Not only did Vladimir Putin meddle in the US elections, he also infiltrated Alex Ovechkin’s wedding.
Saturday night during the Ovechkins’ wedding reception, host Nikolay Baskov read a telegram that Putin sent to congratulate the young couple.
“Let there always be love and understanding in your family,” Baskov can be heard saying in the above video. “Best wishes, Vladimir Putin”
According to model Yana Rudkovskaya, Putin then called afterwards to personally congratulate Alex and Nastya.
“It’s not for every wedding that the President of Russia sends his best wishes not only by telegram, but also by personally calling,” wrote friend of Ovechkin, Yana Rudkovskaya. “The guests could hear the words of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin! You can’t hear it in the video, but we sure did! Now that’s high-class!”
Ovechkin, who describes himself as politically “neutral,” is a longtime friend of Putin’s. Years ago, Ovechkin said he had Putin’s home phone number and the Russian president actually called him while former Caps head coach Adam Oates was visiting with the superstar in Russia.
Ovechkin took a controversial dive into politics in 2014, when he showed support to Ukrainian rebels. In a photo he posted to Instagram, Ovechkin held a sign that read “#SAVECHILDRENFROMFASCISM.” Those rebels, funded and armed by the Kremlin, fought the Ukranian government. It eventually led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
In the past, Ovechkin and Putin have celebrated winning the World Championship together in the locker room.
During a Russian national team celebration at the Kremlin, Ovi was caught on camera flashing the peace sign while posing with Putin.
Last month, Ovechkin was also spotted at a Vladimir Putin town hall meeting to try and ask the former KGB member a question about Dynamo Moscow. At the time, Ovechkin’s former KHL team was going through a takeover by Dynamo Society and had not paid its players in three months.
Full Coverage of Alex Ovechkin’s Wedding
Translations by Graham Dumas and Igor Kleyner.
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