Q: Judging from the last competitions in the last season and from the fact that you took part in the show in Japan, all the troubles with health are in the past, right?
A: Yes, the consequences of the injury are over, nothing hurts anymore, so now I train and compete at full strength.
Q: Could you tell what happened then?
A: Last summer in Novogorsk, I fell on a combination and broke my leg. Then there was a period of recovery, It was harder to train and to perform jumps.
Q: Who helped and supported you during the recovery?
A: All my family and the coaches. Daniil Markovich [Gleikhengauz] came to me sometimes, he supported me a lot. Also, people from the federation called me, it was very nice.
Q: Can you tell something about the new programs - who made them, when you started practicing them?
A: I have 2 new programs, they were choreographed by Daniil Markovich and Eteri Georgievna. They started making the free program almost at the beginning of the camp, that is, in mid-June. The short program was made after the show in Japan.
Q: Did you like the show?
A: Very much! It was an absolutely new emotions for me, and it was my first time in Japan. I liked the atmosphere and the people very much, everything was so nice, it was a pleasure to skate, and everyone supported me.
Q: What was most memorable there, maybe meeting some athletes, or some events, or presents? The fans give a lot of presents, hand-made toys.
A: Yes, it was a great fun to look through the presents, there were a lot of warm wishes and letters, I read them all, all those kind words. There also was a napkin bag - a teddy bear, it's now my new talisman. I also met a lot of famous skaters, whom I long wanted to meet personally.
Q: Did they look down on you?
A: No, everyone was so open and nice, it even surprised me that they were the first to start talking to me, asking how I am doing and what's new. There was a friendly atmosphere.
Q: I think it was nice to skate with such support.
A: Yes, the crowd was very supportive, and the skaters too, and it felt not like on a competition when I need to prove something, instead, it was very calm.
Q: Tell me how you chose, or were chosen, to be a figure skater.
A: My elder sister started skating first, so my parents decided I should skate with her.
Q: So you skated, and?..
A: I started succeeding in it, I liked it very much, I enjoyed every practice; then I became better at jumping, which motivated me to train even more.
Q: Where you started skating?
A: From day one I skated at the very same rink, Khrustalny, with coaches Oksana Mikhailovna Bulycheva and Yulia Alexandrovna Krasilskaya.
Q: What is figure skating for you now - your job, a hobby?
A: It's my way of life, something I do all the time, something without which I cannot imagine my life. Every day of my life is affected by it so much, so that I just can't imagine myself without it.
Q: So I assume, even in the hardest times you don't even think of leaving or abandoning it.
A: No, I never thought about it, even after the injury; moreover, everyone supported me, so I never felt that I don't need it or that I don't belong there, never.
Q: Do you have a motto, maybe some phrase, that cheers you up and helps you to persevere when it's hard for you?
A: No special phrase, I just love my job, so I do it.