Russia

Russia
Flag and abbrev.	RUS
Continent	Europe
Leader	Dmitry Medvedev (President)
Population	142,008,838 (as of 2008)
Registered players	82,967
Percentage	0,06%
National team	Russian National Team
National federation	Russian Ice Hockey Federation
IIHF ranking	2nd (+3)
Top league	Continental Hockey League
Current champion	Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Russia's flag

Russia is an European country, bordered by Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast), Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It is also close to the U.S. state of Alaska, Sweden and Japan across relatively small stretches of water (the Bering Strait, the Baltic Sea, and La Pérouse Strait, respectively). There is a little over 142 million people living in Russia, which capital is Moscow.

Organisation

Hockey is a very popular sport in Russia. It's top professional league, the Kontinental Hockey League, is among the strongest in the world. The league was created out of the Russian Superleague and made a major league with the unveiled intent of competing with the National Hockey League.

History of hockey in Russia

Russian hockey's history and strenght is closely tied to that of the Soviet Union, of which Russia was a prominent member.

International

On the international level, Russia is very competitive, continuously ranked in the elite of the world and part of the Big Seven.

Some great Russian players

• Viacheslav Fetisov
• Vladislav Tretiak
• Valery Kharlamov
• Alexander Mogilny
• Pavel Bure
• Alexander Ovechkin
• Evgeni Malkin

See also

• Kontinental Hockey League
• Russian Superleague
• Vysshaya Liga

This article is part of the Russian hockey portal.