Playing with dignity

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko visited a training session of Dinamo Minsk, bringing gifts and offering words of encouragement to the hockey players ahead of the start of the Gagarin Cup quarterfinal series

It is widely known, even far beyond the country’s borders, that Belarus has a very sporty President and that sport receives a great deal of attention here. The Head of State’s relationship with ice hockey is particularly special: the Belarusian leader knows this game inside and out. On April 5th, the President’s team won the Republican Hockey League for the 16th time, and on April 9th, Aleksandr Lukashenko came to the training session of Dinamo Minsk to talk to the players and give them advice before the important Gagarin Cup quarterfinal matches, in which the ‘Bisons’ were to face Traktor Chelyabinsk.

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Dinamo is demonstrating a bright and attacking style of hockey this season, and therefore Minsk Arena pleases the eye with a magnificent atmosphere and constant sell-out crowds: tickets for home matches sell out in a matter of hours, and the whole country, without exaggeration, supports the team. 

For the first time in the club’s history, the ‘Bisons’ took a high fourth place in the KHL regular season and for the first time also managed to overcome the first round of the Gagarin Cup, defeating famous CSKA Moscow in a tense and incredibly heated battle, confidently and decisively overcoming the renowned opponent in the last two matches of the series — 7:0 and 6:2.

Siberians are our people

After greeting everyone, the Head of State energised the players and further motivated them to succeed. The President began his conversation with the hockey players at Minsk Arena with words of sincere gratitude, 
“Guys, thank you very much. First of all, thank you for giving Belarusians a good mood and joy. Me too. I watched everything. I support you a lot. It’s the first time in my life I’m thanking you for a good game.”
The Head of State recalled the ups and downs of the matches against CSKA Moscow and noted that he liked the team’s performance, “Not even the 7:0, but especially the last one. That was done with dignity, beautiful. Defeating a strong, nasty — in a sporting sense — team in Moscow, that’s politics.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the entire team, but also highlighted the actions of individual hockey players. It was clear that the players appreciated this attention from the President: they listened to the Head of State intently and attentively, and reacted emotionally and warmly to his apt remarks and sharp jokes. Addressing one of Dinamo’s leading players, American Sam Anas, Aleksandr Lukashenko asked if he was married. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the President immediately responded, “That’s a pity. I have found such a wife for you! Think about it... An exceptional girl!” The President expressed a general wish regarding Sam Anas, perhaps shared by all the fans, “We need him on the team, let him settle down here [in Belarus].”
The President also shared his expert opinion with the team regarding the then-upcoming duel with Traktor Chelyabinsk, “I have watched Traktor’s games — your game is one and the same: fast, sometimes reckless.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko referred to the Chelyabinsk team as one that ‘you can play against’, remarked that Siberians are our people, and added that many Belarusians were exiled to Siberia in the past. “They created Siberia there, half of Russia. Therefore, they are our people, Belarusian. But sport is sport,” added the President.

“It won’t be an easy game. We will all be cheering you on. It’s not about whether you win or lose. You must play with dignity. Put on a good game."

Vasya won’t let us down

The conversation then continued in a working mode — the Head of State took part in the team’s warm-up, staging an impromptu duel with the ‘Bisons’ goalkeeper, Vasily Demchenko, scoring several pucks with some classy shots. “Vasya, don’t relax!” the President encouraged the goalkeeper. “You’re doing great! When you’re in the mood, you’re impossible to score against.” Team captain Andrei Stas informed Aleksandr Lukashenko about the emotional atmosphere in the team. “It’s a celebration for everyone!” the team veteran shared his opinion. “In Minsk, in the country. Do you know how happy everyone is? Everyone wants it [the winning streak] to continue. So, we absolutely won’t relax.” “The main thing is to play with dignity. But a lot depends on Vasya [Demchenko],” the Head of State replied. “He won’t let us down,” Andrei Stas promised.

Bread and lard for victory

The President certainly did not arrive empty-handed — he brought useful gifts: the team received bread made in Vitebsk and Mogilev from the Head of State. The President recounted that he once launched a competition for the best bread in Belarus. Mogilev bread won, which the bakers from Vitebsk disagreed with. So they produced their own black bread for the competition. It was these loaves that the President gave to the hockey players. They were accompanied by lard, as well as honey and sweets. Presenting them to the team after training, Aleksandr Lukashenko said, “The Sultan of Oman gave me this honey. It is energy honey, in bottles. You need to warm it up a little so it flows. Have at least a tablespoon every morning. You can have more.”
There was also honey from Tajikistan in the gifts. “This is very good honey. Try it on your coach!” the President said jokingly.
Saying goodbye, Aleksandr Lukashenko once again thanked the whole team, personally acknowledging the contributions of the foreign players,

“A big thank you to the guys from abroad, Sam Anas, his friends — you’re doing a great job. Very commendable. Even our people have said that you’re not slacking off, like some in Russia. My sincere thanks to you once again, guys!”

The President added, “Don’t forget: lard after training.”
The team also gave Aleksandr Lukashenko a gift. The President received a souvenir jersey with the autographs of the Dinamo Minsk players. Aleksandr Lukashenko promised that he would personally hang the jersey in the Palace of Independence if the ‘Bisons’ beat Traktor and made it to the next round of the play-offs.

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INTERVIEW WITH MIR TV COMPANY

There is always nobility in hockey
The topic of hockey also featured in a recent interview with the President of Belarus of the Mir Interstate Television and Radio Company (ITRC). In a conversation with the Chairman of Mir ITRC, Radik Batyrshin, Aleksandr Lukashenko assessed the game between Dinamo Minsk and CSKA Moscow in the first round of the KHL play-offs. The ‘Bisons’ performed brilliantly in the last two matches of this series, first defeating the ‘Red Army’ team 7:0 
in Minsk, and then 6:2 in Moscow.
“7:0 is definitely an amazing result,” Radik Batyrshin noted.
“It is very important that they won the next game 6:2. They confirmed that it was not a fluke,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised. “Well, it is clear that instead of 7:0, the score could have been much bigger. To be honest, I called them during the interval, between the second and third periods, when they had already started playing one-handed... I said: ‘What is that? Have you finished the game already? Anything can happen in 20 minutes.’ I saw then that they pulled themselves together. You know, there is always nobility in the game. When the score is 7:0, you could make it 12:0. But is that necessary? It’s not necessary. Our guys played in a noble manner. And the guys from CSKA appreciated that. 
They simply enjoyed playing in the third period, both CSKA and Dinamo.” 

* * * 
Dinamo Minsk’s hockey players started the second round of the Kontinental Hockey League play-offs against Traktor Chelyabinsk with a defeat. 
The first match of the four-win series was held in Chelyabinsk at the Valery Belousov Traktor Ice Arena. A minute before the end of regular time, Dinamo Minsk led 2:1, yet the ‘Bisons’ failed to retain the winning score — in the last minute of regular time, Traktor Chelyabinsk scored three times in a row and snatched the victory with a score of 4:2, seizing the lead in the pair.
In the second match in Chelyabinsk, Dinamo Minsk missed a three-goal advantage and lost to Traktor in overtime. At the beginning of the second period, the ‘Bisons’ ensured a large scoring gap of 3:0. Having such a comfortable lead, the Minsk team limited their offensive attacks and pressed against their own goal, for which they were immediately punished. At the equator of the match, Chelyabinsk reduced the gap, and shortly before leaving for the break, they equalised the score. In the third period, the numbers on the scoreboard did not change, and the showdown went beyond the regular time. In overtime, Traktor’s hockey players celebrated a 4:3 victory.

By Sergei Kanashits