[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Evgeni yes, we did it. Actually it's really nice to wash (that's how the ritual is called) the gold medals. We did it for the Europeans and now for the Worlds, and hopefully we will have the chance to do it again!
Francuaza, yes we did drink from the champagne coupes, and more than once. Champagne, Martini, the medals got washed in all sorts of drinks!

[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Once again, thanks to all of you for congratulating us. Just being in Moscow is a holiday to me. I'd love to go to the beach, but it's impossible to make plans since we don't know how long Max's treatment period will extend.

[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Dasha, unfortunately the injury is still bothering him, that's why he needs to undergo treatment in order to recover completely and be able to carry on living and training in peace.

[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Дарина, we'd love to, but I'm afraid we wouldn't have enough time to keep it updated regularly! Anyway, thank you for the idea, we'll think about it, who knows, maybe one day.

[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Claire, we thought about it a couple of years ago, but back then his work was being overused in figure skating. We could reconsider the option now.

Complete question was: Would you like to work with Edvin Marton for next season's music?
He's had very good and lucky experiences with skaters; two Olympic medals!!!

[Oksana, 05 May 2009]: Tempa, like all athletes I particularly liked physical education, but I also liked Russian since, thanks to my teacher, I was able to learn how to express myself properly and creatively. Unfortunately I don't remember her name, but I would definitely recognise her if I saw her.

[Oksana, 23 Apr 2009]: Greetings to all!
Please forgive me if I've neglected you, but I've been so busy lately that it's hard to find the time to come online.
Everything is fine with us. Maxim is currently in Germany where he's undergoing treatment, while I am enjoying life with my family, friends and beloved ones. Oh, but I see that you also don't stop by very often anymore: please don't forget about us! Keep sending us ideas and music for next year: the more, the better!
Kisses!

[Oksana, 19 Mar 2009]: Today we leave for LA! Please support us and keep your fingers crossed for us! Kisses

[Oksana, 19 Mar 2009]:

[Oksana, 17 Mar 2009]: Настя, even if I studied, figure skating always was my one and only passion, so I didn't have any favorite subject at school: I only wanted to complete my education.I didn't have many friends because while all the others were building relationships and frienships, I was just training, and many of them couldn't understand how it was possible that instead of of having fun and playing in the yard I was doing sport!

[Oksana, 17 Mar 2009]: Kata, both our coaches are very strict and serious, but Natalia Vladimirovna is more emotional so she cannot hide her serious intentions, while Gennadi Mikhailovic is really calm but can explode all of a sudden and leave you petrified! Really, we never get bored!

[Oksana, 17 Mar 2009]: Evgeni, if I did weight lifting I would hardly be as slim as I am, but I would be rather bulkly instead. Actually what we do on the ice is enough to keep us fit, and on top of that there's off ice work and acrobatics. Sure at the beginnig of the seasom we go through a generical fitness program but we do not go to the gym to do weight lifting. We have our personal fitness program where we do not need to lift heavy weights...well, at least I don't!

[Oksana, 17 Mar 2009]: We can't even think about vacation right now. Once competition season is over we will put down a training shedule for next season, then we'll see when we have time to rest. Usually we get a month vacation, but we don't know what the new coaches have in store for us. I would very much like to go back to Italy!

[Oksana, 17 Mar 2009]: Daria when we competed at the Olympics in Turin we were not fighting for gold or any other medal, so for me it was a competition like any other, nothing special about it on the competittive point of view. But yes, the atmosphere is very different and tense, it is really peculiar. So many people, and everyone wants to win! I don' think our previous experience at the olympic games will be of any advantage to us or to any other team who has already been there, including those who have already been on the podium.
The main thing is to give the best you can, when the time comes! I am not going to answer the question about the most beautiful dance couple: it's not up to me to judge, it's up to the fans!

[Oksana, 15 Mar 2009]: Elene, our view of skating has not changed. When you change coach you only change the way you approach your work and style, but the skating remains the same. How comfortable do we feel with the new style? You know, I don't even know how to answer to that. Actually it doesn't matter, what matters is that our beloved fans like it.

[Oksana, 15 Mar 2009]: I'm not on Odnoklassniki: someone registered with my name.

[Oksana, 12 Mar 2009]: Настя, sure I completed my schoold education in Odintsovo. Then I studied at the school of Olympic reserves there, and now I am enrolled for my second year at the Humanitarian University of Odintsovo, that is if they didn't kick me out yet!

[Oksana, 12 Mar 2009]: Tanus, we only changed the second part of the first lift in the free dance, the rest is the same.
Tatiana, thanks for the music, everything helps, we'll need it!
Олечка, how impatient! Soon enough you will be able to see everything with your eyes.
I can say that we have no relationship with Khokhlova and Novitski. In life we don't have much to share, and during competitions we say hello, as with the other competitors, and we may exchange some words. Anyway we respect them, no bad feelings towards them.

[Oksana, 12 Mar 2009]: No, we won't go to the Russian team retreat in Detroit, we'll stay here. Everybody goes there to get acclimatized and to get used to the smaller rink. Since we don't need to do that, it wouldn't makes sense for us to go.
It's warm here now, Spring has started some time ago, and we reached 20 degreees C last weekend. It's a little cooler now, but all the trees are coming into leaf, and when the sun comes out it make us all happy, although it doesn't happen too often yet. I love summer: it's hot, it feels good.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Honestly I can't say I follow young couples much. But judging by the last Junior worlds, the Americans don't seem bad at all.
I don't really get the chance to see other free dances, since we usually compete towards the end and I don't watch the others before it's our turn. Anyway, I managed to look at the British: I think their dance looks very interesting. We have no idea what we'll do next year: we need to see what happens this season first, then we'll see.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Iulia, we didn't withdraw from the Europeans because we didn't have a Russian judge. It's stupid to think that in figure skating these days one judge can make the difference. Fifteen years ago judges' influence was much stronger, but now 85% depends on the technical specialist and on how well you can execute all the elements and skate the whole program.
We didn't feel our health condition would have allowed us to comepete at 100% and we withdrew.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Elena, I do not knit and I do not cross-stitch, although up to 5 years ago I enjoyed both. I release tension with sleep. Nothing works better than good sleep.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Mum took me skating by chance. She was coming back from work and on her way she saw an open rink where they were starting training groups. That's how I ended up there. At the same time I was also taking music lessons, but I didn't like it much, so I chose skating. I realized I could have become a champion when back in 2000 I was invited to train in Moscow.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Helen, I would really like to take the challange of doing Ice Age, but it's impossible for us to do it as long as we compete. It takes as much training as it takes in professional sports. I would have chosen V.Putin as a partner. I don't know about Maxim.

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Evgeni, we couldn't attend the Worlds send-off exhibition because it was extremely cold on the ice that day. As it is really easy to get colds this period of the year, we didn't think it was wise to risk getting sick by skating with our costumes on, and we decided to pull off this wonderful event

[Oksana, 11 Mar 2009]: Thank you very much for your wishes on March 8. I'd like to wish all the women here all the best for this holiday: I wish you happiness, health, love and luck for everything you do.

[Oksana, 07 Mar 2009]: Юличка, for us it's more interesting to have an idea behind the programs we skate, to have a story that stimulates us to bring it onto the ice, rather than a generic program. When we choose the music we first look for the idea behind it, and then we start thinking about the coreography. We try to identify ourselves with the character by studying every single detail. We try to feel, to live through the eyes of the character we chose to portray.  That's where our work becomes very close to the acting art, and we try to bring it to perfection with each practice.

[Oksana, 07 Mar 2009]: Elene, Max is doing fine. We are training and working hard, and this is the main thing right now. Thanks everyone for all your compliments on my legs: they made me happy. Maria, usually journalists only want to talk to you when you win or when something happens. These past few month we gave very few interviews because we were far away from home and we didn't win any major event. There was an increase in interest after the Euros, but now everything is quiet again. We can refuse an interview only when it's related to gossip press. We only talk to foreign press during competitions, and no, they never invited us to any TV show. You know, we live faraway now. Once in a while I check the forums, but not very often.

[Oksana, 07 Mar 2009]: Lidia, don't worry, my English isn't very good either. Maxim is doing fine, as I already mentioned. He is training 100% now. We would very much like to make you proud at the Worlds! I like Joubert and Weir, and as far as ladies Kostner and Mao Asada. Lucia, unfortunately due to unforseen events, we couldn't attend the Worlds send-off exhibition.

[Oksana, 07 Mar 2009]: Sunny, these past few years we couldn't choose which Grand Prix competitions to attend, but we send a request to the ISU to let them know which ones we would like to attend. Usually they work it out so that the top 3 couples never compete against eachother, for the others it depends. So we have no idea what will happen next season.

[Oksana, 05 Mar 2009]: Very interesting questions but also hard to answer. To me skating represents a big part of my life, one that I would like to end gloriously. All sport people have the same goal, and we are no exception. Competitions, adrenalin, to portray different roles: we love all these things. Yet, what you want the most is being on the highest spot on the podium, hearing the people proudly cheering for you. The mission of our team, I think,  is to show that we are really different. We always want to convey sensuality, sincerity, emotions and love. We would like to be remebered not for one characteristic in particular, but for what we are as a whole. When, referring to the compulsory dances, I mentioned the ability to skate, what I meant was the smoothness of the glide, the edges, the footwork, the skill of being able to skate in unison with your partner. Of course you can tell if the skaters can do all this in the other dances too, but never as clearly as in the compulsories.

[Oksana, 05 Mar 2009]: Sure we changed something in the free dance, but not much. At this stage we are focusing on polishing all the details. All the big changes have been made before the Euros but, considering that we didn't skate the free dance there, and that you didn't get the chance to see it, for you it's going to be a lot of changes!!!

[Oksana, 05 Mar 2009]: Somehow we try to prepare psychologically. As time goes by you get more experienced also with things like psycological training! We don't have a particular method: we all learn to find our own right inner words to calm ourselves down, and to make us ready to face the competition. There's nothing that can make you feel completely calm though, a little anxiety is healthy and natural. Of course when it's too much it can get nasty. But thank God we can handle it pretty well. I think I was never as nervous and anxious as I was at the Junior Worlds! The starting order is not really important, you just need to accept it, no matter if you skate first, thirteenth or last. As I already mentioned we will take a final decision about the Averbukh tour after the Worlds. Needless to say we would very much
like to participate and please our fans!

[Oksana, 05 Mar 2009]: To tell you the truth, I don't have much time left for hobbies, and, much to my chagrin, I can't remember when was the last time I picked up a book. Anyway, I don't have a favorite writer or a favorite kind of music. I read what I like and I listen to all good music. What I don't really like is Rock music!!!
To tell you the truth, the moment you are on the podium you are drained of emotions. You're supposed to cry and be happy, but you are empty inside. That's what a competition does to you: it makes you emotionally drained. Of course we are happy and full of joy, but not as much as one would guess! It's a couple of days later, when you finally realize that the medal is yours and it's golden, that all of a sudden you go crazy with happiness!!!

[Oksana, 04 Mar 2009]: Natalia Linichuk is our coach: she creates our programs and puts them together. To me, a choreograper's role in figure skating is to take care of everything in a program but the footwork. So yes, of course their points of view on dance are miles apart. Their approach to work is completely different, but if you put the two together the result can be a masterpiece.
[Complete question was: I know the choreographer of your wonderful new programs is Natalia Linichuk. I'd like to know the difference in her vision of dance, compared to the one that a classical ballet choreographer might have.]

[Oksana, 04 Mar 2009]: Actually I tend to forget about funny memories. It's the unpleasant ones that stick to my mind. I remember our first European championships: we are heading to the icerink for the original dance, when in the bus some other skater takes Maxim's bag instead of his own (you know, sometimes they give skaters the same bags so they all look alike). Anyway, after warm-up is over, 25 minutes before the competition starts, as usual we take out the costumes and Max has the skates (that's how we do it: Max is in charge of the skates while I'm in charge of the costumes!) but... the skates are nowhere to be found!. So we run to the nearby rink where the single skaters are practicing, and we see a guy desperately looking for his bag. We really risked missing the competition. We were really nervous, and we barely had enough  time to get changed and run to the competition.

[Oksana, 04 Mar 2009]: As far as other disciplines, I like Pairs and Men. I don't have a favorite for the Ladies, while in pairs I like our first two couples and the Germans and Ukranians. In men I've always liked Graziev, but unfortunately he sort of got lost lately. I like Johnny Weir and Joubert. Too bad Lambiel is not around anymore.

[Oksana, 04 Mar 2009]: Yes he really is a very funny guy! Only if he's in a good mood though: he can make you laugh till it hurts! Usually he's a happy person, but he can be very serious. Anyway, he's still a mystery even to me, so I guess he's even harder to figure out for you, guys! I think the two of us are very different, but we can understand eachother with a single glance. As far as common interests: I don't know how to answer to that. We try not to spend too much time together when we are not on the ice, so we still have to figure that out! Anyway, it's pretty awkward for me to talk about him. What if he shows up and here I am, telling you about him?

[Oksana, 04 Mar 2009]: Like many others I like Grischuk-Platov, and also Torvill/Dean and Krilova/Ovsiannikov but I couldn't say they are my heroes. I enjoy them a lot, they give me strenght with their charisma, their gliding and their dances. As far as other sports, I really love alpine skiing, but that is very dangerous for us so all I can say is...in our dreams!!!. I'm really bad as a  fan: I like watching tennis and gymnastics. I can watch football and hockey but only when major events are on.
In real life Maxim is even quieter than you think. Of course he can get mad if you hurt him...but even then he does it quietly!

[Oksana, 01 Mar 2009]: We have a good relationship with Tanith and Ben. I cannot say that we are best friends, but we surely don't avoid each other! We have a normal interpersonal relationship, we can laugh, make jokes. I know Maxim went to visit Ben. They are nice people. When we train there is a healthy competitive feeling, but we never get in each other's way, no one ever tries to make things hard for the other! The Swiss guys (Leonie Krail / Oscar Peter) are so sweet, especially Oscar! I've never met a happier person. He's always so positive, it makes you smile when you see him. Unfortunately they haven't been here for over two months now. They had problems with their visas, and they went back to Switzerland.

[Oksana, 01 Mar 2009]: It's very interesting to work with the new choreographer. It provides a new vision and understanding of  the dances and of the characters, which helps to make it more interesting.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: We have a good relationship with our new coaches. Little by little we are all getting used to one another and we have found the right balance. But it's only a working relationship with them. With our former coach Alexei Gorshkov we had a wonderful relationship both on and off the ice. He was helping me with everything, he was almost like a father to me. With our new coaches it can never be the same. Plans for the future: I don't have any. I live day by day, I don't know whether that's the right way to go about things. At the moment my goal is the Olympic gold, we'll see after that what life has in store for me.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: Yes, I miss home a lot, I miss Russia. Everything is familiar over there...it's home! deep down inside we decided that we make believe like we are at a very long training retreat that will soon be over. We must work hard, make an effort, and then everything will be alright!

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: As far as I know Maxim didn't watch any of those movies (The Gladiator, Brave Heart) before skating Spartacus. I'll suggest him to do it, it's a good idea! Before starting to work on Spartacus we watched all the different versions of the ballet, the movie, and we listened to a lot of music, which all helped to create the character. In addition now we also have a choreographer (Mariinski Theatre's Wanda Lubkovskaya) to help with that.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: I have no idea if I am a honorary citizen of Kirov, but I don't think so, since nobody ever told me anything about it and I was never awarded a prize!

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: May be we will take part in the Averbukh tour, but we will make our final decision only after the Worlds. It all depends on the result there, and on the state of Maxim's health. The last couple of years we couldn't do it because Max had problems with his knee while the tour was on.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: I can only say that it's not romantic and that it's something that goes in a completely new direction for us. But I shall say no more! Hopefully you will have the chance to see it yourself at the Worlds.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: I do my own make-up and hair, I'm used to it! Even when there are professionals available, I only trust myself to do it. I might turn for professional help during shows, but never during a competition. When skaters work with professionals they always have their own people who know exactly what to do for each program. Needless to say that can be very expensive.

[Oksana, 28 Feb 2009]: Sure we made new friends over here, but they are mostly Russians. Sometimes I visit Anna Zadorozhniuk in New Jersey. I'm also friend with Galit Chait who trains the Israeli couple, and Natasha Gudina lives around here. During the week-end I go to the Russian bath in Philapelphia! I recently went to the Rodin Museum. I try to look for things to do to entertain myself and not to go crazy staring at the wall!

[Oksana, 26 Feb 2009]: Maxim's costume will remain the same, it's hard to find one that fits the character better! We will have a new exhibition program. You should have seen it at the Euros already, but that didn't happen! You will see it soon!