Faith Goes Pop
In the October issue of Nylon magazine, actor Anton Yelchin (best known for playing Chekhov in the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot) talks about his family’s struggle to leave Russia and the antisemitism they experienced there. His parents, Viktor and Irina, were pairs figure skaters in the 1970s and even qualified for the national Olympic team. However, they were banned from performing, possibly because they were Jewish. The Yelchin family, like many other Jewish people, left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Anton was a baby.
His parents now both still work in competitive figure skating. Irina Yelchin works as a choreographer and Viktor as a coach. One of Viktor’s pupils was Sasha Cohen, who went on to win a silver medal in 2006.
As for Anton, he stars in the upcoming Like Crazy and will also reprise his role in the Star Trek sequel.
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