Asia-Pacific
Russia
The Surliest Stars
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Anna Kournikova may be the best tennis players Russia has ever produced, but many Russians couldn't care less, writes Oksana Polonskaya in Moscow's liberal weekly Moskovskiye Novosti. Russians just don't like them. "They really are unappealing," writes Polonskaya, adding that Kafelnikov "doesn't talk to reporters, and if he does-he just complains." Both players rarely appear in Russia, and at a recent Moscow press conference, Kournikova pretended she didn't understand Russian, says Polonskaya.
But Polonskaya concedes that Russians may be projecting their own feelings onto the athletes. "By ignoring their historical homeland, the athletes are merely reflecting the subconscious convictions of their viewers and fans," she writes. "Let's face it: We have disliked ourselves for a long time."
