Millionaire mother says she BEATS her five-year-old Russian skating prodigy son with a belt and locks him in a dark cupboard so he can become 'the best skater in the world' (7 Pics)

A millionaire mother who is pushing her ice-skating son to world stardom has revealed the 'cruel' punishments she dishes out if he fails in his training.

Yana Rudkovkaya, 43, is on a desperate quest to make her five-year-old son Alexander ‘Sasha’ Plushenko the "best skater on the planet" - and strikes him with a belt and locks him in a closet if he does not meet her expectations.

The child has been a social media icon almost all his life with 283,000 Instagram followers.

A staunch Vladimir Putin supporter, Yana, from Russia, unveiled Sasha as a fashion model before his first birthday, and he debuted on the ice in his nappies.

He is now being groomed for figure skating stardom by his father Yevgeny Plushenko, a four-times Olympic medalist who won the European championships on seven occasions.

She doesn’t deny the pair raise their son, who trains on ice three times a day, with “iron gloves”, reported Spletnik, Russian Tatler.

“Many people reprimand me for excessive cruelty,” she admitted, referring to her son by his nickname meaning gnome.

“Recently I gave an interview which brought hundreds of links on the internet arguing that Yana Rudkovskaya is cruel in how she raises Gnom Gnomych."

In the online showbiz magazine interview, she was accompanied by her son who was asked to name the punishments.

He immediately said: “The belt.”

She admitted it “happens sometimes” with a “small narrow belt” usually administered by her 35-year-old husband.

As well as corporal punishment, the boy also told how he was forced to sit in a “dark room”.

His mother said this was punishment “when he behaves the wrong way with his nanny” or other children.

She asked: “And so what?

“My parents also put me in a dark room, and used a belt on me, and I was banned from leaving home… and haven't I grown into a decent human being?”

Her comments caused a storm in Russia with critics demanding: “Where the hell are our social services ?

“She is publicly admitting violence. This is madness.”

Another said: “Haven’t I grown into a decent human being?” Oh yes, a very decent sadist, you have.”

But Yana - millionaire producer for Russian singer Dima Bilan - is adamant that she is using the right approach.

She told Dozhd TV: "Don’t take pity of a child if you want to be the best on the planet. Sasha is a sportsman and he has three ice training sessions a day.

“At 9.15am he is already on the ice warming up, and by 4pm he is just about finishing.

“He is prepared to take this pressure on - so that he can be the best in the world.

“Am I scared that he will grow up and confront me with ‘What was it all for?’

“No I am not scared,” she said, arguing that her husband went through a similar routine when he was trained for greatness.

“His mother told me how she raised him.

“In order to be the best on the planet, don’t take pity on your child, you can take pity when he is asleep or when he scratched himself, or bruised his knee. Then you can kiss and feel sorry for the boy.

“When he gets up, you have to tell him that he has to train hard today, be the best and not let his father and his trainer down.

“Yes we constantly inspire him, he is indeed a five year old child who is charged to become a champion.

“I want my son to grow up into a real man, but we want to raise first and foremost a man and a good athlete.

“When I say ‘a man’, it means ‘a human being’, too - decent, honest and well-educated.”

Sasha has starred in 20 major shows and participates permanently in his father’s Nutcracker-2 ice show.

“He loves it,” she said. It’s impossible to kick him off ice rink."

The super-strict mum allows Sasha 30 minutes a day to watch cartoons, but is made to earn toys by taking part in shows and performing well.

Yana added:“He has one attitude to toys that he was gifted, and a completely different one to the ones he worked for.He earned them, he took part in a show and got toys."

Yana even described herself as an "angel" compared to other parents, believing her own approach to parenting is the correct way.

She said: "Where parents are too soft, their children turn into "drug addicts".

Not everyone agrees, with some viewers astonished by her 'cruelty'.

Anna said: “Oh my dear god, a belt, a belt! Are we really in the 21st century?!”

Dmitry: “This is so shockingly upsetting, I am lost for words.”