Maxim Alexandrovich Nekrasov (, born 27 September 2000) is a Russian competitive ice dancer who currently competes as an Individual Neutral Athlete. With his former skating partner, Arina Ushakova, he is the 2018 World Junior bronze medalist and 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist. He has also won six medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, including gold medals in 2017 Italy, 2018 Lithuania and 2018 Armenia.
Personal life Maxim Alexandrovich Nekrasov was born on 27 September 2000 in Odintsovo, Russia.
Career
Early career Nekrasov began learning to skate in 2004. He trained as a single skater until 2010; he then switched to ice dancing. He and his first partner, Polina Velikanova, competed together during the 2011–2012 season. He skated the following season with Maria Oleynik.
Nekrasov and Polina Kalinina skated two seasons together, 2013–2014 and 2014–2015. In 2015, he teamed up with Arina Ushakova. They were coached by Alexei Gorshkov and Maxim Bolotin.
2016–2017 season Ushakova/Nekrasov received their first ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignments in the 2016–2017 season. They won bronze medals at both events, competing in late August in Ostrava, Czech Republic and in October in Dresden, Germany.
In November 2016, they won the silver medal at the 2016 Ice Star. They placed seventh at the 2017 Russian Junior Championships.
2017–2018 season Competing in the 2017 JGP series, Ushakova/Nekrasov took bronze in August in Minsk, Belarus. They won their first JGP gold medal in October at the event in Egna, Italy, beating the silver medalists, their teammates Polishchuk/Vakhnov, by about two points. With these results they qualified for the 2017–18 JGP Final, where they placed fifth.
In January 2018, Ushakova/Nekrasov took the bronze medal at the 2018 Russian Junior Championships after placing fifth in the short dance and third in the free dance. In March, they won bronze at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, having placed third in both segments.
2018–2019 season Ushakova/Nekrasov started their season by competing in the 2018 JGP series. At their first JGP event of the season, they won the gold medal in Kaunas, Lithuania. They were ranked first in both the rhythm dance and the free dance and won the gold medal by a margin of more than 6 points over the silver medalists, Nguyen/Kolesnik. Their rhythm dance, free dance and combined total scores at that competition were the highest scores achieved in an international junior ice dance competition at the time, though since surpassed.
At their second JGP event of the season, they won another gold medal, now in Yerevan, Armenia. Again they were ranked first in both the short program and the free skate. Ushakova/Nekrasov also upgraded their earlier short program, free skate, and combined total World record scores. With two JGP gold medals, they qualified for the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final. At the Final, Ushakova/Nekrasov won the silver medal after placing second in the rhythm dance and first in the free dance. They were part of a Russian sweep of the ice dance podium. Ushakova/Nekrasov beat the bronze medalists, Khudaiberdieva/Nazarov, by about 6 points, but the race for the gold medal was extremely tight. The gold medalists, Shevchenko/Eremenko, beat Ushakova/Nekrasov by a margin of only 0.01 points.
Following the Final, Ushakova/Nekrasov were again defeated by Shevchenko/Eremenko at the 2019 Russian Junior Championships, winning the silver medal after second-place finishes in both segments. They won the 2019 Open Ice Mall Cup in late February.
Their final event of the season was the 2019 World Junior Championships, where they unexpectedly placed fourth in the rhythm dance after hitting only two of the eight key points on the tango pattern dance. They dropped to fifth place overall after placing fifth in the free dance.
2019–2020 season Ushakova/Nekrasov missed the first half of the season, including the Junior Grand Prix, due to Nekrasov undergoing and recovering from leg surgery. They returned to competition with a victory at the Golden Spin of Zagreb and then competed at the Russian Junior Championships, where they placed second behind Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy. Their silver medal at junior nationals led to their being assigned to compete at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. They placed fourth in the rhythm dance, hitting only three of the eight key points on the Teatime Foxtrot pattern dance. Fourth in the free dance, they finished fourth overall.
2020–2021 season With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the cancellation of the international junior season, Ushakova/Nekrasov competed exclusively domestically. In their final junior event, they won the gold medal at the 2021 Russian Junior Championships.
2021–2022 season Ushakova and Nekrasov moved to the senior level. They withdrew from the Russian test skates, citing medical reasons. It was subsequently reported that Ushakova had contracted COVID-19.
Appearing at their first senior Russian championships, Ushakova/Nekrasov placed seventh.
2022–2023 season In 2022, Nekrasov teamed up with Elizaveta Pasechnik. Together they won a bronze and a silver medal at stages of the Russian Grand Prix and placed third at the Russian Championships.
2023–2024 season In September 2023 Nekrasov teamed up with Vasilisa Kaganovskaia and began training under Alexei Gorshkov and Anjelika Krylova. During this season, Kaganovskaia/Nekrasov did not compete in official events and appeared only in exhibitions and ice shows.
2024–2025 season In October 2024, Kaganovskaia/Nekrasov made their debut at the N.A. Panin-Kolomenkin Memorial. The following month they competed in the third and fifth stages of the Russian Grand Prix, winning silver medals at both events.
In December they competed at the Russian Championship, where they placed fourth. In February they took part in the Russian Grand Prix Final, winning the gold medal.
2025–2026 season: Silver national medalists In the lead-up to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Kaganovskaia and Nekrasov were reportedly considered substitute candidates for participation under the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) by the Russian Figure Skating Federation, as Russia remained banned from competing in international competitions by the ISU. The primary candidates from their discipline, Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, were ultimately not granted neutral status. As a result of the ISU Rules, the quota place was not reassigned, and Kaganovskaia and Nekrasov were not considered for Olympic Participation.
Kaganovskaia/Nekrasov placed first and second at stages of the Russian Grand Prix.
In December, at the Russian Championships in Saint Petersburg, they won the silver medal, finishing behind only Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin.
In March they participated in the Russian Grand Prix Final, placing second in the rhythm dance, second in the free dance and second overall.
2026–2027 season On 30 June 2026, the International Skating Union announced that figure skaters from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at international competitions as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each of these skaters are be required to undergo an individual assessment conducted by the ISU Council to determine whether they meet the criteria for neutral status. Nekrasov's application was approved, making him eligible to compete internationally as a neutral athlete.
The pair opened their season at the 2026 Kinoshita Group Cup, earning themselves the silver medal overall.
Programs With Kaganovskaia Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition2026–2027 Elegie produced by AI
Danse Macabre by Sephira Plan & Elevation: IV. The Orangeryby Attacca Quartet
Fratres For Violin String Orchestra and Percussionby Arvo Part
Outroby M832025–2026 Breathe Angel Firestarter Rain, In your Black Eyes No Time to Die
Please Be A Little Weaker (Будь пожалуйста послабее) Harley Quinn and Joker (Харли Квин и Джокер) The Phantom of the Opera 2024–2025 Trouble Fever Tutti Frutti Moonlight Sonata The Master and Margarita I Don't Believe You (Я тебе не верю) Please Be A Little Weaker (Будь пожалуйста послабее) Venom Harley Quinn and Joker (Харли Квин и Джокер)
With Pasechnik Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition 2022–2023 Paxi Ni Ngongo Gasolina Dark conscience Mad World
With Ushakova Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition 2020–2021 All That Jazz Kill Bill soundtrack 2019–2020 Milord 2018–2019 Libertango Flamenco Black Cat, White Cat Short dance 2017–2018 Chilly Cha Cha Love the Way You Lie Cuba Be Italian Confessa 2016–2017 Natural Blues Let Me Clear My Throat The Gypsies of Nagyida 2015–2016 Libiamo ne' lieti calici Chicago Nowadays All That Jazz
With Kalinina Season Short dance Free dance 2014–2015 Chaplin medley Records and achievements (with Ushakova)
Set the junior-level ice dancing record of the new +5 / -5 GOE (Grade of Execution) system for the combined total (168.17 points), rhythm dance (67.63 points) and free dance (100.54 points) at the 2018 JGP Lithuania. They became the first junior team to score above 100 points in the free dance at the 2018 JGP Lithuania. Upgraded their junior-level ice dancing record for the combined total (172.81 points), rhythm dance (69.18 points) and free dance (103.63 points) at the 2018 JGP Armenia. They became the first junior team to score above 170 points at the 2018 JGP Armenia.
Competitive highlights JGP: Junior Grand Prix
Skating as an Individual Neutral Athlete With Nekrasov InternationalEvent26-27CS Kinoshita Group Cup2ndCS Denis Ten MemorialTBD
Skating for Russia
With Kaganovskaia National Event24-25 25-2626-27 Russian Champ. 4th 2ndRussian GP Final1st2ndRussian GP Stage 1 1stRussian GP Stage 2 2ndRussian GP Stage 32ndRussian GP Stage 52ndN.A. Panin Memorial1st1stF.A. Klimov Comp.1st
With Pasechnik National Event 22–23 Russian Champ. 3rdRussian GP Stage 3 3rdRussian GP Stage 6 2nd
With Ushakova International Event 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 Junior Worlds 3rd 5th 4th Final 5th 2nd Armenia 1st Belarus 3rd Czech Republic 3rd Germany 3rd Italy 1st Lithuania 1st Golden Spin 1st J Ice Star 2nd J Open Ice Mall Cup 1st J Tallinn Trophy 5th J National Russian Champ. 7th Russian Jr. Champ. 7th 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st J = Junior level; TBD = Assigned
With Velikanova, Oleynik, and Kalinina Event 14–15 National Russian Cup 3 12th J Russian Cup 4 9th J J = Junior
Detailed results Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.
With Kaganovskaia 2026–2027 seasonDateEventLevelRDFDTotal04–6 September 20262026 CS Kinoshita Group CupSenior2 74.211 110.602 184.81 2025–2026 season Date Event Level RD FD Total06–09 March 20262025 Russian Grand Prix FinalSenior2 87.612 128.442 216.05 17–22 December 2025 2026 Russian Championships Senior 2 84.82 2 126.62 2 211.4401–04 November 20252025 Russian Grand Prix, 2nd StageSenior2 80.872 123.672 204.5424–26 October 20252025 Russian Grand Prix, 1st StageSenior2 74.301 123.661 197.9608–12 October 20252025 N.A. Panin-Kolomenkin MemorialSenior1 78.741 116.421 195.16 2024–2025 seasonDateEventLevelRDFDTotal13–17 February 20252024 Russian Grand Prix FinalSenior1 81.511 124.071 205.5818–23 December 20242025 Russian ChampionshipsSenior5 79.724 123.044 202.7602–04 December 20242024 F.A. Klimov CompetitionSenior1 82.371 124.351 206.7222–25 November 20242024 Russian Grand Prix, 5th StageSenior1 82.282 123.462 205.7408–11 November 20242024 Russian Grand Prix, 3rd StageSenior2 79.812 121.122 200.9301–05 October 20242024 N.A. Panin-Kolomenkin MemorialSenior1 82.181 119.331 201.51
With Pasechnik 2022–2023 season Date Event Level RD FD Total 20–26 December 2022 2023 Russian Championships Senior 3 79.48 3 116.04 3 195.5225–28 November 20222022 Russian Grand Prix, 6th StageSenior2 79.052 113.902