Valenki (; sg valenok ()) are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name ''valenok'' literally means "made by felting". Valenki are made of wool felt. They are not water-resistant, and are often worn with galoshes to keep water out and protect the soles from wear and tear. Valenki were once the footwear of choice for many Russians, but in the second half of the 20th century they lost most of their appeal in cities, due to their association with rustic dress.

Valenki (synonymic and semantic related expressions which mean the same – vа́lenukhi (pl.), vа́lezhki, vа́leni, vа́lentsi, kа́tanki) – warm felted highboots made from dried sheep’s wool; they are usually hard by their form, but there are soft types which are made for a corresponding footwear.

Valenki are a kind of traditional Russian footwear which is usually worn for walking on dry snow when the weather is frosty. Valenki wear out most quickly from the bottom and very often is soled with leather or other durable material to prevent this. By the very reason, it’s worn with galoshes. Also, to protect from getting wet – they use a rubber sole, and there are valenki with glue-sew and molded soles. Traditionally, valenki come in brown, black, gray and white, but the last few years, consumers are available to order these boots in a variety of colors (red, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange). Valenki are included in standard of supplying officers and the ranks of the internal military service of the Russian army with warm clothes and gear.

Prototype boots were the traditional felt boots worn by nomads of the Great Steppe (including Southern Rus'), whose history counts more than 1,5 thousand years.

However, as it’s supposed, the boots appeared at the beginning of the XVIII century. Valenki became widespread only in the first half of the XIX century, when they began manufacturing by industrial methods. Before this, they were quite expensive and only wealthy people could permit themselves to have them. The increasing complexity of needs, the growing influence of the urban mores to the village caused the change of bast shoes with felt boots, and with it, the broad development of fulling production.

Valenki became less popular in the urban life in recent decades due to the fact that winters in Central Russia turned to be more soft and slushy, and as result – lighter and waterproof footwear gradually won popularity and replaced valenki. Valenki are associated with a traditional rustic style of clothing; in cities they are usually worn by little kids, or they are worn by one and all in a severe frost, when other shoes don’t rescue from the cold.

Before the revolution, the production of valenki was concentrated in the Semenov district of Nizhny Novgorod province, in the Kineshma District of Kostroma province, and in the Kukmor in Kazan province. In 1900, contemporary jackboot fulling factories of Russia produced 1.4 million pairs of valenki in the amount of 2.1 million rubles. In 1900, a pair of valenki cost 1.5 rubles, in 1912 - 2 rubles, at the end of 1916 the speculative price reached up to 12-18 rubles per pair.

Interesting to know

Total annual production of the felt shoes in Russia makes approximately 4.5 million.

There are some valenki museums, one of which is situated in Moscow.

One resident of the republic of Bashkortostan felted the giant valenki of the size 130.

There are camel valenki. They visually differ from the ordinary factory valenki by their fuzziness, it’s recommended even to comb them to make them more beautiful. Unlike traditional valenki from sheep wool, made by hand, camel valenki differ solely in their original appearance and the target audience.

References

See also

Telogreika

Ushanka

Afghanka

Sources

Békési, László (2006) ''Stalin's War: Soviet uniforms and militaria 1941-45''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press ISBN 1-86126-822-X

Zaloga, Steven J. (1989) ''The Red Army of the Great Patriotic War, 1941-45''. London: Osprey ISBN 0-85045-939-7

Category:Boots Category:Russian clothing Category:Russian inventions Category:Russian loanwords

de:Walenki mdf:Валенцят nl:Valenok pl:Walonki ru:Валенки sv:Filtstövel uk:Повстяники

Lidia Andreyevna Ruslanova (sometimes spelt ''Lidiya'' or ''Lydia'', ; 27 October 1900, Saratovskaya gubernia – 21 September 1973, Moscow) was one of the greatest and best-loved performers of Russian folk songs.

Early life

She was born in Chernavka near Saratov, into a peasant family, and was christened "Praskovya Leykina" Her parents both died by the time she was five—her father was killed in the war with Japan and her mother died soon after—so she spent most of her childhood in an orphanage. She began singing when she joined the local parish children's choir, and she soon became a soloist.

Her uncle invited her to come and work in a furniture factory, and she sang during her work. One of the factory's owners heard her, and recommended she go to study at the Saratov Conservatory. However, she did not enjoy academic study; during World War I, she worked on a hospital train, and during this period she met Vitalii Stepanov, with whom she had a child, born in May 1917. He left her after a year, due to her erratic lifestyle. According to a Saratov source, she married a different man who later died in the civil war, whom she took her surname from.

Career

Ruslanova gave her first concert at the age of 16, to a military audience, where she sang everything she knew. She first started singing for Russian soldiers during the Russian Civil War, and debuted as a professional singer in Rostov-on-Don in 1923. She was noted for her peculiar singing voice and timbre, which was a revival of old traditions in which female soloists would perform on festive occasions. Until 1929, she lived with a Cheka official, then she married again, this time to Vladimir Kryuchkov. During the 1930s, Ruslanova became extremely popular. She became an artist of the state association of musical, variety and circus enterprises in 1933, and performed all over Russia throughout the rest of the decade. When World War II broke out, she ceaselessly toured from one front to another, helping to boost the soldiers' courage with her patriotic songs. Her signature songs were ''Valenki'' and ''Katyusha'', written specially for her. During the Battle of Berlin she performed on the doorsteps of the smouldering Reichstag.

Ruslanova became one of the richest woman in Soviet Russia and even financed the construction of two Katyusha batteries, which she presented to the Red Army in 1942. That same year, she was made an Artist of Honour of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Her rough manners and racy language appealed to the soldiers to such a point that she came to be regarded as a potential threat to the Soviet authorities. In 1948, due to association with marshall Georgy Zhukov (who led the Red Army to the defeat of Nazi-Germany during World War II, and who became a strong political opponent of Stalin in the post-war years) Ruslanova's husband, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Kryukov was arrested and Ruslanova followed two years later. Ruslanova was forced to sign a declaration that her husband was guilty of treason, but refused so sentenced to 10 years of camp labour.

In the gulag she was dispatched to, Ruslanova became a star lionized by inmates and administration alike. Therefore, she was moved to a prison cell in the Vladimirsky Tsentral. Following Stalin's death, she was released on 4 August 1953; she was thin, gray, and had difficulty walking. However, she returned to singing almost immediately. Her spell in prison was unmentioned in the press, until decades after. Although awards and titles bypassed her, Ruslanova presided over the first All-Soviet Festival of Soviet Songs, together with Leonid Utyosov, Mark Bernes, and Klavdiya Shulzhenko. She went on singing right up until her death in 1973, at the age of 72.

Ruslanova crater on Venus is named after her.

Discography

1996: ''Поёт Лидия Русланова 2000: ''Царица Русской песни''

2001: ''Великие исполнители России XX века''

2002: ''Русские народные песни'' 2007: ''Имена на все времена''

References

Category:1900 births Category:1973 deaths Category:Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Category:Russian folk singers Category:Soviet singers Category:Russian female singers Category:Russian people of World War II Category:Women in World War II Category:Mordvin people Category:Saratov Conservatory alumni

cv:Русланова Лидия Андреевна fa:لیدیا روسلانووا fr:Lidia Rouslanova ka:ლიდია რუსლანოვა la:Lydia Ruslanova mk:Лидија Русланова Андреевна mdf:Русланова Лидия Андреевна ru:Русланова, Лидия Андреевна

Coordinates	39°46′5.88″N86°9′29.52″N
Name	Alexei Yagudin
Fullname	Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin
Country
Birth date	March 18, 1980
Residence	St. Petersburg, Russia
Height
Formercoach	Tatiana Tarasova Alexei Mishin
Formerchoreographer	Tatiana Tarasova Nikolai Morozov
Retired	2003
Medaltemplates	}}

}}

}}

Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin (; 18 March 1980) is a former Russian figure skater. His major achievements in his six years of eligible sports career include: :*2002 Olympic Champion :*Four-time World Champion (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) :*Three-time European Champion (1998, 1999, 2002) :*Two-time Grand Prix Final Champion (1998-1999, 2001-2002) :*World Junior Champion (1996) :*Two-time World Professional Champion (1998, 2002)

Career overview

Early career

Alexei Yagudin was introduced to skating at age four and encouraged by his mother, Zoya.

He learned all double jumps before age ten, the five triple jumps before age twelve, and the triple Axel jump before age thirteen. He was first coached by Alexander Mayorov and then introduced to the famous Russian coach Alexei Mishin when Mayorov moved to Sweden in 1992. Yagudin was trained in Mishin's group from 1992 to 1998. In 1994, He began competing internationally. In 1996, he won the World Junior Championships. The well-known rivalry between Yagudin and fellow Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko started when they were both trained in Mishin's group and became more fierce after Yagudin left Mishin's group.

Senior career

In 1997, Yagudin competed in the World Championships for the first time and won a bronze medal.

In 1998, Yagudin won his first major title at the European Championships leading a Russian sweep of the medals, with Evgeni Plushenko in second and Alexander Abt in third. Later that year, he competed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics fighting a severe case of pneumonia, and finished in 5th place. A month later, he won the World Championships. He became the first Russian from the post-Soviet Russia to win the World title, and being 18 years and 15 days old at the time of winning, he made the second youngest World Champion: 6 days older than Donald McPherson in 1963. About two months after the World Championships, Yagudin left Mishin and turned to the legendary Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova. Tarasova continued to coach him until his retirement in 2003.

During the 1998-1999 season Yagudin continued his success. He won eleven out of the total of thirteen competitions he participated, including defeating Kurt Browning in the World Professional Championships, winning the Grand Prix Final, and winning his second consecutive European title over both Plushenko and the former Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov. At the World Championships he successfully defended his World title defeating Plushenko, which also made his second consecutive World title.

Yagudin struggled at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. He was first forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final due to a knee injury, and then lost to Plushenko at the Russian Nationals and the European Championships. However, he came back to win the World Championships, his third consecutive World title.

Yagudin's 2000-2001 season was marred by injuries and inconsistency. He concentrated on improving his artistic presentation and choreography, and the consistency of his jumps suffered. He lost to Plushenko at the Grand Prix Final, Russian Nationals, and the European Championships. A foot injury sustained shortly before the World Championships led to a disastrous performance in the qualifying round. He was placed only 5th in his group before the short program. However, he came back with a strong performance of the short program ''The Revolutionary Etude'', winning a standing ovation and compliments of 'It was all about heart and guts'. He went on to win the silver medal.

Yagudin started the 2001-2002 Olympic season with a disappointing showing at the Goodwill Games in September, finishing 3rd. He made changes to his training regimen as a result of this, and then enjoyed the best season in his career. He defeated Plushenko at the Grand Prix Final and regained his European title. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Yagudin won the men's event, receiving first-place votes from every judge throughout the competition. He also received four 6.0 scores for his long program; this the most for an Olympic performance since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean had earned perfect marks for their free dance in 1984 and more than any other men's skater in the Olympics. Shortly after the Winter Olympics Yagudin won his fourth World title and received six perfect 6.0s in the short program and another two perfect 6.0s in the free skate, becoming the first skater to receive six perfect marks for the short program, including the first ever perfect mark for required elements. Because the International Skating Union introduced a new scoring system following the 2003 season, these scoring records cannot be equaled or broken.

After the Olympic season, Yagudin was diagnosed with a congenital hip disorder, and was advised by doctors to stay off the ice for several months. However, Yagudin chose not to follow this advice and nevertheless competed at the 2002 Skate America. There he won the short program, but had to withdraw due to the injury prior to the free skate portion of the event. Yagudin later announced his retirement from the eligible skating world. His final performance as an eligible skater came during a farewell gala at Skate Canada, performing a new program ''Memorial'' and his short program from the previous season, ''Racing''.

In 2003, he was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the Russian Federation.

Despite his many accomplishments, Yagudin never won the Russian National Championships.

Professional career

Yagudin then turned professional in 2003, touring with Stars on Ice and Ice Symphony in Russia.

In 2004, Yagudin toured with ''Stars on Ice'' for the second year in a row. He also worked with the French figure skater Brian Joubert as a consultant coach. In November he won two professional competitions with two new programs, ''The Feeling Begins'' (music by Peter Gabriel) and ''Moon Over Bourbon Street'' (music by Sting). The next year, he continued with the Stars on Ice tour and his ''Passion'' program was choreographed with a difficult acrobatic routine that took place seven meters up in the air. Since returning to his hometown of Saint Petersburg in 2005, Yagudin has skated in various Russian ice shows and took part in the Russian TV show ''Stars on Ice'', later renamed ''Ice Age''.

In 2006, after a full Olympic cycle since Salt Lake City, Yagudin performed his famous ''Winter'' program on tour and a new program ''Sway'' (music by Pussycat Dolls). In fall he took part in the Russian TV show ''Stars on Ice'' having a former gymnast, Oksana Pushkina, as his partner.

In 2007, Yagudin first toured in the U.S. with the ''Stars on Ice'', and then toured in Russia. He skated a comic number ''Blues for Klook'' and a flamenco number ''Legenda''. In July 2007, Yagudin underwent surgery to have a titanium hip joint implanted. In August, Yagudin announced that he intended to return to eligible sports after more than four years of competing as a professional skater. His former coach Tatiana Tarasova and former choreographer Nikolai Morozov agreed to coach him should he return. However, Yagudin suffered another injury while on tour in November 2007. Afterward he stated that returning to competitive skating would be too difficult under the circumstances. He later realized that a return to eligible skating would not be feasible, and continued his professional career, taking part in the Russian TV show again, which was renamed ''Ice Age''. This time he was paired with a pop singer Victoria Dayneko with whom he also recorded a song ''Needle''.

In 2008, Yagudin finished the ''Ice Age'' tour and then made his debut on the stage in a theater play where he played a Russian President. His career as an actor continued with getting one of the main roles in a Russian TV series about figure skating ''My Hot Ice''. In fall he participated in the second season of ''Ice Age'' partnered with actress Valeria Lanskaya.

In 2009, Yagudin performed regularly on the ''Ice Age'' tour. He also adventured into a popular TV show ''Good evening, Moscow!'' as a host. In fall he participated the third season of ''Ice Age'', still paired with Valeria Lanskaya.

In 2010, Yagudin completed his third ''Ice Age'' tour. In June he skated in the ''Supermatch: Medalist on Ice'' show in Korea, performing ''Sway'' and ''Winter''. On September 4, he participated in the ''Artistry on Ice'' show in Beijing. During the show, the wedding ceremony of the famous Chinese pair skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, the 2010 Olympic champions was held. As one of the invited guests he gave his blessing to the couple and performed ''Winter'' and ''Sway'' afterward. It was his first visit to China.

In 2011, Yagudin told an interviewer that due to the hip replacement surgery he had undergone, he is no longer able to do all his triple jumps. He continues to perform his popular ''Winter'' program in shows around the world.

Personal life

Alexei Yagudin was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, in Russia. He grew up as an only child in a single-mother family, as his parents divorced when he was young.

In 1999, Yagudin moved to the United States in order to train with Tatiana Tarasova. Later that year he was dismissed from the Champions on Ice tour, presumably due to a drinking problem. He was a resident of the United States for almost seven years.

In 2003, Yagudin underwent hip surgery after touring with ''Stars on Ice''. He assisted Tarasova to coach over summer and early fall. In September, he was arrested for drunk driving.

In 2005, Yagudin published his autobiography, ''Alexei Yagudin: Overcome'', in Japan.

At the end of 2007, his autobiography was published in Russia with the title ''НаPRолом''. Extra chapters and photos were added to cover the skater's recent life.

On June 2, 2008, Yagudin's car was stolen with one of his World Championships gold medals in it. Both the medal and the car remain unlocated.

On November 20, his fiancée, Olympic champion Tatiana Totmianina gave birth to his first child, a daughter named Elizaveta ("Liza"). They also have a Yorkshire Terrier named Varia.

Yagudin has stated that he and Totmianina do not wish their daughter to become involved in competitive skating, and that they hope she will concentrate on studying and music as she grows older.

In 2011, Yagudin joined a Russian campaign to promote healthy lifestyles. He will take part in free physical trainings to be held in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan and Novosibirsk. He stated, "I would like to achieve through this campaign at least the understanding of people that 30 or 40 minutes of their day can improve their health now and in the future."

Programs

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Season ! Short Program ! Free Skating ! Exhibition |- ! 2002-2003 | Racing by Safri Duo | The Man in the Iron Mask by Nick Glennie-Smith | Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf

---

Memorial by Michael Nyman |- ! 2001-2002 | Winter by Bond | The Man in the Iron Mask by Nick Glennie-Smith | Overcome from Ancient Lands by Ronan Hardiman

---

The Man in the Iron Mask by Nick Glennie-Smith |- ! 2000-2001 | The Revolutionary Etude by Frédéric Chopin | Gladiator by Hans Zimmer | Gladiator by Hans Zimmer

---

Stand by Me by Ben E. King

---

My Baby You by Marc Anthony

---

We Are the Champions by Queen |- ! 1999-2000 | Nutrocker by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | Broken Arrow by Hans Zimmer

---

Tosca by Giacomo Puccini | Come Fly with Me by Barry Manilow

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September Morn by Neil Diamond |- ! 1998-1999 | Circus from The Revisionist's Tale by Alfred Schnittke | Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre | Here Comes the Big Parade by Harry Connick, Jr.

---

The Prince of Rose |- ! 1997-1998 | Ziganotchka Russian Gypsy Music | Troika, or Snowstorm by Georgy Sviridov | Play it Again Sachmo by Louis Armstrong

---

Mack the Knife from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill |- ! 1996-1997 | Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka | Carmen by Georges Bizet | One Banana African Music |- ! 1995-1996 | Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Gaîté Parisienne by Jacques Offenbach | |- ! 1994-1995 | Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach | Hussar Medley | |- ! 1993-1994 | | Concierto de Aranjuezby Joaquín Rodrigo Performed by Paco de Lucía | |}

Competitive highlights

Major events

align="center">5th

Event			! 1994-95	! 1995-96	! 1996-97	! 1997-98	! 1998-99	! 1999-00	! 2000-01	! 2001-02	! 2002-03
Olympic Winter Games		|			5th				1st
World Figure Skating Championships	World Championships	|			3rd	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st
European Figure Skating Championships	European Championships	|		6th	5th	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	1st
World Junior Figure Skating Championships	World Junior Championships	|	4th	1st
Russian Figure Skating Championships	Russian Championships	|	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final	Grand Prix Final	|				4th	1st		2nd	1st
Skate America	|			3rd		1st	1st	2nd		WD
Skate Canada International	|						1st	1st	1st
Bofrost Cup on Ice	Sparkassen Cup	|			3rd		1st
Trophée Lalique	|				1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Cup of Russia	|			2nd	1st

All events

Amateur Status: Senior Division

! Events	! Location	! Placement
Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic
Sears Canadian Open
Hallmark Skater's Championship World Professional Championship
Top Jump
Skate America		WD
Crest Whitestrips International Figure Skating Challenge		5
Winter Olympics
World Championships
European Championships
Grand Prix Final
Skate Canada
Trophée Lalique
Masters of Figure Skating
Goodwill Games
World Championships
European Championships
Grand Prix Final
Skate Canada
Trophée Lalique
Skate America
Masters of Figure Skating
Canadian Open
Russian Nationals
Japan Open
Hershey's Kisses Figure Skating Challenge
World Championships
European Championships
Skate Canada
Trophée Lalique
Skate America
Masters of Figure Skating
Japan Open
Russian Nationals
Grand Slam Super Teams of Skating
Keri Lotion Classic
World Championships
European Championships
Grand Prix Final
Sparkassen Cup
Trophée Lalique
Skate America
Nations Cup
Japan Open
Russian Nationals
World Professional Championships
World Team Challenge
Challenge of Champions
Hershey's Kisses Figure Skating Challenge
Winter Olympics		5
World Championships
European Championships
Champion Series Final The later Grand Prix Final		4
Russian Nationals
Trophée Lalique
Cup of Russia
Skate Israel
Finlandia Trophy
World Championships
European Championships		5
Champion Series Final The later Grand Prix Final		5
Russian Nationals
Skate America
Cup of Russia
Nations Cup		5

Amateur Status: Junior Division

! Events	! Location	! Placement
World Junior Championships
European Championships		6
Centennial on Ice
Russian Nationals		4
Blue Swords
World Junior Championships		4
Russian Nationals		5
Nations Cup		8
Goodwill Games		8
Russian Nationals		5

Professional Status

! Events	! Location	! Placement
Ice Wars
Japan Open		5
Ice Wars
World Team Challenge
Japan Open		6
Ice Wars
World Team Challenge
World Team Challenge

References

External links

Olympics.org Athlete Profile - Yagudin

Navigation

Category:Russian male single skaters Category:Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Category:Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic figure skaters of Russia Category:Olympic gold medalists for Russia Category:Sportspeople from Saint Petersburg Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Order of Merit for the Fatherland recipients Category:Olympic medalists in figure skating

be:Аляксей Ягудзін be-x-old:Аляксей Ягудзін cs:Alexej Jagudin de:Alexei Konstantinowitsch Jagudin es:Alekséi Yagudin fr:Alexeï Iagoudine ko:알렉세이 야구딘 it:Aleksej Jagudin he:אלכסי יגודין hu:Alekszej Konsztantyinovics Jagugyin mn:Алексей Ягудин nl:Aleksej Jagoedin ja:アレクセイ・ヤグディン no:Aleksej Jagudin mhr:Ягудин, Алексей Константинович pl:Aleksiej Jagudin pt:Alexei Yagudin ru:Ягудин, Алексей Константинович sk:Alexej Konstantinovič Jagudin fi:Aleksei Jagudin sv:Aleksej Jagudin tr:Aleksey Yagudin uk:Ягудін Олексій Констянтинович zh:阿列克谢·亚古丁