People very often ask me if I use the Classmates website or other social networks. I want to answer this clearly and concisely: I have only two platforms for networking - my own website and the Live Journal.

The main resource, of course, is my website, where I publish my news and posts, answer questions and make comments. Most of the news are repeated automatically in the Live Journal – I rarely write anything special or reply to comments there. I simply don’t have the time to use other forums or networks.

But in case, if I decide to expand my social networking, I’ll definitely let you know.

Dear friends!

It is never been my habit to comment on rumours, but I’ve decided to make an exception because I can’t let so many warm words and good wishes go unanswered…

On this page I promised to tell you about the most important events in my life and about my family. So when I become a mother (which hasn’t happened yet) I’ll definitely write about it.

Thanks to everyone who has sent congratulations and was worried about me. Only because of all of you, I’ve broken my rule of never paying attention to gossip.

I grew up in a sporting family. My father was a famous footballer and played for Pakhtakor in Uzbekistan, as well as other teams – in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. He was invited to work in Israel, and we almost moved there. The emigration documents were almost ready, but Dad had an injury and stayed in Tashkent. Fate once again…Mum was a basketball player. She went in for artistic gymnastics as a child, but later gave it up and devoted almost her whole life to bringing up me and my sister. She was very serious about basketball, and played in the Uzbek national team. Dad was hardly ever at home, because he was always training. My sister and I missed him a lot, of course, and longed for him to come home. Seeing Dad was always like a celebration for us – he would come home bringing presents and various kinds of treats. While he was away there would be lots of news that we wanted so much to share with him. And if something had happened we would complain about it to him.



Dad never raised his voice, never once laid a finger on us. He was a kind and cuddly magician! But since he was always away from home, it was Mum who brought us up. Sometimes she was strict, of course, and could tell us off or punish us for something, but I know how much that helped me in the future when I was older. I was grateful to her for the discipline and the principles she taught us. What I have achieved in professional sport and in life is mainly down to her.

My parents were over the moon about my successes. Dad reacted to my wins as if they were his own. He was happy and very proud, and loved to repeat: “My little daughter is the cleverest, most talented and most beautiful of all”. Mum was even more overjoyed by my success, because she could see that all her hard work had paid off. Every parent thinks their own child is the best, of course. But whenever I returned home to Tashkent I never heard anyone say “There goes the famous gymnast”. Instead, they would always say – and actually still do even today – “There goes footballer Kabaev’s daughter”. Dad was a very famous footballer in his day. I used to love going to the matches, and would get goose-pimples every time he scored a goal and the stadium erupted. He played with real style. Many of our famous players today could learn a thing or two from him, and I really mean that.

My sister and I adored our mother! We love, respect and obey her to this day. And in the past, whenever I made a spelling mistake in my homework, she would always say” Don’t you worry – I’ve got lots more jotters”.

Everyone in the world is talented in some way. It’s just that we all have different talents, and they need to be fostered. Some people have been lucky enough to find themselves in their profession, while others haven’t. Parents play a huge role in this. They need to be persistent. Often what happens is they manage to get their kid into a sports school or a musical school and then it turns out they have to take him to the kindergarten every morning, then pick him up and take him to training and then home again, and after all that they have to help out with his homework, in addition to doing their own jobs. There aren’t many people who can cope with that! But my Mum saw things through to the end. And I’m so grateful to her!

Dad now lives and works in Tashkent, but we see each other quite often and talk on the phone. Mum and my little sister live in Moscow, so we spend almost all our free time together, though that’s something I have less and less of these days.

I have a younger sister called Lisana. When we were small we didn’t get on terribly well, which is often the case with children. Sometimes we would argue and even fight, and then Mum would give us both a good telling-off. The only exception was when we played at gymnastics. We had a big apartment in Tashkent - actually in Uzbekistan they always built big apartments with high ceilings, so there was lots of space for us to play. I often used to pretend that I was a trainer, with gymnasts to train and educate.



So anyway, when my sister and I played at gymnastics she would always do what I said. She didn’t like going to the gym where everyone else trained, but when we played gymnastics at home with me as her trainer she loved it and was really enthusiastic. These days we’re soul-mates and I absolutely adore her. It amazes me now how we could ever have argued as children.

Lisana also tried to take up sport - first fencing, and then gymnastics. She was always running around the gym saying she wouldn’t train and stretch because she preferred running. She’s now studying to be a manager in the hotel business and dreams of setting up her own hotel in some cozy little town or on the coast, where people can go to relax and enjoy life.

I was born on 12 May 1983 in the magical city of Tashkent in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. This is the city of my childhood, a place I remember and love deeply. Higher education: I graduated from the Moscow State University of Service and from the P.F.Lesgaft State University of Physical Culture in St.Petersburg. It was quite hard to combine my studies with serious sports training, but what got me through it was the habit (thanks, Mum!) of sticking with my homework right to the end.



My big breakthrough came in 1995. While I was still at school and practicing rhythmic gymnastics, serious changes began to take place in our country. And it was in 1995, just after I had turned 12, that Mum decided to leave Tashkent. We were faced with the decision to move to another city, and perhaps even to another country. Those were such uncertain times that I didn’t know whether I’d be able to continue with my gymnastics at all. A lot would depend on the trainers, with whom the whole thing needed to be discussed. Irina Alexandrovna Viner – a well-known and very discerning lady who is regarded as a guru in the gymnastics world – told me I had what it takes to go into professional sport. And so we settled in Moscow.



In 1996 I became a member of the Russian national team. I was very proud of this and dreamed of becoming a champion. Two years later, in 1998, my dream came true when I won the European Championship. Europe was pretty good to me, and crowned me as its absolute champion five times…And then, in 1999, I came first in the world championship, and was totally convinced I had the gold at the 2000 Olympics in my pocket. However…either it was getting too easy to win, or my confidence had begun to develop into overconfidence…but anyway, the hoop, along with the victory, slipped out of my hands and I took the bronze in the Sydney Olympics.

Nowadays I know for sure that what happened in Sydney was a real gift of fate that helped see things from another angle. I’m actually happy now that it all happened exactly that way. First, because I didn’t give up professional sport and was able to move on and achieve other things that were important to me; and second, because that defeat made me stop and think. And I realized you mustn’t be too sure of yourself, of winning. You mustn’t get too big for your boots. You need to work hard, of course, and make progress towards your goal, but you have to remember that not everything in this life depends on us alone…And that’s how I stayed on in professional sport.

It was an excellent lesson. In many ways it was precisely that reassessment that helped me to become world champion once again (in 2003), and then win the 2004 Olympics in Athens one year later. And that was followed by several more important wins…



But after a while I began to think about the future. I tried to understand what I wanted to do next in life, and decided to get involved in social issues and help people. And it was then that I became convinced once again that everything in life depends on fate: at that very moment I was elected to the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

In 2006-7 I was a member of the Chamber’s Commission on Charity and Volunteer Work.



I joined the United Russia party back in 2001. But when I was in the Public Chamber I had to leave the party, because by law PC members are not allowed to belong to a political party. PC members rotate every two years, so when I left I went back to the party, and the Executive Committee suggested that I run for the State Duma on the United Russia ticket. This idea appealed to me straight away, though I realized that it was a great responsibility. It was like a challenge, and I accepted it.

Since December 2007 I’ve been a member of the 5th Convocation of the State Duma and Deputy Chairman of the Duma Youth Committee. Why the Youth Committee? Because I’m deeply interested in the future of my country and without intelligent, educated and committed young people there will be no future. If you ask me what they lack, I would say the right environment to develop in – the right atmosphere, if you like, and information. I want young people to have access to information on all the government initiatives and other schemes designed to help them get ahead in education, housing and jobs.



Outside public life I really like to read, and I love ballet and the theatre.



But I have less and less time for these things. I’ve had to study masses of documents and material recently. And I love going to the shops, of course, and buying things - though more for others than for myself. I love everything to do with Japan and the Orient: the food, the culture…My ideal gift would be good health for myself and my family.

My credo is “Get Over Yourself!”

PS: Alina Kabaeva holds the title of “Merited Master of Sport” as well as two outstanding government awards – the Order of Friendship and the Order of Services to the Fatherland, 4th Grade.

I really love my grandmother. I remember how I used to visit her at the weekends. That was such a lot of fun! I liked her courtyard, the kids in the courtyard… and I used to be friends with them and play together. And if for some reason she couldn’t take me with her somewhere my eyes would fill with tears…Why won’t she take me? And I also really loved it when Granny came to visit us. I always tried to finish my homework as fast as possible to spend more time with her and just talk. She now lives with us in Moscow.

I was very lucky with my grandmother on Dad’s side, too. She would always speak to me in Tatar only, and I understood her. Thanks to her, I still understand Tatar, though I can’t actually speak it any more. But I could as a child, because my Dad’s a Tatar. And Granddad and Granny are Tatars too.

And this is my own personal corner. This is where all the entries about me will be, so you can find out about my life in my own words. I’ll tell you about important events and about my family, and share my impressions of films, concerts, books, animals…of everything that I care about, everything that surprises or moves me.

I’m no hypocrite, but I don’t like it when my life is exposed to view like goods in a shop window. I’m convinced that everyone needs their own private space, something they can call their own. So here’s my “Private Life” – a space that’s mine and mine alone. I hope you’ll understand.

I have a dog called Nicole – a little Maltese that we got in Moscow two years ago. She’s a beauty – so sweet and clever. We just adore her. She lives with my Mum and little sister. Everyone wants to cuddle and stroke her…she’s absolutely surrounded with love and care. We always take here with us when we go on holiday or go out anywhere because she’s so incredibly well behaved.