Background Yuri as a child Yuri was raised by his paternal grandfather, , in Moscow, Russia. As a result of this, the two have a very close relationship, even closer than with his own mother. Yuri's mother was a former Russian idol who retired from show business early on. Yuri began figure skating at a young age, and later chose to move to Saint Petersburg from Moscow to train under the guidance of. He is part of the new generation of Russian figure skaters, and had dominated the Junior circuit before moving on to his Senior debut. He is the two-time consecutive Junior World Champion and two-time consecutive Junior Grand Prix Final Champion. Yuri has incredible talent and is described by many to be a rising star in the figure skating world. Appearance Yuri has blonde chin-length hair that covers the right side of his face and turquoise eyes. He is shorter than average for his age and has a thin frame; because of his appearance, he is nicknamed the Russian Fairy. His skates have special blades that are said to make it easier to perform jumps. When not in performance costumes or warm-up gear, Yuri loves to wear clothing with mainly big cat prints. Personality Young Yuri Yuri is very ambitious and is determined to become the best of the best in figure skating. To ensure he gets what he wants, Yuri is not above threatening or intimidating his competition. He is short-tempered and very accustomed to yelling. Yuri is both very critical of himself, and determined to impress Victor. He is prone to seeing other athletes as his rivals, and therefore his enemies. While Yuri has been noted to not take training seriously at first, he has the ability to undertake highly rigorous training in order to do well, and does so without complaining. A softer side to Yuri's personality can be seen when he thinks of his grandfather, and later when he gives Yuuri some for Yuuri's birthday. Yuri also shows this side of him to the few people he regards as friends, most notably and. Skills Jumps Yuri is shown to have an amazing amount of jumping ability starting from a very early age; when he was twelve, he landed a quadruple salchow 4S during a local competition, despite being scolded by his coach frequently about it being too early for him to start such difficult jumps. In Agape, his quads are planned for the second half to maximize his score. In Allegro Appassionato, he is able to execute 6 of his 8 jumps in the second half, again to boost his score. This may imply that he has a good amount of stamina. Spins His signature as a junior were his combination spins. He is able to hold spirals and spins in a half-Biellmann position, which is a rarity in men's singles due to the flexibility that it requires. Ballet Yuri is shown to have been practicing ballet as part of his cross-training regimen for at least as early as ten years old. He takes it up again seriously when Lilia is invited by Yakov to train the skater for the Grand Prix series. Relationships Victor promises to coach Yuri. Yuri initially looked up to Victor as a skater, and had idolized him since he was very young. The two of them are rink mates under Yakov's guidance, save during the time Victor left Russia to coach Yuuri. Victor first took notice of the younger skater after he had attempted a quad in competition, despite it being physically dangerous since Yuri was still young, and promised to choreograph for him a program that would ensure victory for his Senior debut if Yuri won the Junior Grand Prix without any quad jumps. Yuri becomes determined to prove himself to Victor as a skater. Victor eventually arranges a short program for Yuri after the latter won the Junior Grand Prix and traveled to Hasetsu, demanding that Victor should keep the promise. As the series progresses, Yuri's perception of Victor changes. He no longer looks up as much towards Victor, disappointed that Victor had left competitive skating to coach Yuuri. Despite this, Victor still cares very much about Yuri and was overjoyed when Yuri beat his short program world record. Nikolai is Yuri's grandfather and is the person Yuri loves the most, even over Yuri's own mother. Nikolai usually does his best to attend competitions held in Moscow that Yuri participates in. He often makes for Yuri. After hearing about Yuri's newfound love of , he creates the katsudon pirozhki, thereby combining two of his grandson's favorite foods. Yuri's short program very much centered around his love for his grandfather. Nikolai is shown to be very proud of Yuri. Yuri initially looked down on Yuuri for crying after losing the Sochi Grand Prix Final, and tried to intimidate Yuuri to drop out from competitive skating. He does not see Yuuri as much of a threat and was infuriated when Victor left Russia to coach Yuuri. Yuri stays at Yuuri's house while in Japan, and often rudely teases Yuuri. Despite all this, he was willing to teach Yuuri how to land a quad salchow and eventually comes to see Yuuri as a worthy rival. Even though most of the time Yuri is rude to Yuuri, he is still shown to care for Yuuri. Yuri instinctively cheers Yuuri on when the latter was seen to be underperforming during the Rostelecom Cup free skate, and later offers Yuuri some katsudon pirozhki for Yuuri's birthday. Yuri becomes upset after Victor implies that Yuuri planned on retiring should he win gold at the Barcelona Final - a far cry from his initial wish for Yuuri to drop out of competitive skating. In order to prevent Yuuri's impending retirement, Yuri vows to prevent Yuuri from winning. Yuuri and Yuri's dance battle. After following Victor to Japan, Yuri meets Yuuko. The two keep in contact through texting, with Yuuko giving Yuri constant updates on the training situation at. Yuuko is one of the people that Yuri thinks about before delivering his free skate at the Grand Prix final. Otabek and Yuri talk at a cafe. Yuri and Otabek become friends after Otabek rescues Yuri from his i
