New Yor Times

YAROSLAVL, Russia — Yuri Fedotov remembers the exact date he first watched this city’s professional ice hockey team in action. It was Dec. 2, 1986 — a day that began a relationship of love and faith that he said endured, and in fact helped reassure him during the political and economic upheavals in his country over the last two decades.

Though he marked the 25th anniversary of that game this month, Fedotov said he would most likely never attend another game.

“I went from watching hockey on a black and white television, to my best friend being a player, to playing myself,” said Fedotov, 39, a real estate agent, gazing out over a frozen patch of the Volga River. “And I know now that I can no longer go back to that arena regardless of who is playing...

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Related Topics: Russia, Kontinental Hockey League