February 9, 1998
From Ogonyok (Russia):
WE ALL THE TIME ASK OUR STARS THAT LEFT TO EXPRESS THEIR LOVE TO THEIR HOMELAND
by Vitaly Melik Karamov
translated by Greg and Irina Frazier
We all the time ask our stars that left to express their love to their homeland.
Ekaterina Gordeeva is one of our most famous champions in figure skating even though we have enough famous names in this sport in Russia. Together with Sergei Grinkov she won two Olympic medals {1988-Calgary, 1994 Lillehammer}, on one drastic minute on November 25, 1995 she turned from the glittering star into unhappy/pathetic young woman when her husband and partner, Sergei Grinkov, died on the ice arena during the rehearsal. Their daughter, Dasha, or Dania as they call her was three and Seriozha was 28.
By that time they had lived in the U.S. for five years already. Elena Anatolievna Tchaikovskaya, a prominent Russian coach, told me several months later that should the guys stayed in Russia our sports authorities wouldn't have missed that anomaly in Seriozha's heart. Tchaikovskaya is absolutely correct in her faith in Russian sports medical authorities. I think at that time only Eastern German medicine was better. How could you know where you would fall?
Katia remained alone, she lived far away from here, but she came to Moscow regularly, without any advertising or noisy press conferences. In summer '96 I met her by chance in Luzhniki where she was skating together with Ilia Kulik at the skating rink "Crystal" and Tatiana Tarasova was watching their skating. Then we agreed with her about a big interview on T.V. But practically before our departure from Moscow, Katia refused to meet with us.
What I did to persuade her I will omit as a story not interesting for the readers. Gordeeva refused to talk to Russian journalists on (out of) principle. But our meeting was saved because we have known each other for several years and that she had given me her word. [This was decisive]
The fact is that a month before my departure to the U.S. one of the weekly youth magazines published an interview with once most-famous Soviet coach who without any embarrassment [that is to say still remaining Soviet] said that Grinkov's grave is neglected and Gordeeva is making money on her husband's death. What would a normal corespondent do? He would ask "When did you last visit the grave?" What would a decent correspondent do? He would go and check the fact because he doesn't want his magazine to be sued for publishing unchecked facts. But all this doesn't really bother the correspondent because he has a "hot news" and that is all that matters.
Katia didn't say a word about this interview, but I would have sued the paper. I would have earned money for five-year old Dania.
Close to Seriozha's grave, a guy with a wonderful smile, a friend of my father, a famous doctor is buried who survived the war. I can say Seriozha's grave is being looked after and has been since the funeral day. Seriozha's mother should be pitied, she lives in Moscow if people don't think that they should pity Katia.
Katia doesn't know our life. But at least she knows now that almost all press at home has a yellow streak in it. And not necessarily because of the owners and publishers but also because of the upbringing and education of the journalists.
***
Let's finally go talk about Katia's interview. One of the first things I asked her was where does she live?, where does she work? Practically none of her fans in Russia know about it.
Ekaterina: I train in the town of Simsbury which is in the State of Connecticut, which is 25 minutes from Hartford, the center of the state. Seriozha and I were invited here after the Olympics in Lillehammer and the skating rink had not been completed, they wanted to open the skating rink using well-known names. Galina Yakovlevna Zmievskaya, the coach of Olympic champions Victor Petrenko and Oksana Baiul, was invited as well, of course, together with Vitya and Oksana. The Palace (rink) was open in Autumn '94 and I think that as a skating rink for training it is one of the top level rinks.
Now Galina Yakovlevna Zmievskaya helps me with my singles skating, my jumps, whereas Marina Zueva who has always worked with Seriozha and myself still stages the programs for me. She lives in Ottawa, she has a contract there, therefore either I go to her or she comes over to me. We love each other and we communicate, and I think she is a very good choreographer.
In Simsbury, a ten minutes drive from the skating rink, I bought a house, a big two-story house where we live with Dania, and also my Dad and Mum. At the beginning of summer there is no way to keep them here, they go to their Dacha, not far from Moscow. They take Dasha until Autumn.
I participate in the show which is called Stars on Ice. It is considered to be one of the be one of the best ice shows in America. It is headed by the famous champion Scott Hamilton. We travel with this show for approximately four months a year giving approximately 60 to 80 performances. Mainly we travel the cities in America, a little bit in Canada. I have a contract with IMG from the times when I was skating with Seriozha. It was long ago. Almost seven years ago.
For two years already I have been skating alone but the conditions of this company satisfies me for the most part.
[IMG is one of the three big companies specializing in representing sports stars. The stuff of the company deals with contracts, fees, working conditions, etc., the star should only perform. The higher the star's contract, the higher is the percent of the company. V.M.K.]
Karamov: By the way, according to the contract, Gordeeva should be giving interviews for 10 days a year. And they ask very "tricky" questions. [Katia told me so seeing how extra careful I was during the interview, fearful that it would stop any minute.] But they ask questions and do not hit where it hurts. Besides, what friends and relatives read in Moscow in Russian possibly doesn't offend Gordeeva anymore.
I asked her about her current program. We will have to go by Katia's story, it is hardly possible that any of our T.V. channels buys Hamilton's show, and it is absolutely unreal [so far] that Stars On Ice appeared in Russia.
Ekaterina: "In this season Marina staged a program for me that American's like very much. It is based on the melody of one of Charlie Chaplin's movies and is called "Smile". It is a very simple song close to any person: If you have problems or complications in life keep smiling. What I like myself is the Three Preludes by Gershwin- it is like three different moods, and one more dance "Brazilian Bacchianas" by Brazilian composer Vil Lobos. Marina's idea was that the soul wants to fly, but the man can't do it.
Karamov: It's a pity that in Russia ballets on ice disappeared. But certainly they will be revived because there is not a single show here without Russian skaters. And not only skaters, but hockey players, coaches-they are all great professionals and should find a place in their own country...
I was interested, how long Katia is going to be a singles skater? Maybe there is a sense to organize something similar to a Broadway show when a heroine dances with different partners in turn?
Ekaterina: Nothing can be excluded, I never say "no, I will not be doing it". I love skating. I enjoy it, and it doesn't matter... no it does matter and is difficult for me...with whom to skate. For me pairs skating is the favorite discipline. I watch other pairs especially, when they are skating good, and I enjoy it...but you, possibly can't understand my feelings.
I have already skated with Viktor Petrenko when Disney was shooting "Beauty and the Beast". Recently Alexei Tikhonov also helped me, we once trained in the same CSKA club with him... and everything was wonderful.
Karamov: Since we were talking about documentaries, I asked her about Hollywood. Moreover, that Gordeeva has been famous in the U.S. for quite a while already. Once Kasparov told me a story that back in '88 Reagan during his visit to the U.S.S.R gave a reception for the perestroika elite and celebrities in Moscow. And the first thing that the American president asked when he entered the hall was "Where is Katia?" But for some reason Gordeeva didn't like my question about Hollywood.
Ekaterina: I didn't receive any concrete proposals. My agents told me that there was a desire to make a movie about us as a pair when Seriozha died. But from the very beginning I cut the discussions short because I think it is impossible.
Karamov: In the living room in the big chair little fair-haired Dasha was sitting at her needlework embroidering. "This is a task from school", she said proudly and smiled. She turned out to be as smiling and open as her father. I asked whether Daria, who lives by the skating rink will eventually become a skater herself.
Here I omit the story about the support that Katia received in the U.S. after Seriozha's death, about thousands of letters, about hundreds of toys for Dasha. But then Katia said that her friends and relatives in Russia supported her as well. "I know that I love Russia, -Katia said,-my relatives are there and half of my life. I know that people love me there too, but it doesn't really touch me..."
We also ask our stars that left Russia to express their love for their homeland, and moreover we want to hear them say that they are coming back[it doesn't really matter when]. Once when Fetisov was asked a similar question he reasonably said "what if I moved from Kursk to Moscow, would you ask me when I am coming back?"
Gordeeva doesn't have to swear solemnly of her love to the homeland. It is enough that she was born here. For the whole world Katia is Russian, and she differs quite a lot from other Russians who live outside their country.
But let's get back to my question about Dasha.
Ekaterina: I wouldn't say that Dasha spent all the time at the skating rink since she was born. Due to the fact that my Dad and Mum retired, they could take care of their granddaughter [Elena worked for TASS agency, Alexander was a dancer at a Dance group named after Alexandrov] When Seriozha and I were on tour Dasha and I stayed with our parents. But she asked us to buy her the skates before she was two-years old.
I think that the child should grow up in normal conditions, and if there is an opportunity for her to stay home, it should be used. A child shouldn't grow up on a bus or on the plane. Dania wants to skate only when she sees ice. That is to say she doesn't think about it all the time from morning 'til night.
Now she is attending skating classes once a week, she has a coach. She is a very communicative child, that is why she likes when some of her friends come with her. But she will never be able to train with me because she wouldn't listen to me. And I do not want to be her coach either, so I cannot say whether she will become a figure skater or not.
Karamov: Katia explained us the way back to the highway in detail. It only took a couple of hours to get from Simsbury to N.Y. in the Lincoln of my friend from Moscow Architectural Institute who now is working in Limousine service in New York, one of the craziest cities in the world.
It was the 25th of the December, the Christmas day. The day when you invite your closest friends to your house. A holiday. Therefore, the highway was empty. We were silent all the way back. We were too impressed with the destiny that had given this girl so much and the ill-fate that was so cruel to her. Each of us must have been thinking about our own happiness and grief that always go together.
Photos description - written by the translator:
[From the] "Ogonyok" magazine which Irina found for me before I arrived here. The ISSN # is 0131-0097 issue #6 (4541)The phone # for distribution is (095)257-3715 Katia is on the cover, Ekaterina Gordeeva in cyrillic as is the entire article, of course. Gordeeva is in a much larger font. She is sitting on a bench prop in her white costume (the one she wins the trophy in while Daria watches approvingly from above.) Daria is on her knee with her head on Katia's left shoulder holding a beautiful Snowden stuffed animal. Daria is wearing a zip-up terry-cloth sweater/jacket witha gold locket for a zipper. Daria has a light-pink turtleneck underneath and is wearing jeans.
On the inside cover is a small picture of Katia and Sergei leaning against the boards in an empty arena, with Sergei looking over his left shoulder toward someone speaking and Katia looking straight ahead. Both are in dark clothing, Sergei-a nice looking t-shirt and Katia in a warm looking shirt with a collar. The wording above says Vitaly Melik Karamov- Ekaterina Gordeeva: "I never say no..."
The article has five good size pictures, one of Katia and Dania together in the U.S.in 1997. Both very tanned, Katia in a red tank top and Dania in a white tank/dress with a yellow scrunchie in her hair. The next phot is b/w of Sergei and Katia leaning in toward baby Daria in a Russian home in Moscow 1993. Katia in white turtleneck and jeans and Sergei in dark turtleneck and jeans. The third picture is in color from a performance in "Luzhniki" stadium, Moscow in 1988. They are gliding in red outfits, Katia's a dress with tites and her white skates and
Sergei in a one-piece Superman-type outfit with red skates/covers? They both have a v-shaped tuxedo ruffle from neck to navel with matching bow-ties. The next Sergei with daughter Moscow '93 and is b/w. Sergei is holding her up two-handed as if she were flying witha big grin on his face. The final picture is of Katia with her parents in the U.S. in 1997. The one with her Dad on the left, herself in the middle, and her Mum on the right. Katia in a blue v-neck, button down cardigan with Chrysler SOI presented by Sun Life on the sleeve with a white turtle-neck underneath.
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