Khachaturian, Aram Ilich, 1903-78, Russian composer of Armenian parentage, b. Tiflis (now Tbilisi). Khachaturian moved to Moscow in the early 1920s and attended (1929-34) the Moscow Conservatory. At first studying the cello, he began to compose c.1926. Colorful, energetic, emotionally powerful, and texturally rich, his music often uses Armenian and Central Asian folk idioms. His piano concerto (1936), violin concerto (1940), the ballet Gayané (1942, containing the famous Sabre Dance), the orchestral suite Masquerade (1944), and the ballet Spartacus (1956) are especially popular. Despite official Soviet criticism of his style (at first acclaimed and honored, he was denounced as a formalist in 1948 and rehabilitated a decade later), Khachaturian continued to create works of harmonic complexity until his death.

Khatchatourian, Aram Ilich: see Khachaturian.

(born June 6, 1903, Tbilisi, Georgia, Russian Empire—died May 1, 1978, Moscow, U.S.S.R.) Soviet (Armenian) composer. He studied with Reinhold Glière (1875–1956) and Nikolay Myaskovsky (1881–1950). He gained international notice when Sergey Prokofiev recommended one of his pieces for a Paris concert. Active in the composer's union, Khachaturian (along with Dmitry Shostakovich and Prokofiev) was criticized by the government in 1948 for “formalist tendencies,” though his music was in fact always conservative and accessible. After Joseph Stalin's death (1953), Khachaturian published a call for greater artistic freedom. His ballet scores include Masquerade (1944) and Spartacus (1954); Gayane (1943) contains the well-known “Sabre Dance.” Other popular pieces include his piano and violin concertos.

Learn more about Khachaturian, Aram (Ilyich) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (also Romanized as Yevgeny Viktorovich Plyushchenko) (Евге́ний Ви́кторович Плю́щенко) (born November 3, 1982 in Solnechny, Khabarovsk Krai, Soviet Union (Russia) is a Russian figure skater, the seven-time National Champion, five-time European Champion, three-time World Champion, 2006 Winter Olympics gold medalist, and four-time Grand Prix Final gold medalist.

Biography

Early career

Evgeni Plushenko started skating at age four. When he was eleven years old, his ice rink in Volgograd closed. He was then sent to Saint Petersburg to train under the tutelage of Alexei Mishin.

Plushenko made quick progress on the international scene under Mishin's tutelage. As a 14-year-old, he won the 1997 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. The following year, at 15, he finished third at the senior World Figure Skating Championships. At the time, Mishin was also coaching another rising teenage star, Alexei Yagudin, who won the World Championships in 1998, and Yagudin and Plushenko developed a fierce rivalry. Yagudin finally decided to leave Mishin and eventually was coached by Tatiana Tarasova, but the rivalry between the two skaters continued throughout the years as they repeatedly battled it out for major titles.

2002 Olympics

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Plushenko and Yagudin were considered co-favorites. Yagudin skated a flawless short program to a standing ovation and finished the night in 1st place. Plushenko, however, botched his quad-triple combination and finished 4th in the short program. He skated a strong free skate to "Carmen" and pulled up to finish in 2nd place overall; Yagudin received the highest free skate marks under the 6.0 system in the history of Olympic competition, and won the gold medal easily.

2002 - 2006

After Yagudin's retirement, Plushenko won most of competitions he entered in the following four years. He finished second only twice. The first time was to Emanuel Sandhu at the 2004 Grand Prix Final. The second was the 2004 European Figure Skating Championships, where he lost to Brian Joubert. He suffered through a difficult 2005, when was forced to withdraw from the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow after the short program due to injury, and did not even compete at the Grand Prix Final. He eventually required groin surgery. He underwent groin surgery to correct the problem in Munich, Germany in spring 2005.

On June 18, 2005, Plushenko married Maria Ermak in a lavish ceremony at the Hotel Astoria in St. Petersburg. His wife studies sociology at the University of St. Petersburg. Their first child, a son named Egor Evgenievich (originally Kristian), was born on June 15, 2006. However, they separated not long afterwards and divorced in February 2008.

Going into the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Plushenko was the overwhelming favorite because of his past success under the new ISU Judging System which was now in use. Plushenko skated two solid programs and became the Olympic champion. He finished the short program ten points ahead of his closest rival, setting a new ISU record for the short program. His free skate was just as strong, and also set a new ISU record. Plushenko's free skating music was especially arranged for him by violinist Edvin Marton.

2006 - Present

Plushenko took a break from competitive skating following the 2006 Olympic season. He has said the off season has helped him rest and recover from past knee injuries he has battled.

After seeing the poor results of Russian skaters in the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships (which was the worst since 1960), Plushenko was worried about Russia losing its status as a dominant force in figure skating, and was also concerned that Russia might even lose spots for its skaters in the 2010 Winter Olympics. He announced in April 2007 that he has decided to return to competitive skating for the 2007-2008 season, to keep Russia at a competitive level with other countries until the next generation of Russian skaters can take over. Plushenko has since delayed his return indefinitely.

Plushenko has also stated that he plans to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

In 2008 Plushenko, together with violinist Edvin Marton, accompanied Dima Bilan on stage as part of the winning Eurovision Song Contest performance "Believe" in Belgrade, Serbia. Plushenko skated on stage as part of the performance.

Achievements

Plushenko's technical achievements are numerous. He is one of the few male skaters to perform the Biellmann spin. He was the first skater in the world to perform a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop jump (4-3-2) combination in competition, at the 1999 NHK Trophy (he has since landed his 4-3-2 combination 26 times so far). He is the first skater to land a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop (4-3-3) combination in competition, at the Cup of Russia 2002 (he has since landed his 4-3-3 combination four times so far). Plushenko is also the first skater to land a triple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop-double loop (3-3-3-2) combination, which was at the 2005 "Ard Gala". At the European Championships, he landed a six jump combination (3-3-2-2-2-2) in his exhibition program. He has landed a four jump combination; 4 toe loop-3 toe loop-2 loop-2 loop, at the World Championships in 2001. Plushenko has landed a consistent quadruple toe loop in competition, and has also landed a quadruple salchow in Samara, Russia at the 2004 "Second stage of Cup of Russia". It is estimated that he has landed a total of about 100 quads in competition. Plushenko is also one of few figure skaters to have landed quadruple loops and quadruple lutzes in practice, but has never completed either of them in competition.

At the age of 16, Plushenko was the youngest male skater to ever receive a perfect score of 6.0. He received a total of seventy five 6.0s before the new Code of Points judging system was introduced.

Programs

Season	Short Program	Free Skating	Exhibition
2005-2006	Tosca by Giacomo Puccini	The Godfather by Edvin Marton
2004-2005	Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven	The Godfather by Edvin Marton
2003-2004	Tango Flamenco by Paco de Lucia Nyah by Hans Zimmer	Tribute to Vaslav Nijinsky - Art on Ice; Magic Stradivarious; King of the Forrest by Edvin Marton	Logical Song by Supertramp
2002-2003	Adagio Albinoni by Tomaso Albinoni / Remo Giazotto	St. Petersburg 300 by Igor Korniliuk	Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet / Rodion Shchedrin Only you by The Platters
2001-2002	Earth Song, Childhood, Billy Jean, They Don't Care About Us by Michael Jackson	Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin Fixe; Eclipse by Cirque du Soleil El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge Soundtrack La Petite Fille de la Mer by Vangelis Papathanassiou	Sex Bomb by Tom Jones and Mousse T Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet / Rodion Shchedrin
2000-2001	Bolero by Maurice Ravel	Xotica by Rene Dupere Tango from Hasta que te conoci by Raul Di Blasio Once Upon A Time In America by Ennio Morricone Cotton Club by Duke Ellington Mortal Kombat by George S. Clinton	Pasadena: Maywood lyrics. Album unknown Sex Bomb by Tom Jones and Mousse T
1999-2000	The Sabre Dance by Aram Ilich Khachaturian	Dark Eyes Coachmen Don't Drive the Horse Concierto Madrigal for Two Guitars by Joaquin Rodrigo	Two Step Nadya Ciocarlia
1998-1999	Hava Nagila by various artists	Chronologie 2, 3; Zoolookologie by Jean Michel Jarre	Two Step Nadya Ciocircla
1997-1998	Concierto d' Aranjuez; El Gato Montes by Joaquin Rodrigo	Chronologie 2, 3; Zoolookologie by Jean Michel Jarre	Chronologie 2, 3 Zoolookologie Enigma
1996-1997	Tarantella by Witold Lutoslawski Santa Lucia by Luigi Gordigiani	William Tell Overture; The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
1995-1996		Don Quixote by Leon Minkus

Competitive highlights

Event	1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006
Winter Olympic Games							2nd				1st
World Championships			3rd	2nd	4th	1st		1st	1st	WD
European Championships			2nd	2nd	1st	1st		1st	2nd	1st	1st
World Junior Championships	6th	1st
Russian Championships	6th	4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st		1st	1st	1st
Grand Prix Final			5th	3rd	1st	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	1st
Cup of Russia		4th	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Skate Canada				1st					1st
Trophee Lalique									1st
NHK Trophy				1st	1st	1st
Bofrost Cup on Ice					1st	1st	1st	1st
Skate America			2nd
Finlandia Trophy		7th	3rd			1st
Blue Swords		1st
European Youth Olympics		1st
Goodwill Games				2nd			1st

• WD = Withdrew

References

External links

• plushenko.ru Official Site
• evgeniplushenko.it Official Italian Site
• evgeniplushenko.net Official Site

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