Vladimir Putin continued his winter sports tour in Sochi on Saturday, playing hockey at the site of the Olympic hockey gold-medal games.
Putin played a friendly game with Russian Olympians and NHL legends Pavel Bure and Slava Fetisov and Belarus president Aleksander Lukashenko, according to Russian outlet RT.
Also Saturday, Putin watched parts of a rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony set for Feb. 7 and softened his decree outlawing demonstrations and protests during the Games.
Here are video highlights of Putin’s hockey game:
Here are photos:
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (C) takes part in a friendly ice hockey match in the Bolshoi Ice Palace near Sochi January 4, 2014. Putin has eased curbs on demonstrations in the Winter Olympics venue of Sochi in a gesture likely to burnish Russia’s image ahead of an event dogged by security and human rights worries. REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskiy/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS SPORT OLYMPICS ICE HOCKEY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
REUTERS
