I’ll let Ben McPhee tell you about this one:

On my first trip to Russia the yoyo scene was about 50 deep. They hung out in their own smaller crews, some guys were older and into other things as well but everyone came together often to hangout and play. There were known meeting spots across the city where you could just come and trust other yo-yos would come by too. The scene grew, matured, money came into it for some people, there were factions and eventually it maxed out and started to decline. Those who are left are now the hardcore. Some stayed around from the start, some came in later and drive it with a new passion. Ilya Matros is one of the new driving forces. He has contest results, a stack of video clips but he hasn’t reached his peak yet, nor has yo-yoing in Russia. It might be a bumpy road but I look forward to Russian yo-yoing growing once again so Russia can become the global powerhouse it can be in international yo-yoing.