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. I mean, look at the transitions, the speed she has into the jump, there‘s no telegraphed entry...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtmDeqNnLpI/?igshid=16hernmik3ojw

3Lz: Polina

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQN_UXWgI5F/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BujWD4LHtad/?igshid=1r691rwlm04jx

3T in combo is probably also Alena, her rippon is so nice.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btd9PfSn5Qj/?igshid=nprj3me6hug9

3Lo combo are Alina and Zhenya

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxnAJz5FrHE/?igshid=u820y1xb239b

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq2Rn-bh5yY/?igshid=17ndx8hk8oodt

I know we never saw the 2A+3Lo in competition but it‘s such a beautiful and unique combo

Favourite quad goes to Anna. (When she lands it) Sasha‘s technique is way better but her quads look very heavy, sort of disrupting the program. I‘m no fan of quads but when I have to watch them, then I‘ll take one that looks like Anna‘s. Light and airy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwz8axmnaZ9/?igshid=bgpl83jd1w4

For me jumps have to be light and quick and they need to look like a natural part of the program. If a jump disrupts the performance, that’s when I consider it bad. So, telegraphed entries or transitions that have no impact on the music are a no-go for me.

That‘s about jumps so far. I might do spins and steps sometime else, or the post will be too long again.

 

[neud]

Тrusova jumps quads at competitions for two years. Kihira didn't jump a single quad at competitions yet. I'd rather believe Trusova jumping 3A next season than Kihira jumping quad.

 

[LenaRadiFan]

Тrusova jumps quads at competitions for two years. Kihira didn't jump a single quad at competitions yet. I'd rather believe Trusova jumping 3A next season than Kihira jumping quad.

If you're judging by this, then both their chances are 50/50 so I believe Kihira can junp a quad in competition as much as Trusova can jump a 3a in competition next season. I haven't seen Trusova jumping any, but I don't think that instagram videos are that indicative anyways

 

[Scott512]

Friendships are something that has degrees.
For example, people here can look at their previous jobs, or school - while you were friendly and goofed around with some of the coworkers or school mates. But then it not necessarely converted into friendships once you left. Its not because people started hating you and you started hating them because you left, but because that is not enough to forge a friendship that will remain if you stop spending time together.

Imho, Zagi and Med relationship is somewhat like that. They were sharing same rink and spending lot of time together, and had fun, but once that ended, there were not enough common interests to remain closely in touch and so on.

Diana's case is different here. First, its much more personal for her, since Eteri was obviously hurt by Medvegate and Eteri is Diana's mom.
Just a personal example here: my father is a university professor. When I was finishing school, my dad got this undergraduate student, lets say John. Then, John went through master degree and PhD with my dad, and at that point John was basically part of family. He stayed with us for a couple of months when he had $$$ issues. He would come to my parents house to work on research with my dad and so on. Then, at some point, John gave up academics and decided to move on and work in a bank. Now see, my dad is a very strict person, and he could get rather nasty - as he indeed got when I chose to not pursue academic career, and we didnt speak for over a year - and I totally understand John's decision of not say anything to my dad, and simply avoid and ignore him. But my dad was devastated with that (devastated as in spending over a year depressed). Now back to my point of view as daughter: both my father (for being strict and not tolerating weaknesses) and John were in fault. But my dad is my dad, and John hurt him deeply. John may be a nice guy, but i have this resentment about him. I dont want to be his friend, and I dont want to interact with the guy who hurt my dad like that, period.
THen, there is a second factor: Diana was heavily bullied by Medvedeva's fans (who demanded her to support Zhenya against Eteri), and it was quite unpleasant, so I wouldnt be surprised if she chose to avoid as much as possible simply because of that.

This is one of the most amazing in-depth posts I've ever ready especially on the topic of friendships which are very complex. To that I say thank you sir. I can understand why your father was so upset over his situation. And I really did kind of forget about the Diana factor in all of this between Alina, Evgenia and Eteri. The dynamics are very tricky and very sensitive and very complex.

Thank you again Moriel for opening up like you did.

 

[fabienne1996]

When anyone mentions spins, I just have to mention Julia, even though she is no longer competing. Hers is out of this world. I agree that Kamila has a extraordinarily beautiful I spin too, but nothing compares to Julia's.

Also, I have never seen Alena's 3A, but Liza's 3A is impressive. If you don't choose Liza for the 3A, at least give her the 3Lz. It is probably the best in the field right now, not just among Russian ladies.

You are right and even now Yulia still has her signature spin. I did love zhenyas bielmann so much. But Yulia was something else, to this day I have not seen someone who could spin so fast like she did when doing her signature spin

 

[Claudalie]

If you're judging by this, then both their chances are 50/50 so I believe Kihira can junp a quad in competition as much as Trusova can jump a 3a in competition next season. I haven't seen Trusova jumping any, but I don't think that instagram videos are that indicative anyways

Trusova is very consistent with a quad jump at competitions and it's her forte having a couple of these jumps in combos as well. Kihira was inconsistent with her signature 3A at the worlds... and I doubt if she will get anywhere near 86.88.