RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin turned 63 today, and to celebrate, played ice hockey with NHL stars, and against Russian officials and tycoons.
Incredibly, he managed to score seven goals as his star-studded team, which included NHL legends Vyacheslav Fetisov and Pavel Bure, won the game 15-10.
The opposing team included Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as well as Putin’s close friends — tycoons Gennady Timchenko and Arkady Rotenberg.
Putin was given a trophy for his team’s win at the end of the game and a medal for his contribution to ice hockey in Russia.
The Russian President is well-known for his self-publicising athleticism over the years.
In August, the Kremlin released photos of him pumping iron with Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.
Putin is also a long-time judo enthusiast, and has famously been photographed bare-chested on horseback as well as swimming the butterfly in a Siberian river.
Contains reporting by the Associated Press
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