Legendary victories of Russia: Tretiak, Karjakin and Fetisov became the new heroes of the Alley of Glory

---

On February 2, the RUSSIA EXPO hosted the opening ceremony of the sixth exposition of the Alley of Glory in honor of the achievements of Russian athletes in the global sports arena. The new steles are dedicated to champions in game sports: hockey, volleyball, basketball, chess, table tennis and others.

The heroes of the new exposition are Russian athletes who in different years brought victories to the country in game sports. They took part in the opening ceremony and personally laid their authentic gold medals in the exposition: Olympic champion, world champion, 3-time European champion, 2-time World Cup winner Evgeny Sharonov; Olympic champion, European champion, Friendship Games champion Valeriy Tikhonenko; Olympic champion, world champion, European champion Igor Lavrov; Olympic champion, World Cup winner, 2-time World League winner Taras Khtey; 9-time world champion Dmitry Savelyev; world champion and European champion Tatiana Kutergina (Ferdman), as well as FIDE World Cup winner, world rapid chess champion and world blitz champion Sergei Karjakin.

Maxim Dreval, Director General of the Russian Society "Knowledge", opened the solemn part of the event.

"Our country has won dozens of Olympic medals and more than a hundred medals of different world championships in game sports. We see some of them here today. I can imagine how dear they are to our athletes, so I am sincerely grateful that each of them agreed to donate their awards to this project, to place them in these steles so that the whole country could be proud of the victories of our champions as their own. But there are also people whom we do not see on the steles, yet who put a lot of effort to make the victories possible. Of course, these are coaches and mentors who helped our legendary champions on their long and difficult way to the top - many thanks to them for their labor! Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, speaking about the RUSSIA EXPO a few days ago, noted that everything that we are rightfully proud of used to be someone's dream, and before that, they could not even dream about it. I am sure that people passing by the steles of the Alley of Glory will definitely be proud of the victories of our compatriots. And I hope that everyone will shape their new dream on the basis of these victories, which we could not even think about before," Maxim Dreval said.

Among the heroes of the new exposition of the Alley of Glory is Vladislav Tretiak, 3-time Olympic champion, 10-time world champion, 9-time European champion. The legendary hockey player was also present at the opening ceremony. He expressed his gratitude to the Russian Society "Knowledge" for the creation of the Alley of Glory and the opportunity to join this inspiring project.

"We are one family: athletes, coaches, fans. And now, when the Russian national anthem sounded, we remembered our victories together. We did everything possible and impossible to glorify our country. Russia is a sporting power. We love our country and are proud to have grown up here. And we have always strived to bring pleasure to millions of fans who supported us on our way to sporting heights," Vladislav Tretiak emphasized.

Another stele of the Alley of Glory is dedicated to Vyacheslav Fetisov, 2-time Olympic champion, 7-time world champion, 3-time Stanley Cup winner.

"It is a great honor for me to be here today at VDNH, and I would like to thank the "Knowledge" Society for this opportunity. It was difficult to choose which medal to give to the exposition. I have always dreamt, as every athlete does, of Olympic victories - and I am happy to hand over my first Olympic gold medal, - shared Vyacheslav Fetisov. - During my sports career, I've been lucky with my partners. The five of us - Krutov, Larionov, Makarov, Kasatonov and Fetisov, we were the most awesome team in terms of interaction, because collective creativity, the ability to create, brotherly relations within the team - it's a combination that can't be beaten. I was lucky with the coaches: we were mentored by the great Tarasov. And most importantly - with the fans. Believe me, we won for you and for our families. I am sure that we will have more big victories, hockey is our game. Play hockey, and we will do everything we can to make it easier for you."

On the opening day of the new exposition, a masterclass with Vyacheslav Fetisov was also held at the VDNH ice rink. Young athletes received unique experience and valuable practical advice from a true legend of Russian hockey. And the champion himself noted that he was very happy to meet young hockey players and share with them the subtleties of his favorite game.

In addition, Olympic champion, Olympic bronze medalist, 2-time European champion Irina Sumnikova and Olympic champion, Olympic silver medalist, winner of 22 WTA tournaments Elena Dementieva donated their medals for the exposition. For Dementieva, the medal was laid by the Secretary General and press officer of the Russian Tennis Federation.

Let us remind you that the Alley of Glory at the RUSSIA EXPO was opened in early December 2023. Here you can see real gold medals that our compatriots won at international competitions. On the eve of the official opening, the Alley of Glory was inspected by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the RUSSIA EXPO.