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Vasilisa Kaganovskaya on the situation:
Dear friends, as you have already seen — our couple no longer exists.
It's true, it's not fake. And I want to tell you the truth. I've never taken a quarrel out of the hut, but I'm not going to be silent now.
It all started on July 4th: Valera told me that he didn't want to skate with me. I know the reason perfectly well, he told it to his friend and my mother. And it had nothing to do with figure skating. It was, roughly speaking, personal. I won't tell you the details, because I think it's wrong. But the next day he changed his mind and started saying that he did not want to skate because he was not satisfied with how I train.
He told me that I beat him, that I don't work well, that I treat him terribly, and so on. Angelika Alekseevna and I did everything to keep the our team together and for a while it worked out. We have discussed everything and have been preparing all this time for the test skates. But three days ago, Valera brought a contract to training and said that if I didn't sign it by September 1, he wouldn't skate with me. The contract is that I have to take him on full finance funding.
You can see the content yourself, I have attached a photo. We tried to talk, Angelika Alekseevna offered other different solutions, but Valera said that this was his condition, and the only way he would, stepping over himself, skate with me in pair. Neither I, nor my family, nor my coach, no one was going to work on such conditions.
That's why we don't skate in pair anymore. And this is not a mutual decision, but only Valera's decision.
But I am grateful for these 5 years. There were many good moments and victories. I've learned a lot over the years. And I'm moving on. I love my job and am full of motivation to continue riding, but with another person.
Thanks to all the fans for their support.
OP personal opinion - this guy is batshit crazy. He think that he is next big thing, but in reality he is just a crybaby.
You can see contract in Vasilisa instagram, he basically demand money for every single minute of his time which he spend with Vasilisa and for his every step. As i said - batshit crazy.
I agree OP. I believe that Valeriy didnt think that Vasilisa would come out publicly with the information as she is known to be a very private person. Valeriy was literally having a tantrum because she didnt like him
I said on the other thread that i was surprised at her ‘beating him’ can anyone clarify? Translation error?
On FS Gossips, that sentence is translated as:
And she was.
Clearly she wasn't hitting him hard enough.
LMFAOOO 😭
LMAO
She admitted in a video of him and her talking he ask are we fighting she replied u would know if we be fight first I will scream and yell at you then I'll hit you and I'm really mad ill yell and hit u at same time she admitted she has a temper
I think beating him is likely berating him idk for sure but it seems more likely than physically hitting him given the context. Maybe a Russian speaker can tell more
It was about 'physically hitting' in Russian version of the Vasilisa's post
Jeez that’s crazy then! 😮
No, it also was in Russian text in Vasilisa Instagram
How has this not been taken further??? Surely such allegations would be taken seriously!
It seems that Vasilisa is very patient if she wanted to continue to skate with Valery after such accusations
Every time I think Russian ice dancing drama can’t possibly top itself……..
0 days without drama in Russian figure skating community
I mean I'd heard of ice dance girls covering their partners costs but this is batshit.
Create ridiculous extreme measures that you know your partner will refuse to commit to so that you can walk away and technically blame her for not agreeing to it? Things got difficult, he clearly wanted an out, he created a situation to get that.
In the Kagapol divorce she gets the coach, their brand new home rink and 99% of the fan base, but he gets what he wanted I guess, to skate with his girlfriend.
What a clusterfuck.
Yeah, about that...
Polina Usova (his supposed girlfriend) – for Match TV:
🗣 "Everything they write is not true. At the moment I'm skating with Mikhail Antonov and I'm not going to part with him. I will not comment on my personal life."
Smart move on Polina's part!
Crazy that she’ll get the coach bc Krylova was wildly successful skating with Valeriy’s uncle in the 1980s/1990s
She’s s the star of the team. Don’t know how well she will match with a different partner but her expression and the way she carries herself on ice is exceptional
I'd like to think that Krylova's decision despite her indirect personal ties to Angelopol seems to be very telling about where the responsibility lies in that split.
And sasha is wayyy too big for him as a skating partner, he needs a more petite partner. The lifts appear dangerous b/c she’s so large in comparison.
Oh he’s not even Ken he’s a bum for real. Wishing nothing but luck and success to Vasilisa because she deserves every bit of it. Here’s to hoping she finds a worth partner who treats her with the respect she deserves.
Are you dumb? Stupid? Or dumb?
I can’t believe how stupid he is to turn yourself from one of the most promising skaters to nothing. I doubt that he will ever become a big thing with a character like this
Congratulations on ruining your career
What in the Kentucky fried chicken is this? Do other skaters do this? Can anyone explain why such a thing exists?
Sadly, it is not uncommon in pairs for the girl and her family to fund all of the training costs for the guy, just due to the lack of male skaters, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody out there has a contract like this, but there seems to be less severe of a shortage of men in ice dance (still a shortage, but not as bad as pairs), and given that the Russian government is currently footing the bill for their training and paying them a salary, since they're on the national team, this is absolutely absurd.
What? In pairs girl/girl's family usually fund everything for the guy? Is it a Russia problem or an universal problem? How long has it been like this?
This is my first time hearing this and I'm in shock. It sounds very unfair isn't it?
It happens more often in the States, where skaters from ex-Soviet countries will partner up with someone in the USA and receive full funding/lodging from the American partner's family. I haven't seen this happen in other countries, mainly because they receive more state funding and American figure skating is majority self-funded.
It’s actually common in Russia as well. Vladimir Morozov said in an interview that their pair was entirely funded by Kazan (the state where Tarasova is from). When they were dumped by Mozer, they had a lot of issues getting funding from Russia when they trained with Marina in Florida. So I imagine that the other pairs in Russia, particularly those in Perm and other places who are not quite national level receive funding from their regions and most likely, guys don’t have to pay. He also said in another interview that he was invited to be an ice dancer for Spain at age 15 but declined. I wonder if they wanted him to pair with Hurtado since they are the same age.
Betina Popova said her parents were funding her first partner and she apparently was paying for Mozgov’s expenses too
It’s fairly common in countries where male skaters are in short supply and government funding is scant (so most countries aside from Russia, China and a few others that are generous with funding). I think it’s less common when the skaters are adults — I know of a few US pair men who work full time and/or go to school and their parents still make lots of sacrifices to pay for their training. And those at the very top, like top 6 in the world, get enough funding that this probably isn’t necessary, but first you have to get there, and that’s a long, expensive road with no guarantees.
Given that skating is so expensive and skilled male partners are such a rare commodity, female skaters whose parents are very wealthy have a leg up in their partner search because they can offer to pay the male partner’s expenses. Lilah Fear’s dad literally runs a hedge fund, for example. I don’t know if the Fears pay for Lewis Gibson’s training, but they certainly could. “The Cutting Edge” wasn’t that far off the truth!
I do wonder if, as ice dancing slowly moves toward allowing and even embracing same-gender teams, this might change in that discipline. If so, it’ll be many years before we see that play out. And I don’t see it happening in pairs anytime soon because the size/strength difference is more important there.
It's worse outside of Russia, scarcity of male partners, and the government doesn't pick up the tab.
I've never heard of such a thing before. Likely he just wanted an out and chose the most ridiculous way to get to it.
Yep and he definitely wanted to punish her with it. Rub in the fact that he resents her so much at this point she needs to sign a contract for him to tolerate her.
It is very common in dance sport but I've never heard of it in fs
no, this is not common at all
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I feel like you might be onto something! There’s no way your skating partner asks you to pay for HIS ENTIRE LIFE to continue skating with you if there wasn’t some resentment behind it. It defo goes deeper - i think he’s still butthurt about their relationship or something
ding ding ding ding!
But why a whole year later?
Perhaps he still had hope they’d get back together in the year that passed. The new gf could have been even to make Vasilisa jealous. Something happened to hit home the romantic relationship was never going to be back on again so he set the whole partnership on fire. Complete speculation but thinking up the reason why a whole year, probably bc the resentment was festering.
From an outside perspective, it looks like a buildup. Maybe he thought he would get over it, and move on, but when he began dating others and saw how many people were still so invested in his relationship with Vasilisa over everything else—it probably just built. I wouldn’t be surprised if his girlfriend told him he could get a lot more out of this partnership too, if he pushed for it.
Sounds like he was probably just pissed about her breaking up with him though, when he was clearly head over heels for her
I honestly know next to nothing about ice dance, but somehow my Instagram and Youtube feeds keep suggesting shorts of him carrying her off of podiums. Now knowing this context, it is infuriating that there are thousands of people out there who also saw those videos and commented "omg I want a guy like him in my life!" but they'll never know this side of the story
Who knows how he behaved when the cameras were off?
I am very happy to see the Russian skating community rally around and offer support to Vasilisa. I’m sure she’ll find a partner in no time. Valiery on the other hand, I can’t fathom who want to go near him with a 10 ft pole now.
The Ilinykh/Katsalapov split doesn't look half as bad now.
Congrats, Valeriy! You out-Katsalapov-ed Katsalapov himself.
Someone on sports.ru said he's missing his chance to be the next Katsalapov 😂
Ok I've been following them for awhile this is what I think the breakdown is.
Valeriy had a gf back in January until mid February. After this break up him and vasilisa skated and they looked amazing and on great terms.
End of season happened and vasilisa goes on vacation. When she posted her photos valeriy commented very nice things about her. But there is the other Valera (the one she just posted a weekend with in st Petersburg) who was commenting on her photos .
In June and July valeriy was following Valera. But when people started believing vasilisa and new Valera were dating Valeriy stopped following him and not too long after that, that's when the first crisis happened when they got into a fight and unfollowed eachother.
It was only in August that valeriy and Polina started dating so I believe him when he says Polina has nothing to do with all this fighting.
I believe he still very much loves vasilisa and all this started because of jealousy. This would be her first relationship after valeriy and he did not take it well.
Kind of ironic because he has had at least 3 girlfriends since him and vasilisa split up last year.
Vasilisa having a boyfriend being the catalyst of all this makes so much sense. I am shamed to say when I was younger Jealousy was such a bitch to deal with. An ex that you care about getting a new partner can be like sky crushing down when you are younger; not to excuse his behavior of course.
Vasilisa has a current relationship?
Is it that Valera guy? (not Angelopol)
YALL the contract apparently says he even wanted to her pay for his “meals”, “accomodation” and even fricking “shoelaces”!! What the hell??
The contract is NUTS. The full translation is posted on her telegram. Needless to say, she is better off without him.
Whats her telegram? This is just crazy
https://t dot me/kaganovskaia14
Not sure of the name as I don't speak Russian. I joined via the link in her instagram.
Part of me is sad, but part of me is relieved not to have witnessed his man bun destroy an otherwise fine program.
HAHAHAHA
I was so into his long wavy hair last season. But I’ll tell you what I’m not into- the 90s butt cut wedge and facial hair. So that is helping with the heartache, I suppose.
Best reply
Am I the only one who finds all this drama hilarious? Like his ig live was so absurd, he was clarifying relationship rumors talking about how he was so depressed because of how in love with Vasilisa he was, and his girlfriend was right next to him the whole time 😭 And now this joke of a contract? I really want to know what is going on in his mind, I think he’s actually gone insane
you arent the only one. when i was a teenager i found the justin bieber, selena gomez and hailey baldwin fucking funny! i wasnt a fan of justin but i was hooked bc of the drama. its giving the same vibes.
I hope she finds an amazing, talented partner.
She's an amazing skater with beautiful lines and artistry. I hope she can have the career she deserves.
Wow, that's shocking to put it mildly. It a shame because I thought they had potential in the future especially given considering how young they both are. I suppose they still have potential with other partners, but Valery's stock just went down a lot because if I were an ice dancer I would think long and hard before I take him as a partner. Krylova said she will no longer work with him but she will continue to work with Vasilisa, so he also lost a coach. As for Polina Usova, if she's smart she won't skate with him. Isn't she the third girlfriend he has had so far this year alone? I'm pretty sure he had a girlfriend at the beginning of the year, then broke up and deleted everything from Instagram, then started dating another skater, then rinse and repeat the Instagram thing, and now he's dating Polina. I would recommend her to stay with her current partner for the time being. But as for Vasilisa, I don't know who could be an option for her, but I'm sure she'll find someone.
He's had a ton of girlfriends over the last couple of years. Polina Kostiukovich was one of them and it also apparently didn't end on the best terms.
Dude's a fucking red flag if I've ever seen one.
Wait, what? As in the girl that Vasilisa is tagged in IG photos with?
Speaking of not ending on good terms, with Valeriy leaving Vasilisa and Krylova like this, it makes me more curious about the split with his previous partner Sophia. It kind of seems like history is repeating itself with him.
I had a bad gut feeling about him when I heard he was spreading all their personal stuff to strangers online. That, paired with the power imbalance between men and women in Russia.. I think she dodged a bullet here, even if it's tough right now.
I recently looked into them and can share that even before all this, the commentators on sports ru were saying he was a complete tool, full of himself, addicted to drama and that Vasilisa must have been a saint to be able to tolerate him.
Seems like they were right. She's well rid of him!
EDIT: oh and also he's a 20 yo who's apparently dating a 16 yo now? Great guy all around 🤮
Actually he is 19 and as of yesterday she is 17. So that's slightly better in that instead of four years difference (which wouldn't matter once they hit their 20s) it's just under 3. 2 years, 11 months and some change. i WAS kinda freaked though when I saw she JUST turned 17 😬 He's not 20 until the end of the month, but 20 and 17 is better than 20 and 16. Mostly bc he was still solidly 19 when they started. I had crushes on guys in high school about that age range ahead of me so it's reasonable, especially if they've known each other for a while. I, for my part, was NOT into guys my age at 16, so I can't fault her for looking a little above her age. If he didn't still have TEEn in his age 😬😬😬😬🚩
He is 19, what's wrong with dating 16 yo? It seem the last of all problems with him.
i have no words.... that he did this just to skate with his gf is so terrible.
The girlfriend said that she won’t spilt up with her partner so… idk how he’s gonna find a girl who would like to skate with him after this scandal
The "contract" was also asking for compensation for moral harm apparently 🤔
It says per case, what were these cases?
Russians are so dreadfully honest sometimes.
PS; This situation (the guy extorting money from the girl and her parents) has happened a great deal in US pairs/dance as well-the scarcity of males means they have all the leverage and they abuse it frequently. In fact I would guess this happens more often outside of Russia, as inside Russia the government pays for basic costs.
Yikes. She is talented and will no doubt find a better partner, not just in terms of talent but in treatment as well.
Holy moly that is insane. Guys at their early 20s are something else
I have to go to say, I am more invested in Kagapol now that they have broken up than when they were paired
For anyone looking to translate other posts and reactions, deepL tends to be more accurate than Google translate :)
Hello, if anyone has the time and inclination, could I get a point form backstory about how they got together and any important notes/accomplishments/drama?
I know minimal things about this couple, only that they were viewed as potential champions in the future, that TikTok ships them furiously, there was a previous relationship between the two, and the messy breakup right now.
Just read something about her moving away from her family very young to skate with him, so...
Vasilisa and Valeriy became partners in August 2018.
Vasilisa was on the tv show Ice Age kids in 2018 with her old partner Ilya (forgot his last name lol) who she had been skating with since 2012 I believe. A few months after the show ended, she and Ilya ended their partnership due to some kind of disagreement, and she decided to move to Moscow (she’s from St Petersburg) to find a new a partner and skate. She called Maxim Trankov who coached her on the tv show, and he helped her set up a try out at Angelika Krylovas group with Valeriy. Valeriy had been at Krylova’s group since May 2018 without a partner because he left his old partner and coach, to be coached by Krylova (he is the nephew of krylova’s partner Ovsyannikov). So, Vasilisa arrived in Moscow, she tried out with Valeriy, and they became partners. Vasilisa moved to Moscow with her grandmother, while her parents stay in St Petersburg. But I believe Vasilisa has been living alone in Moscow since 2022, since her grandmother moved back to St Petersburg
They started to become noticed in 2020/2021 season with their Romeo and Juliet free program.
In 2021/22, they competed internationally as juniors for the first time, and qualified for junior worlds but then Russia was banned from international competition so they never got to compete. They won 2nd at Russian Junior Nationals this season too.
In 2022/23, they moved up to seniors, and they were the winners of the Russian Grand Prix Final and won 2 other stages of the Grand Prix. They missed out on Nationals though because of illness.
Ok so now for the drama: after the end of 2022/23 season, things seemed to be going fine between the two. However suddenly in the beginning of July, they both unfollowed each other and I think he removed all traces of Vasilisa from his Instagram. Rumors then started going around that they had split up. But then I think like a week or 2 later, Vasilisa posted a video of them together training, and Krylova also posted saying the rumors are not true, the couple is still together. Another week or 2 later, interviews start to come out with Valeriy. He explained the unfollowing incident in July, and said that they had a crisis moment but everything was resolved and they were still skating together, preparing for the new season.
Then literally like a week ago, another interview came out with Valeriy where he revealed that he and Vasilisa had dated in the past but they had broken up. He was really vague in the interview and the video was edited kind of weird, so people weren’t sure if he was talking about Vasilisa or someone else. There was also a bunch of rumors going around that Valeriy was going to leave Vasilisa to skate with his girlfriend Polina Usova, who he had began to post a lot on social media. And then 4 days later, he does an ig live to clarify all the rumors. He explained that he and Vasilisa dated from April-June 2022, she broke up with him, he couldn’t get over her and was depressed for 7-8 months because of this. He clarified that their crisis in July didn’t have anything to do with their romantic breakup (as it had been over a year ago) and that he was not going to leave Vasilisa to skate with Polina. He said that he was still skating with Vasilisa.
And now like 4 days after his ig live ,the announcement of the breakup of the team and the weird contract…
Thank you for typing this all out! This is very much appreciated <3
I don't understand, is the Russian government not funding him anymore? Why is he demanding money from HER?? If he was so desperate for money, they could've easily monetized their partnership.
It seems to me that he was forcing the partnership to end... Nobody would sign such a ridiculous contract, which gives him an excuse to leave and go partner up with whoever it is he has in mind.
I think as a young man (longer to mature than females) he was truly crushed when she broke up with him, and prob acted out as a result (just immature, but not a monster some are making him out to be)…consider his heart was broken, as even before he met vasalisa, he wanted to skate with her. He idolized her & upon being ditched, he couldn’t handle it maturely. I feel sad for him…esp due to the bashing he got afterwards by fans. Poor guy.
The contract said she would need to pay for all his expenses that RusFed doesn't cover up (like food, medicine, additional ice, hotels and so on). This is fucking ridiculous.
I am quite sad, i was really seeing them as the new Virtue-Moir team, especially looking at how invested casual fans got into them. That being said, his ig live was super tacky, especially because now it seems clear she was not really on board with having all of their personal history spilled everywhere.
I am looking forward to seeing Vasilisa's next step, because I really find her to be a captivating skater and definitely the better part of their team.