http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/ ... 014-games/http://www.skynews.com.au/politics/arti ... 92540&vId= Saturday December 3, 2011Yevgeny Plushenko quits politics
Russian figure skating star Yevgeny Plushenko is quitting politics to focus on preparing for the 2014 Olympics.
'I am leaving A Just Russia party. I am not joining any party,' Plushenko said at a news conference in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg, a video of which is posted on the website Fontanka.ru.
Plushenko, 29, a three-time world champion and 2006 Olympic champion, represented the parliamentary opposition party in Saint Petersburg's city parliament from 2007 but had one of the worst attendance records.
The skater only put in an appearance a few times during his whole period as a lawmaker, Fontanka.ru wrote. Deputies also complained that Plushenko was involved in commercial activities while receiving a parliamentary salary.
A Just Russia, an opposition party that rarely troubles the Kremlin, is contesting the national parliamentary elections on Sunday, but Plushenko was not standing as a candidate.
He said that he was too busy to concentrate on politics. As well as touring with skating shows, he has hosted the Russian version of 'Stars on Ice' and performed on stage for Russia's Eurovision-winning entry.
'Today politics isn't for me, due to my return to amateur sport, due to my preparations for our Olympics in 2014. Therefore I won't be able to combine political activity with serious sport,' Plushenko said.
Plushenko is hoping to be one of Russia's main gold medal hopes in the 2014 Winter Olympics which it is hosting in the southern city of Sochi.
His wife, pop producer Yana Rudkovskaya, wrote on Twitter that she was 'very glad' Plushenko had quit, saying she had a conflict with the leader of the party's Saint Petersburg faction.
Numerous Russian sports figures have joined the ruling United Russia party. Former Olympic gymnasts Alina Kabayeva and Svetlana Khorkina represent it in parliament while boxer Nikolai Valuyev appears in an electoral campaign video.
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http://www.examiner.com/olympics-in-can ... s-for-chanPlushenko's return not good news for ChanIf anybody would interview Patrick Chan over the next few months, he wouldn't publicly say that he is disappointed to see the return of Russian Evgeni Plushenko, the Olympic Gold medallist from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino and the Olympic Silver medallist from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
But the bottom line is that Plushenko's announced return today by the Canadian Press, doesn't exactly enhance Patrick Chan's chances of getting on top of the podium in men's figure skating at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Plushenko, who has been a member of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly since 2007, confirmed today that he is leaving the political arena to concentrate on figure skating. At 29 years of age, Plushenko also quit the A Just Russia Party and has no plans to join another political party. Plushenko has been criticized as a politician. According to The St. Petersburg Times, he only attended parliament 11 times of the first 123 parliamentary sessions.
almost makes me cry. Although i do not like one of the spins, just ugly (not plushy but the movement itself, I hate ISU 
)
Maybe already @ Dima's concert?
