Daughter of the family. Irina Rodnina explained why her daughter lives abroad

At the age of 4, she emigrated with her family to the United States, where she settled in California. She graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Department of Political Science, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating from university, she interned at the channel's bureau in Washington. From October 2009 to July 2012, she hosted her own program “The Alyona Show” on the same channel. She was one of the producers for Barack Obama's first inauguration in January 2009. Currently he hosts the “Free Speech Zone” program on HuffPost Live, the video portal of the American news aggregator The Huffington Post. She was a guest host on the program “The Young Turks”. Adheres to liberal views. In 2014, she was nominated for Outstanding Digital Multimedia Journalism at the GLAAD Media Awards for her HuffPost Live program "Bisexuals Wait Their Turn in the White House."

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Excerpt characterizing Minkovskaya, Alena Leonidovna

- Should there be an enemy in the area? - Rostov repeated again.
“It may be him, or it may be so,” said the hussar, “it’s a night thing.” Well! shawls! - he shouted at his horse, moving under him.
Rostov's horse was also in a hurry, kicking the frozen ground, listening to the sounds and looking closely at the lights. The screams of voices grew stronger and stronger and merged into a general roar that could only be produced by an army of several thousand. The fires spread more and more, probably along the line of the French camp. Rostov no longer wanted to sleep. The cheerful, triumphant cries from the enemy army had an exciting effect on him: Vive l"empereur, l"empereur! [Long live the Emperor, Emperor!] was now clearly heard by Rostov.
- It’s not far, it must be beyond the stream? - he said to the hussar standing next to him.
The hussar only sighed, without answering, and cleared his throat angrily. Along the line of hussars the tramp of a horse riding at a trot was heard, and from the night fog the figure of a hussar non-commissioned officer suddenly appeared, appearing like a huge elephant.
- Your honor, generals! - said the non-commissioned officer, approaching Rostov.
Rostov, continuing to look back at the lights and shouts, rode with the non-commissioned officer towards several horsemen riding along the line. One was on a white horse. Prince Bagration with Prince Dolgorukov and his adjutants went to see the strange phenomenon of lights and screams in the enemy army. Rostov, having approached Bagration, reported to him and joined the adjutants, listening to what the generals were saying.
“Believe me,” said Prince Dolgorukov, turning to Bagration, “that this is nothing more than a trick: he retreated and ordered the rearguard to light fires and make noise in order to deceive us.”
“Hardly,” said Bagration, “I saw them on that hill in the evening; If they left, they left there. Mr. Officer,” Prince Bagration turned to Rostov, “are his flankers still standing there?”
“We’ve been standing there since the evening, but now I don’t know, your Excellency.” Order, I will go with the hussars,” said Rostov.
Bagration stopped and, without answering, tried to make out Rostov’s face in the fog.
“Well, look,” he said, after a pause.
- I’m listening s.
Rostov gave spurs to his horse, called out to non-commissioned officer Fedchenka and two more hussars, ordered them to follow him and trotted down the hill towards the continued screams. It was both scary and fun for Rostov to travel alone with three hussars there, into this mysterious and dangerous foggy distance, where no one had been before. Bagration shouted to him from the mountain so that he should not go further than the stream, but Rostov pretended as if he had not heard his words, and, without stopping, rode further and further, constantly being deceived, mistaking bushes for trees and potholes for people and constantly explaining his deceptions. Trotting down the mountain, he no longer saw either ours or the enemy’s fires, but heard the cries of the French louder and more clearly. In the hollow he saw in front of him something like a river, but when he reached it, he recognized the road he had passed. Having ridden out onto the road, he held his horse back, undecided: to ride along it, or to cross it and ride uphill through a black field. It was safer to drive along the road that became lighter in the fog, because it was easier to see people. “Follow me,” he said, crossed the road and began to gallop up the mountain, to the place where the French picket had been stationed since the evening.

// Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda / PhotoXPress.ru

68-year-old figure skater and State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina gave a long interview to journalists, in which she talked about her 32-year-old daughter Alena Minkovskaya. The girl has been living in the USA since she was four years old. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, she began a career in journalism. Now Alena hosts a program on the video portal of a popular American news aggregator.

According to Rodnina, her daughter was raised by America. The journalist’s father is businessman Leonid Minkovsky, who left for the USA. After the man left the athlete, litigation began between the ex-spouses regarding their common child. Minkovsky was afraid that Rodnina might take her daughter out of the country. Therefore, he forbade Alena from entering Russia until she was 18 years old. Irina Konstantinovna had to meet her ex-husband halfway. As Rodnina told reporters, she was repeatedly reproached because of her heiress living abroad. The woman herself does not see anything reprehensible in this.

Journalists asked Irina Konstantinovna if she was offended that her daughter was in America. Alena writes on social networks about how she read all of Harry Potter, and not the books of Nikolai Nosov, which her mother discusses on social networks.

“Each generation lives its own life. Why should I impose my own? My task was to raise children, raise them, and educate them. Then everyone stands in their positions. That's probably when interesting people appear. And not when they depend on adults and look at life through the eyes of adults. This, by the way, is the problem with our education. Peter the Great introduced drills and cramming. I would like more freedom. So that the teacher, if you answer differently than he taught, does not lower your grade,” the sports star believes.

According to Rodnina, her daughter speaks Russian well and knows five other languages. Alena prefers to communicate with her brother Alexander, who lives in Moscow, in English.

"Easier. The youth. They find a common language faster this way. I remember the moment when they united against me in the hope that I did not understand what they were talking about, and switched to English. Somewhere this is already a habit,” the skater explained.

Irina Konstantinovna herself is not strong enough in English to fully read Alena’s articles. Therefore, the skater prefers to get acquainted with fragments of her materials. Rodnina also admitted that she does not like to talk with her daughter about politics. “We have no confrontation. We respect each other's views. If I pass such laws, I have an opinion on it. If she writes, she also has an opinion,” Sports.ru quotes the deputy.

There are many unknown but very talented people in Russia. Leonid Minkovsky is one of them. He realized himself as a producer and architect. With its help, several controversial and high-quality films were shot.

Leonid Minkovsky: biography

Almost nothing is known about Leonid’s childhood and youth. The only thing that journalists managed to find out was that he was born into a Jewish family in Dnepropetrovsk. There he received his education as an architect.

It is known that Leonid Minkovsky is the husband of Rodnina, who at the time of meeting him had already established herself as a figure skater and was beginning her coaching career.
Many were against this marriage, but at the time of the creation of the family, strong feelings were burning between Rodnina and Minkovsky. Among many ill-wishers, one stood out who believed that Irina, by marrying Leonid, was discrediting herself and betraying the country. The couple decided to leave Russia due to lack of work during the perestroika years. They settled in Lake Arrowhead (California, USA), where Irina began training figure skaters, and Leonid began entrepreneurial activities.

Daughter Alena

In the marriage of Leonid and Irina, a daughter, Alena, appeared, who, during the divorce, became between the former spouses. Leonid Minkovsky sincerely believed that Irina’s employment would not work well, so he made every effort to sue for the right to raise Alena.

For example, police surveillance was installed behind the house where Rodnina lived with her daughter. According to US laws, a child under 13 years old cannot be left alone unattended, but Irina needed to work.

But Leonid Minkovsky could not achieve his goal, and Irina raised her daughter herself. Alena studied in the city of Santa Cruz, located in Northern California. She became a journalist and after coming of age worked with her father on Russian-American projects.

Leonid is proud of his daughter, because she inherited from him the desire to work. For example, when she helped her father on film sets, she had to combine the positions of translator, costume designer and assistant. Father and daughter worked 15 hours a day then.

Work on Russian-American projects

Leonid Minkovsky is known as a producer of films created jointly by Russian and American specialists. He released his first film in 2005. It was the film “Shadow Partner”. It tells the story of the love between a Russian girl and a CIA agent, developing against the backdrop of the girl’s attempts to make public documents revealing a conspiracy at the top of power in Russia and the United States.

Despite the unusual plot and a good script written by Dec, who is also the director of this film, the film failed at the box office. It was greeted coldly in America, where it was released straight to DVD, and criticized in Russia.
Afterwards, a short series “Film Festival” was released, consisting of 4 episodes. It was also produced by Minkovsky, but the filming took place entirely in Russia. Despite the strong cast, the series went unnoticed. Even talented artists were unable to correct the situation with their participation in the project.
The third film, “Abduction,” was again filmed in collaboration with the Americans. The entire filming process took place in the Mosfilm pavilions. This film received good reviews from viewers, who characterized it as a film that breaks Russian cinema. Among the shortcomings, only the plot was too understandable for fans of thrillers and similar situations with “Saw” and other Hollywood thrillers.

The film was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award in three categories, but the award was not received. In 2007, there were more disastrous films.

You and me

After the average film “Abduction,” Leonid Minkovsky was lucky and became the producer of the film “You and Me,” which was a great success. To create it, he continued to work with the famous director Roland Joffe.

The film “You and I” was released in 2011. It is based on the novel “Ta Tu Kam Back” by opposition State Duma deputy Alexei Mitrofanov, which he wrote in collaboration with Anastasia Moiseeva.

Mischa Barton was cast in the main role in this film, and she coped well with the tasks assigned to her. Although those who originally read the novel should not watch this picture. The plot is only vaguely similar to it, but the film has the right to life as a separate work.

with Linda Marlin

After 2011, Leonid stopped working as a producer and flew to the USA, where he realized himself as an architect. Leonid Minkovsky, whose photos of interiors can be found in respectable American magazines, has become a popular architect for people with high incomes.

Leonid is now known as the holder of several patents for furniture that can transform. He now works with Linda Marlin, who shares his passion for design and is one of the world's leading interior designers. Together they create interiors for private homes that are popular among Americans because they combine chic and practicality.

There are no limits to human meanness, ingratitude and stupidity. And no past merits cover the cowardly shame of excuses. “Three-time Olympic champion, State Duma deputy from United Russia Irina Rodnina posted a photograph of racist content on her Twitter microblog. It depicts US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, with a banana in the foreground.

Internet bloggers were outraged by this publication and did not even rule out at first that Rodnina’s page had been hacked. However, the Olympic champion herself confirmed that she posted the photo herself and does not see anything wrong in her action. “Freedom of speech is freedom. Be responsible for your own complexes,” Rodnina wrote. In the United States, the three-time Olympic champion was engaged in coaching. Her daughter still lives there (). From a joint interview with Irina Rodnina and her daughter Alena: "

"The recipe for “patriotism” from deputy Irina Rodnina: take the child to the USA, give her a foreign education, provide her with quality medicine, teach her English and deprive orphans of the last chance to get the same life! There are practically no emotions left. Well, yes, cynicism, yes, meanness, yes, scum. She is not the first, she is not the last. Nowadays meanness and unscrupulousness are at a premium. The main thing is to shout loudly about American enemies and press the button in time. Nowadays it's called "being a patriot." It all started with banderlogs" (), - THE BLOGGER NOTICED VERY ACCURATELY razbudili , also about the support of the famous Soviet figure skater for the “law of scoundrels” named after Dima Yakovlev. Probably, in a decent society, Irina Konstantinovna would have stopped shaking hands and would have been branded with disgrace... But here, on the wave of anti-Americanism that flows and is replicated from the screens of the federal media of Russia, it is so shameful to expose a member of parliament, a former figure skater, who is with American athletes competed side by side in the same competitions. Those who are older remember how I. Rodnina sobbed on the pedestal when the Soviet flag was raised - now it seems that these were “crocodile tears” of a small-town patriot who loved herself in sports, more than sports in herself. And all these stories somehow negate the real feat of that little sickly girl who became a three-time Olympic champion; then, having finished her career, when money for sports was tight in Russia, she abandoned her homeland at a difficult moment and went to the States, where she was given both shelter and money. There, in America, her daughter lives and works on television, having completely forgotten the Russian language - and now she is grateful to the American people - for sheltering her at a difficult moment from a racist who was presumptuous in her greatness, who does not consider it an insult, justifies your action?! In the original photograph from which the collage was made, there is, of course, no banana in front of Barack Obama and his wife. The shot is one of a series of photographs taken during a Towson University basketball game in 2011. But I. Rodnina does not know this, does not notice, she is proud of her... lewdness. This is how it turns out that the mother is “at war” with America, and the daughter is a “partisan”?!

SHAME ON Irina Konstantinovna! Who do you think you are when you wrote all this?! You were brought up in an atmosphere of internationalism. You change your beliefs so easily, wavering along with the party line?! Okay, you don’t care what many people think about you, think about your daughter! She won’t be persecuted for showing racism to her mother in Russia, won’t be beaten by black people, won’t be deprived of airtime? You can get away with anything, there is “freedom and democracy?! Dear bloggers from the USA! Ask Irina Rodnina’s daughter Alyona a question, here is her full Twitter account - Alyona, @AlyonaMink: “Born in Moscow. Raised in Cali. Host/Producer at HuffPost Live. Los Angeles, CA · live.huffingtonpost.com", Aren't you ashamed of your mother? Have you not tried to somehow protect and/or admonish her from manifestations of such shameful racism?! What does “freedom of speech” and “other people’s complexes” have to do with it? , when such shameful hints are made?! Rodnina’s daughter, Alena Minkovskaya, was born in 1986, hosts her own program “The Alyona Show” on the Russian English-language TV channel “Russia Today”, studied at the University of Santa Cruz in California. For four years she mastered international politics , and then journalism in America.

Irina Konstantinovna, you not only disgraced yourself with your not very smart repost and defense of the position of pseudo-“free speech”, the United Russia party and the State Duma, if they do not consider your boorish act towards the President of the United States and his wife in the Ethics Commission , - You haven’t even thought and are not thinking about the consequences that it could have for your career and, God forbid, the life of your daughter. Oh, well, yes, of course, the USA is Russia, there is no principle of “SON FOR FATHER”, and the daughter will not have to blush for her mother and explain herself?! But

The daughter of three-time Olympic figure skating champion and State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina, journalist Alena Minkovskaya writes: “Peter Martins should be fired from the New York City Ballet after numerous allegations of physical, verbal and sexual abuse.” This recording was made after an interview with ex-ballet dancer Wilhelmina Frankfurt, who decided to speak out against the director of the ballet since 1983, Peter Martins.

At the same time, Irina Rodnina was a member of the commission that examined accusations of harassment of journalists by LDPR deputy Leonid Slutsky and found no violations in his behavior. This is not the only case where the positions of Rodnina and her children living in the United States diverge. Why is that? And why didn’t Rodnina herself stay with her children in the USA? She spoke about the problems her family faced in America and Russia.

Photo Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti

Irina Rodnina is the only three-time Olympic champion in figure skating in history (Tessa Virtue repeated the result in Pyeongchang, but she has one gold in her team), the person who, together with Vladislav Tretyak, lit the Olympic flame in Sochi 2014. In 1990-2002 she lived in the USA, worked as a coach, after which she returned to Russia. In 2007, she became a State Duma deputy from United Russia, and in 2011 and 2016 she was re-elected for a new term. In parliament she voted for the strangest laws, and a couple of weeks ago she was part of the commission that considered accusations of harassment of journalists by LDPR deputy Leonid Slutsky. The commission found no violations in Slutsky’s behavior, and Rodnina said: “If this [the charge] is the greatest achievement in their journalistic activities, then what can we say?”

Alexander Golovin, a journalist for sports.ru, met with Rodnina to understand why the great athlete needs all this.

– You are a member of the parliament of a country that has difficult relations with the United States. They are our geopolitical enemy. You vote for laws that restrict the activities of American citizens in Russia. At the same time, you spent at least last New Year on Hawaii. Don't you think this is hypocrisy?

– It seems hypocritical when we engage in lousy patriotism. When we start throwing slogans that this is the enemy, and this one is not the enemy. Patriotism isn't about where I spend my time—it's envy. It’s not about what I drive or where I live—it’s also envy. Patriotism is your actions and deeds. And the decisions you make.

Alena Minkovskaya with her mother Irina Rodnina in Hawaii. Photo instagram.com/alyonamink

– There was trafficking in children. I worked in America for 10 years and saw what it turned into. We were even offered to take part in this.

We do not refuse adoption to Europe (Russia denies adoption to any single candidates from countries that recognize same-sex marriage, for example, France, Great Britain, Spain, Canada, Norway - Sports.ru). It’s just that America is the only country where children went that did not sign the international convention. She disregarded all international rules that apply to adopted children. As soon as the child arrived in America, he immediately changed his citizenship, first and last name. If the embassy receives a report every six months about all those adopted to other countries, then in the case of America it does not.

Few people know, but because of this, from 2010 to 2011, we stopped the adaptation of children (adoption - Sports.ru) in the USA for a whole year. Then they finally signed a bilateral agreement. From the very first months it began to be disrupted endlessly. As a result, the law was passed.

– I still don’t understand – what was the trade?

- Ours traded. According to Russian legislation, disabled children were taken abroad first. Do you know how many of those 60 thousand who were adapted to America are truly disabled? Less than five percent. The rest walked under the guise of disabled people. It's very simple. If a child appears in an orphanage, it means something has happened to the parents. Either they were deprived of their rights, or they are alcoholics, homeless. And when a child is not cared for, he develops developmental delays. So all the children were diagnosed.

– What’s wrong if even a non-disabled person found a family in the USA?

- Nothing bad. I'm just saying that we are not being given a report. Look at the amount of abuse these children suffered there. Parents began to change them. I'm not saying this is universal. But there were a lot of such cases. And they didn’t tell us about them because the child was losing his citizenship. Embassy workers were not allowed to attend the trials that were held regarding the issues of the adapted children. Control over them turned out to be almost impossible, unlike other countries.

– Isn’t the situation with bullying worse in Russia?

- It is, yes. But is it good to sell your children?

- I don't see any trade. Children found a family. What difference does it make where?

– Don’t you see? And I will give an example of our American neighbors. They wanted to take two children. We flew and got acquainted. And when they finally came to pick them up, they were told: “We won’t let them, because they have a sister.” It ended with the social workers taking the money and with great pleasure sending all three of them to America. For some it turned out to be a business.

– Is it bad that instead of two children they took three?

- This is good. But why did the social services workers take the money?

– Because we have a bureaucracy and many issues are resolved this way.

- This is not bureaucracy. Don't tell me fairy tales here. The workers knew in advance that if there were three children and they asked for two, they would not be able to give them away. According to our law, brothers and sisters in orphanages cannot be separated. This means that while showing two children, they deliberately kept silent about the third. This is called extortion.

– So this is a problem within Russia.

- Yes. But in America they are not allowed to attend trials, children died, they were handed over to each other. We must have information. These are our citizens.

– What percentage of adopted Russian children die in Russia and America (inRussia– about 1200 cases in 1991-2006 or 1500 in 1996-2012 for more than 100 thousand adoptions. INUSA– 20 cases per 60 thousand adoptions in 1991-2015 –Sports. ru)?

– I don’t have such information. But if we play by international rules, let's play together. Moreover, the United States shouts the most about international rules. We are not raising this question now in relation to Italy or Germany. Haven't you asked yourself why? Or are we just that bad and don’t like America?

- It seems so. When the tough confrontation began, that’s when the law was passed.

– Because America has not met the requirements that are presented to the countries that adopt our children.

– Don’t you notice the political component?

- She was. And why did everyone see it - the Magnitsky Act appeared in the USA. He's political. Before this, there was the Jackson-Vanik law, which was supposed to fly away when Russia was admitted to the WTO. But they couldn’t just leave it like that. The Magnitsky Act came into being.

– And Dima Yakovlev’s law is some kind of answer?

- Certainly. This was a mistake that they made at such a moment. Although laws regarding children have been in place for a long time. Three laws. Ask the communists. They brought it to the Duma and considered it. Some are even in the first reading. They just weren't accepted. And then the Magnitsky law happened, which pushed us to make decisions faster. But again, don’t forget that even before Magnitsky, we didn’t adapt children there for a whole year.

– After the law was adopted, a “March against Scoundrels” took place in Moscow, and your portrait ended up in a trash can. You were upset that it was carried “not by a bright personality, but by an aunt from the queue.” Did you regret your statement later?

- No. Did I say something wrong? It was actually carried by the aunt from the queue, who herself said on TV: “I’ll take this one, because it’s more famous.”

– Is your statement worthy of a deputy?

– Are you a Muscovite? Auntie from the queue is a purely Moscow expression. This is not an insult. Who stood in line before? Those who did not receive food cards. This means common people.

– Who would you like?

“It’s just that if she grabbed onto me to become famous, I had the opportunity to put her down.”

Why did my daughter grow up in America?

– You retweeted this post: “Oh. Bismarck said: “Wars are won and lost at school desks.” And the Chinese add: “If you want to defeat the enemy, educate his children.” Which country raised your daughter?

- America. But everyone somehow forgets that a child has two parents.

“Are you implying that it’s not your fault?”

– Partly mine, partly not mine. This was also the wish of her father, which is taken into account when raising a child.

– Was it possible to take Alena to Russia?

– According to a court decision, she could not enter our country until she was 18 years old. This is the father's demand.

– And after 18?

“Back then she had already graduated from school and was studying at the university.

– Didn’t you want to go to Russia?

- She speaks English. She said: “First I want to get an education in the language in which I communicate.” After graduation she worked at Russia Today. The only one of ours - Alena also has Russian citizenship - was included in the list Forbes, as a young journalist covering politics.

– Which country is your daughter a patriot?

- Don't know. I didn’t ask her such a question. We try not to discuss politics, because conflict always breaks out. To prevent them from arising, there are topics that we avoid. She has her own views. I respect them. I have my own - she respects them too.

- Happens. Or asks for an explanation of why we voted for it or rejected it.

“Didn’t you say that she’s ashamed of you?”

- No. But I can say that I have been reproached with this all the years. That I have a daughter who has lived there since she was 4 years old, when no State Duma existed. And she is constantly reminded who her mother is and what she does.

– Doesn’t it seem strange that you retweeted a post about wars that are won and lost at school desks, while Alena was educated in America, and she is an American?

- And what? Are you saying that she is an enemy of the country or me?

– From this recording it follows that it is also because of you that we will lose the war.

- What stupidity. Why are you arguing so primitively? This touches me. Then it's better not to read Bismarck.

The conclusion is that we need to educate a generation. This does not mean that it should only be patriotic. An educated generation is when each new generation leads us forward. This is progress, science, economics. We, the elderly, are most interested when young people are accomplished and educated. I don't look at this as a war. And you look at it as using force against each other.

– If not you, but tens of thousands of ordinary people have children studying in America and staying there, what do you say?

– At least the state will save money. And they will go to another child. Secondly, we are still behind in many areas of knowledge; we do not have this knowledge. And our task is for the guys to receive them there and come here. That's why last year we passed laws that very quickly recognize any foreign entity. Previously, with a diploma from a foreign university, you had to run through all the circles of hell. Now everything is much simpler. We must ensure that specialists who once left there return. Give them a higher salary and a more interesting job.

– If they don’t come, like your daughter, is that bad?

– There’s nothing wrong. But we ourselves need to try to spread our education around the world, which is what the Soviet Union did for a long time. The number of specialists we have trained in Asia, Africa and Europe is ours.

– Does Alena speak Russian well?

- Fine. And in five more languages.

– You said that she communicates with her brother from Moscow in English. Why?

- Easier. The youth. They find a common language faster this way. I remember the moment when they united against me in the hope that I did not understand what they were talking about, and switched to English. Somewhere this is already a habit.

– Do you have any resentment inside that your daughter is in America? What does she write on Facebook, how she read all of Harry Potter, and not Nosov’s books, which you retweet about?

- No, it's not offensive. Each generation lives its own life. Why should I impose my own? My task was to raise children, raise them, educate them. Then everyone stands in their positions. That's probably when interesting people appear. And not when they depend on adults and look at life through the eyes of adults. This, by the way, is the problem with our education. Peter the Great introduced drills and cramming. I would like more freedom. So that the teacher, if you answer differently than he taught, does not lower your grade.

- Let's do it again and be direct. Is there anything wrong with the daughter of a member of the Russian parliament living in a rival country?

- What's wrong with that? She has lived there since 1990. It was not I who destroyed the Soviet Union. It’s not my fault that the country for which my parents fought, for which I fought, was taken and wasted.

- What if they hadn’t screwed up?

– I would have returned to Russia earlier. The contract was for two years, but dragged on for 10 years.

Photo instagram.com/alyonamink

Why did she leave for the USA and why did she return?

According to Irina Konstantinovna, she was pushed to leave for permanent residence in the States by unemployment in Russia in the late 80s and early 90s. In the USA, Rodnina was given a lucrative offer - a job as a coach at the International Figure Skating Center in Lake Arrowhead, near Los Angeles. The woman agreed almost immediately, writes Starhit.

“I signed the contract completely calmly,” recalls the athlete. “True, I thought they wouldn’t let me out of the country; we didn’t have such a practice.” But two months later they called me and said: “Everything is ready!” There is nowhere to go! Besides, at that moment I was no longer working. After all, they very tactfully asked me, they said: “After the birth of your second child, you better take up motherhood, otherwise you will never experience this feeling again!” And here is the contract. So, such an unexpected scam was very successful.”

Rodnina, Zaitsev and Zaitsev Jr. Photo: still from the documentary “Irina Rodnina. Invincible"

Having moved to America, Irina Konstantinovna began collaborating with sports celebrities. Her colleagues were Italian figure skater Carlo Fassi, American figure skating coach Frank Carroll... According to the athlete, despite her fame and position, few people recognized her on the streets. Popularity didn't even help when Irina got into trouble with the law.

“Every year I received letters saying that I was among the 3% of dangerous drivers in California. I was deprived of my license three times. But in the States there is such a feature: yes, you can be deprived of your driver’s license, but through the court you can get it back. If you prove that a car is the only way to get to work, and there is no public transport nearby,” says the celebrity.

Throughout the ten years that Rodnina lived in the USA, she continued to build a sports career. However, love for Russia has not faded. Most of all, Irina Konstantinovna missed the peculiarities of the Russian mentality. For example, there is more crowding in stores.

The woman is still offended that she is considered a traitor to the Motherland.

“I always flew to the capital, always 3-4 times a year. Then it became more and more frequent. This: “here I am back!” — I didn’t have any idea that I was leaving forever. And they accuse me,” says Irina Konstantinovna.

The star’s children, son Alexander and daughter Alena, also received a portion of criticism. Fans of Irina Konstantinovna were outraged that the figure skating coach, having returned, earned money in Russia and spent it on the American education of her heirs.

“Getting experience there and coming here is a greater thrill. Our task is to ensure that the country is not closed and integrates into the global space. And they shout at my back: “You are here and there!” Listen, my children studied and lived in America not with government money. I didn't steal anything from anyone. Our athletes decided to go to the Olympic Games [under a neutral flag], so some of our people shouted that they were traitors, not patriots. What now? Everyone is delighted! We praise the winners and tell them: “It’s great that they went!”

Despite the flurry of negative reviews, the skater does not hold a grudge against Internet critics.

“We have a lot to learn. We must admit that somewhere we are still at the beginning, somewhere we have already overtaken [other countries], and somewhere we are in the middle of the road. Therefore, it is impossible to clearly say: “Close, don’t let anyone in and condemn!” I wouldn't do that. This kind of action can break you. For example, if a young man does not see his path here in Russia, this is bad. This means that we must change something in the country so that the younger generation does not have such thoughts,” Rodnina emphasized.

Why didn't my son find himself in America?

Irina Rodnina’s son, 39-year-old Alexander Zaitsev, also does not feel at home in the United States, although he moved in the 90s and received a good education. According to Zaitsev, he had to move abroad because of his mother’s work; in the 90s, she signed a number of large contracts. As a result, together with her and stepfather Leonid Minkovsky, they settled in one of the areas of Los Angeles, writes Starhit.

However, Zaitsev Jr. did not want to leave Moscow until the very end, because he was having a hard time parting with his grandparents.

39-year-old Alexander Zaitsev. Photo: frame from the program “It’s time to go back”

“In principle, I knew English; I studied in an English special school in Russia. But when I got to America, I realized there was nothing more than “Hello!” “I’m Sasha from Russia” (“Hello! I’m Sasha from Russia.” – Ed.), I couldn’t say. However, when I went to school, I made friends and began to learn spoken English. It was also hard for my mother, she didn’t know English at all, she had to learn it from scratch. Sister (Alena, born to Rodnina in marriage to Minkovsky. - Ed.) now lives in America. When she comes to Russia, she understands and can speak Russian. But America is already closer to her than Russia,” says Alexander.

In addition to his faithful comrades, Zaitsev Jr. also found his favorite hobby - hockey. True, Irina Konstantinovna did not want to send him to the sports section, she was afraid that her son would learn to swear and all his teeth would be knocked out. But in the end she agreed. When Alexander grew up, he worked as a dishwasher in restaurants.

“I always wanted to return back to my historical homeland. At the first opportunity when it was possible to make legs from there, I took advantage of it. People there have a different mentality, they live a little differently. If in Russia strangers help on the street, then in the States this rarely happens,” assures the heir to Soviet figure skaters.

According to Alexander, during the years he spent in America, he repeatedly found himself in unpleasant situations. At times Zaitsev was on the verge of life and death.

“I met one boy, he was almost the only black one in our mountains. It turned out that he and his brother were both in a gang. Moreover, the brother was a high-ranking comrade there. When I brought my friends, it was clear that they had pistols in their bosoms. Once he invited me to visit him, there was a house full of blacks, everyone had pistols. We come in, the leader shouts: “Oh, hello, white!”, And I in response: “Hello, Niger!” Everyone around got angry and told him, “How did you allow some white guy to call you that?” And he: “This is not white, this is Russian!” Therefore, it was not counted as an insult.”

In America, Zaitsev Jr. received a good secondary education, but for a long time he could not understand what he wanted to connect his future with. The choice settled on the art of ceramics. However, he wanted to get a profession exclusively in Russia, and entered the Art and Industry Academy named after. Stroganov.

“My father was not against my moving. Although at that time he already lived in the States. Mom said: “Well, if you want it so much, go.” She didn’t particularly interfere with me in this regard,” says Alexander.

Returning to his homeland, the heir to the Olympic champions never regretted his choice. “I would like to travel and see some cities. For example, Vladivostok, Arkhangelsk... Vologda is a wonderful city. I wish I could move there someday!”

Why won't my daughter return to Russia?

32-year-old Alena Minkovskaya in information about herself in Instagram writes: “Born in Moscow. She grew up in the USA. I live in New York. Journalist".

At the age of 4, Minkovskaya and her family moved to California (USA) and after graduating from university she seriously went into journalism. She hosted the author's program The Alyona Show on the American channel Russia Today, and now hosts the program Free Speech Zone on the video portal HuffPost Live.

At home Instagram Alena Minkovskaya often shows footage from the filming of her programs, but there are also warm family photos on the page.

Alena has an active civic position: in 2014, the girl was nominated for a GLAAD LGBT Award for the program “Bisexuals Waited Their Turn in the White House,” and is now actively involved in a campaign to prevent sexual harassment.

Peter Martins is to be fired from the New York City Ballet after multiple allegations of physical, verbal and sexual abuse.- Alena wrote on her page in January after an interview with ex-ballet dancer Wilhelmina Frankfurt, who decided to speak out against Peter Martins, who has directed the ballet since 1983.

A post shared by Alyona Minkovski(@alyonamink) on Jan 9, 2018 at 10:06am PST

In October last year, Alena showed in Instagram a photo with an engagement ring and her new husband Jake.

Photo instagram.com/alyonamink/

Judging by his profile on Instagram, Jake runs a sports brand that produces jiu-jitsu clothing. Alena often posts selfies with her chosen one, not hiding her love for him. Just in February, the couple celebrated three years since their first date.