Veronika Vladislavovna Zhilina (; born 15 May 2008) is a Russian-born Azerbaijani figure skater. Skating for Russia, she is the 2021 JGP Slovakia champion, the 2023 Russian Junior Grand Prix Final champion and the 2023 Russian Junior national silver medalist.
She has performed various quadruple jumps. At the age of 10, Zhilina became the youngest skater in history to perform quad-toe loop jump during the competition. Representing native Russia, she built successful junior career, but in 2025 received Azerbaijani passport and made a decision to start representing Azerbaijan. According to Yana Rudkovskaya, the CEO of "Angely Plushenko" academy where Zhilina has been coached, the main causes of such decision were lack of financial support from Russian Figure Skating Federation, as well as long-lasting federation-imposed ban to enter Russian national competitions after being granted an Azerbaijani citizenship. Since 2026, Zhilina is a member of Azerbaijani national figure skating team, being admitted there on 2 July 2026 according to the statement of Azerbaijani Federation of Winter Sports.
Personal life Veronika Zhilina was born in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk, Russia on 15 May 2008. Her sister, Alena, who is two years younger, is also a figure skater.
In May 2025, Zhilina became an Azerbaijani citizen and surrendered her Russian citizenship after turning eighteen as per the country's sole citizenship law.
Career
Skating for Russia
Early career Zhilina began skating at the age of three with her mother, Ludmila Alferova, being her first coach. She initially trained at Youth Sports School “Kaskad” in Arkhangelsk before briefly relocating to Severodvinsk where she trained at Sports and Recreation Center “Zvezdochka”.
At the age of ten, Zhilina moved to Moscow and joined Eteri Tutberidze's group of skaters at Sambo-70, “Khrustalny”. In addition to Tutberidze, her other coaches included Sergei Dudakov, Sergei Rozanov, and Daniil Gleikhengauz. In June 2020, it was announced that Zhilina had transferred to Academy “Angely Plushenko” after her main coach, Sergei Rozanov, got a job there and invited Zhilina to join him. Upon transferring, Evgeni Plushenko joined her coaching team and Zhilina's mother was also hired to coach the skating academy.
2020–2021 season: Junior debut
Debuting on the junior level, Zhilina competed at 2020 Russian Cup Stage IV, Kazan and 2020 Russian Cup Stage V, Moscow, winning silver at both events.
In January, she competed at the 2021 Russian Junior Championships, finishing in twelfth place. Zhilina then concluded her season by placing eighth at the 2021 Russian Cup Final.
2021–2022 season: International debut Zhilina started her season in September by making her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix, winning the gold medal at 2021 JGP Slovakia ahead of teammates, Sofia Muravieva and Adeliia Petrosian. Following the event, Zhilina sprained her ankle and was forced to withdraw from 2021 JGP Poland.
In January, Zhilina competed at the 2022 Russian Junior Championships, where she placed fourth in the short program and sixteenth in the free skate to finish twelfth overall. She then finished her season with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Russian Cup Final.
In March, the ISU banned all figure skaters and officials from Russia and Belarus from competing in international competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.
2022–2023 season: Russian Junior Grand Prix Final champion Due to the banning of Russian skaters from competing internationally, Zhilina competed domestically throughout the season on the junior level. She started her season in the fall by winning gold at both 2022 Russian Grand Prix II, Sochi and 2022 Russian Grand Prix IV, Moscow.
In February, Zhilina won the silver medal at the 2023 Russian Junior Championships behind Alina Gorbacheva after placing ninth in the short program and winning the free skate. Zhilina then concluded her season by winning gold at the 2023 Russian Grand Prix Final.
2023–2024 season: Spinal injury In September, Zhilina partook in the season's Russian Test Skates, an event where Russian skaters debut their programs without being scored. However, due to a spinal injury, she subsequently withdrew from her two assigned Russian Grand Prix events following the advice of her doctors.
2024–2026: Hiatus, request to represent Azerbaijan, and allegations against Sergei Rozanov During the summer of 2024, Zhilina's spinal injury worsened and as a result was forced to sit out the entirety of the 2024–25 season.
In April 2025, Zhilina and her mother, Ludmila Alferova, publicly accused Zhilina's former coach, Sergei Rozanov, of sexually harassing Zhilina when she was eleven years old. "Sergei Rozanov came to my room during training camp in Kislovodsk in 2021," shared then sixteen-year old Zhilina during an interview with Match TV. "He offered and spent a long time persuading me to give him a massage, but I refused, as I was the only one in the room at the time. The same thing happened in the gym, also in Kislovodsk, after the warm-up, where he insisted on it even after all the athletes and coaches had left the gym. He came with a can of beer and coached me in the room." Rozanov vehemently denied the allegations, saying, "Everything said about me is an absolute lie."
Yana Rudkovskaya, the wife of Evgeni Plushenko, who had allegedly learned of Zhilina's allegations at the time of his departure from the academy 2021, wrote a lengthy response to Rozanov's comment, saying, "I advise you to think twice before giving such interviews regarding the 'lies' about you told by the underage athletes you worked with before our eyes. You humiliated, insulted, and beat countless children with blankets before you came to our academy. And everyone believed you'd changed your approach to athletes! But that doesn't mean you've been forgiven for your past achievements. We've already had more than ten such cases in three days, and those are just the ones that were reported to me personally." The International Skating Union (ISU) also commented on the allegations saying, "The International Skating Union (ISU) is deeply concerned by the recent allegations made by Russian figure skater Veronika Zhilina regarding alleged misconduct by her coach, Sergei Rozanov. The ISU takes all allegations of harassment, abuse, or inappropriate behavior extremely seriously. If the allegations are confirmed, the ISU will take all appropriate disciplinary measures in accordance with the ISU's rules and in coordination with the national federations concerned. In light of these allegations, the ISU approaches the matter with a firm commitment to confidentiality and respect for the wishes and well-being of the skater."
In May 2025, Zhilina announced via Instagram that she had undergone spinal surgery and shared that she had received an Azerbaijani passport with plans to start representing the county. In July of that year, the ISU and Russian Figure Skating Federation denied her transfer, citing her continued status as a Russian national team member. CEO of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Aleksandr Kogan, publicly announced that the federation would be willing to help Zhilina if she decided to continue representing Russia. Head of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Anton Sikharulidze, stated that Zhilina's denied transfer was due to her failing to inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs within sixty days of obtaining her Azerbaijani citizenship.
Skating for Azerbaijan
2026–2027 season In May 2026, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia released Zhilina and the International Skating Union approved her request transfer to the Azerbaijani national team.
Zhilina made her international debut for Azerbaijan at the 2026 Kinoshita Group Cup; placing 6th overall. "I'm happy that I'm performing here, I'm finally competing this season after missing three years!"
Media Zhilina featured in the Russian movie, "Lyod 3" (also known as Ice 3) where she portrayed the character of Albina; a figure skater who serves as a rival to the main heroine in the romantic sports drama.
Programs +SeasonShort programFree skating2026–2027 Poker Face Abracadabra Demain dès l'aube Voices Spirits 2024-2026 Did not compete these seasons 2023–2024 Can't Help Falling in Love (DARK) Can't Help Falling in Love Earth Song In The Closet Dangerous Smooth Criminal 2022–2023 Swan (Lake Forest and Birds) Perfection
Je t'aime El Tango de Roxanne 2021–2022 Harley Quinn You Don't Own Me Seven Nation Army Love Story 2020–2021 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Smoke on the Water Samson and Delilah Act III, Scene 2: Bacchanale Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix 2019–2020 Once Upon a December Elastic Heart (Piano Version) Chandelier 2018–2019 Chandelier 2017–2018 The Swan The Drill They Don't Care About Us Smooth Criminal
Competitive highlights
Skating for Azerbaijan
Skating for Russia
Detailed results +ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System SegmentTypeScoreEventTotalTSS216.922021 JGP SlovakiaShort programTSS71.572021 JGP SlovakiaTES40.512021 JGP SlovakiaPCS31.062021 JGP SlovakiaFree skatingTSS145.352021 JGP SlovakiaTES83.432021 JGP SlovakiaPCS62.922021 JGP Slovakia
Skating for Azerbaijan
Skating for Russia
Filmography Film Year Title Role 2024 "Lyod 3" Albina
Notes
References
External links