Name: Irina Rodnina
Date of birth: 12.09.1949
Age:'70
Place of birth: Moscow city, Russia
Activity: figure skater, Russian statesman and public figure
Marital status: divorced
Irina Rodnina is a famous Soviet figure skater who has repeatedly won the title of Olympic champion. On her account large number victories for international competitions By figure skating. We can say that it was she who raised the sport of her native country to unprecedented heights. Many fans are interested in questions not only about sporting achievements Irina Rodnina, but also about her personal life, as well as the athlete’s nationality. All the details about the skater can be found in her rich biography.
Biography
Irina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow. Her family was no different from many others. Parents were simple Soviet people. Dad was a military man all his life, and mom worked as a nurse in a hospital. It is worth noting that on her mother’s side Irina inherited Jewish roots, so she early years showed her strong-willed character and incredible talent, which led her to success.
Irina Rodnina in childhood
From childhood, the girl was wrapped in special care, because her body often malfunctioned, and she often got sick. Therefore, in order to strengthen her immunity, doctors advised being on the outdoors and play sports.
At first, the parents took their daughter to the children's skating rink, and they learned to skate together. Irina liked the classes so much that she wanted to take up this sport seriously. After a while, the girl was enrolled in the figure skating section, where Yakov Smushkin became her first coach. Thanks to his support, Irina mastered all the required elements of skating on ice: jumps, spins, spirals. With the help of elevated physical activity her health has improved significantly.
Irina Rodnina in her youth
Therefore, Irina continued to do what she loved. Very soon she managed to get into the CSKA figure skating section. Until the age of 15, Rodnina practiced single skating, and then began performing with a partner, Oleg Vlasov. Since then, sport has become not only part of her biography, but also her personal life. Some time later, Irina married her partner, Alexander Zaitsev.
The beginning of the sports journey
In 1964, the athlete met her new coach. It was the Honored Master of Sports in figure skating - Stanislav Zhuk. A few years later, Rodnina, together with her partner Alexei Ulanov, won prizes at international competitions.
In 1969, the skaters went to the European Championships in Germany. Despite some circumstances, the athletes managed to snatch a well-deserved victory from their opponents. After this performance, the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR appeared in the biography of Irina Rodnina. She had no time left for her personal life, but her sports career continued to grow.
Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov
The figure skater showed excellent results at all kinds of competitions. But in 1972, Irina had to endure serious trauma. During training, her partner was unable to hold Rodnina, and she fell from the support.
At the hospital, she was diagnosed with a concussion and an intracranial hematoma. But even this could not prevent the athlete from performing well and representing her country at the World Championships.
With his second partner Alexander Zaitsev
Successful career
Then in sports biography Irina Rodnina entered a period of recovery. And only a few months later she managed to return to the ice. Alexander Zaitsev became her new partner, thanks to whom not only her career, but also her personal life changed. Almost immediately, mutual feelings flared up between them, which were noticeable to everyone around them. In addition, many judges repeatedly noted the well-coordinated work of the skaters.
Famous ice skater
In 1973, the athletes took part in the European Championships, where they defeated the no less outstanding pair of Smirnov-Ulanov. A year later, the couple began collaborating with a professional trainer, Tatyana Tarasova. Thanks to their new mentor, Rodnina and Zaitsev won the World Championships in 1975.
Irina Rodnina with her medals
In the early 1990s, Irina moved to the USA. There she very quickly managed to gain a good reputation. In 2005, changes occurred in Rodnina’s biography. Her interests also expanded with political activity: she became a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. And two years later, Irina was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of the 5th convocation from United Russia.
Personal life
The biography and personal life of Irina Rodnina has always been full of the most vivid emotions and achievements. Irina met her first husband in 1972. It was her figure skating partner, Alexander Zaitsev. Joint training really brought the guys together and they started a relationship.
With her first husband Alexander Zaitsev and son
After 3 years, Alexander proposed to Irina, and they got married. In 1979, Rodnina gave birth to her first son, Alexander. Living together stopped suiting Irina after 8 years. And, despite the fact that the couple divorced a long time ago, they maintain fairly friendly relations.
With second husband and daughter
The figure skater’s second husband was Leonid Minkovsky. At first, family relationships were perfect. Leonid immediately found a common language with his wife’s son, and then the couple had a daughter.
After a while, Irina was offered a job in America, and she and her family moved there for two years. A year later, Rodnina began to suspect that Leonid was cheating on her, so she filed for divorce.
Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna is an outstanding Soviet figure skater who became famous throughout the world for her numerous brilliant victories at the European and World Championships. Rodnina made a huge contribution to Russian sport, raising it to an incredible level figure skating.
From 1969 to 1980, figure skater Irina Rodnina did not lose a single competition. Irina Rodnina is an incredibly positive, cheerful person who has not had an easy path in life.
The biography of Irina Rodnina is very rich, interesting, full of tense moments and dramatic events. Thanks to his rich inner world, faith in the best and willpower, the athlete managed to maintain youth and energy and today she does not look her age.
Childhood
Irina Rodnina was born on September 12, 1949. Her dad was a military man, and her mother was a nurse. By the age of five, little Irina had suffered from pneumonia. To strengthen her health and boost her immunity, her parents decided to send their daughter to figure skating. The girl immediately fell in love with sports and happily attended training, trying not to miss a single lesson.
Rodnina’s very first coach was Yakov Smushkin. In the past, he himself was an athlete, winner of many competitions. Smushkin taught Irina how to slide on ice, the most difficult jumps, spirals, rotations and so on. Rodnina is short, and her graceful figure was perfectly suited for this sport.
Soon after the start of classes, Rodnina became stronger, and it was impossible to think that she had recently suffered from pneumonia. After Irina passed the preliminary screening, she ended up in CSKA. At first, the young athlete skated alone, but later she got a partner, Oleg Vlasov.
Career
Irina Rodnina is perhaps the most successful and purposeful athlete in the history of figure skating. Her coaches were Stanislav Zhuk and Tatyana Tarasova. The skater’s partners at different times were Alexey Ulanov and Alexander Zaitsev.
In 1964, when Irina was fifteen years old, the incomparable Stanislav Zhuk became her mentor, and the well-known Alexey Ulanov became her partner. Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov trained around the clock, seven days a week, and within two years they competed as a couple at international competitions and brought brilliant victories to their country. The couple never lost.
In 1972, the brilliant duo won a gold medal at the Sapporo Olympics. However, this victory was not easy to achieve. The day before the competition, during training, Ulanov did not hold Rodnina, the athlete fell, hit her head on the ice and received a brain contusion. The coach and the whole team were sure that there would be no performance and no victory in sight. But despite the strong headache and weakness, Irina gathered all her strength and courage, went out onto the ice and, together with her partner, won.
Despite this brilliant victory, the couple of Rodnina and Ulanov soon broke up. There were rumors that Irina's fall was not an accident, that Ulanov dropped her on purpose. His wife was Lyudmila Smirnova, and he allegedly wanted her to be his figure skating partner, which is what later happened. After Irina Rodnina recovered from her injury, her new partner was the legendary Alexander Zaitsev, with whom Irina always felt safe and free.
After finishing her sports career, the figure skater actively took up teaching. Soon she was invited to work in the States. She worked as a coach from 1990 to 2002. During this period, she had big problems in her personal life; she was going through a divorce from her second husband. However, all these difficulties did not prevent her from performing her work brilliantly and professionally.
After returning to Moscow, the invincible Rodnina participated in various television programs, gave interviews and was actively involved in social activities. Since 2007, she has been a State Duma deputy.
Family
Irina Rodnina's first husband was Alexander Zaitsev (her figure skating partner). Their wedding took place in 1975. Rodnina and Zaitsev had a beautiful son, Alexander Zaitsev Jr. Today he is a wonderful artist who, together with his wife, is raising their daughter Sofia.
Rodnina’s second husband was businessman Leonid Minkovsky. In this marriage, Irina had a daughter, Alena. Today Alena lives in the USA and works as a journalist.
In an interview, Irina Rodnina said that although her husband and children have always been her greatest happiness, living with her family in the States caused her serious discomfort due to lack of communication and the language barrier. On this basis, the spouses often had conflicts: Irina wanted to live in Russia. These disagreements led Irina and Leonid to divorce. The figure skater took the breakup hard.
Awards and social activities
Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina was one of the ten most famous personalities of the 20th century who made a significant contribution to the history of their country. This top ten also includes such outstanding people as Solzhenitsyn, Gagarin and Vysotsky.
Today Irina is a member of the Sports Council. She oversees many sports projects in the area children's sports. In 2013, Rodnina opened the season at the Omsk Ice Palace, where future world champions practice figure skating.
Sports achievements of Irina Rodnina
Together with Alexey Ulanov, Irina Rodnina received the following awards:
- Gold medal on Olympic Games ah 1969
- Gold medal at the 1972 World Championships
- Gold medal at the European Championships 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972.
- Bronze medal at the USSR Championships in 1967 and 1968.
- Gold medal in the tournament for the prize of the Moscow News newspaper in 1969 and 1970.
Together with Alexander Zaitsev, Irina Rodnina received the following awards:
- Gold medal at the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games.
- Gold medal at the World Championships 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980.
- Gold medal at the European Championships 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 Gold medal at the USSR Championships 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976.
- Gold medal in the tournament for the prize of the Moscow News newspaper in 1977.
Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna (09/12/1949) is a Soviet figure skater who was included in the Guinness Book of Records as an athlete who never lost in international competitions. She has three Olympic golds and 10 victories at world championships. Currently a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the United Russia party.
“I don’t understand athletes who come to competitions and then start complaining about loss of shape, old injuries, and so on. And the worst thing is if they then refuse to fight and are withdrawn from the tournament. Do we really need to explain to adults that victory is not easy? It comes through overcoming, through “I can’t.” And if you are performing for the honor of the country, you must be ready to die for it!”
Childhood
Irina Rodnina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow. Her father is a career military man, and her mother is a medical worker. It is interesting that it was health problems that predetermined the path of the future Olympic champion. As a child, Irina often suffered from pneumonia, and doctors advised her parents to send the girl to sports. But such that classes are conducted on fresh air. And since it was winter, there was little choice - skiing or figure skating. The parents chose the latter, since there was a good skating rink near their house.
After some time, Rodnina’s mother decided that the girl should take skating seriously and enrolled her in the section. Irina’s first coach was Yakov Smushin. Subsequently, several mentors changed, and as a result, Rodnina ended up in the CSKA section, and her classes were led by Czech specialists Miloslav and Sonya Balun.
This period of Irina Rodnina’s career was marked bronze medals at the All-Union Youth Competitions. Then the skater performed in pairs with Oleg Vlasov.
Career
Under the leadership of S. Zhuk
When Irina Rodnina was 15 years old (1964), Stanislav Zhuk became her coach. Alexey Ulanov became her partner on the ice. The couple trained a lot and after three years won their first gold - at the Moscow Skates tournament. And a year later they became bronze medalists at the USSR Championship.
The first international success came at the European Championships in 1969. Despite 2nd place in short program, Ulanov and Rodnina managed to pull themselves together and win the competition. After this, Irina was given the title of Honored Master of Sports. In the same year, the skaters won their first gold at the world championships. And in 1972 success came at the Olympic Games.
Also in 1972, Rodnina stopped performing in tandem with Ulanov, as he preferred to skate with his wife. There was even a moment when Irina was thinking about leaving big sport. But coach Stanislav Zhuk dissuaded the girl, finding her a new partner in the person of young Alexander Zaitsev. Together with him, Rodnina very quickly mastered all the complex elements and a year later the pair won the European Championship, beating, by the way, the Ulanov-Smirnov pair.
This stage of Irina Rodnina’s career was marked by another historical event in the world of figure skating. An unpleasant incident occurred at the World Championships in Bratislava. During the performance, the music turned off. It later turned out that this was a deliberate sabotage. But Rodnina and Zaitsev did not stop their performance, completing the program to a standing ovation from the public.
“When the music turned off, out of the corner of my eye I saw the judges making gestures for us to stop. But we were already ahead. We did everything else by inertia. I only heard the creaking of skates. The audience was silent at first, and then began to applaud.”
After Rodnina and Zaitsev’s performance, the judges invited them to perform again – to the music. But the skaters flatly refused, saying that the technical failure was not their fault. As a result, the referees decided to lower the scores. But in the final standings, Soviet athletes were again first.
Under the leadership of T. Tarasova
In 1974, Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev made, one might say, a historic decision. They change their coach and go to Tatyana Tarasova. The reasons for this action are not entirely clear. Rodnina herself once said that it was a matter of relationship. Stanislav Zhuk was more despotic, and Tarasova, on the contrary, communicated with her charges as equals.
The new mentor brought more artistry to the skaters' skating. And the new program literally captivated the judges at the ’76 Olympics. Even though the couple made several mistakes during the performance, the referees gave very high marks. Thus, Irina Rodnina became Olympic champion for the second time.
At the 1980 Games, Zaitsev and Rodnina were under enormous pressure from Western rivals and journalists. They were accused of using prohibited elements in figure skating. Tatyana Tarasova was even forced to redo the program in a few months, removing several supports from it. But the pressure did not affect the Soviet skaters. They skated both programs brilliantly; Irina Rodnina, at the age of 30, became a three-time winner of the Olympic Games. During the award ceremony, the athlete could not hold back her tears. The photo with her tear-stained eyes later went around all the world's media.
After sports
After finishing her career, Irina Rodnina began working as a coach. She taught at the Institute of Physical Education. In 1990, the athlete went to America, where she also worked with young skaters. Irina Konstantinovna returned to her homeland only 12 years later, and from that moment she decided to engage in politics.
She nominated her candidacy for elections to the State Duma in 2003. But then she couldn’t win and get into parliament. She had to wait four years until, in 2007, she was finally elected on the United Russia list. Irina Rodnina actively participates in public life countries. It was she, together with hockey player Vladislav Tretyak, who was entrusted with the honorable mission of lighting the fire at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Personal life
Irina Rodnina has already been married twice. Her first chosen one was her figure skating partner, Alexander Zaitsev. From this marriage Rodnina had a son, who was named, like his father, Sasha. Now he is a grown man. He is a ceramic artist by profession.
Irina Rodnina’s second husband was businessman Leonid Minkovsky. In 1986, the couple gave birth to a child, daughter Alena. Now the girl lives in America, where she works on television.
Irina Rodnina is a Soviet figure skater who is idolized all over the world for her achievements in the sport. Ten-time world champion, three-time Olympic champion and eleven-time European champion in pair skating went down in history as an athlete who never lost a single tournament, for which she was included in the Guinness Book of Records. After completing her sports career, she began political activity.
Childhood and youth
Irina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow in the family of a career military man and a doctor. The girl's father was from the Vologda region, her mother, a Jewish nationality, was from Kharkov. Her parents raised two children - the figure skater has an older sister, Valentina, who is a mathematical engineer by training.
Irina Rodnina in her youth / Federal Archives of Germany
As a child, the athlete was a weak girl. After suffering from pneumonia 11 times, the parents decided that their daughter needed to be saved and decided to take her to the skating rink so that with help physical exercise Naturally strengthen your child's immunity.
This decision of the parents became fateful for the girl. After Rodnina first went to the skating rink, which happened in 1954, her biography was inextricably linked with sports. First she was sent to a figure skating school, then to the CSKA figure skating section, then the girl graduated sports school CSKA, and in 1974 she became a graduate of the State Central Institute of Physical Education.
Figure skating
The sports career of miniature Irina Rodnina (her height was 152 cm, weight - 57 kg) started in 1963, when she took 3rd prize at the All-Union Youth Competitions. Then her coaches were the Czechs Milan and Sonya Valun, and her partner was Oleg Vlasov. After her first victory, the future Olympic champion became a student of Stanislav Zhuk. Along with the new coach, Rodnina also changed her figure skating partner; he became Alexey Ulanov.
View this post on Instagram
Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov
Over the next 10 years, Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov won gold medals at the European Championships and the Olympics, becoming leaders in the international sports arena with each victory.
In 1972, Irina Rodnina's injury separates her from her figure skating partner. After a 3-month break in sports, Alexander Zaitsev becomes the athlete’s partner. Together they became figure skating legends and achieved brilliant results on the skating rink that no modern skater could achieve.
In the mid-70s, the duo came under the guidance of a young coach, who emphasized the artistic component of each performance. New ideas allowed the couple to fully realize their potential and take two more Olympic gold medals - in Innsbruck in 1976 and Lake Placid in 1980.
In 1981, the figure skater moved to the big professional sports and became an honored figure skating coach. From 1990 to 2002 she lived in the USA and led coaching activities. Her best coaching result on the international stage is considered to be the victory of the pair Radka Kovarzhikova and Rene Novotny from the Czech Republic at the World Championships.
Policy
Since 2003, Irina Rodnina tried to break into the Russian political arena, but twice failed in the elections to the State Duma. In 2007, she still managed to become a deputy from the United Russia party from the Omsk region and take the post of deputy chairman of the education committee in parliament.
View this post on Instagram
Politician Irina Rodnina
In 2011, she was again re-elected to the State Duma and became a member of the Committee on Women, Family and Children. At the same time, in United Russia the figure skater heads several internal party projects dedicated to the development of Russian sports.
Rodnina joined the Council for physical culture and sports under the President of the Russian Federation. She took part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Former figure skater and renowned hockey coach Vladislav Tretyak lit the Olympic flame.
Personal life
Irina Rodnina's personal life is not as successful as her brilliant sports career. The athlete was married twice, but figure skating became an obstacle in both her first and second marriages.
Classmates
Name: Irina Rodnina
Surname: Konstantinovna
Place of birth: Moscow
Height: 152 cm
Weight: 57 kg
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Eastern horoscope: Bull
Activity: figure skater, coach, politician
Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina is a great Soviet athlete who became famous for her long series of triumphant victories at European and world figure skating competitions, raising the sport of Russia to unprecedented heights. She became a 3-time Olympic champion, received 24 international gold medals, without losing a single competition from 1969 to 1980.
At the end of her incredible sports career, Irina worked in the Komsomol Central Committee, as a coach, teacher, radio presenter, and was involved in social and government activities.
At the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the sports star, those present wanted to know from her the mysterious secret of the eternal youth of “Makropolus”, which Irina probably knows, since she still remains a young soul, has an active life position, full of strength, positivity and sincerity. Rodnina herself perceived the decent date as her usual highest score of 6:0.
The future great figure skater was born in Moscow on September 12, 1949 in the family of a military man and a nurse. My father was from the Vologda village of Yanino, my mother was a native of Ukraine. To improve the health of their daughter, who by the age of 5 had contracted pneumonia 11 times, her parents chose ice skating.
First, they took their child to the skating rink in the Tagansky children's park named after. N.N. Pryamikov, then to the garden named after. Zhdanov in Sormovo. Irina’s first teacher was Yakov Smushkin, who at that time himself performed in figure skating. Under his strict guidance, she mastered the technique of sliding, the first spirals, jumps, spins and other mandatory elements on the ice.
The girl became physically healthier and fell in love with skates. Having successfully passed the preliminary screening, the diligent and capable student entered CSKA. From the very beginning she was a single skater, then she skated with Oleg Vlasov.
In 1964, the mentor of the 15-year-old athlete was Stanislav Zhuk, and her partner was Alexey Ulanov. After 2 years, they were already successfully performing at international competitions. In 1969, at the European Championships in Germany, the skaters became winners, despite the fact that they came to the tournament without their coach, since his travel abroad was prohibited.
At the World Championships, 5 years later, they again became first, earning approval in the form of the maximum score from all the judges. The next year was less successful for the athletes - mistakes were made at the national championship. However, thanks to the excellent performance of the free part of the program, they retained the lead.
In subsequent years, the couple continued to be the undisputed leader, in 1972 she received gold at the Olympic Games in Sapporo.
On the eve of the 1972 World Cup in Canada, Rodnina fell from a high support during training. She received a severe head injury, but showed real courage by performing despite feeling unwell and getting first place.
But after the incident, the couple broke up - according to rumors, Ulanov allegedly dropped his partner on purpose, because he was married to Lyudmila Smirnova and wanted to perform with her, which he did later.
Having recovered from her injury, Irina began skating with a new partner, Leningrader Alexander Zaitsev. The skater noted the incredible sense of reliability of her partner, and the judges noted the unity of their actions and amazing consistency. At the European Championship in 1973, they won, beating, by the way, the Smirnov-Ulanov pair.
At the World Championships of the same year, the Rodnina-Zaitsev pair were again among the leaders. Moreover, they performed in extreme conditions - in the middle of the program it was turned off musical accompaniment for technical reasons.
In 1974, the figure skater graduated from the State Central Institute of Physical Education. In October, the famous couple had a change of coach. There were several versions of what happened - from the figure skater’s growing independence to her unwillingness to tolerate Stanislav Zhuk’s behavior.
Together with the new mentor Tatyana Tarasova, who brought more creative imagination into the performance of the masters, Rodnina and Zaitsev won the 1975 World Cup.
At the Olympic Games a year later they again won gold medals. Season 1978-79 The skaters missed out due to family reasons: in February 1979, their son was born.
But soon the couple began training again. Third Olympic victory Irina in 1980 was very memorable and touched the audience, because of the tears that she could not hold back during the performance of the anthem Soviet Union at the medal presentation ceremony.
After finishing her performances, the athlete was for some time an employee of the apparatus of the Komsomol Central Committee and was busy with coaching and teaching activities.
From 1990 to 2002, at the invitation of the International Figure Skating Center, Irina worked in America. There she, despite her problems associated with a divorce from her second husband, was able to gain a reputation as an excellent specialist. This circumstance became especially noticeable when her students - Kovarzhikova-Navotny - became world champions.
Arriving again in Moscow, the figure skater took part in various television programs, was active social activities– was a member of the presidium of the National Health League, head of the All-Russian Voluntary Society Sports Russia.
In 2003 and a year later, Irina wanted to become a deputy of the State Duma, but was defeated in the elections. Another 2 years later she took a seat in the Public Chamber of Russia.
In 2007, Irina became a deputy State Duma 5th convocation from United Russia, taking the post of deputy chairman of the education committee. Another 4 years later, she again joined the State Duma, becoming a member of the Committee on CIS Affairs.
For the first time, Irina Rodnina married her figure skating partner Alexander Zaitsev. Since 1972, they began to train together, and after winning the 1975 World Cup, the young people legalized their relationship. Moreover, even American television came to the athletes’ grand wedding.
In their marriage, Alexander Jr. was born on February 23, 1979, who later became an artist. Until 1997, he lived and worked in America, and then came to Moscow. In 2008, the son gave his famous parents a granddaughter, Sofia.
Irina and Alexander were together for 8 years and maintained friendly relations. However, the couple separated after the end of their sports career. Everyone had their own vision of the future.
Irina’s second husband was Leonid Minkovsky, a businessman from Dnepropetrovsk and film producer. Their daughter Alena was born in 1986. She is not married. Lives in Washington, is a correspondent.
The couple moved to America, since there was no work for Irina in Russia after maternity leave, and in the States she was able to train new “champions.”
Irina said that while living in the USA with her husband and two children, she always experienced a lack of communication, language and culture. A few years after moving, they separated. As noted in some media, her husband left for her friend.
Rodnina is included in the Guinness Book of Records as a figure skater who has never lost in international competitions. She has a large number of awards, including the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, and “For Services to the Fatherland.”
Earlier, Rodnina said that she does not plan to marry again. But more recently, her friendship with Dr. Pavel Niederman grew into a strong feeling.
In 2010, the famous and most famous figure skater in the world, according to a poll by VTsIOM, entered the top 10 idols of the 20th century in Russia - along with such outstanding personalities as Gagarin, Solzhenitsyn, Vysotsky.
She serves as a member of the Presidential Council on Physical Education and Sports and oversees a number of sports projects.
Working in the State Duma, she is involved in children's and youth sports, leads a large number of specialized projects, making trips to all corners of the country. In 2013, she opened the season in Omsk Ice Palace named after her, where locals from 3 years old train.
She often appears on television, including in the programs “My Hero” and the film “Irina Rodnina. Invincible”, created using newsreels from her personal archives, as a captain together with Lev Leshchenko of the “Made in the USSR” team in the “Battle of the Continents” of the sports and entertainment show “Big Races”.
At the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi, Irina Rodnina, together with Vladislav Tretyak, lit the fire of the event in 2014.
On September 16, 2015, at a meeting of the State Duma, the leader of the LDPR faction, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, insulted Rodnina during his speech and, instead of apologizing, left (along with members of his party) the hall. His comrades believe that the reason for this behavior is the unacceptable remarks of the figure skater, which she, it seems, allows to throw at the deputies speaking at the parliamentary rostrum, being in the front row. Irina Konstantinovna stated that “rudeness” should be punished, and accordingly filed a complaint with the State Duma Ethics Commission.
