The Rostelecom Cup, previously known as the Cup of Russia, was an annual international figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. It was organized by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
Marat Akbarov is a former competitive pair skater for the Soviet Union. With Veronica Pershina, he is the 1985 European bronze medalist and 1979 World Junior champion.
Minoru Sano is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is the 1977 World bronze medalist and a five-time Japanese national champion (1972–76).
Kay Thomson is a Canadian former figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She is the 1981 Prize of Moscow News champion, the 1983 Skate Canada International silver medallist, and a three-time Canadian national champion. Her rise to dominance of Canadian ladies figure skating was unexpected as young phenom Tracy Wainmann had been expected to dominate Canadian ladies skating throughout this quadrennial, and beyond, but Thomson dethroned Wainmann at the 1982 Canadian Championships, and was only challenged by rising future superstar Elizabeth Manley thereafter as Wainmann fell off the map for a few years with personal issues and a growth spurt. She represented Canada at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, placing 12th, and at three World Championships, achieving her best result, fifth, in 1984 (Ottawa). She also finished a strong 6th at both the 82 and 83 worlds. At this event she had perhaps her best shot ever of a world podium finish in a heavily weakened post Olympic field and a respectable initial finish in compulsory figures which were never her strength, but a turn between her triple lutz-double toe combination in the short, and a miss on her triple flip in the long, was enough to keep her behind silver medallist Anna Kondrashova, bronze medallist Elaine Zayak, and 4th-place finisher Kira Ivanova.
The Prize of Moscow News, also known as the Moscow Skate, Nouvelles de Moscou, and the Moscow News Trophy, was an international, senior-level figure skating competition held in the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1990. It was held annually in Moscow in December and effectively was the predecessor to the Cup of Russia ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event. The winners received a "Crystal Skate" statuette.
The 1966 Prize of Moscow News was the first edition of an annual international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 15–18, 1966. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. Czechoslovakia's Ondrej Nepela won the men's title ahead of East Germany's Günter Zöller and the Soviet Union's Vladimir Kurenbin. Martina Clausner of East Germany defeated Hungary's Zsuzsa Szentmiklossy for the ladies' title. Soviet skaters swept the pairs' podium, led by Tamara Moskvina / Alexei Mishin. The ice dancing title was won by Soviets Irina Grishkova / Viktor Ryzhkin.
The 1967 Prize of Moscow News was the second edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 14–17, 1967. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. Czechoslovakia's Marian Filc defeated the Soviet Union's Sergey Volkov and Alexander Vedenin for the men's title. Hungary's Zsuzsa Almássy won gold in the ladies' event, ahead of Soviets Elena Shcheglova and Galina Grzhibovskaya. The Soviet Union swept the pairs' podium, led by Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov. Irina Grishkova / Viktor Ryzhkin won the ice dancing title ahead of his former partner, Liudmila Pakhomova, and Alexander Gorshkov.
The 1968 Prize of Moscow News was the third edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 12–15, 1968. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. Soviet skaters Sergei Chetverukhin and Elena Shcheglova won the singles categories. The Soviet Union swept the pairs' podium, led by Tamara Moskvina / Alexei Mishin, who defeated Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov. East Germany's national champions, Annerose Baier / Eberhard Rüger, took the ice dancing title.
The 1970 Prize of Moscow News was the fifth edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 17–20, 1970. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. Soviets swept the men's podium, with Sergei Chetverukhin defeating Sergey Volkov for the title. Marina Titova took the ladies' title ahead of skaters from East and West Germany. Lyudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin won the pairs title ahead of Olympic champions Ludmila Belousova / Oleg Protopopov. Soviets also swept the ice dancing podium, led by World champions Lyudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov.
The 1972 Prize of Moscow News was the seventh edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 9–13, 1972. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. Sergei Chetverukhin won the men's title for the third consecutive year. Canada's Cathy Lee Irwin took the ladies' title ahead of West Germany's Isabel de Navarre and the Soviet Union's Tatiana Oleneva. Irina Vorobieva / Alexander Vlasov defeated Olympic champions Ludmila Belousova / Oleg Protopopov for gold in the pairs' category. In the ice dancing category, world champions Lyudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov won their fourth gold medal at the event.
The 1973 Prize of Moscow News was the eighth edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 9–14, 1973. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. The Soviet Union's Vladimir Kovalev, a world medalist, won the men's title for the first time, after three previous podium finishes. West Germany national champion Gerti Schanderl took the ladies' title ahead of Soviet skater Ludmila Bakonina. Soviets swept the pairs' podium, led by Olympic champion Alexei Ulanov and his second partner, Lyudmila Smirnova. The ice dancing title was won by Natalia Linichuk / Gennadi Karponosov, who would take the world bronze medal later in the season.
The 1974 Prize of Moscow News was the ninth edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 7–11, 1974. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1975 Prize of Moscow News was the tenth edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held November 26–30, 1975. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1976 Prize of Moscow News was the eleventh edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 8–12, 1976. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1978 Prize of Moscow News was the 13th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 6-10, 1978. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1979 Prize of Moscow News was the 14th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held November 28 – December 1, 1979. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1980 Prize of Moscow News was the 15th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 10–14, 1980. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1981 Prize of Moscow News was the 16th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 9–13, 1981. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1982 Prize of Moscow News was the 17th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 1–5, 1982. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing.
The 1984 Prize of Moscow News was the 19th edition of an international figure skating competition organized in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was held December 5–9, 1984. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dancing. The men's category was won by European champion Alexandre Fadeev, who would end his season with the world title. The ladies' gold medal went to Olympic medalist Kira Ivanova, winning her fourth Prize of Moscow News title. Olympic medalists Larisa Selezneva / Oleg Makarov took the pairs' title, earning their second win at the Prize of Moscow News. In the ice dancing category, Olympic bronze medalists Marina Klimova / Sergei Ponomarenko defeated the Olympic silver medalists Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin.
Vladimir Kotin (URS)
