Russian Federation Tretiak awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland 3rd class

[TacHel]

On May 3, 2012, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presented hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak with a promotion within the Order for Service to the Fatherland from 4th to 3rd class.

_{(Photo from www.kremlin.ru)}

For you folks from undeveloped countries that have yet to discover the true beauty of ice hockey ... Valdislav Tretiak is the greatest goaltender in the history of the game. He's a demi-god here in Canada. I've met him a few times, he's a true gentleman! I was there in 1975 when the Red Army team played the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-3 tie with both goaltenders (Tretiak and Dryden) receiving the game stars, it's a memory I'll cherish my entire life!

This is a picture of him as a colonel of internal troops. Does anybody know if this is an honorary rank within the MVD? I thought he served in the Defense Ministry when a soldier...? You'll notice his Order for Service to the Fatherland 4th class and the Order of Lenin that stand out from the others.

Edited June 9, 2012 by TacHel

[Paul R]

His awards seem to be mainly "Labor" or civil related. The only military specific medals I see are the long service medals.

[TacHel]

He played hockey in the army... That's all he did. Hence his awards are similar to those a professional athlete would've received. The same used to happen in Canada years ago, the Royal Canadian Air Force Flyers hockey team won the 1948 Olympic gold medal -CLICK HERE-

[zook]

Neat post - thanks for sharing .. Dan