Russian Figure Skating Championships

Figure skating was first introduced in Russia by Peter the Great when he brought ice skates from Western Europe. The first ice rink in Russia was opened in 1865 in the Yusupov Gardens in Saint Petersburg, and Saint Petersburg hosted the first figure skating competition in Russia in 1878.^[1] The first official Russian Championships were held in 1897; Aleksandr Panshin became the first official Russian national champion.^[2] No men's competitions were held between 1914 and 1915 due to World War I and no competitions were held at all between 1916 and 1919 due to the Russian Revolution. The Revolution was followed by a period of Soviet control in Russia, and in 1922, the establishment of the Soviet Union.^[3] Russian skaters competed at the Soviet Figure Skating Championships between 1922 and 1992. The last installment of the Soviet Championships were held in Kyiv, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, in December 1991.^[4]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Russian Federation emerged as an independent nation.^[5] Numerous Soviet medalists went on to have successful careers competing in the Russian Championships: Alexei Urmanov won four Russian men's titles from 1993 to 1996,^[6] Maria Butyrskaya won six women's titles between 1993 and 1999,^[7] Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov won four pairs titles between 1993 and 1998,^[8][9] Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov won the pairs title in 1996,^[10] Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov won the ice dance title in 1996,^[11] and Anjelika Krylova and Vladimir Fedorov won the ice dance titles in 1993 to 1994.^[12][13] Krylova went on to win an additional three titles with another partner.^[14] The first championships of the newly independent Russia took place in Chelyabinsk in 1993.^[15] Selection criteria for competing in the Russian Championships are vague. Skaters compete in a series of events known as the Russian Grand Prix in order to advance to the Russian Championships.^[16]

From left to right: Evgeni Plushenko won ten Russian Championship titles in men's singles; Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev won seven Russian Championship titles in ice dance; and Maxim Trankov won four Russian Championship titles in pair skating, three of which were with Tatiana Volosozhar.

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