Pictured: Moment 17-year-old Russian figure skater got a HUG from a home judge after her surprise win that sparked conspiracy claims    

• Russian Adelina Sotnikova beat out favorite South Korean Yuna Kim to the figure skating gold medal
• Many questioned the win and argued Kim skated a winning program
• Cameras backstage caught Russian referee Alla Shekhovtsova embracing Sotnikova
  
• Shekhovtsova is married to top Russian figure skating official Valentin Piseev
• A petition demanding an investigation into the judging decision has been signed almost 1.8 million times
• Critics say the judging panel is made up mostly of Eastern Bloc states and the scoring is anonymous
• One judge has previously been caught trying to fix an event at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Another Russian, Yulia Lipnitskaya, fell multiple times but beat American Ashley Wagner, who did not fall
• Wagner challenged the free skate results, but Sotnikova's coach said the American skater had told her that the Russian deserved gold
  

By Alex Greig and Snejana Farberov

Published: 14:15 EDT, 22 February 2014 | Updated: 13:49 EDT, 23 February 2014

A growing controversy surrounding the results of the ladies’ free skate in Sochi this week reached a fever pitch after images surfaced showing a Russian judge hugging her 17-year-old compatriot just moments after her surprise victory.

The stills were taken from Thursday's Olympic coverage by the Korean TV channel SBS.

In the pictures, skating judge Alla Shekhovtsova is seen warmly embracing Adelina Sotnikova, who skated to victory over reigning Olympic champion Yuna Kim, of South Korea.

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Compromising position: Cameras set up by South Korean channel SBS caught Russian figure skating judge Alla Shekhovstova (left) warmly embracing Russia's Adelina Sotnikova (right) after her win

Authority figure: Shekhovtsova, seen right during the free skate, was on the judging panel that handed Sotnikova a victory over South Korea's Yuna Kim

The veteran International Skating Union referee (left), who is also married to a top Russian figure skating official, was among a throng of people waiting backstage to congratulate Sotnikova

The Chicago Tribune, which obtained the stills from SBS, got a confirmation from an NBC staffer that cameras set up backstage at the Iceberg Skating Palace caught the women celebrating together Sotnikova’s gold medal.

The compromising images have caused an uproar among South Koreans on Twitter and in local media.

While the cuddle does not suggest in any way that Miss Shekhovtsova had judged the free skate unfairly, critics have said that rushing backstage to congratulate her compatriot in full view of cameras was a bad judgment call.

Beside her role as a long-time International Skating Union judge, Shekhovtsova is also the wife of General Director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation Valentin Piseev. 

Meanwhile, more than 1.9million people have signed a Change.org petition demanding that an investigation into the judging decisions in Thursday night's women's figure skating competition be opened. 

Sotnikova finished with a total score of 224.59, beating Kim's score of 219.11 by 5.48 points after the free skate program, becoming the first female Russian skater to win in the category.

Controversial win: Adelina Sotnikova of Russia (center), Yuna Kim of South Korea (left) and Carolina Kostner of Italy stand on the podium during the flower ceremony for the women's free skate figure skating final at the Iceberg Skating Palace

Kim would have been the third woman in history to defend her Olympic gold medal after her landslide win at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics where she beat her closest rival by 23.06 points.

However, that title eluded her when Sotnikova was announced as the gold-medal winner with Kim in second and Italian Carolina Kostner with bronze.

The reaction was immediate and vocal, with more than 700,000 people signing the petition within six hours.

Many called for greater transparency in the judging panel, which was overwhelmingly made up of Eastern Bloc nations.

Petition: This Change.org petition has been signed almost 1.8 million times since Thursday

Shock: Many in the figure skating world expressed surprise that Yuna Kim did not win gold for her performance

Upstart: The young Russian dethroned the 'Queen' Yuna Kim, to the chagrin of many

One of the judges, whose votes were anonymous, was Yuri Balkov of the Ukraine who was caught on camera trying to fix an event at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Another, Alla Shekhovtsova, is married to the head of the Russian figure skating federation, reports USA Today.

Critics pointed to another Russian skater in the competition, Yulia Lipnitskaya, who fell more than once during her program yet still managed to beat American Ashley Wagner, who came in seventh.

'I feel gypped,' Wagner said at a news conference Thursday.

'People don't want to watch a sport where you see people fall down and somehow score above someone who goes clean.' 

Historical: Carlina Kostner won Italy's first-ever Olympic figure skating singles medal

Speaking to Yahoo! Sports, Wagner said the results of the free skate have left her ‘speechless.’

However, the 22-year-old skater's comments came as a surprise to Sotnikova’s  coach, Elena Buianova, who told Russian reporters from Izvestia.ru Friday that Wagner approached her rival backstage after the free skate and congratulated her, telling Adelina that her victory was well-deserved.

Buianova also came to Shekhovtsova’s defense, insisting that her judging has always been objective.

Sotnikova herself has brushed off the brewing scandal and the petition. The 17-year-old sounded defiant during a recent interview, stating in Russian that her goal is to win 'all the gold possible - and more than once.'

Even Eteri Tutberidze, who coaches skater Yulia Lipnitskaya – Sotnikova’s Russian rival - publicly said that the 17-year-old deserved to be at the top of the podium.

'In my opinion, it is not right at this time to discuss who is married to whom,' Tutberidze said, referring to Shakhovstova.

Tutberidze went on to say that she had reviewed recordings of Sotnikova  and Kim's free skates, and came to a conclusion that the Russian's quality of skating and artistry were superior to Kim's performance Thursday night.

The current scoring system rates the technical elements of a skater's routine, then the execution and presentation using a cumulative system.

The most problematic impact of the system is that judges are now allowed to give their scores anonymously, Eric Zitzewitz, an economist at Dartmouth University who has studied judging bias, told ABCNews.com.

Judges' tendencies to inflate scores for athletes from their own countries and trade votes with other judges has increased 20 per cent since the rules were changed in 2004, according to Zitzweitz.

Second place: Silver medalist South Korea's Yuna Kim smiles during the victory ceremony for the figure skating women's free skating program

Triumph: Gold medalist Adelina Sotnikova of Russia celebrates during the medal ceremony for the Women's Free Figure Skating on day fourteen of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Stoic: Kim did not question the judges' scoring of her program at the press conference following the figure skating finals

Kim herself remained above all the fuss being made over the alleged robbery of her second Olympic gold medal.

'The scores are given by the judges, so I am not in the right position to comment on it,' Kim said. 'There’s nothing that will change with my words. The biggest thing was I felt relieved because it was over.'

Sotnikova seemed oblivious to the questions raised over her win.

'I won. It's my gold medal. I can't believe it,' she said. 'Two years ago, all of my competitions were very bad. I didn't know if I had what it takes to be successful. Now I know that I do.'