How Much Did Mikhail Shaidorov’s Training Cost the Kazakhstan Budget?

The Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan has presented a detailed report on the expenses for the preparation of Olympic figure skating champion Mikhail Shaidorov for the year 2025.

The total amount of budget investment amounted to 263.4 million tenge.

The ministry provided the following breakdown:

• Training Camps: 19 camps were held last year (8 domestic and 11 international) at a cost of 47 million tenge.
• Competitions: Participation in five international events cost the treasury 16 million tenge.
• Athlete’s Remuneration: Shaidorov’s annual compensation totaled 33.9 million tenge, with monthly contract payments of 1.5 million tenge.
• Coaching Staff: The state fully covers the services of the coaching team. Personal coach Alexei Urmanov received more than 26 million tenge, and choreographer Ivan Righini received approximately 23 million tenge.

Funds were also allocated for program choreography, costume design, and the acquisition of music copyrights. For successful performances at the World Championships and the Asian Games, Shaidorov was paid a bonus of 6.7 million tenge, while his coaches received 1.5 million tenge.

The Ministry acknowledged a severe lack of sports facilities within the country. Currently, Mikhail Shaidorov is forced to train in Sochi, Russia, while another national team representative, Sofia Samodelkina, trains in the USA under the guidance of Rafael Arutunian.

Vice-Minister Serik Zharasbayev confirmed the dire infrastructure situation, noting that world-class stars like Shaidorov and the late Denis Ten began their journeys on a skating rink in a standard shopping mall in Almaty.

In April 2025, the department officially stated the lack of proper conditions for preparing elite figure skaters at home.