CCCP: Russians play retro (and lose 3-2 to Finland)

Well, what was happening in Moscow? In the last Channel One final against Finland, the Russian national ice hockey team was surprised in a nostalgic outfit: CCCP was written on the red and white jerseys, meaning the USSR in Cyrillic font.

Honoring Russia’s first Olympic gold in 65 years

A visual journey into the past Soviet era is clearly not for everyone’s taste. Finnish sports representatives spoke of a provocation.

Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Staub tweeted that the reference to the Soviet system was a “humiliating gesture that does not belong to sports or anywhere else”.

The president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, ice hockey legend Vladislav Alexandrovich Tretyak, called it a tribute to the Russians’ first Olympic gold in 65 years.

“We wanted to surprise our fans and the team with it. The players should feel the traditions our grandfathers built when they won the 1956 Olympics in this jersey.

The players assured us that they feel more responsible because this shirt symbolizes Olympic victory.”

In the end, the retro outfit made no difference: Finland beat Russia 3-2 and thus won the second stage of the Euro Hockey Tour, which is considered a preparation for the World Ice Hockey Championship.

The Russian Ice Hockey League celebrates the 75th anniversary of the sport in 2021. In December 1946, the first matches of the national championship were held in the USSR.