Although the Russian President’s love for hockey is no secret, his previous celebrations have been arguably more exotic.
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It’s hard to believe that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, could have had another flawless gift.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, is under investigation for “public calls for committing acts of terrorism or the public justification of terrorism”, the Russian agency’s spokesman Vladimir Markin said in a statement Wednesday.
In addition to scenes of Russian youth on skateboards and BMX’s wearing masks of the president’s face and Timati racing down the Moskva River on a jet ski, the incredibly catchy song features the chorus “My best friend is President Putin”.
Before hitting the ice, Putin received a briefing from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about Russia’s current military operations in Syria. The game ended with Putin holding a big trophy. Putin scored seven goals and his team won the 15-10, the Associated Press reports.
So it’s only fair that the Russian president took a moment to enjoy his birthday on Wednesday, with activities that – incidentally, we’re sure – offered plenty of photo ops.
His team featured hockey stars from NHL – and the opposition his inner-circle of Russian oligarchs.
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The game was also broadcast live on Russian Television. For example, this year he went down on a submarine in the Black Sea. On Tuesday he signed a law resurrecting a Soviet-era physical fitness programme Ready for Labour and Defence, which tests young people in activities such as running, swimming, shooting and grenade-throwing. After that, however, he came back with its military intervention in Ukraine, which led to economic sanctions for Russian Federation. But USA officials say most of the strikes, which started on September 30, target Western-backed opponents of Assad in an effort to support his regime. Still, the performance, which drew cheers of “happy birthday” from the crowd, was not as strong as Putin’s eight-goal appearance on the ice in May, according to The Guardian.
