Dmitry Guberniev, the host: It's my great pleasure to introduce our guest, the superstar of the world figure skating and the ladies' favorite, Alexei Yagudin.
Alexei: Good morning! Thanks for inviting me.
D: Actually, a big thanks to you, Lyosha, because it's really a huge luck to see you in this studio.
You've undergone a surgery recently – what was the problem?
A: Oh... I'm actually a skater, so it's not my problem to say what the was wrong. The hip was hurting, there was some kind of inflammation in there, so on the 30th of May in New York we decided to do a surgery. It was successful, and now I came here, to Russia, for a vacation.
D: How do you feel right now?
A: I feel fine. I'm ready for practices, I really miss them. At the beginning of July I'm going to the US and to start the preparation for the new season.
D: As I understand, you start to carefully assign you leg to work, do some physical exercises?
A: Right now, I spend all my time on the couch in front of the TV, watching the news. And I spend as much time as I can with my relatives, with my mom and grandma. I haven't been to Russia for 1,5 years and I pay all of my attention to them. I try to rest as much as possible, so then I can step into sport again.
D: Skaters do a lot of exercises without skates. What is the easiest thing to do without skates and is it possible for me, for example – I'm 2 meters high (according to my calculations it has to be 6,5 ft). Of course, we are not going to bother your injured leg, but maybe you show us something from the figure skating arsenal? Something I could do?
(They move to the small area in the middle of the studio; Alexei teaches the host to do the “shoot the duck” move. Dmitry asks if there are any 2 meters high skaters, and Alexei says, possibly in dance. But Alexei thinks Dmitry is too big for skating, and suggest him to play basketball. Dmitry says he played basketball in the early childhood, but basically he was into boar-racing. Then the host says he wants to learn how to jump. Alexei whines about how difficult it is to teach him, lol, but shows how to do a single jump.)
(Then goes a clip that was on RTR site, showing Alexei at home)
D: According to that piece, you do the wood burning pretty well. I doubt we can woodburn here in the studio, but in any case we would have to draw something for a start. So, let's make granny Masha happy: draw something at your choice, Lyosha. We have all the special facilities (shows the easel), here is a bunch of soft-tip pens. You can draw a skate. Before the program went on air we discussed what Yagudin likes – he likes to draw elephants. Let's draw an elephant on skates.
A: Actually, I loved wood burning for only one reason – I liked the smell.
D: What was that, the Yagudin's toxicomania?
A: Right. I also love cars because they have that amazing smell going out of the tailpipe. Well, I had an A on drawing at school, more or less, but that's because my mom was helping me. Well, let's draw a skate, as all my live is in figure skating...
D: We will draw an elephant there later. (Alexei starts to draw). In our video, you were driving a Russian car. What kind of car do you have in the US?
A: In the US I have German cars, Mercedes.
D: Why not American?
A: I don't know, I am a man from Europe. Europe is closer to me than America, so I chose the European car – they (the cars) are better.
D: Lyosha, you love animals very much. In a video we saw a wonderful cocker. Why dogs?
A: It was my dream to have a dog. I liked Oksana Grishuk's cocker spaniel...
D: Didn't you like Oksana?
A: Of course, I liked Oksana too, but at that period of time I was interested in cocker spaniels more (Dmitry laughs). So, it was my dream, I used to run away from home because of that, argued with my parents. But finally, the dream of an idiot came true, in the US I got a cocker.
D: Does the dog go with you here and there?
A: The doggy is traveling, but only in the baggage compartment. I give him a soporific and he feels really good...
D: Where does he like it better, here on in the US... well, the skate is there, but I doubt there is enough space for an elephant.
A (watching his drawing): What a pretty little skate.
D: The blade reminds more of a speed skating skate.
A (smelling the soft-tip pen): The soft-tip pen also smells interesting (laughs).
D: While Yagudin is smelling the soft-tip pen, we go on a commercial break. Next we have an interesting talk about the girls.
D: Alexei Yagudin, the Olympic Champion, is our guest today. Lyosha, your free programs – Gladiator, MITIM, Broken Arrow, Lawrence of Arabia – are the real works of art. How do you create them?
A: Putting together a program takes a lot of time, so we usually choose summer for doing it. At this period all the basics for the next season are established. My coach, my beloved coach Tatiana Anatoljevna Tarasova always tries to find a music that would reveal me even more, and also would captivate the audience during the performance. She chooses the music. Well, once I decided on the music myself, but we had to change that program...
D: What was that?
A: That's when I skated to Broken Arrow – it was completely my choice. We changed it to Tosca. After that I decided not to choose the music. Then, I took part in creating a costume, and something went wrong again (Dmitry laughs). Right now, I completely trust Tatiana Anatoljevna, she decides everything about the programs and the costumes.
D: What is it, you have such a bad taste, or she simply knows better?
A: I guess, because she's been in figure skating for just a tiny bit longer than me, she can foresee and she knows what to do to present a person better.
D: Do the movies – Gladiator, MITIM – influence in some way the creation of the program?
A: Sure. In case with Gladiator, we watched the movie first, we were captivated by it and then decided to buy the music and to make a program. As for MITIM, we first found the music, and then decided to watch the movie to know what and how was happening there, what kind of image I should be creating on the ice.
D: Lyosha, what kind of movies do you watch?
A: I love comedies. Sport life is not much fun, that's why I like to relax and watch comedies.
D: Were there any proposals to cast in the movie? Like, for example – Alexei Yagudin and Catherine Zeta-Jones in “Figure skaters fall in love too”.
A (with a smirk): Part 3?
D (laughs): Part 3!
A: No, there were no proposals, but we are working on it.
D: Many people think that “Winter” was the top of Yagudin's work. How do you and Tatiana Anatoljevna rate it?
A: Actually, we don't call it “the top”, because if it's the top, that means there's no way up, like we should slowly go down. We have new ideas, we always have a lot of ideas and we are determined to produce them. We will try to do something more interesting.
D: On the Internet fan sites there is a lively discussion about your “implacable friend's” Plushenko new short program – supposedly something like flamenco. About Yagudin's programs people are quiet and cautious. Maybe you'd say something, what can we expect in short or free program next season?
A: Actually, he's not my “implacable enemy”. He is my enemy in sport because we are constantly competing, but in life we talk to each other just fine, like I'm talking to you here, friendly...
The ideas... Although we live in a democratic country and there is a freedom of speech, I better keep it a secret about what we have to offer the audience next season.
D: In the newspapers, on the Internet there are numerous love confessions from the female fans. It seems like every woman in Russia wants to have Yagudin's baby.
A: Not even asking me, whether I want it...
D: Absolutely. Did you ever had a desire to answer? Just like the rock bands, figure skaters have their fans who travel with them. How do you associate with your fans, if you do?
A: There are clubs all over the world. There are fans who travel with you: we had 72 shows on Stars on Ice tour and, of course, sometimes I noticed the same people sitting on the same seats, just at different venues. Right, they travel... “Komsomolskaya Pravda” - I'm talking about Russia here – did a contest, I had to choose a winner. Everybody thought I was choosing a bride, but actually, I was just choosing a contest winner to go out for a dinner with her. We went for a dinner just a couple of days ago. The girl's name is Zhenya, she is from Kaluga. So... Actually, I have a girlfriend in the US...
D: So, how was a girl from Kaluga, did you like her?
A: She's fine. We had a great time, she's amazingly interesting person.
D: Will you keep in touch with her?
A: No. I have a girlfriend in the US, and I love her very much.
D: Is she American?
A: She is. So, I feel good right now.
D: What about the marriage?
A: Erm... (long pause) Marriage? (another long pause, then laughingly) All my male friends, the guys who are married, they tell me – Lyosha, don't hurry with it (Dmitry laughs), let's hang around a bit more. Although they already cannot hang around. But that's life, we never know what's going to happen. Five years ago I didn't know I'd win the Olympics; right now I'm sitting here with you, talking.
D: How does Tatiana Anatoljevna feel about your personal life? Does she try, if not to control, then at least to influence you in some way?
A: Of course she tried (smiles) to put her big wide hands into my relationships with people, but after a couple of years she realized – the same as I realized I don't have to meddle into program and costume making – she realized she has her own personal life, I have mine, and there's no need to try to prohibit or favour any of my relationships.
D: If to count all the messages and letters to Yagudin on the Internet and in mail, what do you think, are there more that 10 thousand? Or 100 thousand?
A: I know that the “Komsomolskaya Pravda” contest was very successful, they got more than 20 000 letters. Of course I wasn't able to read them all, but I did what I had to and I chose the winner.
(Another “fluff piece” - the fans of both Alexei and Plush say their opinions about skaters)
(The Hamlet part. Both Alexei and Dmitry stay “on stage”, dressed in costumes)
D: Lyosha, Tatiana Anatoljevna Tarasova said she discovered a drama actor in you. Did it took her long to make that “discovery”?
A: You know, we both believed there's something hiding inside of me, but it's really deep inside and we had to dig. We were digging not for a day, for a week or for a year, we were digging for several years. After 2-3 years we managed to dig out something, to pull something out of me and to make it a reality. I'm thankful to her because I became... (with as much pathos as you can imagine, lol) an Artist on Ice!
(Then goes what was supposed to be a scene from “Hamlet”. Guys read the text from papers, adding there something their own. I recall Alexei was talking about “drinking a vinegar” and “eating a crocodile”. While fighting Dmity was laying a stress on the fact that the 4 time Olympic Champion Pozdniakov taught him fencing. To which Alexei replied he's younger. Then Alexei falls and pretends to die.)
D: God grant health to Alexei Yagudin, the unsurpassed Hamlet. That was a guest of our show (gives Alexei a hand to help him up), the wonderful skater, multiple World Champion, the Olympic Champion, Alexei Yagudin. (To Alexei) Thanks! I hope you weren't bored.
A: No. It was much fun and I think we should meet in “Blue Beard” next time.
D: Okay, agreed on that! Take care.
