It became clear at the end of the last week that the argument about further development of the Russian hockey can only be settled with full and final elimination of one of the conflicting parties – Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) represented by Vladislav Tretyak, or supporters of the new Continental Hockey League (CHL), represented by the Gazprom top manager Alexander Medvedev. As for losses experienced by the Russian hockey itself, no one seems to be caring about that. 

The chief paradox is that the two great hockey players and two big bosses got to be in collision: Vladislav Tretyak as the president of RHF and Vyacheslav Fetisov as the head of Rossport.  Actually, this powerful tandem was supposed to promote advancing of the domestic hockey, but now the reality is featured with a mass of contradictions.

Trying to comprehend the details of that war seems to be impossible. Both sides, guided with good intentions, have already damaged the Russian hockey greatly, as it usually happens when power and money are at stake.

Two years ago Vladislav Tretyak got a carte blanche from Vladimir Putin for development of the Russian hockey. From the very beginning he made a priority of a state-control approach and concentrated all the power in RHF’s hands. Within a short period Professional Hockey League was dismissed and the clubs were restricted in their rights, remaining the main source of revenue for the RHF. 

Having secured a support from large sponsors, RHF has developed well and has settled a good structure of the national teams (which was the main task for Tretyak) and also improved the general situation. However, it failed to put in order the Super League that needed effective management and even reforming.

The ideas of reforming was exactly what was on Fetisov’s mind who also had had the “royal” permission for making up a new hockey league based on the principles of the oversea hockey and putting an accent on creation of a successful business product. Actually, the two managers were given two contradictory and not concretized commissions: the one was supposed to maintain the old system while the other was ordered to break it down and create the new system organizing a successful business project, having in mind a perspective of uniting post-soviet and European hockey space.    

So the whole war came out of this contradiction.

While Tretyak represented, popularized and strengthened the Russian hockey, Fetisov got a support from the omnipotent Gazprom and, having the head of Gazpromexport Alexander Medvedev as the frontman, began preparations for revolution in autumn last year. The new creation being first named Open Russian Hockey League (ORHL) is renamed now to Continental Hockey League (CHL). It’s founded by six large state-owned and two private companies and it is headed by deputy prime minister Sergei Naryshkin. The heads of the hockey clubs supported unanimously the new organization, understanding that the power would be there.     

The Tretyak’s Federation did not notice all those activities till the moment the threat of losing power became real. And then hot discussions followed. 6 February the confrontation seemed to have been settled with the Kremlin’s agency and ended in signing the agreement about joint working. But instead the conflict has grown into an open war accompanied with mutually exclusive statements by both parties.

Alexander Medvedev and Company must be in a hurry, while RHF has enough time. The former are rushing ahead trying to adjust not exactly compatible – to put it mildly - Russian reality to the NHL standards, while the latter use the legal provisions and stick to the domestic traditions.   

In February Vladislav Tretyak wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin saying that those glorious traditions are threatened. And the part of that letter was published by …Vyacheslav Fetisov. It looked like a wolf was given the right to consider a complaint by a lamb about the wolf to the lion’s name. It is likely that Putin is too busy now, but finally it became obvious who is closer to the top country’s management: some write letters there while others can go there directly. 

Vladislav Tretyak is sincere in his failing to comprehend why his adamant state-oriented position stopped to be supported and why the Russian championship is going to be replaced with a “certain commercial tournament”. And the opposite side hasn’t even submitted the draft of a proper agreement about passing the rights for carrying out the championship, as it was agreed about in February. Alexander Medvedev and Vyacheslav Fetisov have already presented to the public regulations for CHL championship and declared that independently of arrangement or non-arrangement of the positions with RHF the draw ceremony would be held in the beginning of April where the clubs would be split into four divisions according to their rating. As for the rest, it’s a sheer unclearness. So no one can tell now which way the next Russian championship will be organized.    

Alexander Medvedev’s message after the next meeting with Sergei Naryshkin sounded like “we are willing to work together, but if the other side breaks the agreements, we can do without it”. The responding Tretyak’s message was “I was roped in without being consulted” and that it’s the organizing committee of CHL to break the agreements, ignoring the clear and constructive approach by RHF.

The “price of the question” was published at the beginning of March. To avoid leaving RHF (and the whole Russian hockey) without money and any control, Tretyak demanded for compensation: 1.2 million rubles for each match in the new league and a half of seats in the management.

The “reformers” only laughed. In the mean time, the ordinary fans don’t think it to be funny, this going on battle of giants.