The popularity of figure skating in our country has been and remains phenomenally huge. Fantastic fame came to our skaters in the early 60s of the last century, when the stars of two outstanding representatives of Soviet pair skating, Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova, rose to the world skating rinks. And then the triumphal march across the planet of our star couples began: Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev, Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov. When these couples went out on the ice, millions of people around the world clung to televisions in anticipation of a unique spectacle. Their expectations were always met, as soon as the first measures of melodies began to sound. The performances of our skaters to the perky "Kalinka" or the graceful "Kumparsita" made the audience roar with delight, and the judges - to give the highest marks. How this happened, who forged the glory of national figure skating in the "golden" 60s - 80s of the twentieth century, is described in this book.

© Razzakov F., 2014

© Design. LLC "Publishing house" Eksmo ", 2014

Runaway Skaters

Lyudmila Belousova - Oleg Protopopov

Twice champions of the Winter Olympics (1964, Innsbruck; 1968, Grenoble)

The age difference of the famous skaters was small - only three years and four months: Oleg Protopopov was born on July 16, 1932, Lyudmila Belousova - on November 25, 1935.

Protopopov was born in Leningrad into an acting family - his mother, Agniya Vladimirovna Grott, was a ballerina. But Oleg did not remember his father - he left the family immediately after his birth. Therefore, at first it was difficult for the family. According to the future skater, “my mother and I lived very poorly. I always went hungry. " And when Oleg was not even six, the war began.

The Protopopovs spent the entire war in Leningrad, which was surrounded by a blockade ring by the Nazis. Agniya Vladimirovna had to change her ballet dress for a nurse's robe in a military hospital. Her son was constantly with her, seeing the horrors of the war with his own eyes.

After the war, the mother of the future skater returned to the stage and soon got married. True, she chose a person not from the acting world as her husband. It was the poet Dmitry Censor (b. 1877). His first book of poetry was published in 1907 and before the revolution he was a fairly well-known poet. The critic K. Finkelstein wrote:

"Dm. The censor became one of the heroes of the parody novel by Korney Chukovsky "The Present Eugene Onegin" ("And the Censor - an impudent poet - sneaking into the buffet"), with whom he collaborated in the newspaper "Odessa News" in the early 1900s, as well as a participant in the story M Zoshchenko "A Case in the Province", which tells how, after the revolution, "one fall the poet-imagist Nikolai Ivanov, the pianist Marusya Grekova, me and the lyric poet Dmitry Censor left St. Petersburg in search of lighter bread." IS Eventov recalled that Dm. The censor was one of those who carried the coffin with the body of A. Blok on their shoulders in 1921 ”.

The Censor was not lost even under Soviet rule. He was periodically published in large editions, and in 1940 a book of his selected poems was published. And just before the war, he became the party organizer - the secretary of the party organization of the Leningrad Union of Writers. True, at the time of his acquaintance with the mother of Protopopov, he was already over sixty, but in the new family he quickly took root. Although the happiness was short-lived - in December 1947, the Censor died, a week after his 70th birthday. However, shortly before his death, he managed to give his stepson skates, which in the end would determine the future of the boy.

Meanwhile, at first, Protopopov dreamed of becoming a pianist, because he loved classical music. This love was instilled in him by his mother, who often took him with her on tour, and the boy spent all his free time with the dancers of the ballet orchestra. It was they who taught him to play the piano and the drum. His stepfather, who had an excellent musical taste, also contributed to this introduction to music. However, Protopopov was not destined to become a pianist. When he decided to take part in a music competition held at the Leningrad House of Pioneers, the jury almost unanimously announced to him that he did not have a perfect ear for music. And this despite the fact that Protopopov played Beethoven's works by ear. That's when the hockey skates presented to the boy by his stepfather came in handy.

In December 1947 (a few days before the death of his stepfather) Oleg came to the figure skating section, since at that time it was mainly based on classical music. The newcomer was watched by coach Nina Vasilievna Lepninskaya, who was a pupil of the legendary Russian figure skater, Olympic champion Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin. The newcomer did not impress the coach with anything special, but when she learned that he loves to skate, clinging to a passing car with a hook, she decided to take him to the section to ward off a possible disaster - death under the wheels of a car. Protopopov was given only one condition: to change the hockey blades to curly ones. But where can you find them? As a result, two sizes smaller blades were found. But Oleg screwed them to his boots and began to ride so that the coach and the rest of the students just gasped.

Under the leadership of Lepninskaya, our hero studied for three years and became a first-class student. In 1951, he was preparing to participate in his first all-union competitions. But his career as a skater had to be interrupted for a while: in 1951 he was drafted into the army.

By the will of fate, serving Protopopov fell near his home - a sailor in the Baltic Fleet. Therefore, in the winter, he spent all the leave at his favorite skating rink. Even then, the idea of ​​becoming a figure skater was finally formed in him, but not a single skater - to perform with someone in a pair. His idols in those years were the couple Igor Moskvin - Maya Belenkaya, so he was guided by them. And in 1953 (while still serving in the Navy) he found himself a partner - Margarita Bogoyavlenskaya. In the spring of 1954, they became bronze medalists of the USSR championship. Later O. Protopopov recalled:

“If there were 15 couples, we would have finished last. Our technique was so weak. But, fortunately, there were only three couples at the championship, and by the will of fate we became prize-winners. When I showed the diploma for the third place in my military unit, all the authorities immediately imbued with respect for my training ... "

This success inspired young skaters, and they were ready to conquer new sports peaks. However, fate willed that Protopopov went to these heights with another figure skater - Lyudmila Belousova. Who is she and how did she arise on his life path?

Belousova was born in Ulyanovsk in the family of a career military man: her father, Evgeny Georgievich, was a tanker. He went through the whole war and returned home with the rank of lieutenant colonel. And a year later he moved his family (wife and two daughters - Luda and Raya) to Moscow. Here the girls were assigned to a new school, and all their free time was devoted to ballroom dancing. But this was not enough for Lyudmila, so she still played tennis and skated on hockey. Their mother, Natalya Andreevna, being a housewife, strongly supported the hobbies of her daughters, hoping that sooner or later a good deal would come of it.

Belousova became interested in figure skating thanks to the cinema. In those years, many trophy films were shown in the USSR, one of which, the Austrian Spring on Ice, made a strong impression on her. Struck down on the spot by the virtuoso skating of the famous Sony Henny, Belousova firmly decided to follow in her footsteps - to become a figure skater. And almost immediately after visiting this film, I went to enroll in the children's figure skating section at an artificial skating rink, which appeared in Moscow earlier than others in the country - in 1951.

However, she was not taken to the children's section because of her great age - she was 16 years old. But Lyudmila did not despair and directed her feet to the adult section. Fortunately for her, the coach there was Larisa Yakovlevna Novozhilova, the former champion of the country in sports dancing, who saw an undoubted talent in the applicant. And she took her to the section. And three years later, Belousova was already a "public instructor" for young figure skaters in the Dzerzhinsky Park, and also continued to study in an adult group. Her partner at that time was Kirill Gulyaev, but he soon announced that he was finishing with sports, and Belousova, not finding a worthy partner for herself, decided to compete in singles. It was at this time that fate brought her together with Protopopov.

In 1954, a coaching seminar was held in Moscow, to which Protopopov came from Leningrad. The overwhelming majority of those who arrived were already experienced and wise for years, and of the youth there were only two - Protopopov and Belousova. Naturally, they met and one day went to the rink together. And we skated separately from each other. But due to the fact that the skating rink was small and they constantly bumped into each other, they got the idea to skate together. And, apparently, they did it so well that one of the spectators, who came to the rink with his child, expressed his admiration for them. As a result, that evening they left the rink together and agreed not to lose sight of each other - to correspond.

Meanwhile, Protopopov returned to Leningrad, and Belousova remained in Moscow, where she began to prepare for entering the institute. Her plans were to conquer the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, but this dream did not come true: she passed almost all exams with excellent marks, but managed to get a top three in mathematics. And the competition did not pass. Then she gave the documents to the Institute of Transport Engineers, where she was accepted. However, in the fall, having started to study, Belousova decided to transfer to Leningrad. Why? Protopopov called her there, who offered her not only his hand and heart, but also partnership on ice. As a result, in December 1954, they began to skate together. Moreover, they came up with their first program themselves, learning music to the records, which they played on the radio "Ural" (they did not have their own tape recorder then). However, their then coach was very skeptical about the prospects of this duo. It seemed to him that these people were incompatible not only in life, but also on the ice: the soft and balanced Belousova and the restless, constantly charged for the movement of Protopopov. But the coach was wrong, and a year later the Belousov - Protopopov duet shared the third or fourth place in the Union championship with Nina and Stanislav Zhuk. True, the coach did not admit his mistake - he considered the bronze medals of his pupils an accident. Because of this, the relationship between the coach and the athletes began to deteriorate. They eventually broke up.

For some time Belousova and Protopopov worked with a new coach. But this commonwealth quickly ended. In the end, Protopopov invited his partner to train on her own, without coaches. And she agreed, because she was used to trusting her lover almost unconditionally.

In 1957 they became silver medalists of the USSR championship and masters of sports. And a year later they made their debut on the international arena - they performed at the World Championships in Paris (1958). The skating rink where the tournament was held was located in the old Sports Palace, which used to be a cycle track. By seven in the evening, the time when the competition began, few people came, but after an hour the hall was usually overcrowded. So it was on the day when Belousova - Protopopov performed. It was difficult to skate - the hall was full of smoke, like in a pub. Perhaps that is why, in the midst of her performance, Belousova fell, trying to do a split. Severe pain pierced the thigh, and the skater thought that she had broken a bone (X-rays later would not confirm this diagnosis). In the first moments, Lyudmila thought that she would not be able to continue the performance. But then she pulled herself together, jumped to her feet and glided over the ice again. Tears were rolling down the skater's face, but she continued to skate, overcoming severe pain in her hip. However, due to a small hitch caused by the fall, the music went a little ahead, so the skaters did not hit the beat. In short, the performance was disrupted. At that championship Belousova - Protopopov took 13th place out of 15 existing ones. Other couples shone at the world championship then: Barbara Wagner - Robert Pole (Canada), Vera Sukhankova - Zdenek Dolezhal (Czechoslovakia).

As for the Soviet greenhouse figure skaters, they never entered the top three at that time. And it is the heroes of our story that will have to break this tradition. But this did not happen immediately. In the meantime, there was another unsuccessful performance - at the European Championships in Davos (Switzerland). This tournament began the "golden five years" of a couple from Germany, Marika Kilius - Hans Jürgen Boimler (they will win the "gold" in 1959-1964, pushing back Suhankova - Dolezhal, who had won gold medals for two years).

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1960, Belousova - Protopopov went to the Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley (USA) in the firm belief that they would finally be able to win there. They have prepared a new program for the famous "Dreams of Love" by their beloved Franz Liszt. But dreams turned out to be just dreams - our couple got only ... 9th place. The series of failures lasted until 1963.

In 1962, at the next world championship, Belousova - Protopopov took silver medals for the first time, losing the winners' laurels to the Czechoslovakian pair Maria Jelinek - Otto Jelinek. A year later, they went to the World Championships, which took place in the fashionable Italian resort of Cortina d "Ampezzo. Many wealthy tourists from Germany came there to attend the triumph of their skaters - a pair of Marika Kilius - Hans Boymler. As we remember, they have been since 1959. they became champions of Europe three times, but the world crown was not given to them in any way. In 1963 they hoped to interrupt this tradition. As for the Soviet couples (apart from Belousova - Protopopov, Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gavrilov claimed medals), no one took them into account. In addition, a few months ago (in the fall of 1962) the Cuban Missile Crisis happened, when the world was on the brink of a nuclear war because of the confrontation between the USSR and the US All Western propaganda deliberately demonized the Soviet Union, portraying it as a kind of devil.

L. Belousova recalls: “That these are very special tourists, we felt as soon as we stepped onto the ice. A couple from Germany were the third, we were the tenth. They had mistakes, and quite a few, but the number of points they received said: first place was guaranteed for them. Perhaps the fact that we were wearing costumes made of red material played a special role. Under the fire of the Jupiters, they sparkled like freshly shed blood. The beginning of the music was completely inaudible, although the radio operator Giovanni turned on the amplifier at full power. Standing upstairs, he made signs to Oleg, full of confusion and despair. Some of the spectators, wanting to disrupt the performance of our couple, with all their might roared some kind of marching song, hooting. Of course, apart from the "tourists", there were also benevolent people in the hall. But they could not drown out dozens of loud throats, shouting with hatred: "You are communists!" They were waiting for us to leave. But they were wrong.

“We will perform,” said Oleg and squeezed my hand tightly. I nodded: we will definitely. By some miracle, in this roar, we heard the signal - the beginning. In the first minutes after our exit on the ice, there was a dead, alienated silence. Then at first hesitantly, then louder and louder applause began to be heard.

We rolled with gritted teeth. In spite of it. Let everyone see. Anger extinguished the excitement, we were almost calm. And the audience realized that you couldn't hit these two, you couldn't take them with your bare hands. When we went out, several bouquets of flowers stretched out to us. These were signs of sincere admiration. The "tourists" were silent. Probably, they themselves were amazed at the stubbornness of the "red" ... "

At that championship, a pair of Belousova - Protopopov took second place, Zhuk - Gavrilov - third. And the champions were the very same figure skaters from Germany, Marika Kilius and Hans Jürgen Boimler. By this time, they were already five-time winners of the European championships, medalists of the Olympic Games in Squaw Valley (1960). In Cortina d'Ampezzo they skated well, but nothing more. However, due to the intervention of big politics, the judges did not give the legal "gold" to the Soviet couple and awarded it to the Germans. Moreover, the events around the Berlin crisis of 1961 were still fresh in the memory of many.

After the 1963 World Championship, Belousova - Protopopov decided to concentrate all their efforts on preparing for the Winter Olympics-64. By mutual desire, they decided to abandon symphonic jazz and perform only to classical music, since only it was able to allow them to express everything that they experienced during the performance of the program. Classical music has become so tightly embedded in their lives that they have not parted with it either at home or on vacation - for example, in the dining room or on the beach. From that moment on, the role of Belousova increased, whose femininity and innate plasticity gave their skating an unprecedented sophistication. The experts wrote:

“To create new images, a person needs some kind of impetus. Most often, music is the impetus for a choreographer, less often a book. The skater's thoughts on the future program are somewhat similar to the work of a choreographer's thoughts. Lyudmila and Oleg listened to music, watched films that they filmed at the world championships, read books. They studied with particular interest the book Against the Current by the outstanding Russian choreographer Fokine. In it, their attention was attracted by the following lines: “The possibilities of creating the original are truly endless. They are as limitless as the experience of life itself, but only when the dancer has a strong technical background. "

The interconnection between refined technique and new plastic images was undeniable. The skaters wanted to convey the movement on the ice without the slightest pressure, without the slightest hint of haste, with full amplitude. And they create one after the other original elements based on perfectly clean soft glide. In their style, these combinations - "magnetic arrow", rotation of the "coin", the outline of the partner behind the partner's back - continued the direction that was opened by the gentle and delicate dance "Dreams of Love". And at the same time, the role of the partner stood out clearly in the new elements ... "

At the 64 Olympics in Innsbruck (Austria), the entire world press prophesied the success of the West German pair Kilius - Boimler. They themselves were also confident of their victory, and even long before the competition they participated in a special photo session, where they were filmed as future Olympic champions. These pictures were sold to viewers at the Olympics.

So the lot turned out to be on the side of the Germans - they started later than Belousova and Protopopov, who performed ninth in a row, after duets from Canada and the United States. However, the way they performed conquered the audience. They danced to the music of Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff (it was with them that the fashion for classics in the world figure skating began), and literally every sound of their music found an inspired response in the movements of the skaters. This went on for exactly five minutes - that is how long their number lasted. And then there were several minutes of deafening applause with which the audience responded to this performance. However, not all the judges were conquered: the majority gave them the highest mark (6.0), but there were also those who showed 5.9. But the latter remained in the minority, so the "gold" of the tournament went to a pair of Belousov - Protopopov. From that moment on, the triumphal march of Soviet figure skating began on the world stage. Note that a little earlier - with the 1963 world championship - the "golden era" of Soviet hockey began. In short, the world's ice has become Soviet.

At the World Championship-64 in Budapest (Hungary) Belousova - Protopopov won silver, and bronze went to Soviet figure skaters again: Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gavrilov. However, at European tournaments, ours still could not enter the top three winners. But in 1965 a turning point came. Belousova - Protopopov won gold medals at both the World and European Championships. This was the first Soviet "gold" in pair skating. By the way, that 1964 world championship was first shown on Soviet TV, and two years later, regular broadcasts of world figure skating championships began in the USSR.

In those years, Belousova and Protopopov were at the pinnacle of success - they were admired not only in their homeland, in the USSR (thousands of boys and girls went into figure skating under their influence), but also abroad. So, after the "gold" at the World Championships in Colorado Springs (USA) in 1965, they were offered to make a tour of the USA and Canada. During this trip, it was not without a curiosity - the athletes lost their suitcase. This is how they themselves remember it:

L. Belousova: “At the airport in Montreal we went to get luggage, but one of our two suitcases is missing. True, the skates were with us. Then there were no such strict prohibitions as now, so we took them to the salon. The missing suitcase contained miniature gold skates with diamonds awarded for winning the world championship, champion medals and - most importantly - costumes! We searched for luggage, nothing. And in the evening, a performance. What to do? The organizers fussed about, got me a little red dress of a twelve-year-old girl - short and with a waist under her arms. "

O. Protopopov: “And the suit was lent to me by the German single skater Sepp Schonmezler. Good guy! Now he publishes a sports magazine in Germany ... In a word, Sepp came to the rescue, but he was shorter than me, the stripes on the trousers did not reach the ankles, the sleeves on the jacket did not close the wrists - laughter and sin! "

L. Belousova: "In this form, and skated" Dreams of Love. " I am in the dress of a schoolgirl, Oleg is in a “shot down” suit from someone else's shoulder. And then the suitcase was never found - and flew away with nothing to Europe! "

O. Protopopov: “In Germany, we were offered to sew new costumes. We were delighted. They naively did not understand that we were doing advertising for the company. Then the Germans would trumpet everywhere, they say, we are dressing the champions from the Soviet Union ... In principle, we could refuse and not participate in demonstration performances, all the more there was a reason. But the USSR Sports Committee strictly monitored everything, did not allow us to take time off, which is generally understandable: for each of our appearances on the ice, the organizers of the show laid out colossal money for those times - two and a half thousand bucks! But we were paid only fifty Swiss francs. No, I'm lying, twenty-five! Sheer pennies ...

Fortunately, the suitcase was still found, it was brought to our hotel. When I saw him, the first thought was: are the medals in place? Opened the locks - they are. Immediately my heart relieved ... "

L. Belousova: “Tell me why the suitcase went missing in Montreal? At the airport there, emigrants from Ukraine worked as loaders. They saw that Russian names were written on the tag and the country of the USSR was indicated, and immediately put the luggage aside. "

O. Protopopov: “They knew whose suitcase was, they hoped to disrupt the performance. Anti-Soviet sentiments in the Ukrainian diaspora were strong ... "

Our heroes retained a winning tendency over the next three years (1966-1968). Although these victories were not easy for them at times. For example, at the World Championships in Davos (Switzerland) in 1966, it was very difficult for them, especially for Belousova. Just three minutes before the start of the performance, she suddenly felt unwell, and nausea rose in her throat. Protopopov offered to abandon the performance, but the partner firmly said: "No." And she went out onto the ice, pale as chalk. She skated with a stone face, but just as light and airy as before. And the judges gave them top marks.

The second couple in the USSR in those years were Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin (pupils of Igor Moskvin), but they perfectly understood that they still could not seriously compete with Belousova and Protopov. Here is how A. Mishin himself says about it:

“The classics provide the skater with unlimited possibilities. But in our times with Moskvina, it was absolutely pointless to compete with Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov in classical skating, beauty of lines, perfection of movements, poses. This niche was firmly occupied by them. Igor Moskvin guessed to suggest a theme in which we would look the most effective (to the song performed by E. Khil "Tiryam-tiryam". - F.R.). That program was completely consistent with our physical data and was absolutely unlike anyone else. And it was perceived, which is important, as a certain avant-garde. You must agree that this number would have sounded normal even now ... "

The "golden" time of this couple on the world stage lasted until 1968. Then came the era of Irina Rodnina: first paired with Alexei Ulanov (1969-1972), then - with Alexander Zaitsev. Note that the coach of the Rodnin - Ulanov pair was Stanislav Zhuk, who in the 50s was the best (paired with his wife Nina), but then began to suffer defeat after defeat from the Belousov - Protopopov pair. But in the end he managed to take revenge from them, but already as a coach.

In 1968, at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble (France), the Belousov-Protopopov pair won their last "gold". And again without coaching help - independently. O. Protopopov recalls:

“When we first became Olympic champions, a representative of the USSR Sports Committee (I can’t remember my last name) pointedly said:“ Why do you compete without a coach? Not good. This does not suit Soviet champions. " But I replied: thanks, no need, now we can handle it ourselves. By the way, after the Olympics there were a dime a dozen of those wishing to become our trainers! Everyone wanted to cling to success. (Note that at one time the choreographer Galina Koenig worked with them, who helped them stage many things, but this was not advertised at that time. F.R.) And Valentin Piseev, before our second Olympics, lashed out with reproaches. We then left the training camp - we decided to relax for ten days on the Black Sea. Upon learning of this, Piseev began to scold: they say, how is it that you had to skate 104 hours in preparation for the Olympics, but it turned out much less ?! But we knew better when to take a break and when to work hard. And again they became the first. Piseev is a lousy man, he did us a lot of nasty things, kicked us out of sports. Together with Anna Sinilkina, director of the Luzhnikov Palace of Sports, he brainwashed us in the Central Committee of the CPSU, saying that Lyudmila and I skate too theatrically, that our style is outdated ... "

By the way, that skating of Belousova and Protopopov was outdated, thought at that time not only Piseev, but also many other specialists of figure skating. This sport did not stand still - it became more and more dynamic and harsh. And the "ballet" that the heroes of our story demonstrated on ice did not fit into the world wave that swept over figure skating in the early 70s. By the way, then not only figure skating changed, but also hockey - it also became more reactive and tough (the impetus for this will be given by games against Canadian professionals in the fall of 1972). As a result, already in the late 60s, Belousova and Protopopov began to actively squeeze the younger generation. In 1969, at the European Championship, they took 2nd place, losing the first step of the podium by Rodnina to Ulanov. They never entered the top three more, although they tried their best.

The same situation developed at the all-Union competitions, where our heroes were "pressed on" by the youth. However, they themselves believe that they were not weaker than the young, but the judges wrote them off in every possible way, deliberately lowering their marks. As, for example, during the USSR Championship in January 1970 in Kiev.

By the end of the tournament (January 14), Belousova - Protopopov were the undisputed favorites of the tournament. Their main rivals Rodnina - Ulanov, having thwarted support in the compulsory program, lost 12.8 points to them, taking only 8th place. And suddenly, after an arbitrary composition, everything changed - yesterday's outsiders came forward. Moreover, this leap forward was regarded by many fans as clearly unfair. Why? The fact is that the judges, evaluating the performance of Belousova - Protopopov, clearly deliberately underestimated their marks for artistry. As a result, they slipped from first place to 4th (2nd place was taken by Lyudmila Smirnova - Andrey Suraikin).

On the day this happened, most of the spectators gathered at the Kiev Palace of Sports greeted the judge's verdict with a long whistle. This indignation lasted for several minutes, while the noise was such that other skaters could not start their performances. Chief referee Kononykhin, in an attempt to calm the audience, announced: "The decision of the panel of judges is final and not subject to appeal," which caused even more indignation. Soviet figure skating had not yet known such incidents. The audience began to chant together and demand that Belousova and Protopopov go out onto the ice. And those at this time were sitting absolutely depressed in the locker room. Finally, the management of the Palace of Sports could not stand it and asked them to go out to the public, to calm them down. The skaters took to the ice and, in gratitude for their support, bowed low, in Russian, to the audience. Lyudmila Belousova cried at the same time. As O. Protopopov recalls, “returning to the locker room, we met Pyotr Orlov, the former coach of Stanislav and Nina Zhuk, who never had any sympathy for us. He held out his hand to me and said that he sympathized with us. I didn’t shake hands with him, politely saying that we didn’t need any sympathy. Then one of our friends recalled that Orlov, indignant at the refereeing, said: "I would have strangled this Protopopov with my own hands, but give him three dozen!" He meant the underestimation of our marks for the performance in Kiev ...

After 16 years, Ulanov admitted that then their gold medal at the Sapporo Olympics was already planned. Therefore, they should not have to lose to anyone, especially to us ... "

This scandal had such a great resonance that it was impossible to hide it. However, of course, they were not allowed to grind him, having got off with a short remark in Komsomolskaya Pravda on January 16. The note was called “Why were the stands worried?”, And its author was a certain design engineer from Lobnya A. Kuzin. The article briefly described how the audience obstructed the referee's decision to understate the Belousov-Protopopov pair, and quoted Kononykhin's words to this pair: “But this is a sport, it has its own age laws, unfortunately.” This referee's slip of the tongue clearly indicated that this was no accident. Apparently, the leadership of the Sports Committee, through the hands of the judges, was going to end the hegemony of the "old men" in figure skating.

As subsequent events showed, the arrival of young people benefited Soviet figure skating - its hegemony in world sports arenas became even stronger and lasted almost two decades.

So, in the 1970 USSR championship Belousova - Protopopov took 4th place and did not make it to the national team. At the 1971 USSR championship, they took 6th place, again being left behind the national team. However, even then it was not without intrigue. According to some experts, the judges were clearly biased towards the Belousov-Protopopov pair. For example, an employee of the journal "Physical culture and sport" Arkady Galinsky in the newspaper "Soviet Culture" questioned the results of the national championship, which he attended as a correspondent. In his opinion, the skaters were simply “fused”. And in order to avoid unnecessary witnesses and cover their tracks, they even turned off TV broadcasts, allegedly for technical reasons. It was because of this publication that Galinsky was fired and excommunicated from sports journalism for seventeen years. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Nikolai Tarasov, tried to come to the rescue of his former employee, and he was immediately removed.

This was followed by another scandal. It happened in January 1972. On the nose were the next Winter Olympic Games (they began a month later in the Japanese city of Sapporo), but Belousova and Protopopov were not taken there. Moreover, this decision was not made behind the scenes, but after a council with six of the country's best coaches (Zhuk, Tchaikovskaya, Kudryavtsev, Tarasova, Moskvin, Piseev), which, by five votes to one (it was Moskvin, who advised Belousov and Protopopov), voted against to take a "star" couple to the Olympics. Those were outraged by this decision, because they themselves considered themselves quite competitive.

Meanwhile, the truth was that their time was already running out. They won the Olympics in Innsbruck (1964) and in Grenoble (1968), but then they ceased to be leaders. They did not make it to the 1971 European Championship, since they no longer had the strength for a good result. In the same year, they performed at the Spartakiad of Trade Unions in Pervouralsk and could not skate the program well - they constantly fell and did nothing but catch up with each other after the falls. So the decision not to take them to the Olympics did not become something sensational for figure skating specialists. But the skaters themselves considered it an insult.

In mid-January, they came to the head of the Sports Committee, Sergei Pavlov, to persuade him to change his decision. Next, we will listen to the story of one of the participants in those events - Valentin Piseev, who in those years led figure skating:

“Belousova and Protopopov came to Pavlov's office. Lyudmila let out a tear, and they both began to beg Pavlov to change his mind. He asked: "Are you sure you will win the gold?" Protopopov unsurely answered: "Yes ... In any case, we will be in the top three." Pavlov asked again: “And if you don’t get into the top three, then what? Could this be? " Do you know what Protopopov said? That they will definitely be in the top six! They say that the Olympic team needs credit points, so they will contribute to the common piggy bank. Pavlov almost choked. I saw this because I was also present at this conversation. Sergey Pavlovich made them understand that it is better to leave the sport beautifully. That for the sports leadership of the country the good name of Belousova and Protopopov is more expensive than the two points they will bring to the USSR national team if they take fifth place at the Olympics (they would give a point for sixth). They didn't seem to understand. We got to Kirill Mazurov, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee, and he was already working on Pavlov. Did not work out…"

And here is how O. Protopopov describes the same events: “It's a matter of the past, today, probably, few remember, but we were preparing for the Olympics-72, we were going to go to Sapporo. The Rodnina - Ulanov pair was considered the favorites, our students Smirnova - Suraykin were the second, but we could count on a solid third place. Least. I remember trying to convince Sergei Pavlov, the country's main athlete: “There is a chance to take the entire Olympic podium! Opportunity must not be missed. " Naive moron! This is me about myself ... They did not even think of taking us anywhere: the bronze in pair skating was already promised to the GDR team, and for this the Germans promised to support Sergei Chetverukhin in singles competitions, where the USSR's positions were weaker.

In fact, we were sold, although in form everything looked pretty decent. Before the Olympics, the coaching council gathered and ... Nobody supported our candidacies. The games were won by Rodnina and Ulanov, although Luda Smirnova and Andryusha Suraikin, whom we staged a free program, should have won. They skated cleanly, and Ulanov did not fulfill the required element, did not jump a double somersault, which was a gross violation. Nevertheless, the judges forgave the mistake. Now such a trick would not work ... "

What can be said about these words. Today it is no longer a secret for anyone that they often cheat in sports - this was the case before, and this is the case today. And it doesn't matter what kind of sport we are talking about - figure skating, football or hockey. Another thing is worth noting here. Here Protopopov confidently declares that the Soviet sports authorities were in cahoots with their colleagues from the GDR, so that they "pulled" extra points to Sergei Chetverukhin. Could this be? Undoubtedly. However, it could be something else: that Protopopov himself and his partner at some world or European championship, some judges, having entered into an agreement with Soviet functionaries, also "pulled" points. And they became champions. And so it turns out: by exposing others, the skater involuntarily casts doubt on his own achievements. It is possible that this kind of frankness was most disliked by sports officials (and who likes it when someone takes dirty linen out of public?), And they did everything possible so that the Belousov-Protopopov couple would quickly retire. It happened in 1972.

In April Belousova - Protopopov took part in their last official competition - the USSR championship. Moreover, there were no strongest pairs on it, however, even with this scenario, the heroes of our story could not jump over their heads - they took only 3rd place. Then they decided to leave amateur sports. At that time, Protopopov was 40 years old, Belousova - 37th. However, after leaving the big sport, they did not part with figure skating - they worked in the Leningrad Ballet on Ice. They also passed on their experience to young skaters.

N. and L. Velikovs recollect: “Oleg Protopopov always had such a spiritual need: to share what he has. And for this, he gathered around himself a company of young guys, like-minded people. There were very famous people in it: Valentin Nikolaev, now a very famous coach, works in America, Elena Morozova, Lyudmila Smirnova, the late Andrei Suraikin. A few more people, whose names, probably, will not tell anyone now. And Lyuda and I ...

Protopopov often traveled abroad - and then, when he returned, he showed things that no one had seen here. How people train, how they ride. After all, we had complete archaism at that time - the methods of Panin's time ...

Oleg, a person who is absolutely not greedy, disinterested, gave us, rolling goli, his tape recorder, a projector, shared records, tapes. He supported us in everything. Protopopov rode on a small skating rink on Vasilievsky Island, in a church on the embankment. Only 16x16 meters. It was actually his own ice, he could skate there alone. But he brought our whole gang with him. We left there in foam and soap, but at the same time Protopopov demanded that the boys be in a bow tie, in a white shirt and ironed trousers. There was no elastic then, so I had to iron my pants for every workout. And that brought us up. This school of his remained for the rest of his life ...

Oleg let us listen to the music he skated to, talked about his programs, tried to convey to us his vision of figure skating. This is his life's work. Like him, no one perceived figure skating in our time. He was infected with this "bacillus" from childhood, and she did not let him go to this day. Protopopov is still on the ice, skating himself, helping someone. An amazing person ... "

So, after leaving the big sport, Belousova and Protopopov performed at the Leningrad Ballet on Ice. And in 1977 they were invited to a show held in New York's Madison Square Garden, and paid 10,000 thousand dollars for the performance. Very decent money! Moreover, the Americans gave the entire amount in cash, the skaters brought it to Moscow and, without declaring it, passed it to the State Concert. And in return they received $ 53 25 cents (with a ceiling of $ 75.- F.R.). In accordance with the artistic rate established in the USSR.

Note that almost all Soviet artists who gave tours abroad had to give the lion's share of the proceeds to the Soviet financial authorities. However, not only artists. For example, the famous hockey goalkeeper Vladislav Tretyak once appeared in an American advertisement and was awarded a fee of $ 50,000. However, he gave almost everything to his native state and did not say a word of reproach to him, because he understood: these are the rules. He did not install them, it is not for him to cancel them.

But Vladimir Vysotsky in January 1979 gave illegal (not coordinated with the Soviet authorities) tours in the United States and earned $ 38,000 on it. And he did not give a cent to the state, referring to the fact that the money, they say, was needed for the treatment of his wife, a French communist. And the Soviet authorities did not say anything to him, and as if nothing had happened, he continued his foreign trips. That is, there were also selected people in the USSR. Although Vysotsky is still considered by many as a "victim of the regime".

But back to the heroes of our story.

In 1979, the Leningrad Ballet on Ice was to go on tour in Brazil. There Belousova and Protopopov had to pay ten dollars for a performance. A three-month tour of the country was planned, and the skaters were required to skate on a platform measuring fourteen meters by twenty-eight. Let's face it, for figure skating, the size is small, which is fraught with the most unpredictable consequences. As a result, the case ended in failure.

Our heroes performed in Chelyabinsk. The ice there was very good, the couple skated with pleasure, but the laws of aerodynamics cannot be fooled: the area is small, they simply did not have enough space. Protopopov, out of habit, accelerated, but there was nowhere to move. He fell on his side, his partner flew into the ramp, hit her shoulder, knee, head. Then I was in the hospital for two months - I got out. Then Protopopov said: "That's enough!" Ice does not forgive jokes. And he does not tolerate disdainful attitude towards himself. And they stopped training on small skating rinks.

In the second half of the 70s, the couple were about to join the ranks of the CPSU, but they were not accepted. Why? This is how they themselves remember it.

O. Protopopov: “We tried to join in order to have at least some protection. We waited in line for three years, but we were never accepted. They said, they say, the party of workers and peasants, among the candidates there are no less worthy people than you. Yes, on our part it was a opportunistic calculation. What was there to do? I have already turned 47 years old, at any time they could have sent me to retire, like Volodya Vasiliev. They kicked me out of the Bolshoi Theater and didn't gasp. They would have done the same to us. "

L. Belousova: "We wrote applications, took recommendations from Tamara Moskvina, director of the St. Petersburg Sports Palace" Yubileiny "Sergei Tolstikhin, but nothing helped."

O. Protopopov: “Even the names on the posters were not singled out, they wrote in the list of the corps de ballet alphabetically: Luda - at the beginning, me - closer to the end. I asked: why is that? They answered, they say, there is a shortage of paper in the country, no one will print anything especially for you. They said to my eyes: "Nobody needs you here." However, when the ballet went on tour to France, information about two-time Olympic champions was typed in large letters in the very center of the poster. The paper was quickly found. But we refused the trip. From the principle. It was a real shock for the management, but they still did not shoot the advertisement, they deceived the French ... "

And then came the autumn of 1979, when Belousova and Protopopov decided to flee the USSR. The soil for this has already been manured, both on a personal level (too many resentments among the skaters have accumulated against sports officials) and ideologically. The fact is that after the USSR signed the Helsinki agreements in August 1975 and proclaimed a policy of rapprochement with the West (detente), a slow but inevitable Westernization of the country began. More and more Soviet people began to perceive the capitalist world not as hostile to themselves, but on the contrary - as friendly and more advanced. The Soviet elite, including the creative one, became especially rapidly Westernized. And although the Soviet government in the second half of the 70s took a number of steps to bring down this process (increased fees for cultural figures, removed restrictions on improving housing problems, and also began to more willingly let them go on foreign tours), however, the Soviet reality still did not could compete with the western one. As a result, since the late 70s, the number of those wishing to leave the country among the Soviet creative elite has increased significantly. Moreover, people used every opportunity to leave: someone sought it legally (through foreign relatives and acquaintances), and someone simply fled, as soon as such an opportunity was provided. In those years, the rock group "Voskresenye" ​​wrote a song about this with the following lines:

... Either birds are flying migratory,

Either the rats are fleeing the ship.

In the second half of 1979, there were two such escapes from the USSR. The first to run away in August was the young ballet dancer of the Bolshoi Theater Alexander Godunov. He was considered a rising star of Soviet ballet, in addition to this, he acted in films: on the night of January 1, 79th on the Central Television, the premiere of the television movie "June 31", where Godunov played one of the roles, took place. In short, the young artist had quite good prospects in the profession ahead, but he himself thought differently: it seemed to him that in the West he would achieve much more than in his homeland. As a result, while touring the United States, Godunov fled from his troupe and asked the American authorities to give him the opportunity to stay in America. They satisfied this request, since any defector from the USSR was welcome for them and could bring them significant benefit in the propaganda battles of the Cold War.

A month after this escape, another one happened - with the participation of Belousova and Protopopov. Such an opportunity was given to them when the Lenbalet ice show went on another overseas tour - to Switzerland. Skaters recall:

L. Belousova: “I took a sewing machine with me. It was very expensive to order costumes for performances. Here I also sewed for myself and for Oleg, sometimes my sister and a neighbor-dressmaker helped, but there I did not count on help ... "

O. Protopopov: “And I collected art books and videotapes. It turned out to be a wild advantage, but, fortunately, our luggage was not examined in detail at the airport, we paid for the extra cargo and handed over our suitcases. A distant relative accompanied us to Sheremetyevo, who knew nothing about what we were planning. However, no one knew about this. Even my mother and sister Luda. If they let it slip, everything could collapse. I already called my mother from Switzerland. She said the only phrase: "Don't come here as long as possible."

When we were checking in for the flight to Zurich, a group of people approached us, who were also flying somewhere. Like, give an autograph. I signed the sheets of paper and asked: “Who else? And then maybe for the last time ... "

L. Belousova: “Then there was the situation. We had already prepared to go to the plane, but the bus did not move for a long time. The command from above did not come, incomprehensible negotiations continued for about forty minutes. And then we see: Oleg's heavy suitcase cannot be thrown on board. Can you imagine our condition ... "

O. Protopopov: “They all took off, and I whisper in Ludmila's ear:“ It's not over yet. We are on Soviet territory. These people are capable of anything. " And in fact: we landed in Zurich, the hatch opened, and there was a man on the ladder. “Comrade Protopopov? You urgently need to call the embassy. " I ask: "What happened?" I hear the answer: "You must tell me where you will be." I contacted honestly. But first, he called his relatives and said where the instructions were, what should be done urgently. I understood: immediately after the news of the flight, our housing in St. Petersburg would be sealed, I wanted our relatives to have time to take the most valuable things from there. Someone was quickly moved into our apartment, a garage near the garbage dump was presented to the famous conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky ...

The Soviet system did not tolerate those who stood out from the crowd. All were scratched with the same brush. We didn't want to. It was terribly infuriating, annoying. It got to the point that I suggested not to announce our appearance on the ice in the programs of the Leningrad Ballet. Music began to sound, lights came on in the hall, we made the first movement, and ... the stands exploded with applause. People did not need words, they were waiting for us, calling for an encore six times, which wildly angered the management: "Don't turn the show into a solo concert!" When we left the country, we immediately pretended that Belousova and Protopopov did not exist, they tried to delete our names from the history of figure skating. Fortunately, this task was too tough ... "

The escape of the skaters took place on 22 September. On that day, they had to fly home, but instead they went to the police department and wrote a corresponding statement. They took away their Soviet passports, took them to some hotel, from which they asked them not to leave, noticing that the Soviet embassy was already looking for them. A few hours later, the spouses were informed that their application had been granted and that they had been granted political asylum.

Note that the 8 thousand dollars that the star couple earned during those Swiss tours, she did not leave for herself. Despite the fact that the money was transferred to the Swiss bank SBG in Bern, the skaters refused to take it. Protopopov then told his wife: “I know exactly where they will start throwing mud at us. Therefore, we will not take this money for ourselves. "

In my opinion, the flight of Protopopov and Belousova was a completely natural phenomenon. There are people who cannot forgive insults, fixate on them and always mentally exaggerate them. Moreover, the insults inflicted by officials are often transferred by such people to the country, considering it the worst place on earth. And they flee from it at the first opportunity. Do they benefit from this? Differently. For example, the same Alexander Godunov did not take root in a foreign land - he drank himself and died young. And Protopopov and Belousova adapted quite well and lived happily ever after. They were not even jarred by the fact that they were declared traitors at home, and their former colleagues did not even greet them at random meetings during foreign competitions. This is how they themselves remember it.

O. Protopopov: “We regularly went to the World and European Championships, but they avoided us like lepers, did not look into our eyes, averted our eyes. Everyone avoided contacts, you can name any surname.

Once we were in an elevator with Lena Tchaikovskaya. She studied the walls so diligently, as if, except for her, there was no one else in the cockpit. Then in Leningrad she said about us: "The fans confused the sun with a light bulb hanging on a bare cord." In Dortmund, in the toilet of the ice palace, I once ran into Moskvin. We stood at the neighboring urinals, and Igor Borisovich quietly asked: "Oleg, how are you?" I opened my mouth to answer, but then the door creaked, and Moskvin immediately turned away ...

Only Stasik Zhuk continued to communicate with us. It seems that in 1985 in Copenhagen he demonstratively approached, hugged, shook hands and began to ask about this and that. And Rodnina, Moskvina, Sinilkina, the director of Luzhniki were standing nearby. I say: "Aren't you afraid to run into trouble, to become restricted to travel abroad?" The beetle looked around and slashed: "Fuck them all!" I said so loudly. He could not hear well, so he often shouted ... Apparently, later in Moscow they explained to him the party's policy, and after a year Stasik was no longer making noise. Imperceptibly he whispered in his ear: “Olezhka, these whores do not allow talking to you. Please call the hotel in the evening. "

L. Belousova: “And in Gothenburg in 1981, we were sitting on the podium, and Maya Plisetskaya called us. We managed to exchange a couple of phrases when TV commentator Georgy Sarkisyants ran up and dragged her aside: "Maya Mikhailovna, we need an interview." Plisetskaya could barely write down our phone number. Then at night for two hours she told how she was being strangled here, Rodion was not allowed to work ... "

For reference. The legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya was not only strangled by the Soviet authorities (if, of course, the words of Protopopov are true, and not fiction), but also carried in their arms. And sometimes it was not clear what was more. For example, at the age of 34 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR (she became the youngest Soviet ballerina with such a title - for example, Galina Ulanova was awarded one at 41), at 39 she was awarded the Lenin Prize (1964). Many Soviet people would agree to be “strangled” like that.

By the way, the Soviet government has repeatedly awarded the heroes of our story. Even if not Lenin prizes, she didn’t skimp on orders. They were paid decent salaries, were given apartments, cars (they had the prestigious Volga GAZ-21). Someone will say: paid for talent. Right! But who created the conditions for this talent to flourish? Soviet authority. The Swiss did not do it. Our heroes fled there, already being famous all over the world. And they became famous thanks to the Soviet "grub" that they ate for more than one decade. Who will measure the price of these "grub"? For example, if we put these "grubs" on one side of the scale and all the gold medals won by Protopopov and Belousova on the other, what will outweigh? I believe that each of us will answer this question differently.

In Switzerland, runaway skaters settled in a small village called Grindelwald. They lived together, since they had no children. Why? Here is how O. Protopopov answers this question:

“We do not regret that we have no children. It's all about how you look at this matter. Some give birth to children, and then they lament: what a dunce she gave birth to! And how many idiots and drug addicts are walking around! It remains to be seen which is better: to donate such people to society or not to give birth at all. And then, if we had children, we would not be able to leave the Union. Do not leave them hostages ... "

These words are a vivid example of human egoism, which, apparently, is characteristic of the heroes of our story. Even the birth of children is perceived by them through the prism of personal well-being. The generally accepted joys of motherhood and fatherhood are not taken into account. The whole question boils down to the fact that children must necessarily become drug addicts or assholes. There is no doubt that someone will surely become such. But not all the same! But the phrase about the "child-hostage" is especially killing. Say, if there were a child, he would surely prevent them from fleeing from their homeland. It turns out that the child is bad, and they are good? However, maybe the skaters are right: why have children if you are not sure that you can give them something?

Having lived in Switzerland for almost 16 years, Belousova and Protopopov finally received Swiss citizenship (in 1995). By that time, the Soviet Union no longer existed, but the spouses were in no hurry to come to new Russia. Although a lot was written about them then, since in capitalist Russia, which cursed the USSR, all the departures were recorded as heroes, and only songs were not composed about them. So Belousova and Protopopov were declared "victims of the totalitarian regime." However, in spite of the fact that they had no end of offers to come at that time, they preferred not to respond to them. And only in the new millennium - on February 25, 2003 - they flew to Russia for the first time in almost a quarter of a century at the invitation of the then head of Goskomsport Vyacheslav Fetisov. And in November 2005, they again visited their former homeland - already at the invitation of the St. Petersburg Figure Skating Federation.

In the summer of 2007, Belousova and Protopopov came to Moscow to take part in the 60th birthday of coach Tatyana Tarasova (she herself invited them, paying them a good fee for the performance). At the same time, Express Gazeta published a large (two-lane) interview with figure skaters, where they again painted their ordeals in the USSR, and also poured mud on their former colleagues in sports. Many people got it for nuts: Irina Rodnina, Alexey Ulanov, Stanislav Zhuk, Alexander Zaitsev, Valentina Piseev. To make it clear to the reader exactly what it is about, I will cite a few excerpts from this interview.

O. Protopopov: “I cannot imagine myself at the same table with Irina Rodnina. Two years ago, at the World Championships in Moscow, she passed by, did not say hello. Rodnina has no such habit at all - to say hello. "

L. Belousova: “When she gave an interview to TV journalist Urmas Ott, she watered us like that! And in one provincial newspaper Rodnina said that we are beggars. But at the same time we are suing the Swiss authorities. Complete nonsense. Does she even know how expensive it is to sue in the West ?! "

Here we interrupt the skaters for a little remark. The fact is that they seem to have both professional and personal accounts with Irina Rodnina. As for the former, we have already spoken about them: it was Rodnina (together with Alexei Ulanov) who pushed them out of the first place both at intra-union competitions and at world competitions. As for personal grievances, they are not known to everyone. And they are hidden in the words that Rodnina uttered several times in her interviews. Here's what she told Gordon's Boulevard, for example:

“When Belousova and Protopopov left, it became a sensation. The fact is that in other sports this happened from time to time, but in figure skating it never happened. It was just that Oleg at that moment did not like a lot, not only in our country, but also in his life. It’s probably difficult for me to understand how he felt, because I never lost, and for many athletes who lost, it was an unhealed wound.

I saw the famous weightlifter Yuri Vlasov when he was trying to regain the championship title - then we went to the barbell gym, worked with weights, and his coach Bagdasarov helped us. I remember, I also asked Suren Petrosovich: "Do you think Vlasov will return?" - and heard: "No!" - "Why?" - I was surprised (I was probably 16-17 years old). “You see,” he said, “there are different athletes. Some gradually go to the result, just like in life, they balance sometimes higher and sometimes lower - today they can fall one or two steps, and tomorrow they can rise - and, in general, they are ready for this. Others quickly burst onto the pedestal, but if they suddenly fall, they usually don’t come back. ”

I strongly remember this, and you know, when, many years later, Vlasov already became a People's Deputy of the USSR, a member of the Interregional Group, it was still noticeable (at least to me) that this had not healed in him. Other athletes also reacted painfully to defeat. Personally, I never felt fear at competitions, but I was wildly afraid before that: as soon as the new season began, I lost my peace. In order not to come with this horror to the next championship, I worked like an abnormal, did everything and even more.

I myself never wanted to stay in the West. I knew how they remained - Belousova and Protopopov ... I must say that literally three days after that we performed in Vienna, and, of course, we were warned not to communicate either with them or with the press ... The most surprising thing is that There were practically no questions about Belousova and Protopopov, and I realized that this was not a super-sensational event in the West. Let's start with the fact that athletes who have already left the arena, people of age, have left, in addition, as far as I know, their fees, by and large, were penny. Yes, yes, although they are two-time Olympic champions, they skated for scanty money, but stayed because they were lucky to receive an inheritance from one lady ... Belousova and Protopopov hide it in every possible way, and I found out their secret quite by accident, and when somewhere- then she said about him, they were wildly offended at me.

I think the inheritance was small. They got it "to bearer" - there is such a form, but nevertheless the root cause of their action is in the psychology of people who have devoted their whole lives to figure skating and losers ...

Believe me, I am not trying to condemn them ... In my youth, I generally treated some moments calmly: well, I lost and lost ... The excitement appeared later, and although I worked professionally, I was brought to the top for a long time - it did not happen in one day ...

Gradually, the desire to win became my dream, a fix idea, for the sake of which I could part with everything. It's just that Zhuk very clearly explained to me that the period that is measured in sports is short, and the rest of the joys in life can be obtained later - everything except this one ... Someone is given three or four years to achieve the highest results, the lucky ones - as much as six ... this period turned out to be somewhat longer for me ... "

And again, let's return to the interview of Belousova and Protopopov, where they speak very unflatteringly not only about Rodnina:

O. Protopopov: “At the World Championships in Moscow, we were on the podium next to Alexei Ulanov. He sat one row higher. I'm sure he saw both me and Luda. But he pretended not to notice. "

L. Belousova: “I could have apologized for the past! He condemned us that we went abroad, but what did he do? As soon as perestroika began, I flew to America. Now he lives in California. (Note that Ulanov flew away, and did not escape to the West by "secret paths." F.R.). You know, life puts everything in its place. Then, in 2005, fans came to us in Moscow. They took autographs, asked to be photographed. And Ulanov was sitting alone, no one approached him. People forgot him, did not recognize him. "

O. Protopopov: “When Smirnova became pregnant, Ulanov was not at all happy. He didn't want a child. And even kicked her in the stomach! They went to America together, but then divorced. Luda returned to St. Petersburg ...

In an interview, Zhuk recklessly stated that Alexander Zaitsev (and he was a thin guy, he lacked strength) increased muscle mass by six kilograms in a month. Can you imagine what it is? It is impossible to strengthen muscles in a month without doping! Stasik was obviously feeding him something. And now, to hell with them - no one would have given Rodnina and Zaitsev to win six world championships in a row. Now, for such a small thing, they would be disqualified for two years.

I don't know why Rodnina left Sasha. They say he became impotent. And drank black. But this is their business ... "

So, having poured mud on colleagues from head to toe, fugitive skaters told the following about their life:

O. Protopopov: “What are we - decrepit old people? In America, in Lake Placid, we have a good friend - Barbara Kelly. Aged 80, she is the US figure skating champion in her age category. This is who you need to look up to! We visit Barbara every year for a few months, renting an apartment and a skating rink from her. We also do windsurfing ... "

L. Belousova: “Last winter in Switzerland, in Grindelwald, we saw a familiar face at the rink. Bah, this is our doctor, but we barely recognized him! Because we almost never go to doctors. True, Oleg checks his eyesight every two years - he needs a certificate to drive a car. "

O. Protopopov: “I've been driving since 1964. And I have never had an accident. "

The lyrical style of the phenomenal couple Lyudmila Belousova - Oleg Protopopov still remains the standard of skating for two people in love with each other and on the ice. "Dreams of Love" to the music of Franz Liszt in 1964 in Innsbruck were gold - the first gold medals in the history of Soviet figure skating! At the Games in Grenoble-1968, the couple again became the first, between the Games four times becoming world and European champions.

These two did not know what it was like to be like others. But they knew, felt, believed that their work was unique. And they only wanted to go their own way. After retiring from sports in 1972, they worked in the Leningrad ice ballet, and in 1979 they asked for political asylum in Switzerland. They wanted freedom, above all creative. The loss of titles, the crossed out names from our sports directories - all this did not interfere with their love. So, it didn’t hurt to ride. The reprinted reference books did not touch on the meaning of life.

“Do you think we were not patriots? - said in an interview with "MK" Oleg Alekseevich. - Yes, they were ready to give everything for the sake of the Motherland. Otherwise, why would I skate when I had bleeding at the Olympic Games in Grenoble - I had kidney stones and terrible colic, and the operation could not be done: if the abdominal muscle was cut, I would have to forget about supports. Remaining in Switzerland, they immediately told the local authorities that the reasons for our escape were purely creative. In us all the time, something did not suit Russia: we were either too athletic, then too theatrical, then vice versa. Then they stopped letting us into competitions, inviting us to demonstration performances ... We did not allow ourselves to be controlled. Probably, this was the whole essence of our conflicts. "

It's hard to believe, but Belousova - Protopopov skated until recently. Someone thought it, with all due respect to the skaters, even superfluous. Everything, they say, has its time. But not skating for them, not going out on the ice was like not breathing. And that means not to live. “Our strength lies only in the fact that we go out on the ice every day. If we lose it, we will lose everything ... ".

In 1999, for the first time after their escape, they flew to Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were then invited by Vyacheslav Fetisov to the final of the Grand Prix in figure skating in St. Petersburg. And Oleg Alekseevich, accepting the invitation, did not hesitate to clarify: “Why is this all of a sudden and in the capacity of whom? Aren't they wedding generals? " They did not want to see themselves in this role.

When they realized that they were really awaited, they said that they would be happy to skate for at least an hour on the ice of Yubileiny, which is unforgettable for them. After all, this was the first palace in St. Petersburg, built under Khrushchev. Once, at a personal meeting with Khrushchev, legendary athletes said that Leningrad could not remain without an ice palace. He supported their idea, supported by the fans, who sent skaters a ruble in letters to finance the construction of an ice rink.

... Thin, fragile Lyudmila next to her partner and husband at the airport seemed somehow unreal. How could nature hide such a power of character in such a light, to the point of transparency, shell? “There must be a mystery in figure skating, as in a woman,” says Oleg Protopopov. There was a secret in Belousova. You don't need to solve it, you can only admire and remember.

"MK" met famous skaters then at Sheremetyevo. Then they will fly to Moscow several times. And we even went to the Olympic Games in Sochi. But that first meeting after such a long break, remained in my memory as a vivid memory.

"Sentinels of Love" was the title of the MK report from Sheremetyevo.

Today Oleg Protopopov is left alone. Wife, partner, ally, friend, his great secret is gone, leaving the post. And - stayed. As a symbol of boundless love, fidelity and faith ...

"MK" repeats the interview given by the skaters in the first minutes after their return. None of the answers need to be corrected. Oleg answered questions, but Lyudmila was there all the time and agreed with a nod, without losing a slight smile for a second.

... “Mila! Oleg!" - several loyal friends of the great Belousova and Protopopov rushed between the legendary figure skaters who had just arrived, trying to push back the press photographers and television cameras near the VIP staircase of arrival at Sheremetyevo. Twenty-four years is so much ... "A lot," Lyudmila nodded, exuding such a charming smile that she just wanted to freeze next to her and not move.

For twenty-four years Russia has not seen its first Olympic figure skating champions. Over the years - how many there were, champions! .. But Belousova-Protopopov are unique. Proud but not arrogant. Swiss by passport, but Russian. At Sheremetyevo they were happy. And - touchedly said "thank you" to all those who met. “Thank you for coming,” the audience responded somewhat dumbfounded from such a “non-stellar” behavior ...

- Lyudmila, Oleg! Skates with you?

Of course, we want to practice in St. Petersburg, in "Yubileiny". Remember, as they say, youth, although we are not old ...

- Let me give you the MK number: we already announced your arrival yesterday ...

Thank you very much: we just read Moskovsky Komsomolets on the plane. We didn't expect it to be so touching!

- You look amazing ...

We are trying. You have to keep yourself in shape! Lyudmila weighs 42 kilograms, I - 64. On vacation, we can add a couple of kilograms ... But this is our combat, competitive weight. Yes, we even lost a little weight compared to the past: in any case, the costumes in which we performed at the Olympics in Grenoble back in 68 are a little too big today.

- Do you know that many in Russia still just dream of seeing you on the ice again?

Apparently, because they know that we do not part with the ice. Of course, we don't do triple jumps - one or two turns. But all the essential elements of pair skating - support, rotation, spirals ... - are all there. And we are sure - it will be a very long time. It's just that the vestibular apparatus needs to be strengthened. You stand on a wooden spinning disc and rotate in different directions - the more, the better. It's not a problem for us to make 23 complete turns with our eyes closed. And then it's not a problem to withstand three or four and a half minutes on the ice.

- Now, when you have already set foot on Moscow land, have emotions swept over? ..

We are like in a dream: just now Mila was filling out a questionnaire on the plane, an entry declaration ... And she wrote that it was not the State Sports Committee who invited us, but the State Concert. I wrote it out of old memory. And that was exactly 24 years ago, when we left the Soviet Union - and just through the State Concert. I tell her: “Listen, it was like yesterday! We left yesterday, and today we have arrived ... "What a fantasy!

- Are you ready for the upheavals that await you, even from the fact that you simply don’t recognize Moscow?

And I don’t know - it seems to me that we didn’t go anywhere. But we see new and young faces around us - you can't imagine how nice it is!

- Honestly: wasn't it scary to accept the invitation?

Why be afraid? ..

“We cut off the past from ourselves once and for all. We are very determined people ... Besides, every day in our house we watch ORT, NTV and the Russian channel. That is, you are aware of all the events in your life today. It is enough to look at this for five minutes to stop any desire to come here. If someday we come, then only as artists to perform in front of fellow countrymen, ”- you said this in your summer interview with“ MK ”. Why did you accept the invitation now?

We decided that we had no right to refuse. We were invited by the chairman of the State Sports Committee Vyacheslav Fetisov - and this was the first time in 48 years of our sports life. We were not given such an honor even after the Olympic Games, when we won. Then we were greeted, of course, in a different way, but we will not remember the old ... Naturally, we knew that a lot had changed. But there are no fears, since we flew to a new country and a new Russia.

- But there is still enough disorder in the new Russia - maybe it was better to keep some illusions?

My desk is also a complete mess, but I can navigate it very well and find all the things I need. So if something is wrong in our homeland, then there are people who, with intelligence and good brains, are well versed in this.

- You have never dropped out of figure skating, you yourself continue to skate and comment ...

Yes, we are sometimes asked: do you keep track of new names? We do not track them - we have been covering major competitions on Radio Liberty for seven years now. Sometimes you have to work at night. So we are not tracking, but we are constantly in the good news. We can also predict the future: the future belongs to those who know how and want to work. Russia does not need to sleep in any case: they do not sleep in the East ...

- Do you criticize the judges?

The refereeing has always been different. No computer system can replace the human eye, and most importantly, a professional look at oneself. If I look at the computer, I will definitely be mistaken. After all, a computer, among other things, is an artificial creation, of the very same person. And then he begins to believe in him - although he made the program himself. But I can make the program so that it will make the choice as I want! So the element of subjectivity is still inevitable in figure skating. And this is also the essence of competition. Another thing is that you want the competition to be fair. But not like that: some ISU administrator comes out - and suddenly he gives another pair a medal! I would never go to such an award in my life: I am either a champion or a semi-champion, excuse me! ..

- Do you get upset watching today's figure skating?

You know, figure skating has to be a mystery, like a woman. When there is this riddle, then it is interesting. No, nothing upsets us - not at the age when they are worried about this. Moreover, we are minding our own business and trying to skate the way we want. And one-day ones - they will ride and leave, and no one will ever see them again.

- If you are offered in Moscow or St. Petersburg to advise one of the athletes - will you accept the offer?

There have been no requests for consultation in 24 years. Yes, to be honest, if people like Stasik Zhuk were not in great demand ... What can we talk about ?! Zhuk earned 138 medals for his country - and he was not allowed on the CSKA rink! But, despite the fact that we do not train today, our former students train, and they have world champions: Vali Nikolaev had Oksana Baiul, the Velikovs had Shishkova-Naumov, Petrova-Tikhonov ... And then: we tried several train once, but realized that giving something to others, we cannot train normally ourselves. A real coach cannot work half-heartedly. And for oneself and for others, the energy may simply not be enough. We still strive to skate, which means that we cannot take too much away from ourselves. But we can give advice to children who ride alongside, of course, for free. Children cannot be denied.

Now you will see Moscow and the luxurious houses with which it has grown. Do you admit the thought that you want to return, buy an apartment? ..

Our main home is ice. Where there is ice, there is our apartment. And thoughts ... We are still very grateful to our country: on the one hand, it raised us, but it could also grind us to powder. Switzerland is the country that provided support in difficult times, saved our lives, we now have a different citizenship. But as we were Russians, we have remained ...

In 1994 we received Swiss citizenship. But we are not the heroes of this country. Switzerland has its own legends. If we had won anything, flying under their flag, then it would be a different matter. We were there on tour from that very State Concert. They stayed and immediately signed a contract with the American ballet on ice. A month and a half after our escape, we were already touring with might and main. We had no money, no corner ... When we announced that we would never return to Russia, police officers were immediately invited to us, and they took away Soviet passports. We never saw them again, then they brought us to one hotel, then to another ... Until now, we do not know the place where they hid us (since the Soviet special services were looking for us) - only after it was announced about giving us political asylum, we could start thinking about our coal.

But all this was already secondary. The main thing is that we were on the ice, we could train ... That's why I say: our apartment is where the ice is, on which we skate!

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The star of Soviet figure skating, Lyudmila Belousova, who performed in a duet with Oleg Protopopov, passed away. About this on his Twitter page reported Kristen Beatty is the producer of one of the American skaters show 6ABC.

"Today Lyudmila Belousova died at the age of 81. It was an honor for me to ride with her in the show and receive advice from her when I performed in pairs," Beatty commented on Belousova's departure from life in her microblog.

The cause of death of the skater could be cancer. Oleg Makarov, bronze medalist of the 1984 Games in pair skating, who was closely acquainted with the star couple, told about this portal at "R-Sport".

“Belousova had cancer. They diagnosed it a year and a half ago. They were treated in Europe. - said Makarov.

Lyudmila Belousova performed in tandem with her husband Oleg Protopopov. They have repeatedly climbed to the highest step of the podium at various world competitions. In particular, they won gold at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble. Also on account of the legends of Russian figure skating four victories at the world championships and four gold at the European championships.

After completing a career in amateur sports, the skaters continued to skate in the Leningrad Ballet on Ice, and went on foreign tours with him. In 1979, Belousova and Protopopov, after performing in Switzerland, asked for political asylum in this country. For their act, the skaters were deprived of the titles of Honored Masters of Sports of the USSR, and they were forbidden to return to their homeland.

However, the champions were not embarrassed. Having adopted Swiss citizenship, the couple continued to skate professionally, performing around the world in various show programs. For the first time after her departure, Lyudmila Belousova visited Russia only in 2003.

Despite a fairly decent age, the skaters did not part with sports for a minute. It is worth noting that the last time Belousova went on the ice not so long ago. In the fall of 2015, the legendary duo once again delighted audiences with a three-minute program at the annual Night With Champions show in Allston, Massachusetts.


The departure of their lives, Lyudmila Belousova, shocked her colleagues in the sports department. According to the Russian coach Mikhail Mishin, this is an irreparable loss for the entire national figure skating and especially for him.

“I spent half of my sports life with her and Oleg in the same locker room. I offer my condolences to Oleg and all her fans, figure skating fans,” Mishin continued. they devoted not to the accumulation of benefits, but to their own business, which they served - figure skating, "TASS quotes Mikhail Mishin as saying.

Where the legend of Russian figure skating will be buried, in Switzerland or at home, is still unknown.

WITH Belousova and Protopopova the golden history of Soviet figure skating began.

- Excuse us, please, but Oleg and I decided that we are no longer giving interviews. Too often journalists have misinterpreted our words- answered Lyudmila Evgenievna when we dialed the Swiss number of Belousova and Protopopov in the summer of 2005. - But if you want, just come and visit us. Let's show how we live. You know what kind of air there is ...

Tiny Grindelwald, which is called the "Village of Glaciers". Only 4 thousand people, ski slopes, a skating rink, pine trees ... They have been breathing this air since 1979, when they fled from the USSR after ballet dancer Alexander Godunov. It was planned to be on the ice up to 100 years old, to live up to 280 years, believing in the methodology of the St. scientist Volkov and his elixir of immortality.

- If we intend to ride for a long time, the only thing that remains is to keep ourselves in perfect order. First of all, the internal organs,- said Oleg Alekseevich.

Student and sailor

Blockade. From childhood memories - a ration of bread 125 g and a truck sinking in Lake Ladoga with schoolchildren who were evacuated from Leningrad along the Road of Life. He began to practice figure skating only at the age of 15, two years after the war. She came to the ice wearing skates riveted to her mother's shoes. The boots were large, the legs had to be wrapped in newspapers. In 1951, when the first artificial skating rink was opened in Moscow, she was 16 years old.

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, 1965.Photo: RIA Novosti / Dmitry Donskoy

By the time they met, Oleg had served in the navy, Mila had entered the Institute of Railway Transport. Then they could not remember in any way who invited whom to this ice dance.

- Some group of skaters did not come to training. A "window" was formed. And then one of us offered to ride,- will write Belousova and Protopopov in their book. - Sometimes we ask ourselves the question: "What would have happened if ..." Well, let's say, what would have happened if one fine autumn day in 1954 Oleg had not accidentally arrived in Moscow for a third-rate coaching seminar held on the first artificial ice patch in the country then?

At first it was just a love of figure skating. Love of two hearts?

- She came to us much later, although at first glance I liked the slender Baltic sailor,- said Lyudmila.

In 3 years after the “beautiful autumn day” they will get married, in 10 years they will win the Olympics in Innsbruck and bring the USSR the first “gold” in pair skating. Then there will be another one - in Grenoble. The coaches themselves, Belousova and Protopopov, created unique programs. Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven. Tiny - 40 kg - Mila, Oleg's naval bearing. Absolute synchronicity and energy, which only loving people have and which force the judges to give "6.0" for artistry. It was they who became the first excellent students of the national school of figure skating (since 1964, only once did our couples not climb to the top step of the Olympic podium - in Vancouver 2010. - Ed.).

Delete from lists

He was 37, she was 34 when they started losing to young Rodnina and Ulanov... At the USSR Championship in 1970, the judges sent Belousova and Protopopov to 4th place. The spectators, dissatisfied with the verdict, whistled when the crushed Oleg and Lyudmila went to the locker room. Then they were completely excommunicated from the national team with a resume "the skating of Belousova and Protopopov is outdated", they were denied a trip to the third Olympics. This was the system - Soviet sports officials without sentimentality wrote off any champions for scrap.

- We were going to go to Sapporo(Olympiad-72. - Ed.). The Rodnina - Ulanov pair were considered favorites, Smirnova - Suraykin was the second, but we could count on a solid third place, '' said Protopopov. - I remember convincing Sergei Pavlov a (head of the Sports Committee. - Ed.): “There is a chance to take the entire Olympic podium! Opportunity must not be missed. " Naive moron! This is me about myself ... They did not even think of taking us anywhere: the bronze in pair skating was already promised to the GDR team, and for this the Germans promised to support Sergei Chetverukhin in singles competitions, where the USSR's positions were weaker. In fact, we were sold, although in shape everything looked pretty decent.

In April 1972 they took part in the USSR Championship for the last time. Then they left the sport and got a job at the Leningrad Ballet on Ice. Posters with the names of two-time Olympic champions adorned New York's Madison Square Garden. For the show then they paid 10 thousand dollars, of which 9,947 dollars had to be given to the State Concert. In the Soviet Union, their names were not highlighted on posters.

- I asked: why is that? They answered: they say, there is a shortage of paper in the country, no one will print anything especially for you. They said in my eyes: "Nobody needs you here",- Protopopov wondered. Resentment against the system grew, and the thought appeared: to run to where talent will be appreciated.

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, 1971 Photo: RIA Novosti / Dmitry Donskoy

Lyudmila and Oleg did not return from the Swiss touring roles of the ice Len-ballet. On September 4, 1979, instead of the airport, they went to the police department to write an application for political asylum. All they had was a sewing machine to sew costumes, art books and videotapes. Ernst Unknown then he compared the escape of Belousova and Protopopov with the flight to the West from the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the famous sculpture Mukhina"Worker and Kolkhoz Woman". After all, they were the same symbol of the era.

- When we left the country, everyone immediately pretended that Belousova and Protopopov did not exist, - the skaters told. If their ice paths accidentally crossed with yesterday's colleagues, they averted their eyes, shied away as if from lepers, because just for a handshake with the traitors of the Motherland, one could become restricted to travel abroad. Once Stanislav Zhuk (coach of the Rodnin-Ulanov pair - Ed.), Having met them in Europe, whispers: "These ***** do not allow to talk to you."

Belousova and Protopopov were stripped of the title "Honored Master of Sports" in one second, and the names were deleted from all reference books telling about the Olympic achievements of the USSR.

- No, we do not hold evil. It is all the more stupid to take offense at the country, at the people,- Lyudmila Evgenievna will say decades later. - We have never suffered from nostalgia. Russia has always remained in the heart, but we have long been people of the world, we are understood everywhere regardless of language ... We were and will remain Russian, and being a citizen does not mean having a piece of paper with a seal.

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, 1969 Photo: www.globallookpress.com

"No need to help us"

For the first time, they will cross the borders of a new country after 24 years - they will invite figure skaters to Moscow Vyacheslav Fetisov. There will be only three Russian visits. Belousova and Protopopov felt like strangers here. They lived and trained in Grindelwald. Even at 70, they spent five hours a day on ice. Lyudmila Evgenievna weighed the same 40 kg. We went to the USA, participated in the show. The last time they received American applause was in 2015 - she was 79, he was 83.

Children ... But somehow it didn't work out. The version for journalists - a one-year break associated with the birth of a child could affect the results, change Mila's figure.

They were just fine with each other. The only desire is "to finish a film about my performances so that people can see everything with their own eyes."

This summer we called the Swiss number again, hoping the skaters would change their minds and agree to an interview. Oleg Alekseevich answered the phone: “You know, Lyudmila is not feeling well. She has cancer. We are constantly in the clinic for procedures. No, no, no help needed. We can handle it ourselves. We are used to it. I believe that everything will be fine ... "

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov during the ice show "Tatiana Tarasova and her students", 2007. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexey Nikolsky

In December, they were supposed to have a wedding anniversary - diamond - 60 years. They would have marked him on the ice for sure. As only Belousova and Protopopov can do.

- We see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, except for the music in which we plunge and with which we rush along the rink. Again the tacit explanation of two hearts- this is how Lyudmila Evgenievna explained the magic of their dance. Last week one of those hearts stopped beating.

Oleg Alekseevich Protopopov. Born on July 16, 1932 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Soviet figure skater, two-time Olympic champion (1964 and 1968) in pair skating paired with Lyudmila Belousova. Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1962; deprived in 1979).

In childhood, he survived the blockade of Leningrad.

He was raised by his stepfather, the poet Dmitry Censor, who saved them and their mother during the war. As Protopopov recalled, the Censor pulled them out of the besieged city when they were already on the verge of death.

It was his stepfather who gave him the first skates in his life. However, he began to seriously engage in figure skating only at the age of 15 - in 1947 with coach Nina Vasilievna Lepninskaya.

In 1951 he was preparing to take part in all-Union competitions, but was drafted into the army in the Baltic Fleet. He was demobilized in 1956, but during the service he continued to practice figure skating - he was released from the ship for training.

At first he performed in tandem with Margarita Bogoyavlenskaya, with whom he won the bronze medal of the 1953 USSR championship.

In 1954 he began performing with Lyudmila Belousova, whom I met at a seminar in Moscow. They decided to just ride together, tried some elements. It seemed to the athletes that they fit together. Belousova moved to Leningrad and in December 1954 the athletes began to train together under the guidance of I.B. Moskvin, for some time - P.P. Orlov. From time to time they worked together, they put their own programs. By 1957, they were silver medalists of the USSR championship and masters of sports.

In December 1957, the skaters got married and have not parted since then.

They made their international debut in 1958. The technical arsenal of the athletes was not rich, besides, inexperience affected, so they got nervous and did not perform very well at the 1958 European Championship - they made mistakes while performing simple elements.

At the 1959 European Championships, they allowed a fall, the judges gave an average score of 5.0-5.1. At their first 1960 Olympics in the United States, the pair scored by a wide margin, ranging from 4.6 / 4.5 by the Canadian judges to 5.2 / 5.2 by the Austrian and Swiss judges.

In the 1960s, the couple grew significantly both technically and artistically. Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova came up with and were the first to perform many of the elements, which later became part of the compulsory competition program for figure skaters around the world. So, for the first time they performed a todes forward on the inner edge, the so-called. "Cosmic spiral".

The first success came in 1962: the skaters finally won the USSR championship for the first time (on the eighth attempt!) And took 2nd place at the European Championships and the World Championships, where the pair lost to the Canadian pair O. and M. Dzhelinek with one judge's vote and only one tenth points.

In 1963, the couple staged a free program to jazz music, getting average marks already at the level of 5.7-5.8. At the 1964 European Championships in the compulsory program, the couple received higher marks than M. Kilius - H.-Yu. Boimler (FRG), but lost to them in most places, in the free program a pair from FRG also bypassed the Soviet pair and won. At the 64 Olympics, they unexpectedly beat Kilius and Boimler with an advantage of one judge's vote, thanks to the high level of coordination, synchronization and harmony of skating, beautiful spirals, a combination of twine and axel jumps in one and a half turn, double salchow, several supports, including a toothed lasso in two turns. Almost all judges gave marks of 5.8-5.9.

speech by Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov

Their programs of 1965-68 became their masterpieces, in which the image of lovers was revealed with inspiration, with a subtle psychologism, almost absolute synchronization of all movements, amazing beauty and smoothness of lines were achieved. Belousova - Protopopov led the world pair skating along the path of artistic enrichment of programs.

In 1966, a new pair of Zhuk - Gorelik, who lost to them at the World Championship by only one referee's vote, made their fiercest competition.

At their third Olympics (1968), the couple won both programs. In the free program, evaluated by journalists as a triumphant, free program to the music of Rachmaninov and Beethoven, the following were purely performed: a combination of double rittberger - steps - axel one and a half turn, double salchow, 7 various supports, including a toothed lasso and lasso-axel, as well as a huge spiral in length in a camel position, lasting 15 seconds. Only the first starting number in the strongest warm-up did not allow the judges to score 6.0, while six judges put 5.9 / 5.9, two 5.8 / 5.9, and the judge from the GDR 5.8 / 5.8 was booed by the audience.

At the 1968 World Cup, almost all the judges gave 5.8 / 5.9 marks, while the judges from Germany and the German Democratic Republic both gave 5.7 / 6.0.

However, then the pair began to lose to younger Soviet pairs, which made the program extremely difficult. At the 1969 World Championships, the athletes made several mistakes and took third place. In 1970, at the USSR championship, they were in the lead after the fulfillment of the compulsory program, however, in terms of the sum of the two types, they remained only fourth and did not make it to the national team (later they announced a conspiracy). At the 1971 USSR Championship, the pair was only sixth, and in April 1972 - the third, but in the absence of the strongest pairs, after which the athletes left amateur sports.

He was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1965, 1968), the Jacques Favard Prize of the International Skating Union.

Having left the big sport, the athletes did not part with figure skating, they worked in the Leningrad Ballet on Ice.

In 1978, the apartment of Belousova and Protopopov in Leningrad was robbed, all the medals were stolen.

They tried to join the CPSU, as they honestly admitted, for career reasons. But they were not accepted. Oleg Protopopov said: “They waited in line for three years, but they did not accept us. They said that the party of workers and peasants, among the candidates there are no less worthy people than you. Yes, on our part it was a opportunistic calculation ... We wrote statements, took recommendations from Tamara Moskvina, director of the St. Petersburg Sports Palace "Yubileiny" Sergei Tolstikhin, but nothing helped. "

Flight from the USSR

On September 24, 1979, Belousova and Protopopov, being with the Leningrad Ballet on Ice on tour in Switzerland, asked the leadership of this country for political asylum and refused to return to the USSR.

In the USSR, athletes were stripped of the titles of honored masters of sports, their names were deleted from all Soviet reference books telling about the Olympic achievements of the USSR, and the athletes themselves were openly called traitors.

Belousova and Protopopov themselves explained their step by the fact that in their native country the couple was not allowed to develop further, they did not want to quit sports and believed that abroad their talent would be appreciated more.

Oleg Protopopov on the reasons for emigration:

"At one time they spread rumors that we were asking to come back, but this was not the case. Yes, I was born in Leningrad and was not going to leave anywhere. I even told Ekaterina Furtseva, the Minister of Culture, who called me and Lyuda to Moscow, that I wanted to die. But then the circumstances changed. At some point we felt like in prison. The only way to escape was emigration. And this decision, believe me, was not easy at all. We were forced to accept it. ...

It's a matter of the past, today, probably, few remember, but we were preparing for the Olympics-72, we were going to go to Sapporo. The Rodnina - Ulanov pair was considered the favorites, our students Smirnova - Suraykin were the second, but we could count on a solid third place. Least. I remember trying to convince Sergei Pavlov, the country's main athlete: “There is a chance to take the entire Olympic podium! Opportunity must not be missed. " Naive moron! This is me about myself ... They did not even think of taking us anywhere: the bronze in pair skating was already promised to the GDR team, and for this the Germans promised to support Sergei Chetverukhin in singles competitions, where the USSR's positions were weaker.

In fact, we were sold, although in form everything looked pretty decent. Before the Olympics, the coaching council gathered and ... Nobody supported our candidacies. The games were won by Rodnina and Ulanov, although Luda Smirnova and Andryusha Suraikin, whom we staged a free program, should have won. They skated cleanly, and Ulanov did not fulfill the required element, did not jump a double somersault, which was a gross violation. Nevertheless, the judges forgave the mistake. Now such a trick would not work ...

Then they spat on the rules, did what they wanted. In 70, at the USSR Championship in Kiev, we were in the lead after the first day, and Rodnina and Ulanov were eighth. It ended with the fact that they won, and we were thrown back into fourth place. Is this possible with normal refereeing? We had to crawl on the belly in order to fall so low! "

Lived in Grindelwald.

In 1995, they received Swiss citizenship, after which they were able to speak at the opening of the European Championship in Sofia (1995).

In November 2005, they visited Russia at the invitation of the St. Petersburg Figure Skating Federation.

We attended the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

In September 2015, 79-year-old Lyudmila Belousova and 83-year-old Oleg Protopopov performed on ice in the USA at the "Evening with Champions".

Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova. Moscow. 2015 year

Oleg Protopopov's height: 175 centimeters.

Personal life of Oleg Protopopov:

He was married to figure skater Lyudmila Belousova, his ice partner. They got married in December 1957 and lived together all their lives.

They had no children.

According to the couple's explanations, they did not give birth to children so as not to become hostages of the Soviet system. Apparently, their plan of escape to the West matured a long time ago. Belousova said: “We saw how Viktor Korchnoi suffered. He left for the West, while Bella and her son stayed in the USSR. Vitya was actually blackmailed, saying: if you beat Karpov, forget about your family. We know this firsthand, Bella’s in Switzerland was the same lawyer as ours. The Soviet system did not forgive those who tried to swim against the tide. "

Sports achievements of Oleg Protopopov:

Winter Olympics: gold (1964, 1968);

World Championships: gold (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968), silver (1962, 1963, 1964), bronze (1969);

European Championships: gold (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968), silver (1962, 1963, 1964, 1969);

USSR Championships: gold (1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968), silver (1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1969), bronze (1953, 1954, 1955).