i've been through with opposition activists reporting dozens of deaths at the hands of police and u.n. says more than five thousand people have died in the ten month long and rest of the mask is blaming aren't getting sworn in violence. the year of the protest or as one eleven draws to a close it's the revolutions in rallies around the globe that made it water was the arab spring the occupy movement here peons walking out against ever growing cuts were just some of them. the top stories up next eldred off puts one of the most successful russian ice skaters under the spotlight to find out about the challenges of her job.

hello again or welcome to spotlight. together here with me on the show to wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year is. the holiday season in russia is traditionally the time of snow ice and i want to. figure skating is one of the things. is the best female russian figure skater ever she is twice well champion seven times european champion and today she is the star of a terrific called the sleeping beauty in this is on spotlight. figure skating has always been a cultural phenomenon in russia just like the bolshoi or sputnik but in recent years it's become a mainstream winter sport with thousands of skating rinks opening around the

country irina slutskaya is one of the people behind its newfound popularity she's hosted a few dancing on ice t.v. shows and occasionally stars in live skating performances the ice mania is also being actively supported by the authorities in a bid to promote the sport head of the winter olympics in sochi. polo arena and welcome to spotlight. always feel nervous before going on stage there didn't appear to be. the problem the water the emotions now deep inside. of course i get that feeling of excitement before every performance if you're in the spotlight you can stay calm and collected especially if you have some skating routines in the show so yes i do feel nervous to meet in russia we

always believe new year's dreams will come true. the new yeah should come off well it should come off well they have their work. lives in a teacup which of the new year traditions is your favorite and you believe in aman's. what i love most is the evening of december the thirty first when the family puts up the fir tree and decorate set dressed up as many people not put it up as early as november. would dress it up together with my dad would pull decorations all over the apartment is this joyous festive feeling of something in the ad that i love most but you get the whole family together if you run away from the fuss of the world do you keep the fir tree for long until will start new year around the time until the fourteenth of january yes around the old style new year we take it down a little is now to talk about the ways of celebrating new year so this our worldwide audience learns more about what truly russian tradition says first of all

the russians have two new year holiday we have the first of january and the all star new year do you recall any of the unique rituals you've travelled a lot definitely it's fortune telling on christmas eve i think it's only practiced by the russians and it's salad only yeah roy. it's not really of russian origin of . russian though the chef was french but it was made right here in moscow which is a lot of potatoes in a man and no ham anything else. and i think the russians have. our unique way of seeing the new year reign of the nation's do with different way well everyone else has santa claus and other unusual names we have our own father frost that's a problem all winter in the name after the frost comes from the city or village used to when i think this dude is one of our unique traditions. do you put up

a real or artificial for a tree always a real one my child says those with an artificial tree will get an artificial heart a frost is not like the smell of a corner i know it's bad to cut down trees but it can help it they do grow them specially for the trees but when he opened the door step inside it and smelled that aroma also the smell of danger in singing on the tree hey that's another tradition they all canned is in the tree i've remembered that since i was a child it was a must to hang at the tickler chocolate on the tree times the new year was always a time for skating so when you say new year you think of winter and a skating ring music and fun do you have similar sociate at the well since it's my profession i should have new years every day but you didn't begin skating as a baby right. i was for no we've been there for years yes almost since i was just a baby this is so you don't really remember a time when you weren't and that's a difficult thing to imagine the things of it signs the new year was

a more significant christmas wasn't it the communists banned all religious holiday today christmas is gaining ground again so do you think it will eventually knock new year off the podium as in europe so will the new year stay on top of the holiday least for russians i think new year will always be mean the whole of the it will take many gin you ations before christmas is first place of course christmas is much more important for believers but i don't think the number of. devolved christians is that high in russia. believe us of course the question is how serious we are about our face whereas new year's day is everybody's holiday is everybody's holidays because we have so many religions in russia i love it i love this holiday it's the only day in the year when your hubby

and you tell every person you meet happy new year is this atmosphere of unity christmas is more of a really just holy day and we celebrated a little differently but there was. i have many times celebrated new year christmas abroad and people tend to stay home. even if they drink no we didn't go outside of my bottle of champagne for a hug strangers a really unique love it was another thing i remember from my childhood what would you use the new year's children. to one on the ground and of course it was hard to get a ticket you had to have connections i guess your parents did now what got tickets from my school as a reward for. this show of yours by the way it's not your first if the president sent to bring back those new year shows except this one is for adults so. this is

the tell or other this is. the for children to find themselves in the middle of a fairy tale the world is so cruel today and people don't see anything besides their computers and television and he'll have real performers real characters i think every child should come and see this fairy tale because what it will. does this mean your show will not be shown on television of course it will be during these few special days when children come with their parents you have this miracle where characters from the fairy tale come to life and you. can watch it happen in right before your eyes it's a very short period i think just a couple of weeks that your show will be running it's not the troy they're chilling we started on december the sixteenth and we run through the gene you're the eight not enough well how long did you work on it six months and then after two weeks it's gone no it's not like that it's like the olympic games you spend several years practicing and then you know we worked on it for a few months but i guess it doesn't make sense to have

a running much longer because you lose the fairytale the fact that you usually do you mean there's the valley but you koskie the sleeping beauty they have the training all year round still i think it should only be shown during the new year's season because of ice and i guess i sent danger rains but no santa claus right. i'm with you i'm with. the arena you're playing the parts of the we could ferry in this show yes why do we could ferry is it for the same reason that the part of the black swan has always been considered more difficult than that of the whites one would want to hear no it's not like that always played her. in good fairies but this damn i wanted to play a character part in this part of a good opportunity to be more emotional. to discover something new that's why i went for it. so what do you mean small dramatic it's more challenging

for you as an actor what the character part of but. a better chance to. express yourself. express yourself. can be very different but all good is always good but evil can be different how interesting it is to banal for you when the good is good because good always i'm sure i'm so very evil this i think you're attracted to a little bit. of the thing in the world who isn't seriously though i think you agree with no it would be interesting you see there's a. swinging high up on the ring and. i can see the ring up there but you're doing it without safety rope is that true. i'm holding onto with my hand there are other things again and this is a chance for me to do something you do in the same part again and again is not there good i'm exploring new territory here we. are you performing any

of those fascinating jumps many of the elements famous for as a professional in this show. or is it's more about acting. on the six nique defect. i thought yes it's more about acting there's a lot of that involved it's not like i perform some very difficult jumps. a few that i make my complicated spins that once made new world famous i also perform beautiful spirals and figure skating elements i am no longer claim in the olympic title all of us understand that this show was not going to be a free skating program i think that i should be more focused on emotions rather than the technical side because the children who come to see the show are unlikely to appreciate that i've made twenty five triple jumps and performed some other

elements for the do you make triple jumps so i always jump everything we have forty four performances i have one specific feature whenever a dance solo i introduce spontaneous changes and the course of the show so you provide a noise if you like doing that i'm sticking to the main framework of the dance but i think that it's boring to perform one and the same elements four times and it'll always leaves on stage that's what makes a lot of performance difference or recorded one and a show is a life story that is why sometimes there would be turns in a slightly different direction under slightly different element so we live here in this show says it in a slow go world champion figure skater will be back shortly after a break so stay with us don't.

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welcome back to spotlight and i'll do nothin just a reminder that my guest on the show today is a not a world champion figure skater and she is the main star and one of the main organizers all the sleeping beauty. ice valley show that's kicking off in moscow this christmas season in that what the arena when you spoke about your participation and your performance in this i show you said earlier we are not

a villain to games. to pick up on vats i'm tempted to ask you about your sporting career to world championships and seven european titles which is a record number for europe but if falling short of becoming in the olympic champion this is where there is it still knowing you to be honest it's still knowing that all of us of course there's still a feeling of bitterness that was i'm not talking about where i made a mistake and it was my fault but i'm still very hurt by what happened in salt lake city where i fell victim to dirty political games and was deprived of my olympic title but the most important thing is that i am the olympic champion in the hearts of my fans it's true that i don't have this title a life goes on my two young kids and my two tiny olympic medals i mean and there's nothing more important for me in this world than my children yes it happened in my own life i was an asteroid who

won medals and top sport titles but that period of my life is over a new period has started for me and i have to go on living when i should seek new heights i should learn and study a lot and work to realize my full potential and saw already outlived ellen big bad luck there will be deferring remains that but that wasn't the end of the world arena today you took part in. this already of business a kind of life after sports here in britain example proving that there can be a laugh after a person leaves big sport or do you think it's more important for an athlete today to fully realise potential in sport sports you fell short of just one step in the big old model or is more important to be successful after a sport. just like you to watch the birth of either things or that would leave you with the with the example that well i don't think that it can be because if it

starts thinking of what they are going to do after their sports career is over they're not going to achieve anything in support of be successful in their post sport careers there are certain goals and tasks that we just sat for a certain period of your life in me just sports and therefore it should progress and try to win and conquer the heights he wants to conquer when you leave support you understand that this chapter result then you just turn the page and studying you i from screen it's very difficult to find oneself and they smell life because most athletes come to realise after quitting big sports that they need to start everything from square one because we don't know anything except our professions while we have to learn everything from the start and that's difficult when one is very difficult particularly in terms of psychology because if you like a celebrity everybody knows you and hit a wrong here you're really nothing special it just turned out to be

a big moral challenge when you have to start learning something new or they just twenty five or twenty six and you have to make up your mind about what you want to do and where you want to go it also takes up quite a bit of time once you start trying various professions looking for a job that appeals to you your hardest part is that it's difficult for someone who's used to have a high profile to abandon publicity overnight and go sit in an office in front of a computer because your inhibitions stay with you and being in the spotlight is like a magnet that keeps attracting you you want to be high profile again it's not that you want people to recognize your wherever you go it sticks change of emotion the adrenaline. and then the alien cultures around the office itself i know yes. actually referring to. you get used to things like applause and it's difficult to switch to doing something else that's why many athletes take so one choose and then

you. listen with what we've mentioned in fact i went into figure skating myself when i was a kid of course i never did professionally but every time i came near is skating rink i feel a certain rush it gets to you. you spoke of life outside sports but my son is seriously into sports and whenever he has a hard time with it i tell him keep your head up after all athletics teaches you that essential things in life we being persistent working in a team being a winner which once you quit sports and go into everyday life the rules are different don't you think this year completely different does it mean sport does not really prepare you for everyday life doing sports teaches you more division and hard work. but unfortunately in day to day life there are none of the gold medals we used to. and the race is not always to the swift great just like a frantic sniff had

a chance to find it out but nevertheless you know whenever i would go on to the ice i found that success depended upon myself by a fifty or seventy percent in everyday life it doesn't always depend upon you therefore it's not all that simple basically means there is more freedom in sports you can feel free when it's up to you make a sound if you don't control it one hundred percent even in sports too it's important to feel you've done your very best and then again in our sport credit is given outside the ring with the worst do your children already skate look at least on term who must before i haven't ruled are two and two was a kid in school he showed interest in hearing him self when he was only three or even two years old and he asked me mom who skates on these years let's go skinny and then he held me by the hand the first time and then. he told me hands off i'll go myself and he went along no chair did they use a chair when they taught you. i had double blades they used to chant for me sounds

familiar. with who are to whom i think it's more of a game for getting dressed stop putting on the skates get in mommy to tell you around a nice what do you think you'll skate professionally i don't know we'll see. but does it feel good to see him skate. on the skates instead he's funny of course because i never knew you had to start doing sports early journey for you know many professional athletes like yourself say you should never let your child be an athlete swim through with this hellish toil. imagine your son came to you were not asked are these men i skied so i want to skate was i supposed to tell him no are to him skating is a bad thing done do it if your child takes an interest in an activity or has a passion for something why not let him skate. when you were an athlete your audience was all of russia or at least the skating fans by the what about today when you dance annoyance and if you're treacle show the audience this is the

children or adults who are difficult to say because we have different people come for the show very generalized. very often i see grown up men and women in the audience who have come to watch the show without any kids who do you personally dance for with all of it doesn't work that way oh yes it does i can truly done six coup civil if we children there's a realize that every child will be coming of the parent tells and they realize that parents shouldn't feel boarded our show therefore we perform for any kind of audience what's the trick if i want to appeal to children a picturesque cost to music and lights what's the attraction for adults done solemn and so you have to provide it in the right proportion and it's all the. in your. future in the show with what was it called stars are nice and ice age yes we should you think it really gave you an impulse to figure skating is popularity in the

country. a slight exaggeration. gave a certain to it however if not for those who have gained top prizes at world championships no matter how we would have tried we could hardly have succeeded there are those people who bring this story i. myself who put so much effort and emotion into words along with other sportsman all of us did leave in those projects . but at the same time someone began to believe there was all too simple and in the months they would be able to perform all the figure skating. as easily as the others so they. are not professionals but they are working along with professionals of the highest level. carrying them i am a realist the right those who are not professional do learn some skills but don't

let us forget can be video recorded attitude and so forth even if there is only one take of so you know very well how dull works i'm going to love. oh yes there is a similar tournaments in tennis one professionals and amateurs play together say some guy plays with. you later say she defeated someone let me tell you all the actors sing and all do participants all did what they was there for that's true. and huge amount of time from those three months literally living on the ice arena you're in a limp it can bastard bastard of a soul cheer for peace whatever it's called an ambassador of the chances for russia's figure. the stakes will be very high and we're simply ran to a right you know it's very hard to say figure skating is a very specific kind of sport in terms of coordination you may not be ready

sometimes to forecast anything but generally forecasting is never a sure thing but there are many nuances a spectator usually does not see take for instance a situation when you get exactly on track with your partner do you may stumble. anything can happen the you can hardly imagine but there is a russian sports woman and patriot would surely want us to win gold medals in the ladies and man single combinations and then saying if we look into this now we must try our best well what does that mean we must be doing our best so we have a chance in pairs skating in ladies singles. and we should try to get the prizes in ice dancing and single men skating to dance for. us thank you very much good luck to you and most importantly to your performance thank you frank you very much for being with us and just

a reminder that my guest on the show today was. the world champion to tie with world champion seven time champion of europe and today the star of the sleeping beauty. that's our moscow bureau the question of you know how. that was spotlight will be back next year with more than covered for what's going on out third russia until then christmas greetings happy new year merry christmas and stay with us on russia today. the close up team has been to stop birthplace to the most ambitious football club in the world. naldo r g goes to the

far east where the timber industry affects the legendary siberian tigers where the ancient native community loses its way in the modern world. and where the country's mineral wealth starts its way across the ocean. and well come to the bars creature russia blows up.

iran plans a long range missile tests gauges in military posturing with washington after the west threatens to toughen sanctions against tehran over its nuclear program if syria's opposition unites against the government amid a new wave of violence which is reportedly left dozens dead since friday right under the nose of the arab league observers. plus ticking down the final hours of two thousand and eleven for the back of a year that ushered in protest civil war and regime change.