«RBC daily»: «No rivals for Putin»
The Russian prime minister has secured another high-status event for Russia, the 2016 Hockey World Championships. Unlike the Olympics or a Formula-1 race, it will cost the country almost nothing. Hockey is "another way of solving [Europe's] demographic problem," Putin said, and went on to tell Europe how many kilometers he swims a day and how disappointing his first ice-skating experience was.
The decision to grant Russia's bid for the 2016 championships did not surprise anyone. Some reasonably sensational news came an hour before the voting in Bratislava: Ukraine and Denmark, which were supposed to lose by a small margin, called off their bids, said Alexander Medvedev, president of the Kontinental Hockey League. Half an hour later, he corrected himself, saying that the rivals did try to fight to be hosts, but came up short.
Vladimir Putin's arrival in Slovakia was timed perfectly with the moment Russia was announced the winner. Unlike the Olympics, the world football championships or Formula-1, this high-profile competition will only cost Russia around 8 million euros, he said. Ukraine or Denmark, if they won, would have had to build ice arenas from the ground up, which would have cost them hundreds of millions of euros.
Putin thanked the International Ice Hockey Federation in English. Unlike Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, whose English made Zurich laugh when Russia's bid for the 2018 FIFA world cup was granted, the prime minister was reasonably fluent. He was probably inspired by IIHF president Rene Fasel who called him "president."
Fasel said it was "an honour and a pleasant surprise that Mr Putin joined" them. The other bidders failed to send their heads of government to Bratislava.
"You know that Russians love hockey," said Putin, who has recently begun learning to ice-skate. According to the prime minister, half a million Russians play hockey and Russia has millions of hockey fans. He told Fasel how he was watching the hockey quarterfinals with friends: "some of them slid off their chairs to watch the final part sitting on the floor. No kidding..."
He also said Russian hockey players know just how much he loves and respects them ("No I am not shy of saying so!"), and how he has always supported them, in good and bad times.
He has started learning how to ice-skate only recently. Before no
w, he tried it only once, at a judo camp. That first disappointing attempt ended in an injury – he sprained his ankle – which discouraged him for decades. Now he says he enjoys skating, but still prefers swimming. "I exercise every day. Every single day. I swim 1,000 metres and go to the gym. That takes about 60-90 minutes of my time. I do it every day, even though I'm very busy," he said.
These events require significant expenses, but they will pay off in many ways, Putin said. The funds are essentially invested in the regions' infrastructure. If this were not such an event, we would not have invested that much money, he said: "Nothing will go to waste – everything will be put to good use."
He could not cite the total cost of the project for fear of making a mistake. He said he would think of some other event Russia could host during "vacant" 2017. "Russia ranks third in the world in terms of the amount of its gold and currency reserves, so we can allocate the necessary funds," he said. He added, rather unexpectedly, that sports, and hockey in particular, can help deal with the demographic problem that is plaguing all of Europe.
By the end of the meeting, Fasel gave Putin a hockey uniform with his name and number 16 on the shirt. "This must symbolize 2016," Putin guessed. Although Fasel showed a truly European politeness by offering Putin a plastic bag for the uniform, Putin preferred wrapping it around his shoulders on top of his jacket. Walking out of the room, he stopped to sign a notebook for a female guest. "Russia will host the 2016 World Hockey Championships," Putin reiterated, although no one had doubted that even before the vote.
Inga Vorobyova
