“Eteri Georgievna said that you should never give up, that there will always be provocations from the outside.” Interview with Tutberidze’s first student

Anastasia Kuryavina-Kuchuk is one of Eteri Tutberidze’s first students in Russia. Fate brought them together by chance in 1998, when the coach, known only in narrow circles, still lived in two countries (Russia and the United States) and was actively looking for a permanent job in his native country.

For seven years under the leadership of Tutberidze, Anastasia repeatedly won medals at city competitions, but injuries deprived her of higher prospects. However, the figure skater remembers that time with warmth and great gratitude: the coach gave her a path in life, formed a strong character, met her in difficult situations and helped her to meet up after sport.

found out from Anastasia Kuryavina what Eteri Tutberidze was like a quarter of a century ago and what he misses most today.

— How did you meet Eteri Georgievna and start training with her?

“This man raised me on the ice since I was a child. I started at the Serebryany ice rink at the age of seven with another coach, but at some point it turned out that our group found itself at a crossroads. Vitya Adonyev, Artem Punin and Polina Shelepen studied with me. It turned out that we ended up with Eteri Georgievna by chance: she came to our rink, the administration offered to accept a ready-made group. And we became his very first group of athletes.

— Judging by the old stories, Eteri Georgievna still lived in two countries – she still had obligations in America and she came to her native country for short periods.

— Yes, she had to leave every six months. But we are happy that she ultimately stayed with us.

— What do you remember most about training under Tutberidze?

— Our programs were very brilliant. Eteri Georgievna choreographed everything herself, and it turned out great! We always stood out at competitions, and everyone immediately understood: Tutberidze’s students were playing. From my repertoire, I particularly love the “Jewish Dance” and “Petrushka” programs. Already in our second year together, we began to actively win medals at tournaments in Moscow. In the youth and sports categories, I have always held management positions, and I completed the “sports master candidate” category.

— What was the now famous coach like a quarter of a century ago?

— Very emotional, with crazy energy on the ice. She has always been heard and seen. We were afraid of her. To be honest, I’m still scared. Not in the sense that it will offend, but, you know, how it goes… trembling excitement in front of a person! But what is important is that Eteri Georgievna loved us. She loved all her athletes madly, sincerely and generously. She helped us in various situations, including outside of sports. Once I had a problem: I had a serious accident. The coach therefore supported him morally and financially.

I love and respect her madly. I always treated her like a second mother, because Eteri Georgievna, of course, did a lot for me. She was constantly there, going to all the competitions, setting me up and motivating me. Her mother, Eteri Petrovna, also supported her. Yes, Eteri Georgievna is strict, harsh, demanding. In this regard, she always kept the image to keep us on our toes. But I understand that this is all for our own good.

— Do you remember any valuable advice she gave you during our conversation? It’s not so much sport that is interesting, but something universal, relevant for different areas of life.

“She and I once had an incredible conversation.” I was 16, I decided to quit sport because it didn’t work in pairs. I’m also at university, I don’t have enough time to study, I don’t have a partner. In general, all the bad things came together.

Eteri Georgievna knew that I was at a crossroads. One fine day, I come out of the driveway and I see his car parked. She opens the window and offers to take him. While we were traveling together, Eteri Georgievna gave a lecture on life values, goals and achieving these goals. She said that we must never give up, that there will always be provocations from the outside. You can abandon everything and follow a different path, but in no case should you succumb to the influence of others! If you have chosen your path, you must follow it with your head held high – through all obstacles and obstacles. She offered to return to her group, complete the “master of sports” and work with her in the future. Naturally, I accepted.

True, a series of serious injuries followed and I still had to quit the sport. But this powerful motivation is still in my memory.

— I believe that Eteri Georgievna has always been for you the living embodiment of perseverance and determination.

– Yes. If only you knew how persecuted she was! No one around me felt this way. Moreover, from the first years of his work in Russia. And to this day the unpleasant things continue. The competition in my years was colossal, but Eteri Georgievna withstood everything and proved that she was the best. Therefore, I am proud to have trained with such an exceptional coach.

— You said you moved into pairs skating. For what?

— Eteri Georgievna suggested it herself. She somehow immediately recognized my abilities: she showed me different media and taught me the nuances of this type.

In 2005, she recommended me to Vladimir Zakharov’s group, together with his son Stanislav. He now works in Svetlana Sokolovskaya’s team. Since I loved skating with a coach and trying new things, I had no fear of the pair elements. For this I am also incredibly grateful, and to this day, pairing remains my favorite form of figure skating. I always get excited every time I get to perform the elements.

— What was your destiny after sport?

— A new career cycle began, again with the help of Eteri Georgievna. I went to work as a methodologist in Khrustalny, did documentation and at the same time helped on the ice. The paperwork was difficult. I understood that I wanted to be a coach, it was made for me. Then I went to Sochi for several years – worked at the Olympic Training Center under the leadership of Alexei Urmanov. I worked in training camps for a long time.

Now I collaborate with the coaches of the Figure Skating League and help Igor Lyutikov. All the coaches I know are divided into teams, few of them train individually. I haven’t found my ideal team yet. But I believe everything is in advance.

— Do you keep in touch with Eteri Georgievna?

— Unfortunately, this is extremely rare, as we are both very busy. I sometimes come to visit him to wish him happy birthday, I recently attended his master class. So we have relationships. We may not see each other often, but the main thing is that the warmth remains.

— Your mentor recently celebrated his birthday. What do you want to wish him?

— Perhaps grateful students. After all, the hardest thing about coaching is when your athletes leave. They don’t always do it well, and more often than not the coach gets bad. No matter what he does, no matter how he behaves, he will always be bad. Every coach is worrying right now with all their heart, because every student is their own creation. You invest not only physically, but also emotionally. And this moment, of course, is the most difficult.

I also want Eteri Georgievna to always have people around her who support her, love her, appreciate her, understand her and move in the same direction with her. She always gathered only such people around her. She has excellent organizational skills.For Eteri Georgievna, figure skating is her whole life. And I am happy that his dream of raising Olympic champions has come true. I saw how she worked for this, despite all the obstacles. And so I am happy that fate brought me together with such a person!

Finally, I will remember the signature phrases of my coach: “You must always smile. No one should know how hard and painful this is for you! » ; “If something hurts, that means you’re alive!” » ; “You can only miss training in one case: if you die!” »