What is Maxim Staviski?
[[File:DenkowaStawiski.jpg|thumb|right|Denkova and Staviski in exhibition]] '''Maxim Staviski''' ({{lang-bg|Максим Стависки}}) (born November 16, 1977, in [[Rostov-on-Don]], [[Soviet Union]] (now [[Russia]])) is an [[ice dancer]] from [[Bulgaria]]. His skating partner and fiancee is [[Albena Denkova]]. Staviski originally competed for the Soviet Union and later Russia. He moved to Bulgaria when he started skating with Denkova. He has acquired Bulgarian citizenship and considers himself wholly Bulgarian. He was insulted when a reporter told him he was the only Russian skater to win a gold medal at the 2006 World Championships. Denkova and Staviski are the first Bulgarian skaters to win Worlds, which they did in 2006 and 2007. After 2007 Worlds, Denkova and Staviski did not announce if they would retire, leaving it open. However, in the summer of 2007, Staviski was involved in a fatal car crash that killed a man and left someone else in a coma.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/52466/undefined|title=World champ involved in car accident|website=Stuff}}{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bg/|title=Новини от България и света, актуална информация 24 часа в денонощието|website=News.bg}}</ref> Staviski survived unharmed. However, he was legally drunk.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/83911/Bulgaria%27s+World+Skating+Champ+Still+Not+Arrested+for+Causing+Deadly+Crash|title=Bulgaria's World Skating Champ Still Not Arrested for Causing Deadly Crash - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency|website=www.novinite.com}}</ref> Denkova and Staviski have withdrawn from the Grand Prix events they were scheduled to attend. Denkova has not made an official announcement as to their retirement, but if Staviski goes to jail, they will be unable to compete. Denkova and Staviski are known for being pioneers of dance lifts. They invented or popularized most of the ice dance lifts currently in use at the international level. == R