http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/m ... le1598419/Beverley Smith, Globe and Mail, Wednesday, Jun. 09, 2010Russia's figure skating power play
Embattled skating federation former president retains authority in new positionAfter leading his country to its worst Olympic results in 50 years, outgoing Russian Figure Skating Federation president Valentin Piseev has found a way to retain power in the face of heavy political pressure.
In the days following the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, during which Russia failed to win a gold medal in figure skating, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ousted Piseev from a couple of important committees – including the organizing group for the 2014 Sochi Olympics – and called for his resignation.
Medvedev seemed to be saying that there was a need for new blood to get Russian athletes to the Sochi Games, although, for figure skating, it may be too late. It takes at least 10 years to develop an elite figure skater.
Evgeny Plushenko, who won a silver medal in Vancouver, has hinted that he will try to compete at Sochi but by then he’ll be 31 years old.
After the 2010 Olympics, Plushenko told Medvedev that with Piseev at the helm, figure skaters are “treated like floor rags.” He said a large amount of money slated for the sport doesn’t trickle down to coaches or skaters.
Plushenko claimed that he sold his car – a gift from the former Russian president Vladimir Putin – to pay for costumes and coaches in his comeback attempt in Vancouver.
Despite Medvedev’s move against him, Piseev evidently found a way to remain in power anyway. Although he maintained he wouldn’t seek re-election as federation president, the federation constitution was changed recently to create a new position – general director. The director has full authority to make decisions and distribute money, leaving the president as an apparent figurehead.
One candidate for the president’s job, 2002 Olympic pair champion Anton Sikharulidze, withdrew his name from consideration after finding out about the constitutional change at the last minute. “While my goal was to develop the federation, the new rules do not grant such powers to the president,” he told Russian reporters. “I am a young, energetic, and fairly busy man. I don’t have time to carry around the briefcase for the general director.”
Piseev persuaded Alexander Gorshkov to run for president. Gorshkov won the post, getting all 66 votes. Piseev then became the general director with 65 votes.
At the International Skating Union Congress elections this weekend, Gorshkov will be unable to run for any elected positions as the constitution forbids federation presidents from filling such posts.
Instead, Piseev’s wife Alla Shekhovtsova is expected to enter the race to become a member of the ice dance technical committee, or even its chairman.
In recent months, a growing number of Russian coaches and former skaters have publicly criticized both Piseev and Shekhovtsova.
Plushenko backed Sikharulidze for president. Elena Chaikovskaya, the matriarch of ice dancing in Russia, told The Globe and Mail that Piseev has hampered the work of coaches he does not like, got rid of opponents, and surrounded himself with people who agree with him.
Piseev, 68, has a talent for staying in power. He was dismissed from his Russian federation post several times over the years, but bounced back every time.
In Moscow, Chaikovskaya seems totally unaware of Piseev’s coup, and is celebrating the win of Gorshkov. “I am outside the confidence,” she admitted earlier this week.
But outside the country, the expatriate coaches figured it out very quickly.
“[Piseev] will be able to do what he wants again,” said one coach who wished to remain anonymous.