And the people of the holiday wanted

Hockey is not to blame that the main tournament of 2000 coincided with the inauguration and the anniversary of the Victory and that these competitions entrusted the mission of raising Russia from the knees

To make a show out of the bright memory, and from the Great Victory - a universal remedy for a patriotic raising one still needs to try, but the Russian authorities here succeed as well as possible. For this, of course, it took more than one year, and the vector was set at the very outcome of the last century, when life itself, it would seem, explained more clearly, explained what is good and what is bad. The catalyst for the process was the world championship in the once beloved people in the sport, but hockey itself, as a game, has nothing to do with it. Hockey is not to blame for the fact that the main tournament of the zero year has been in the epicenter of attention and that at that moment at that moment they partially entrusted the mission of raising Russia from the knees.

The former pride of the former country was in the corral, the people remembered something from their former, but already vaguely, the beloved game went to the periphery of mass consciousness, and there was nothing to nostalgia to nostalgia: the last success of the Russian hockey in the form of the 1998 Olympic silver was achieved by the efforts of the Russians playing in North America, six championships of the world from 1994 and 1999 did not bring Even bronzes that the feelings that cooled in relation to the game could not be awake by definition. Hockey lost its exclusivity and special status, it seemed irrevocably.

In the 96th, 10 years after the World Cup was last held in the USSR, Russia finally received the right to accept the world forum-in 2000, at the end of the century. There was a chance for revival. The venue was first called Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg (in Soviet times, the championships trusted only Moscow)-they threw the bone to the great deprived city, still not realizing that four years later the choice would be perspicive, and in connection with the entry of the new President of-Leningrad, and completely gained fateful significance.

He suffered during the years of Soviet power and the subsequent 90s of St. Petersburg in the status of the capital of world hockey already realized what happiness fell on him in these holidays of May days, and not one. Accordingly, the weight of gifts increased by purpose.

In the 90s about the usual labor gifts for May Day and to Victory Day, they quickly forgotten the lack of presentations and the change of paradigm. As for hockey, who regularly got into the May festive spin due to shifting the deadlines for the world championships, then after the departure gold of 1993, there was decisively boast of Russia-in the year of the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory in Stockholm there was an inglorious departure in the quarter-finals from the Czechs, two years later, the first with the participation of Russians, directly carried out on May 9, ended with the defeat of May 9, ended Canada. In Switzerland, 1998, the victory over Slovakia did not brighten up the joyless overall result, and in 1999, the Swedes carried out our glorious squad in the Oslo with the “same day”. It was necessary to collect the best, urgently correct and extract preferences, the main of which were seen the return of folk love and the favor of new authorities.

After Yaroslavl took the right to hold part of the championship under the pretext that the city did not have time with Arena 2000, Peter restored the Yubileiny ice palace with heroic efforts, but the main thing was built by the new arena at the place of the former landfill, opposite the Bolsheviks metro station, having passed the “ice” almost on the opening day.

I illuminated the championship in the Sport-Express Brigade, even before the start of the upcoming holiday, amazed at its slightly crazy atmosphere. The appearance of a hokkoshi moose-talisman, who led people with a crazy eye from all advertising shields, quite fit into the outgoing 90s, which, however, no one has yet called dashing. So, after all, not only the outcome of the 90s was present, but also the outcome of the century, and the millennium too. This added a nerve and a little surrealism. Very soon, a “little one” turned into a full -fledged and completely tangible surrealism. And hockey here played a significant role.

... Apparently, people really wanted the era of disappointment, unbelief and instability to change the era with opposite signs, at such moments the people can be taken warm.

The holidays were layered one to another, the air rang from their unprecedented concentration: Easter smoothly flowed into the May, May-to the presidential inauguration, the inauguration-in the anniversary of the Great Victory, and the Great Hockey, which Russia and St. Petersburg was taken for the first time, was called upon to become a cherry on a festive cake. A month earlier, Vladimir Putin, as the official successor of Boris Yeltsin, received the support of almost 53% of the voting in the extraordinary presidential election, a week earlier the active phase of military operations in Chechnya ended, the people remembered about “peace, labor, May” and prepared to dive into a festive ten -day with their heads, more or less free from anxiety and with an unclear hope for a close better future.

And on the decision of the Supreme Court on May 14, governor re-election in St. Petersburg was postponed on May 14. According to the current governor Vladimir Yakovlev, Vladimir Putin at the beginning of April at a meeting with him expressed confidence that "the hockey championship will be prepared and held by the St. Petersburg authorities at the same high level as the election of the President of Russia." It is clear that the parties were discussed primarily by the upcoming elections, and the scandalous loss of the previous campaign by Anatoly Sobchak, whose headquarters was headed by Vladimir Putin, was also present. The governor assured that he would not let down, because the World Cup is "this is an event that should raise spirit and patriotism in Russia."

The hockey authorities rubbed his hands in advance - happiness did not just go to them. He was brought on a dish like bread-salt to the stars of the Russian national team, who arrived in St. Petersburg. The stars assured that they would do everything and even more for victory. They were already responsible for the feeling of the holiday.

There was a real trifle - to win the championship.

"Hoader-Sim"

... Of the free legionnaires, there was no man with the little exception, who, unlike past non -casual years, would refuse to participate. The general manager, defender of the famous Fetisov five, Alexei Kasatonov, brilliantly fulfilled his task. The list of stars and just solid overseas players was headed by the hero of the Olympics in Nagano Pavel Bure. The company "Russian Rocket" was compiled by Valery Kamensky, Alexei Zhamnov, Viktor Kozlov, Alexey Yashin, Andrey Kovalenko, Maxim Afinogenov, Ilya Bryzgalov, Andrey Markov, Sergey Gonchar, Igor Kravchuk, Dmitry Mironov, Alexander Khavanov, Alexey Zhilnik, Igor Kravchuk and Maxim Galanov. The “local” composition, which was played during the season, had to be cut more than half, according to the principle of “they are still stronger”.

The coaching headquarters in the composition powerful by names-Alexander Yakushev, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, Vladislav Tretyak-was supposed to not interfere with the stars provided at their disposal. In any case, this created the feeling: “We are the best composition to you in the new history, you are our victory. The guys will deal with the rivals themselves. ” Indeed, with the stars in the composition of the main competitors it was poorly, one or two symbolic fives would hardly have been gaining a circle.

At the starting match with the French in the “Ice” before the Angel, one and a half thousand spectators were not enough: the sign was so -so, and it was not yet in trend to come to the president. The newly elected arrived at the opening ceremony along with the fresh Japanese Prime Minister Esiro Mori, with whom he held negotiations in the Russian Museum in the morning. The head of the Russian Hockey Federation, Alexander Steblin, for whom, from the historical moment of proximity to the first person, a bright strip of career was supposed to begin, handed Putin the personalized T -shirt of the national team.

The president asked the audience to greet the Japanese guest who, during a visit, was able to support his team. The team of the Land of the Rising Sun participated in the championship in the so-called preferential Asian quota and more than fighting for the 13-16th place at the final comforting stage, did not claim. No one in a terrible dream could dream that it could be among the “comforting” along with Japan that the Russian superstar team can also. The owners treated the high guests eight with pucks abandoned in a different manner, while the prize of the best player was received by the Het-trick “Local” Maxim Sushinsky, and the author of the double Pavel Bure.

On the eve of the festive decade, Euphoria reached the climax. Four days later, the Russian “Dream-Sim” will save from the comforting round only the goal of the American Mike Peluzo in the last minutes of the match with the French national team.

But this will only delay the enchanting, unprecedented, universal, inexplicable and unprecedented shame, which will delay the return of the reputation of Russian hockey for several years.

... It was useless to ask questions to coaches and players - they themselves did not understand what was happening, and in unison they kept repeating that everything was fixable. But I already saw that nothing to fix. The state of uselessness after the departure of his team was quite familiar, but nothing could be compared with the absurdity of what was happening to Peter 2000. Experience suggested that one or two matches can be lost, but in the end to overcome non-playing and bad luck, gather and even become champions (as it was in the same victorious 93rd). Yes, two matches. But not four. Four! Contract! With rivals-sednes!

The common truths, which everyone had safely forgot about before the start, worked with some even too merciless inexorableness. Only on the class no one wins. Nobody is afraid of the Russian team. Past merits do not count. Without proper concentration, team cohesion, balance of the defense attack and the ability to perform black work, you can give in to any opponent.

Plastic bottles flew onto the ice after the first English match in the “Ice”, which was sophisticated and dry by the US national team in the evening of May 1. After a couple of days, the Swiss led by the cunning Ralph Kruger arranged a nightmare for the Russians on the Bolshevik Avenue, in the end of the second period in two minutes twice printing the gates of the spray, and, in addition to the bottles, the full hall conducted the national team with shouts “shame!”. At the next stage, in qualification, blood from the nose had to be beaten by Latvia and Belarus, all of our former ones, but the Latvians repeated the feat of Switzerland with the same two washers in the end of the second period and the fantastic game of Arthur Irbe in the gate. Brothers-Belarusians with the inimitable goalkeeper Andrei Mesin and the naked Vladimir Tsyplakov drove the last dry nail into the lid of the coffin of the so-called Dream-Sim. The worship of the nail was accompanied by “holes” and “RUS does not play hockey.”

Proceeding from Belarusians took place even on May 7, on the day of the inauguration of the new president of Russia in the Andreevsky Hall of the Kremlin. It was necessary to try very hard to “draw” such a hockey “congratulation” with the far -reaching consequences.

The next day, a crazy press conference was held with the participation of the main actors who gave me an occasion to transfer answers into rhyme prose with the use of abnormal vocabulary (later several publications published this text-naturally, not in the capital's). Alexander Steblin assured to the final that the Russian national team on the bright holiday of the 55th anniversary of the Great Victory will show its best hockey and will prevail over the Swedes. There was no applause.

The victory over Tre Krunur allowed the Russian team to take 11th place, and to this day the worst in its history.

... “Euphoria-bewilderment-anger-devastation-indifference”-according to such a scheme, the state of the city and the whole country, at once, believed in their heroes.

Peter was sorry. The city cursed the “moron championship”, instead of revitalizing the hockey life, irreparable harm to it. If not for the Finns and the Czechs with the Slovaks, the halls would have been empty already on the quarter -finals. The tickets purchased in advance were saved in packs for nothing. A ton of souvenirs turned out to be unclaimed - the snoops with the clubs could be raked with a shovel.

The composition of a similar level from the weaker group was simply obliged to go into the medal zone - at least a carcass, even with a scarecrow. But the guys in fact arrived for the holiday. When it dawned on them that no one was going to present them with bread and salt on ice, and the situation becomes critical, the knees trembled even with the most experienced. In time, give them a kick for sobering and there was no one to work. The fun went on mourning.

Naturally, the President of Russia did not come to close the consideration champion. Seven years later, Vladimir Putin will ignore the opening of the world championship in the metropolitan Megasport-Steblin will no longer be at a combat post, but the anti-hockey vaccination received in St. Petersburg will be a long-current. At least eight years.

An anniversary without victory

... 25 years have passed. The president still loves hockey, Russia still loves the president. We have hockey, however, the fourth year is sovereign, only for internal use, with bright, but overseas (hello to the record hold Ovechkin) interspersed into a common not very joyful picture. Directly to the game and its misfortunes, the picture has nothing to do, but it is she who determines the quality of the background.

For the patriotic component, and not only for it, in our hockey, the first Vice President of the FCR and the head coach of St. Petersburg SKA Roman Rotenberg, who would be headed by the Russian national team at the World-2023 championship in St. Petersburg, if we were allowed us to hold it, are responsible. It is unlikely that the largest ice palace in the world, erected by the efforts of Gazprom, would witness an event similar to the “success” of 25 years ago, but this option was not excluded taking into account everything that was happening. You can probably be comforted by the fact that there is no thin one without good.

As for the lessons extracted from St. Petersburg, they are evident.

Hockey is a tenacious game, he taxied, despite all the efforts of responsible persons. He caught up at all because he was added to him every year patriotism. It’s on the contrary: the stronger the recycling and pumping were, the more the national team sent to victory, the worse the result was.

The home championship of the world - 2007 was held under the accompaniment of the brilliant song of the front -line soldier Bulat Okudzhava from the “Belorussky Station” that was not guilty and not at all, which “we need one victory”, as well as the fact that “we won’t stand at the price” did not help the fins from the Finns. And the quarterfinal of the same Suomi team in the Olympic Sochi-2014. And again, the semifinals of the same Finns at another home championship - 2016, when the Red Machine of the New assembly was sentenced to victory.

The anniversary dates of the Great Victory did not bring Russia a single hockey title in the new century - and this despite the fact that the compositions were traditionally gathered by the most important. In 2005, Vienna had to limit himself to bronze, in 2010 after the February Olympic knockout from the Canadian “gorillas from the cage” the team of Vyacheslav Bykov gave a chance to rehabilitate the world championship in Cologne, but the composition with almost all stellar legionnaires mediocre in the finale with the Czechs. It turned out even worse in 2015 in Prague, where a real “red car” with a maple leaf on her chest made our stars the wildest defeat in the final, after which the wounded victims left the award ceremony, without waiting for the performance of the anthem of the winners. In the 2020s, the World Cup was canceled due to Covid, so no one was injured. As for May 9, the call “cannot be lost on such a day!”, Apotheosis should be considered a defeat from the French national team in Helsinki-2013-well, there, Russia flew in a quarter-finals from the United States with an unprecedented bang.

I'm not talking about the fact that “you can’t lose” - anything happens, for that he is sport. I’m talking about the fact that the memory of victory cannot be all kinds of bast in the line, otherwise it is devaluable.

Our “red car”, which, after rebranding-2016, got to bronze as much as possible, the fans were also supported by the fans, who considered it their duty to put the T-shirts with the bully “we can repeat!”, “Do not laugh my Iskander”, “To Berlin!”. And in Cologne-2017 I saw similar ones, both in Copenhagen-2018, and in Bratislava-2019. Whom such revelations should have been scared, one god knows.

And we won when there were relatively few noise, gold medals were not given in advance. In this sense, the breakthrough Quebec-2008, Bern-2009, and Helsinki-2012, and Minsk-2014 were lucky, although the Minsk World Cup is a special case, there the Russian national team seemed to play almost at home. The Gold of Pyeongchang-2018 was taken with incredible labor in a neutral status, silver Beijing 2022-under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee, on which everything has ended.

Третий год мы «Россией 25» (это не отсылка к Питеру-2000, а средний возраст хоккеистов специальной сборной) в основном играем с тоже отстраненными белорусами, в эти майские праздники снова целую серию (кстати, сборная Белоруссии уже дважды подряд обыграла россиян Ротенберга). Роман Борисович обычно традиционно шлет приветы Канаде, чтобы та заранее нас боялась, а успехи комментирует специфически. Два года назад 9 мая: «В такой день играли — Великой Победы. Мы должны были победить сегодня». Год назад 9 мая: «Очень важно было сегодня выиграть и подарить стране победу. Вся страна хотела победы, мы не имели права сегодня проигрывать…Так побеждали наши ветераны в Великой Отечественной войне». Про белорусских ветеранов ведущий специалист, видимо, не подумал.

Ну, какие времена, такие и победители.