2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Amei]

I don't get the number of likes for this comment so I made a research!

Zagitova prize money in 2018-2019. Source: www.sport-express.ru
- 64.000 $ for winning the World Cup;
- 16.000 $ for second place in the European Championship;
- 18.000 $ for the second place in the Grand Prix finals;
- 36.000 $ for victories at the stages of the Grand Prix series
-----------------------------------
134.000 $ (10.000$ goes to tax)

In 2017-2018, according to gazeta.ru, Alina received for her OGM 13 million rubles(state and moscow) and a jeep which costs 5 million rubles - 18 milions rubles means 272.000 $(without taxes). That season she also won first place in the European Championship, first place in the Grand Prix finals and had victories at the stages of the Grand Prix series (another aprox 70.000 $ - without taxes).

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342.000 $ aprox

I don't even dream that Alina has big contracts with Puma or Shiseido, she has small marketing campaigns with them, only for the russian and japanese audience, they are not global. She had at least two photo shoots for Puma and two videos, so 30.000-40.000$ for that is not an exageration. Now add a couple of ten thousand $ from the other sponsors Madoka, Airweave, Sberbank. Plus show money from Japan, another couple of thousands $.

I also discovered, Alina was gited last year, after OG (by a local home construction company URALDOMSTROY) a new, 4 rooms apartment in her hometown Izhevsk, evaluated at 8 million rubles - 121.000 $. I believe Alina said she donated it to her parents, it was unfinished.

I can see Alina earning 500.000 - 600.000 $ ( maybe more close to 700.000) in the last two years. From this cut taxes and what she probably pays to third parties.

P.S. Jesus, figure skating is such a miserable paid sport. A lousy romanian football player makes this money in a couple of months and this girl is olympic, world and european champion. I wanna cry, life is so unfair

I just hope grandma is getting some really nice perks; she moved away from her home for her granddaughter to be able to pursue her dream, is raising a teenager again (everyone knows how "wonderful" that is) and is living with a zoo that includes a large dog in a small apartment.

 

[Orlov]

Don't you dare short change Sergei Dudakov. Looks at this photo. You see a middle aged man, man whose face in the K&C is in agony because he has to sit next to some hysterical teenage girl, a face the says "I had to live through collapse of the Soviet Union for this?", a face that says "Hurry up judges with the score! I need a cigarette break".

In that photo, I see man smartly dressed in a turtleneck sweater, a man who wants turn his left and chastise the woman for wearing politically incorrect fur, a man restraining himself from yelling, "Faded denim!? What decade are we in? Is this Perestroika?"

What the heck am I reading right now?

 

[Mr Cat]

I need more test skates.:hpull: When is the next one ???

 

[thedude]

First of all, we sort of know her gross earnings now but we don't know the net after she pays her dues to whatever interested parties that she pays.

Second, even if her net income were equal to the mentioned sum no one including herself knows for how many years it will last. If she amortizes 3-4 years of such earnings over 40-50 years yet to come it will be a small sum. A decent 2 bedroom apartment in Moscow costs $300,000 - 500,000. With her net worth she could hardly afford to buy it, at least now. I am not talking about nice apartments that cost 1 million and up.

Third, why would her dad and sister go to Moscow? Her dad has a nice job with Ak-Bars now. No one offered him a job in Moscow as far as I know.

Fourth, what Russian economy and sanctions have to do with it? I could start to explain things but politics is not welcome here.

I don't know what you're getting at with your first point. Those are the numbers in the press that I'm telling people in this forum to be highly skeptical of because they don't account for a lot of real life expenses.

Your 2nd point makes sound like she'll never work again and the only money she'll make in her lifetime is from skating. You don't think she'll have a regular job after skating. Maybe the mortgage market in Russia much different than the rest of world. I know your interest rates are higher.

Your 3rd point. You're right, I have no idea how much her parents make or even if they want to move to Moscow. Her dad is what? an assistant coach for what the youth developmental club for a KHL team, so not even the top professional team. Her mom, works at or owns a beauty salon? You probably have a better idea than me about how much a youth hockey coach or a small business owner makes in a moderately size city in the Ural mountains. However, we do know that her family couldn't afford an apartment when she originally moved to Moscow and that Tatneft, the regional oil company, sponsored her. Alina has done interviews where she's cried because she doesn't see her mom and how much she misses being around her family. She even told the Japanese news when they were in her apartment that wanted to be successful enough to convince her parent to move to Moscow. Sure, there's other reasons why her parents can't move and I've never speculated what those reasons are, but having a lot money makes it a lot easier, if you believe those reported numbers.

4th point. Sanctions hurt the economy, slower economy means less government revenue, less government revenue means less money for government funded sports like figure skating. Russian figure skaters receive a salary from the federal government.
Slower economy means a less valuable ruble, a less valuable ruble means cost of imported goods and services goes up, cost of goods and services goes up and wages stay flat means less money for consumer spending, less consumer spending means less sales for companies like Puma, less money for Puma means less endorsement money Alina.

And you call yourself a management consultant

Alina deserves millions for all I care. I'm not criticizing anyone. I'm just telling people when you see dollars amounts being reported, just be skeptical of them.

 

[halulupu]

Alina.
She's prettier, has nicer voice and Japanese audience claims she has somewhat Asian facial features, which they find appealing.

BUT she lacks drama. Med is still the bigger star

 

[Watch]

You know, there are many Muscovites imagining that real life is only inside the Moscow Ring Road

To the topic of earnings. Do not want to draw any conclusions, it's just funny for me - here is an first interview with 15-year-old Zhenya in December 2014 in her apartment. It's funny to see a typical apartment of a averadge, not rich Moscow family. This furniture, this door in the background and all this stuff is so typical Girl next door. Before us is a quiet, modest girl in a simple (slightly naive) outfit.

And compare this to what is now - fancy places, fancy life

It's not fancy, though? It's just a balcony. They're sitting on a normal, fairly small balcony of a residential building. Considering that Moscow tends to land in the top 3 of most expensive cities in Europe, I wouldn't jump to conclusion that their Toronto appartmet is more expensive than their Moscow one

 

[Orlov]

It's not fancy, though? It's just a balcony. They're sitting on a normal, fairly small balcony of a residential building. Considering that Moscow tends to land in the top 3 of most expensive cities in Europe, I wouldn't jump to conclusion that their Toronto appartmet is more expensive than their Moscow one

"fancy" it's not about balcony, it's about Toronto Come on, I just wanted to say that Zhenya’s current life is different from her life of a typical Moscow girl who travels by metro every day across Moscow, lives in "khrushchevka", etc. And it's awesome

 

[flanker]

Maybe I've missed something but what's the purpose of this money talk. For me that's mostly part of private life. Yet one reaction:

You know, there are many Muscovites imagining that real life is only inside the Moscow Ring Road

Same here, people in Prague have the same feelings, rest of the country is like "Here be dragons".

 

[Edwin]

lives in "khrushchevka", etc.

"Khrushchyovki" are about as bad as the housing build later in the 70's and 80's, early 90's outside of the Inner Ring Road?
Now most of it has now been privatised, the owners renovate their apartments to modern standards, but the smaller rooms and lower ceilings remain.
When I stayed with private families while travelling in Russia, I was always glad there was at least a toilet separate from the bathroom, like in the early postwar blocks outside of the Sadovoye but still inside of the Inner Ring (vtoroye koltsovoye?) Never drove in Moscow, always metro and public transport. Back then, Sushchovskiy Val, a 10-12 lanes wide street jammed with cars, you'd have to wait like for 5 minutes sometimes at the pedestrian crossings before you got a green light that lasted like 20 seconds, so you still had to almost run to make it to the other side, LOL. Now most of the road has been covered, because the noise and exhaust smells, well, you can imagine.

 

[[email protected]]

I don't know what you're getting at with your first point. Those are the numbers in the press that I'm telling people in this forum to be highly skeptical of because they don't account for a lot of real life expenses.

I don't get your point either. Mine was that we don't know her net income because she might share a significant part of her earnings with others. What real life expenses are you talking about?

Your 2nd point makes sound like she'll never work again and the only money she'll make in her lifetime is from skating. You don't think she'll have a regular job after skating. Maybe the mortgage market in Russia much different than the rest of world. I know your interest rates are higher.

Well, I am sorry but your logic is faulty. You yourself educated us that average salary in Russia is $500 a month. We don't know what she will do after she finishes her competitive career but one can expect that her income will be closer to the average Russian salary than to her current earnings of a star. Yes, mortgage rates in Russia are much higher than in the West and much higher than the rates on deposits, hence, without a secure long term income getting into a mortgage would be a risky decision.

4th point. Sanctions hurt the economy, slower economy means less government revenue, less government revenue means less money for government funded sports like figure skating. Russian figure skaters receive a salary from the federal government.
Slower economy means a less valuable ruble, a less valuable ruble means cost of imported goods and services goes up, cost of goods and services goes up and wages stay flat means less money for consumer spending, less consumer spending means less sales for companies like Puma, less money for Puma means less endorsement money Alina.

FYI, the size of Russian advertising market http://www.akarussia.ru/knowledge/market_size:

2015 (the first year after sanctions) 307 bln.rbls exchange rate 61,3 = $5.0 bln
2016 360 bln. rbls. exchange rate 66,8 = $5.4 bln
2017 416 bln. rbls exchange rate 58,3 = $7.1 bln
2018 470 bln. rbls exchange rate 62,9 = $7.5 bln

I don't see any decline, do you?

And you call yourself a management consultant

Do you have to get personal to deliver your point? Yes, I was a management consultant before 2004, then I worked as a senior executive. Now I might go to consulting again.

 

[Edwin]

As I understood with google translate, Shabotova is not very welcomed in Ukraine, where she is considered a russian who came to steal spots from the locals

That was to be expected. Much depends now on how Shabotova will present herself, with a smug expression of superiority, entitlement even, or humble, thankful for the opening they gave her? The other girls will try to knock her down a peg or two for any stuck up attitude, no doubt.

How is the top level of skating in UKR for that age group and rank (1Sp, not yet KMS) even? Given how Safonova stood out from the BLR girls in Minsk open, and how easily she qualified over them for JGP?
Shabotova is younger, perhaps has to wait for another year to become JGP eligible for Ukraine, so she'd better make herself comfortable, get some friends in Ukraine figure skating, etc.

Speaking of Safonova, has BLR even any JGP spots this season? UKR has one.

 

[flanker]

That was to be expected. Much depends now on how Shabotova will present herself, with a smug expression of superiority, entitlement even? The other girls will try to knock her down a peg or two for that attitude.

How is the top level of skating in UKR for that age group and rank (1Sp, not yet KMS) even? Given how Safonova stood out from the BLR girls in Minsk open, and how easily she qualified over them for JGP?
Shabotova is younger, perhaps has to wait for another year to become JGP eligible for Ukraine, so she'd better make herself comfortable, get some friends in Ukraine figure skating, etc.

Strongest ukrainian girl is Anastasiia Arkhipova.

 

[ancientpeas]

Maybe I've missed something but what's the purpose of this money talk. For me that's mostly part of private life. Yet one reaction:



Same here, people in Prague have the same feelings, rest of the country is like "Here be dragons".

We have an expression about Toronto: The center of the known universe.

I imagine it is true in many countries that the largest city thinks of itself as the epicenter.

 

[Edwin]

Sport.24 summarizes the plans for 2019/2020 season of the Russian team: https://sport24.ru/news/other/2019-...usovoy-shcherbakovoy-i-aliyeva-foto-instagram
with some nice photos and the usual speculations :noshake: .

 

[Supernovaimplosion]

"fancy" it's not about balcony, it's about Toronto Come on, I just wanted to say that Zhenya’s current life is different from her life of a typical Moscow girl who travels by metro every day across Moscow, lives in "khrushchevka", etc. And it's awesome

I actually thought about this when she moved to Toronto. I thought if she could pay for a two bedroom apartment (because she lives with her mother) in toronto she must be doing well. I'm happy for her. She's deserves it. They both do, they're so talented.

 

[zounger]

My country is more simple, even if you are not Olympic medalist or talented still you considered to deserve a two-bed apartment.

 

[thedude]

He is making the mistake of projecting the way american athelets spend their money onto Alina, a 17 yo, russian teenager. Different mentality, different culture. The fact that her parents are not with her means nothing, also the russian economy has nothing to do with this

So it's just an American thing that people want to live in a nicer place and closer to their family. Man, we really live decadent lives.

 

[thedude]

I'm very surprised how many people like this comment. Alina's father works as a coach, he has his own career. And Alina’s mom seems to have her own beauty salon. They don’t need to move to Moscow. Alina lives in a small apartment until her new apartment is equipped. She should be moving there soon. For Alina in the first place her skater career, and her small apartment is close to the ice rink. This is very convenient, given the traffic jams in Moscow. Maybe because of this too she is in no hurry to move. It's very ugly to go into the personal life of skaters. And in their earnings too.

I don't know why people liked this either. Maybe they read the whole post and didn't cherry pick the part they didn't like and started a narrative of why didn't like this specific part even though that wasn't the premise of the entire post.

That's the nature of internet forums, what can you do.

 

[Georgya]

I don't know why people liked this either. Maybe they read the whole post and didn't cherry pick the part they didn't like and started a narrative of why didn't like this specific part even though that wasn't the premise of the entire post.

That's the nature of internet forums, what can you do.

Or I can check the users who came on this thread to like that comment, a very biased reaction in my opinion, and I can cross-reference and see what those users have in common. I understood easily after that. The nature of internet forum is based on how flocking behavior works

 

[Alexz]

Guys, someone said to me that Russian government is granting a tax waiver to all Olympic medalists. At least for all their post-Olympic income (if it is sport-related somehow). Same goes to all prominent coaches which were given some special state medals/awards. Eteri got like what... like 2 medals from Rus government already. Is it enough not to pay those 7% of income tax in Russia?