SAINT PETERSBURG, December 29. /TASS/. Russian and Belarusian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko respectively, hit the ice together in a friendly ice hockey match on Wednesday night in Saint Petersburg.
Putin was wearing his customary red hockey jersey, sporting number 11, while Lukashenko wore No. 01 jersey. Other players in today’s match were famous ice hockey players, including Pavel Bure, Alexei Kasatonov, Valery Kamensky, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Fetisov.
Putin and Lukashenko played for the ‘White Team’ against the ‘Red Team’ during the match on Wednesday and they both enjoyed later the win of 18-7 over their opponents.
The score in the match was opened on the 3rd minute with a netter from Russian President Putin. President of Belarus Lukashenko scored another goal shortly after. In all, Russian President Putin scored seven goals and his Belarusian opponent Lukashenko netted two more.
On Wednesday, the Russian president held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko. Putin thanked the Belarusian president for extending his stay in St. Petersburg after Tuesday’s informal CIS summit.
According to the Russian leader, "today, we have an opportunity to take our time and calmly talk about bilateral relations between Russia and Belarus."
In early 2020, Putin and Lukashenko also took part in a friendly ice hockey game in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, playing for the same team. Putin donned Russia’s national hockey team uniform, sporting the number 11, while Lukashenko played in a hockey jersey with the number 01. Lukashenko’s son Nikolai also took part in that match.
The 69-year-old Russian president, known for his avid support of sports development in Russia, is a black belt holder in judo and he regularly practices.
In 2012, the International Judo Federation granted Putin an eighth Dan for his work to promote this sport. In his youth Putin was judo champion of his home city Leningrad, now called St. Petersburg. In 2008, he starred in the judo video "Let's Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin."
In his bid to bring to Russia FIA Formula One automobile competition, also known as the Royal Racing, Putin gunned down a F1 bolide on a race track outside Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg in 2010.
In what can be called the ‘fastest president in the world,’ he reached a speed of 240 kmph (150 mph). His racing lap added to his previous motorized stunts, which included piloting fighter jets and strategic bombers as well as riding Harley Davidson motorcycles with Russian bikers.