Averbukh received a grant of 27.5 million rubles from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives

Ice shows Ilya Averbukh “Ice Age. Champions. Love Stories” in Sochi and Essentuki received a grant of 27.5 million rubles from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, according to the official website of the fund.

The goals of the project are “support for Russian figure skaters who have become the object of sanctions for their patriotism and devotion to the country” and “support for residents of evacuees from the Donbass territory and low-income families.” The project implementation period is from June 1 to August 14.

– Figure skating in Russia is not just a sport, but a national idea, if you will. The pandemic has shown that even in the absence of international competitions, millions of viewers are glued to Russian figure skaters and figure skaters. The elegance and synchronism of movements, as well as the sports elements of figure skating, are very attractive to the public. On the ice, the skaters seem to live their whole life during the performance with love, tragedies, etc. Figure skating, in principle, is an incredibly interesting format of artistic creativity, which allows through the movements of athletes to convey the director’s idea without words.

There is an opinion abroad: “to win in figure skating, you have to be Russian”. The American newspaper The Washington Post wrote: “The Russians skate on the ice as if it were their native element, while others go to the site, as if they were afraid of falling on this ice… If figure skating is a sport for other countries, then for Russians it is their national cultural identity. Our skaters are our pride and part of our cultural code.

Now, in these difficult times, when unprecedented economic sanctions have been imposed on our country, a real large-scale computer attack has been announced and attempts are being made to completely isolate Russia from the rest of the world, the more important is to show qualities such as unity, solidarity, mutual aid. Many competitors console themselves with the hope that Russian figure skating will decline. But we are sure that this will not happen thanks to state support and people’s love for Russian skaters.

The importance of our project also lies in the fact that impressive performances will arouse interest in figure skating among children and young people.

And maybe in a few years the most talented young skaters will come out of it … – says the text of the project.

Previously, the ice show of two-time Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko “Union of Champions” received a grant of 50 million rubles from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.