The Most Famous

SKIERS from Russia

This page contains a list of the greatest Russian Skiers. The pantheon dataset contains 817 Skiers, 46 of which were born in Russia. This makes Russia the birth place of the 7th most number of Skiers behind Switzerland, and Finland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Russian Skiers of all time. This list of famous Russian Skiers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Russian Skiers.

1. Yevdokiya Mekshilo (1931 - 2013)

With an HPI of 56.30, Yevdokiya Mekshilo is the most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Yevdokiya Panteleyevna Mekshilo (Russian: Евдокия Пантелеевна Мекшило) (23 March 1931 – 16 January 2013) was a female Soviet cross-country skier who competed in the 1960s for Armed Forces sports society. At the 1964 Winter Olympics, she won a gold in the 3 × 5 km relay and a silver in the 10 km event. She was born in Gorno-Altaysk.

2. Alevtina Kolchina (1930 - 2022)

With an HPI of 50.39, Alevtina Kolchina is the 2nd most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Alevtina Pavlovna Kolchina (Russian: Алевти́на Па́вловна Ко́лчина alternate spelling: Alevtina Koltsjina; 11 November 1930 – 1 March 2022) was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed during the 1950s and 1960s for Burevestnik and later for Dynamo sports societies. She competed in four Winter Olympics, earning a total of five medals. Kolchina also competed several times at the Holmenkollen ski festival, winning three times at 10 km (1961–1963) and once at 5 km (1966).

3. Galina Kulakova (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 49.48, Galina Kulakova is the 3rd most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Galina Alexeyevna Kulakova (Russian: Галина Алексеевна Кулакова, born 29 April 1942) is a Soviet-Russian former cross-country skier, arguably the best skier on distances shorter than 10 km in the early 1970s. She won four Olympic golds, two individual in 1972 and two relay golds in 1972 and 1976. She was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Winter Olympics, along with Ard Schenk of the Netherlands. Competing in the World Championships, she won three individual golds, two in 1974 and one in 1970, and also two relay golds in those years. Kulakova also won the 10 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1970 and 1979. Galina Kulakova was also 39 times Champion of the USSR between 1969 and 1981. For her achievements she was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Badge of Honour. She was also awarded the silver Olympic Order in 1984 by the International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch. Galina Kulakova ended her sports career in 1982.

4. Raisa Smetanina (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 47.79, Raisa Smetanina is the 4th most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (Russian: Раиса Петровна Сметанина; born 29 February 1952) is a Soviet, Komi and Russian cross-country skiing champion. She is the first woman in history to win ten Winter Olympic medals.

5. Pavel Kolchin (1930 - 2010)

With an HPI of 46.30, Pavel Kolchin is the 5th most famous Russian Skier. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Pavel Konstantinovich Kolchin (sometimes spelled Pavel Koltsjin; Russian: Павел Константинович Колчин; 9 January 1930 – 29 December 2010) was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed during the 1950s and 1960s, training at Dynamo in Moscow. He was born in Yaroslavl. He competed in two Winter Olympics, earning a total of four medals. His bronze in the 15 km (9 mi) at the 1956 Winter Olympics was the first ever medal awarded to a non-Scandinavian (Finland, Norway, and Sweden) in cross-country skiing. Kolchin also won at the Holmenkollen ski festival, winning both the 15 km (9 mi) and 50 km (31 mi) events in 1958. His wife, Alevtina Kolchina, was also an Olympic champion in cross-country skiing in 1964. Kolchin also found success was at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, where he won three silver medals in 1958 (15 km, 30 km, and 4 x 10 km) and a bronze medal in 1962 (4 x 10 km). Kolchin was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (twice - in 1957 and 1972) and Order of the Badge of Honour (1970). For his successes at the Winter Olympics, the Nordic skiing World Championships and the Holmenkollen, Kolchin received the Holmenkollen medal in 1963 (Shared with his Alevtina Kolchina (his wife), Astrid Sandvik, and Torbjørn Yggeseth). Kolchin and Kolchina are the first husband and wife team to ever win the Holmenkollen Medal. Kolchin died on 29 December 2010.

6. Yelena Vyalbe (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 43.78, Yelena Vyalbe is the 6th most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Yelena Valeryevna Välbe (Russian: Елена Валерьевна Вяльбе, née Trubitsyna; born 20 April 1968) is a Russian former cross-country skier. She won a record 14 gold medals (5 in relays) at the FIS World Championships, including all five golds in the 1997 edition. She also won three Olympic gold medals (all in relays) and four bronze medals in various Winter Olympic Games as well as four World Cup Crystal Globes. In 2004, she lost when she ran for president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation. Välbe was later elected President of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association and has been in that position since 2010, and manager of the Russian National Cross-Country Team since 2012. She was elected to the FIS Council in 2021. But after she supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a number of European Ski Federations objected to her participation in the 2022 election, and Välbe's nomination was publicly opposed by the representatives of Sweden, Poland, and Finland. As a result, she was removed from the FIS Council after garnering the fewest votes of 23 candidates. In 2022, Välbe supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying that: "we are not at war with Ukraine and no one attacked it."

7. Nikolay Anikin (1932 - 2009)

With an HPI of 43.73, Nikolay Anikin is the 7th most famous Russian Skier. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Nikolay Petrovich Anikin (Russian: Николай Петрович Аникин; also transliterated as Nikolai or Nikolaj; 25 January 1932 – 14 November 2009) was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed during the late 1950s and early 1960s, training at Dynamo in Moscow. He was born in Ishim, Tyumen Oblast, Russia, USSR.

8. Larisa Lazutina (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 43.35, Larisa Lazutina is the 8th most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Larisa Yevgenyevna Lazutina (Russian: Лариса Евгеньевна Лазутина; née Ptitsyna, born 1 June 1965) is a Soviet-Russian former professional cross-country skier.

9. Lyubov Yegorova (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 40.00, Lyubov Yegorova is the 9th most famous Russian Skier. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Lyubov Ivanovna Yegorova (Russian: Любо́вь Ива́новна Его́рова; born 5 May 1966), name also spelled Ljubov Jegorova, is a Russian former cross-country Olympic ski champion, multiple world champion (first time in 1991), winner of the World Cup (1993) and Hero of Russia. Lyubov Yegorova is an honorary citizen of Seversk (1992), Saint Petersburg (1994), and Tomsk Oblast (2005).

10. Alexey Prokurorov (1964 - 2008)

With an HPI of 38.47, Alexey Prokurorov is the 10th most famous Russian Skier. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Alexey Alexeyevich Prokurorov (Russian: Алексе́й Алексе́евич Прокуро́ров; 25 March 1964 – 10 October 2008) was a Soviet/Russian cross-country skier who competed in the late 1980s and 1990s for both the Soviet Union and Russia.

People

Pantheon has 49 people classified as Russian skiers born between 1930 and 1996. Of these 49, 44 (89.80%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Russian skiers include Galina Kulakova, Raisa Smetanina, and Yelena Vyalbe. The most famous deceased Russian skiers include Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Alevtina Kolchina, and Pavel Kolchin. As of April 2024, 3 new Russian skiers have been added to Pantheon including Alevtina Kolchina, Nikolay Anikin, and Irina Avvakumova.