MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin can still skate, and still plays ice hockey, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Thursday.

"Yes, indeed. The president still plays ice hockey," Peskov said in response to comment on a statement made to TASS by two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time NHL Stanley Cup Champion Vyacheslav Fetisov that he had recently played ice hockey with the Russian president.

Speaking in an interview with TASS earlier in the day on the sidelines of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Fetisov stated: "Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin's] love affair with this sport continues. It [the game] is always exhilarating, gives you the chance to switch off. The game of ice hockey is about that flush of excitement you get. Putting a puck in the back of the net, dishing out an assist and skating fast. What a rush."

"Being in good physical condition and enjoying sports, this game particularly, is a must-do today. We usually sit and shoot the breeze with other [hockey and sports legends]. [Putin] also chops it up with us," Fetisov said.

Putin’s last televised skate was in 2021, when he was joined on the ice by his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for a friendly game in St. Petersburg. In 2020, the Russian president played hockey on Moscow’s Red Square with Dima Ashchepkov as part of a New Year Wish Tree charity event.

Previously, the president regularly took part in New Year’s matches of the Night Hockey League on Red Square.

The league was founded in 2011 at the initiative of Putin and Russian ice hockey legends. Its goal was to develop the sport of ice hockey in the country and organize amateur hockey competitions that the general public could play in.

Now 73, the Russian president is a strong proponent of developing sports culture in the country. In addition to still playing hockey, he also continues to practice judo, holding a black belt in the discipline.

In 2012, the International Judo Federation granted Putin an eighth Dan for his work to promote the sport. In his youth Putin was a judo champion in his home city of Leningrad, today’s St. Petersburg. In 2008, he starred in a meme-famous judo video titled "Let’s Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin."

In a bid to bring Formula One to Russia, Putin famously drove one of their racecars on a track outside St. Petersburg in 2010.

That day, he became the "fastest president in the world," reaching a speed of 240 kmph (150 mph). That wasn’t Putin’s first motorized stunt, as he has in the past piloted fighter jets and strategic bombers as well as riding Harley Davidson motorcycles with Russian bikers.

2026 SPIEF

The 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is taking place on June 3-6 and is the 29th edition. This year, the event is held under the theme "Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future." Saudi Arabia is the guest country at SPIEF. The forum program is dedicated to shaping a new model of global development amid the ongoing transformation of the world economy.

The program includes the SME Forum, the Creative Industries Forum, the Day of the Future International Youth Economic Forum, and the Ensuring Drug Security Forum. As part of the cultural program, the Petersburg Seasons festival and the traditional SPIEF Sports Games will take place. This year, Russia’s national economic development institution VEB.RF is the title partner of SPIEF.

The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS is its official general information partner.