When Vitaly was 20 years old in architectural school in Russia, a professor asked for volunteers to make a New Year’s celebration ice park for children. He’s been sculpting ever since, focusing on creating children’s ice playgrounds as a winter profession.

Vitaly has been coming to Ice Alaska for 16 years, carving both in single block and multi block. Fifteen of those years he’s taken gold in the realistic and the abstract categories, as well as winning second to fifth places numerous times. Over these years he’s seen a gradual evolution in the ice tools used and he’s seen progress in dynamic creation. Ice carving is not a “frozen” art. Design is a fluid process.

Vitaly likes the Ice Alaska competition because it has the biggest and most beautiful blocks of ice anywhere. Coming to this competition gives him a chance to study the works of others – observe their techniques, see what tools they use, and gain ideas for new creations. It’s like coming to a big workshop.

An educational ice carving experience isn’t the only bonus Vitaly has gotten from coming to Ice Alaska. He also got a wife. Four years ago he was carving in multi block next to a Japanese lady who was doing multi block all by herself. He was impressed! They dated by visiting each other’s counties, Russia and Japan, and were married in Japan. They lived in Russia but recently moved to Japan.

For Vitaly, some of the challenges of ice carving are staying physically fit, creating movement in the design and creating new “visible textures” on ice. Completing the carving is his reward.

Vitaly likes his ice carvings to be “maximum in the air” and “minimum support of the ice.” That is, he wants a very small base of ice and all the rest of the ice to look like it’s in the air, giving the feeling of flying or freedom. Based on the number of awards he’s received, that technique must be working well for him.

..2017update