Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze have performed their famous free skate programme "Charlie Chaplin" and got the Cup of Russia, having left behind both Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov and the French pair Sarah Abitbol and Shephane Bernardis, says SE-Internet special correspondent in St. Petersburg Andrey SIMONENKO.

Each of the three super programs can be called "ingenious". "Charlie Chaplin" is so much discussed that there is nothing to add besides that Elena and Anton have changed costumes (it's their third variant) and introduced some minor changes to the program. Chess by Petrova and Tikhonov is finally a success to them: the program is fascinating from the first second and keeps the audience in tension till the end. And one cannot watch charming and frightful "Adams Family" performed by Abitbol and Bernardis staged with the help of Tatiana Tarasova, without a smile. Thus everything depended on their skating.

The strongest were the best in the end. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze haven't made any mistakes - the German judge have even given 6.0. Petrova and Tikhonov made minor mistake in parallel jump, the French pair haven't made any mistakes, too, and was warmly supported by the audience. But one mark has decided the results in favor of Ludmila Velikova's pupils.

Cup of Russia. St. Petersburg

Grand Prix series

Pairs event standings after free skate programme

1. Elena BEREZHNAYA/Anton SIKHARULIDZE (Russia)    2.5

2. Maria PETROVA/Alexei TIKHONOV (Russia)            2.5

3. Sarah Abitbol/ Stephane Bernardis (France)            4.0

4. Dorota Zagorska/Marius Siudek (Poland)                6.0

5. Yulia OBERTAS/Alexei SOKOLOV (Russia)            7.5

6. Viktoria Maksiuta/ Vitali Dubina (Ukraine)            9.0