Ilia Alexeyevich Tkachenko (, born 26 December 1986) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. Skating for Russia with Ekaterina Riazanova, he became the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard silver medalist, the 2012 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, and a three-time Russian national medalist. Competing with Isabella Tobias for Israel, he won four medals on the ISU Challenger Series. Personal life Tkachenko was born on 26 December 1986 in Perm, Russian SFSR, the elder of two boys. He studied municipal administration. He married his wife, Ksenia, who is also from Perm, on 15 June 2012. After deciding to compete for Israel, Tkachenko applied for Israeli citizenship. In November 2017, news media reported that his application had been unsuccessful. Career Early career Tkachenko began skating at the age of four in Perm. Initially, he was a single skater, training in Andrei Kislukhin's group, but when it dissolved he took up ice dancing. He moved with his grandmother to Moscow at age 13. Tkachenko competed with Anastasia Gorshkova from 2002 to 2006, coached by her father, Alexei Gorshkov. They won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships and four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series — two gold, one silver, one bronze. They finished 7th at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Gorshkova retired from competition in July 2006 due to a hip injury. 2006–2007 season: Debut of Monko/Tkachenko Around late August 2006, Tkachenko began training with Maria Monko in Odintsovo under Gorshkov. They won the silver medal at the 2007 Russian Junior Championships and placed fifth at the 2007 World Junior Championships. 2007–2008 season Monko/Tkachenko won a pair of medals on the Junior Grand Prix series and qualified for the JGP Final where they took gold. They finished fourth at the 2008 World Junior Championships after Monko fell on twizzles in both the original and free dance. 2008–2009 season Monko/Tkachenko received two senior Grand Prix assignments, 2008 Skate America and 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, and prepared new programs. They withdrew, however, from both events. After their partnership ended, Tkachenko briefly skated with Isabella Tobias in 2008. Tobias and Tkachenko did not compete together. In spring 2009, Tkachenko expressed interest in skating with Ekaterina Riazanova. After a tryout, they both felt it would be a good partnership, despite her needing time to adapt to his different technique and some disapproval from the Russian skating federation. They decided to be coached