Alex Ovechkin missed the From Pure Heart charity hockey game Saturday and for good reason. Ovechkin attended the funeral of his mother-in-law, Vera Glagoleva, who died Wednesday reportedly due to cancer.
The ceremony was held at Dom Kino (Russia’s Union of Cinematography) and Vera was buried at Troekurovskoe Cemetery.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev sent their condolences.
Video
Later in the evening, a grieving Ovechkin re-shared a video he originally posted on Instagram was this message.
“Our beloved, my beloved Vera Vitalievna! I’m going to miss your emotions, your passion, the way you worried [for me],” Ovechkin wrote. “Your texts about how well who played with whom… Your memory will remain in my heart forever! I will always love you.”
Here is a fantastic documentary of Glagoleva’s life. You can follow along in English by turning on the closed captioning and auto-translate feature.
Additional reporting by Igor Kleyner.
