I have always been surprised that many people react so sensitively to the failures of Russian man figure skaters. Do they deserve respect to worry so much about them?
I honestly can't remember (for many, many recent years) that Russian guys have done something worthy of respect. To be honest, only the Yagudin-pLushenko era occurs in my head when I try to remember something like that.
For example, our girls constantly arouse respect - the brilliant era of Medvedeva, their fantastic fight with Alina at the Olympics, the era of quads started by Trusova-Shcherbakova, Tuktamysheva, who, despite her mature years, was able to accomplish almost the impossible - got to the world and became silver there. Or Anya Shcherbakova's fantastic FS at the last Russian Championship? I can't remember anything more athletic (tru sport is demonstrating the possibilities of fortitude).
Girls constantly show themselves to be true titans of fortitude. And if they suddenly became like our guys, I would take it sensitively - because they already have a reputation, they are an example of resilience and they inspire.
What are our guys an example of? Who can they inspire? That's why I always look at guys calmly, "with a monocle in my eyes". And I recommend the same attitude to you, at least until they have earned a reputation.
That's a rather harsh assessment... First, the current Russian men are quite decent, can be counted on to win Euros, it's hardly their fault to exist in the same era as Chen and Hanyu.
Second, as a viewer I enjoy watching them not primarily based on their chance of winning, but on special individualistic qualities that they each possess (for example, Misha Kolyada's balletic lines and high jumps, Mark Kondratiuk's quirkiness and fighting spirit, Dmitri Aliev's musical sensitivity...). Of course I want them to do well and feel sad on their behalf when they struggle, but this feeling stems from empathy acquired from watching them for many years. If I am sometimes disappointed, it's for them, not at them.
They aren't unworthy of respect just because they experience difficulties performing. In fact often the fortitude they display in facing these difficulties makes me respect them more, e.g. Samarin, Erokhov, Danielian etc. coming back from injury, Kovalev dealing with a major growth spurt that has left him over 6 feet tall, Sergei Voronov competing through 15 years. Though Tuktamysheva and Scherbakova are great examples of resilience, consider how many other female skaters retire due to puberty and other reasons -
per capita these comebacks are rarer among Russian girls (maybe due to physiological differences, or intense competition that gives the struggling individuals no time to adjust and recover).
As a Russian it's understandable that you might have some patriotic expectations. However, I know other Russian fans who patiently support their countrymen through through their tribulations, and this seems to me equally patriotic. As long as the guys work hard (which they are obviously doing, maybe too much, given the injury rate in the national team this past year).