Russia gets slammed for its retro jerseys at the Channel One Cup

It's not a period of time in world history that many feel should be celebrated, but Team Russia appeared to do just that at the Channel One Cup recently held in that country. Russia decided to wear retro jerseys at the tournament, which is a fairly common practice among hockey teams over the last few years. However, Russia's sweaters, which were a throwback to uniforms worn in the 1960s, including the term CCCP. For anyone unaware, in English that translates to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR. That name is a reminder of a dark period in the history of Russia and the world.

"I am surprised and disappointed that Russia was allowed to wear CCCP-shirts in an EHT match against Finland," wrote former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb on Twitter. "That letter combination and the regime that stood behind it symbolises authoritarian imperialism and killed millions of innocent people people in the process."

"I will refrain from other examples one could draw from history. An offensive gesture that does not belong to sport or anywhere else. It matters little that Finland won the match. It matters a lot that countries in the ice-hockey family were brutally annexed by those letters," he continued.

Agree or disagree with Stubb's assessment, it contains factual information. The USSR was a brutal regime that was hard on its own people and even harder on countries it considered weak and ripe for the picking. Many in North America remember the "Cold War" between the Soviets and the United States when the threat of nuclear war was very real. Many took notice of the jerseys.

There are some who feel this was an intentional gesture on the part of the Russian government, which has always been heavily involved in hockey in the country. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are at a boiling point and there's a feeling that war between the two counties is imminent. Perhaps this was used as a reminder of the power Russia once wielded and, in many cases, continues to wield.

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