Figure Skating: Russia’s Hidden Tool in the War with Ukraine
As a loyal fan of figure skating and a skater myself, I was at first saddened to hear that Russia’s practically unbeatable athletes had been banned from international competition in 2022, even after the drama of the Beijing Winter Games. Young teenagers swept up in Russia’s immensely competitive figure skating world could be immune from politics, right?
Wrong. I soon caught wind that some of my favorite Russian skaters — Olympic Medalist Alexandra Trusova and European Champion Aliona Kostornaia, for instance — had been performing in a series of pro-war ice shows. The events were organized by 4-time Olympic Medalist Evgeni Plushenko and prominently featured the ‘Z’, a symbol of Russia’s war in Ukraine. One backdrop behind the skaters’ autograph station read “for peace, for Russia, for the future!”, while another booth offered audience members the chance to write a letter to a Russian soldier. All of the skaters wore t-shirts that read “нас не догонят” (“not going to get us”) in bold lettering during the show’s closing performance. At one performance, the local mayor told a crowd of 3,000 that “it is important to be together, supporting our Motherland, our President, all those who, risking their lives, lend a helping hand to people in terrible trouble.” It was later revealed that Putin’s Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiative had granted Plushenko $50 million rubles to host seven of such shows. Although most took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Plushenko allegedly offered to host a performance in the Russian-held territory of Donetsk.
Unfortunately, this episode was not the only occasion of the sport becoming entangled with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As Russia’s military began a surprise air campaign on Kyiv in late February, Channel One — Russia’s premier government media agency — broadcasted young skaters vying for the Final Russian Cup. Several weeks later, Russia protested its ban from the 2022 World Championships by hosting an equivalent domestic competition, complete with the headliners of the Beijing Olympic Games, numerous quadruple jumps, and a bounty of Zs. In mid-March, Olympic medalists Victoria Sinitsina, Nikita Katsalapov, Evgenia Tarasova, and Vladimir Morozov were seen wearing ‘Z’ badges at a pro-war rally honoring President Putin and the Russian military. Former Russian ice dancer Tatiana Navka is married to Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitri Peskov and produces popular skating shows featuring Russia’s top skaters. She sparked controversy in 2016 after dressing as a concentration camp internee on the Russian TV show Ice Age.
To anyone left with a sliver of doubt that sports and politics in Russia are entwined, look no further than the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Russian athletes had been banned from competing for Russia since 2016 due to a scandalous state-sponsored doping scheme, culminating with 15-year-old Olympic sweetheart Kamila Valieva testing positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, at the Beijing Games. As the international community outraged, Russian officials retorted that the scandal was a Western conspiracy against Russia and awarded Valieva an Honorary Master of Sports.
Putin has poured billions into Russia’s figure skating sector, with international prestige from sports being an important component of his legitimacy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s success in figure skating all but dried up in the 1990s and early 2000s. As funding once again began to surge into the industry, Putin’s $50 billion Sochi Winter Games in 2014 marked Russia’s reclamation of its former status in ice sports with Russia’s gold medal in the figure skating team competition.
Accordingly, the Olympics have become an important calculation in Putin’s foreign policy since 2008. Russian troops invaded South Ossetia and Ukraine’s Donbas region during the 2008 Beijing and 2014 Sochi Games, respectively. Just one week after the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games concluded, Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Many note that the Games provide a convenient distraction from Putin’s adventurism abroad, while others argue that Valieva’s controversial doping test triggered Putin to lash out as his gold medals and associated prestige were stripped away.
Regardless, figure skating is innately tied up with Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. As tough as it is to see some of my favorite skaters on the sidelines during the upcoming figure skating season, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia must pay the price for Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
