Updates on Russia, and Russian gymnastics

 

Kartsev: FX, PB, HB; Suedin: PH, PB, HB; Roschina : V, UB
Kalmykova: V, FX; Vassilieva: BB, FX; Kaiumova: UB, BB

At times, I have been at a loss as to what to say; I still am.  I don’t think that politics and sport make good bedfellows, but we live in a time of global confusion and sadness.  It has been more than twelve years since Russia has competed under its own flag at the Olympics, and for all I know it could be another twelve or more before things revert entirely to ‘normal’.  I don’t know how seriously to take any of the announcements being made recently, about junior athletes being allowed to compete as Russian, about athletes in the Winter Paralympics being allowed to compete under the Russian flag.  I’d like to see the athletes back and able to live their lives, for them to be able to show off a bit and feel pride in their accomplishments.  But I can’t ignore the bigger picture of death and destruction.  People are lucky if they can live in safety and see their loved ones regularly – too many people can’t.  I have to confess that even in Britain I feel less safe than I did a few years ago, so goodness knows how it feels to be Ukrainian. 

 

I can’t write reams on the ethics.  I can no longer understand the power dynamics of Russian gymnastics, let alone world politics. 

 

But I can report to you, without too much ado, some of the things that have been going on … 

 

1            The Russian state has blocked Telegram and Instagram as a social media channel for most Russians.    I can still access formal information via the organisational channels – the Russian Gymnastics Federation, for example.  Some of the athletes may have retained their access, and I can still see their channels, but I have no way of knowing if what I am seeing comes direct from the athlete, or from their agent.  If it comes from their agent, to what extent is that agent working for the state, and how much control does the gymnast have over what is being presented?

 

Social media and sport has largely been a positive influence on relations between Russia and the rest of the world.  We have had some of the best quality live streaming of competitions in Russia over the years and the athletes have been surprisingly free in their communications with fans worldwide.  I don’t know how much of this will be able to continue.  It’s a pity, because sport and the Olympics are supposed to be a channel for international peace and harmony.  I don’t want that to change. 

 

For as long as possible, however I can, I will keep this blog open and up to date, and try to give voice to gymnastics in Russia.  This is a very small microcorner of history in the making.  I choose what I write about, and how I write about it, but the material upon which I draw is almost entirely Russian language media.  Increasingly, it seems to me, Russian language media is being controlled by the Russian state.  We all need to be aware of this whenever we read anything about Russia.

 

For a wider picture, go to Youtube and look up Steven Rosenberg’s channel.  Steven is the BBC correspondent for Russia, and the only remaining British journalist working in Moscow.  He covers the Russian media and helps readers to make meaning of all that is happening in Russia at present.

 

I’ll take some time to emphasise again that the Russian state heavily influences what is seen in the Russian press.  For example, the news that Alexei Navalny, former leader of the opposition in Russia, had been murdered by the administration of lethal frog poison by the Russian state – there is strong evidence and intelligence to back this up - was big news in the UK, but didn’t make it into the Russian newspapers at all.  In sport, this means that we will only hear what the Russian state wants us to hear, and what they think is favourable to their image.

 

2            You’ll know that Andrei Rodionenko is now a senior advisor to the Russian government on gymnastics, and no longer head coach.  He is now 83 years old and has worked as a senior leader of gymnastics in Russia, Canada, the Soviet Union and Australia for the last 53 years.  His place as Head Coach has been taken by Dmitri Andreev, who is 48 and active in national team coaching for the last 13 years. 

 

3            Andreev is in charge of introducing more systematic approaches to coaching gymnasts based on the latest science.  You can read about this in detail here : TheRussian Artistic Gymnastics Team has launched a Comprehensive Scientific Group(CSG) in a new format.  The head of this initiative is Associate Professor Lyubov Botova, from the Volga State University.

 

Only a few weeks ago, Angelina Melnikova spoke of work done to assess gymnasts’ metabolic rates, with a view to identifying individual optimal nutrition.  Her resting metabolic rate is about double the average.  Anyone who follows Angelina on Instagram will know that she enjoys good, healthy food.

 

4            Angelina Melnikova is participating in the Serie A Italian competitions, beginning in Modena later this month.  She will compete in three out of four, and these competitions will be the focus of her work and preparation for the first half of the year; in the second half, she hopes to compete internationally at Worlds and Europeans.

 

5            Daniil Marinov is training intensively in preparation for the second half of the year and has some new combinations in his routines.  I’ve seen a double double dismount on parallel bars. 

 

6            David Belyavski and Artur Dalolayan let themselves be seen in training, but I don’t think there is a serious intention to compete, unless it’s at regional level in Russia.  Neither athlete has neutral status.  David has spoken of his desire and intention to remain active on bars and pommels when he can.  Artur says he goes back to the gymnasium because it’s always been his home and he loves doing gymnastics.  Both are dedicated family men.  Artur has three children, two girls and a boy, and David has a little girl, now 8 years old, a fiercely determined tennis player who trains in her sport every day of the week.  The Belyavski family have a beautiful golden retriever.

 

7            I don’t talk much about Nikita Nagorny as he is a complex character, but he and his wife, Daria Spiridonova, are expecting their second child.  Nagorny, like his team mates, is a devoted and loving father.

 

8            Aliya Mustafina continues quietly as junior WAG coach for the national team.  Her daughter enjoys gymnastics.

 

9            Elena Eremina is back in Russia, at home in St Petersburg and enjoying the freedom that brings, as well as the chance to spend time with her friends.  She stayed in Saudi Arabia, training their nascent national team, for a year, and learned a lot.  No doubt there will be more steps forward in the coming year, and as far as possible I will keep you up to date.

 

Elena’s competitive career was cut short by a serious back injury that required major surgery.  Since winning her bronze medal AA at the 2017 World Championships she has received her Honoured Master of Sport award, earned her Masters degree at the Lesgaft Institute and accumulated work experience as a dance, and gymnastics, coach.  She belongs to a long heritage of gymnasts from St Petersburg, including Sofia Muratova, Elena Davydova, Elena Shushunova, Natalia Frolova, Ekaterina Kramarenko, Evgeniya Kuznetsova, Natalia Ziganshina and Tatiana Nabiyeva.  Her coaches, Alexander Kiryashov (who died in November 2020, age just 73) and Vera Kiryashova were leading figures in the sport who inspired love and respect from their teams.  Elena was a beautiful, disciplined gymnast, a leader who will continue and grow.

 

9            Tatiana Nabiyeva is now living in China with her husband.  They both recently visited St Petersburg, met Tatiana’s family, including Vera Kiryashova and the team, and enjoyed the sites of the city, a very joyful event.  Tatiana said how lovely it was to be able to visit Vera, and call her a member of her family.  Tatiana works as a coach with the Chinese national team and shows every indication that she will be as great a coach as St Petersburg could produce.  It would be wonderful if we could see her with one of her gymnasts at an international competition.

 

10          The new generation of Russian gymnasts – now competing under a neutral umbrella – are stepping out into competition in the coming months.  For the women, Leila Vassilieva, Anna Kalmykova, Liudmilla Roschina and Milana Kaiumova are central.  For the men, Alexander Kartsev is taking the lead, and at the end of this week Saveli Suetin will make his first appearance at an international competition. 

 

The Federation has put together a nice picture composition with information about these team members and their aspirations for this competition, which I will post on the blog in a little while. 

 

I’m really glad that the athletes and their coaches can go to international competitions now; I have missed them, and the sport has missed them, too.