The Russian domination that continued at the European figure skating championships now looks set to extend across the Atlantic to the world championships and next year's Olympics.

Led by an Irina Slutskaya sweep of the women's medals, Russian skaters also grabbed gold and silver in both the men's and pairs' events and made a return to the podium in the dance after a one year absence.

Overall, Russians skated away with eight of the 12 medals on offer, including three out of four golds, in the championships that ended on Saturday.

Such is the superiority of Russian skaters that only three times in the last six years has another country's national anthem been heard at a European championship.

But more impressive than the sheer quantity of Russian medallists this year, was the sparkling quality of many of the performances.

Displaying a new maturity and on-ice presence to go along with his vaunted jumping ability, Yevgeny Plushenko scored three perfect 6.0s in a successful defense of his European title, easily out-pointing his compatriot and bitter rival, three-time world champion Alexei Yagudin.

Asked what he had to do to add Olympic gold to his honours, Plushenko's answer was as sharp as the blades of his skates.

"I just have to do my job...and I can do a lot," he said.

Indeed, the 18-year-old Russian possesses an unmatched array of jumps, including a gravity defying quadruple toe loop, triple toe loop, triple loop combination - the only one seen in competition.

The only person Plushenko failed to impress with his performance was Yagudin, who was far from his best but reinforced his reputation as one of the grittiest competitors in the sport battling right to the final note of his free skate to secure the silver.

"I hope to be at my best in time for the Grand Prix finals and the world championship," said Yagudin, shrugging of his second place. "My main goal this year is to win the world title in March in Vancouver."

While a mostly mediocre women's competition was littered with spills, a controlled Slutskaya, recovering from influenza, showed she has the capability to win when not at her best.

A confident Slutskaya stepped onto the ice on Saturday, knowing all she needed to do was stay on her skates to defend her title after an error riddled free skate by her chief rival and compatriot Maria Butryskaya.

Their performances are unlikely to leave Michelle Kwan shaking in her skates but Slutskaya and Butryskaya still represent a potential Russian roadblock to the top of the podium for the defending world champion and one of America's top hopes at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

In the pairs competition, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze reclaimed the title they were stripped of last year and in impressive fashion, collecting 5.9s from eight judges and one perfect 6.0 from another for their original free skate.

Skating to a Charlie Chaplin medley, the two-time world champions turned in a crowd pleasing long programme laced with comical poses, gravity defying lifts and jumps, to finish ahead of compatriots Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, wiping away the bitter memories of last year's championships.

It was a triumphant return for the Russian couple, who had their gold medal taken away and were prevented from defending their world title in Nice, France last year after it was announced on the eve of the championships that Berezhnaya had become the first figure skater to test positive for a banned substance.

Italy's Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio took the dance title when French world champions Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat crashed to the ice in the closing seconds of their free skate.

But even before the stunning stumble, the Italians had already demonstrated they were capable of winning any head-to-head confrontation with the flamboyant French couple on merit alone.

After Russian skaters last year failed to win a dance medal for the first time since 1968, the country made a quick return to the podium with Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh taking the bronze.