The book is about Evgeny Plushenko’s sporting career intertwined with the Russian figure skating history and with the political and socio-economic changes of the last decades in Russia. Plushenko is one of the best figure skating athletes by his record of achievements, his long trajectory, his unique style and his presence on the ice. He also embodies the upward social mobility thanks to excellence in sport. Contrary to several of his fellow countrymen, he never left Russia, even in the darkest periods of economic recession. This explains his widespread popularity in his country to a certain extent. The book is entitled: The Return of the Firebird, Evgeny Plushenko an image of the New Russia because, in this scientific biography the author described the athlete like the precursor of a new style in Russian men’s figure skating after the classical and balanced style of the Soviet era. Plushenko became a sports icon and a popular male figure of the New Russia, the successor to the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, whose social values were replaced by a culture of glamour, luxuriance and excess, recalling the gleaming image and the turbulent flame of the mythical… Firebird. [Amazon]