Nikita Rakhmanin

2020–21 season: Debut of Akopova/Rakhmanin

In February 2020, Rakhmanin teamed up with fellow rinkmate, Karina Akopova, who he had also started dating the year prior.^{[4][6][14][15]} They made their national championship debut at the 2021 Russian Championships, where they finished in seventh place.^[16]

Following the Russian Championships, the team's coach, Fedor Klimov, relocated to Sochi. Wanting to continue working with Klimov, Akopova/Rakhmanin decided to make the move to Sochi as well. Upon arriving, Dmitri Savin also joined their coaching team.^[17][6]

2021–22 season

Akopova/Rakhmanin opened their season by making their international debut at the 2021 Budapest Trophy, where they won the gold medal. They followed this up with another gold medal at the 2021 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.^[16]

In December, they competed at the 2022 Russian Championships, finishing in sixth place. They then concluded the season by winning gold at the 2022 Challenge Cup.^[16]

In early March 2022, the International Skating Union (ISU) banned all figure skaters and officials from Russia and Belarus ISU events due to the Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, restricting Akopova/Rakhmanin from competing for Russia at international events going forward.^[18]

2022–23, 2023–24, and 2024–25 seasons: Struggles with injuries and Transfer to Armenia

In March 2022, Akopova developed a back injury in tandem with a fractured vertebra she sustained at the beginning of the season. Due to the pain, she began suffering from panic attacks. After nine months, a doctor was able to diagnose her with having an inflammation of the piriformis muscle, which in turn, had been pressing on the sciatic nerve.^[4][19]

Because of Akopova's injuries, the pair struggled to regain their previous competitive form, prompting them to consider trying to skate for another country. Their coaches, Fedor Klimov and Dmitri Savin initially opposed this decision, feeling that skating for a country without internal rivalry, like Russia, could risk stagnation in their skating. Due to Akopova's Armenian heritage, the pair subsequently contacted the Figure Skating Federation of Armenia, which in turn, expressed interest in having Akopova/Rakhmanin represent them.^[4][20][3] In May 2024, the federation submitted a request to Figure Skating Federation of Russia for Akopova/Rakhmanin's transfer.^[21] While awaiting the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, Akopova/Rakhmanin were forced to sit out of competition, including Russian domestic events.^[22][16]

Akopova/Rakhmanin received approval for their transfer from the Figure Skating Federation of Russia in May 2025, allowing the pair to begin competing for Armenia going forward.^[23] Speaking on this long wait, Akopova remarked with frustration, "We sent letters from the Armenian side. We got refusals four or five times. We didn’t understand the reason. We were no longer on the Russian national team. We didn’t receive any funding. We had Armenian citizenship. I couldn’t understand why, as someone who is fully Armenian, I wasn’t given a chance to skate for my homeland."^[3]

2025–26 season: Debut for Armenia, Milano Cortina Olympics

Going into the season, Akopova/Rakhmanin had their short program choreographed to popular Armenian folk song, "Artsakh" in honour of the country they would be representing going forward.^[24][4]

The pair made their debut for Armenia at the 2025 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition, where they finished in fifth place.^[25] They went on to compete at the 2025 Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 Winter Olympics. There, they placed third in the short program and second in the free skate, winning the silver medal overall. With this result, Akopova/Rakhmanin secured a berth for Armenian pair skating at the upcoming Olympics.^[26]

They subsequently competed at the 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy, where they placed fourth.^[25]

Days before 2025 Skate America, Akopova/Rakhmanin were called up to compete at the event following the withdrawal of Beccari/Guarise.^[27][28] Due to the last-minute invitation, Akopova/Rakhmanin attended the event without their coaches.^[29] They ultimately came in sixth place.^[25]

In December, Akopova/Rakhmanin won the 2026 Armenian Championships.^[25] Although assigned to compete at the 2026 European Championships, the pair were forced to withdraw due to visa issues.^[30]

In late January, it was announced that Akopova and Rakhmanin had been selected as the flag bearers for Armenia during the opening ceremony at the upcoming Olympics.^[31] On 6 February, about a week before the start of the Olympic pairs competition, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan raised concerns with the International Olympic Committee about Akopova and Rakhmanin's song choice for their short program, reasoning that due to the song being about "Artsakh," the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh, implies Armenia having territorial claims over land internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan despite having been contested over decades of conflict between the two countries. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan further stated their belief that using that song would introduce political messaging into Olympic competition and risk violating Olympic Charter principles requiring political neutrality at the Games. Two days later, the International Skating Union released their own statement indicating the situation between all parties involved had been resolved.^[32][33]