Red time machine: can Russia become the USSR?

Social networks are discussing: the Russian national hockey team, which, let me remind you, does not have the right to compete under its own flag, has put on a uniform with the inscription USSR. And so she won! Many rejoiced when the Czech team fell under the pressure of the Russians. “That’s what the four letters mean!” – exclaimed the optimists. However, in the next match the Russian team lost to the Finns, with whom we have been playing the worst in recent years. I lost because of the gamble of coach Sergei Fedorov, out of habit, which is what he does in the KHL, who removed the goalkeeper. Well, for what, huh?

However, we lost – and that’s okay. The main battle lies ahead - at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The hockey tournament there promises to be one of the most interesting in history. After all, the NHL, the main league where the best players in the world are gathered, promised to release the athletes to Beijing. There were corresponding agreements. However, according to the latest information, the NHL has changed its mind about releasing the players. There are two reasons: the spread of Covid and Washington’s boycott of China.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

One way or another, the Russian team will go to Beijing for the Olympics. It doesn't matter what composition. There will be no Ovechkin (that’s who I really feel sorry for!) – Grigorenko will appear. If they don’t let Kucherov go, Shipachev will get his act together. In any case, we must win the Olympics. And it is quite possible that the Russians will do this in uniforms with the inscription “USSR”. Will the IOC allow this? Will he allow it? Or, as always, being frightened, will it do harm?

Of course, there is a temptation to play in a uniform with a reference to the USSR. But let us not forget, there is also a great test. After all, let’s be objective, the image of that “Red Machine” is mercilessly exploited by modern Russian hockey functionaries. It is used not so much for real business, but for effective marketing. And yes, undoubtedly, Russia is the legal successor of the USSR, but does this mean that one “Red Machine” has become another “Red Machine”? Is it possible, in principle, to have several “red cars”? How do those victories compare with the current game?

_{Unfortunately, in Russian hockey there is a lot of excessive bravura, always combined with excessive pathos. When, instead of clear instructions, patriotic songs are played before the games, and the walls are hung with photographs of military equipment. Without a doubt, we must fight for our homeland, but aren’t the same Canadians who come with the weakest squads and win tournaments who fight for their homeland? Or the same Finns?}

Yes, you can declare the greatness of the “Red Machine”, but then you need to discard the total nepotism that poisons Russian hockey, when, for example, the last world championship, they took not the best, but those who needed to be taken. And head coach Viktor Bragin - are you serious? And what did they do before the Olympics, when they first appointed Oleg Znark as the head coach, and then hastily replaced him with Alexey Zhamnov, who had no experience?

However, digging into the great legacy of the USSR (there was also a small one) is not only about Russian hockey. But it’s not enough to just use big names, titles, achievements; it is much more important to confirm the status with systematic work and quality results. Then, yes, everything will correspond, but this often looks like pulling an owl (in this case, a double-headed eagle) onto a red globe.