<figure id="attachment_242330" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 6843px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-242330"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a7a590ba"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/05/jpp040731247.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-242330" class="wp-caption-text">Tutvelyse reprimanded Waliyeva (right) at the Beijing Olympics, causing her to cry (Image: Jiji Press)</figcaption></figure>
 &#8216;Elegance, grace, power and beauty: &#8230;&#8230;. In every performance, she elevated the sport to an art form.&#8221;
 President Vladimir Putin praised the performance of Kamila Valiyeva, who led Russia to gold in the women&#8217;s figure skating team at the Beijing Olympics with a successful quadruple jump, at the awards ceremony for Beijing Olympic medalists held in the Moscow Kremlin on April 26. The President praised Kamila Valiyeva&#8217;s performance at the Beijing Olympics medalist awards ceremony held in the Moscow Kremlin on April 26.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 However, her coach was not present at the ceremony. It was Eteri Tutberlise, 48, the &#8220;Empress of Russia&#8221; and an absolute force in the figure skating world.
 What made Tutberlise world-famous was probably what happened right after the women&#8217;s singles program at the Beijing Olympics. She was in fourth place when she fell on a jump, and in front of a crowd of people, she said, &#8216;Why did you give up? Why did you give up?　Why did you stop fighting?　Explain it to me in a way that makes sense.
 She was under a lot of stress at the time because of the doping allegations. On top of that, she was severely reprimanded by her coach. Immediately afterwards, she broke down in tears,&#8221; said a member of the skating association.
 Tutvelyse called the athletes &#8220;material&#8221; and yelled at them, &#8220;Go back home now! When they fail, he shouts at them, &#8220;Go home now! On the other hand, he has trained many medalists and is highly regarded in Japan. President Vladimir Putin has also given him a medal, and it has been believed that they have a honeymoon relationship. However, &#8230;&#8230;.
 &#8216;Apparently, he has recently distanced himself from President Putin. Not only was he absent from the Beijing Olympics medalist award ceremony. According to local media &#8220;DNI24,&#8221; he ordered the removal of the &#8220;Z&#8221; banner, the symbol of the Russian military, from the ice show he hosted on April 26. From his own Instagram, he&#8217;s removed images of him and President Putin.
 No matter how great a coach Tutberlise is, he cannot raise funds and coach his players without the backing of the state. Tutberlise&#8217;s actions, which could be seen as a rebellion against President Putin, have caused a stir in Russia.
<h2 class="p3">30 million yen in compensation for the Beijing Olympics alone</h2>
<figure id="attachment_227331" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227331"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8fb8b9d2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2021122808701.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227331" class="wp-caption-text">Tutberlise&#8217;s student, Waliyeva. She won gold in the team competition at the Beijing Olympics, but came in fourth in the singles competition / Photo: TASS=Collaborative</figcaption></figure>
 Why did Tutvelyse distance herself from President Putin? Behind the scenes, there seems to be a movement in the international sporting community to exclude Russia.
 The International Paralympic Committee briefly considered excluding Russia and its ally Belarus from the Beijing Games. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association has also announced its own penalty. Fugue is no stranger to this. If this continues, there will be no place for Russian players to perform. It is said that Mr. Tutberlise is going to defect with many talented athletes in tow,&#8221; said a reporter for a sports newspaper.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 On the other hand, there are those who believe that Tutberlise is not doing it for the sake of the players, but for the sake of his own safety.
 Tutberlise owns a vast amount of assets. The Russian government has rewarded Mr. Tutberidze according to the color of his medal, local media &#8220;kinoafisha&#8221; reported. 4 million rubles (about 6 million yen) for gold, 2.5 million rubles (about 3.75 million yen) for silver, and 1.7 million rubles (about 2.55 million yen) for silver. With the four medals, including gold and silver, and special bonuses, Tutberlise is said to have received nearly 30 million yen in money from the Beijing Olympics alone.
 It would not be convenient for her to protect her assets if she is seen by the international community as a &#8220;woman close to Putin. She could be subject to economic sanctions. Some people think that she may have suddenly started distancing herself from President Putin in order to evade the sanctions.
 The &#8220;Empress of Russia&#8221; is a shrewd woman. It is likely that the athletes will continue to be swayed by her words and deeds.
<figure id="attachment_227332" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 482px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227332"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e7223838"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2021122808699.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227332" class="wp-caption-text">Waliyeva&#8217;s weapons are her quadruple jumps and her ability to express herself with her long arms and legs. She is regarded as one of the best Russian skaters in the world.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_227398" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 1220px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227398"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ddb173f1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/wariewwaa.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227398" class="wp-caption-text">Walyeva is also a fan-service-friendly skater on Instagram (from her own Instagram).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_229314" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 948px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-229314"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5a9baf5c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/warie.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-229314" class="wp-caption-text">Her occasional smile also attracts fans (from her Instagram @kamilavalieva)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_227333" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 751px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227333"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bb6c7877"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2021041512833.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227333" class="wp-caption-text">Anna Scherbakova: 17 years old, representing Russia. She became the first senior female athlete to succeed in quadruple Lutz / Photo: Kyodo</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_227334" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227334"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c4460046"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2022011801527.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227334" class="wp-caption-text">Alexandra Trusova: 17 years old, representing Russia. She became the first female to successfully complete a quadruple toeloop, flip, and lutz, ushering in the quadruple era for women/ Photo: Xinhua/ Kyodo Images</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_230676" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230676"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="25bdc3b9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/2022021712071.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230676" class="wp-caption-text">Trusova showed a great performance in the face of adversity (Kyodo Photo)</figcaption></figure>

 Jiji Press, Kyodo News

 Tutvelyse, the "Empress of Russia," is an absolutely powerful coach in the figure skating world. She was said to have a close relationship with President Vladimir Putin, but recently she has been distancing herself from him. What is the surprising reason for the breakup?

The Unexpected Background of the Figure “Empress of Russia” Turning Against Vladimir Putin

Access Ranking