Pavel Bure was one of the main stars in the National Hockey League (NHL) for many years. He was admired by millions of fans in the USA and Canada, but the legendary athlete chose Russia to live and even renounced American citizenship.
“America was just a place to work”
Bure went overseas in the early 90s. It was a trend in Russian hockey back then. Pavel was only 20 years old at that time, but he certainly couldn’t be called a complete beginner. He started his career brightly at CSKA and shone in the national team. The Russian knew for sure that he could prove himself worthily in the NHL. But hardly anyone could have thought that his first seasons would turn out so gorgeous.
In seven years in Vancouver, Pavel became the number one player in the club with a lot of reserves. There he was called the “Russian Rocket” for his phenomenal speed; he twice scored 60 goals in the regular season. Bure became the first Russian hockey player in the NHL to have his number retired. This is the highest praise. Next comes inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame and other significant awards. Despite the fact that the Russian never won the Stanley Cup, fans of Vancouver and Florida still idolize him.
With such a set of achievements, Bure could easily have stayed to live in America or Canada, but in 2016 he renounced US citizenship and finally made a choice in favor of his native country.
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"I have said many times that I never regret anything. Then I made a conscious decision. Now time shows that I did everything right. I prefer to be at home in Russia. Therefore, I decided that my future family and I would live in our own country. And in general the question was not even raised. Of course, Russia. Even in the 90s, I came home every summer during vacation, when some NHL players did not do this. North America was the place to work. And when this work came to an end, I handed over my passport,” Bure is quoted as saying by Match TV.
The trend is back
It is Pavel who now represents the interests of Russia in the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) and is trying to somehow achieve the return of our team to the world stage. Or at least get a clear explanation. But, in his own words, with the current leadership of the organization it is impossible to build a normal dialogue.
In general, choosing in favor of Russia is already a trend for many athletes. Many other of our hockey legends also returned to the country, including, for example, Sergei Fedorov and Alexey Kovalev. They and other Russians had every opportunity to build a prosperous life overseas, but they did what they did.
Not so long ago it became known that three-time Olympic medalist in swimming Yulia Efimova announced her return to Russia and is preparing to compete at the national short course championship in St. Petersburg. The 31-year-old athlete has already managed to show the best time in the 50-meter breaststroke at a tournament in Astrakhan.
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«I came back in the summer, and it’s clear that summer is great. I missed the people, the hospitality so much. I was in St. Petersburg. I planned for it to be just one day, but in the end I stayed for more than a week. The guys helped, everyone in St. Petersburg showed. I was in St. Petersburg for the first time in the summer, I really liked it. Well, the food, I missed it too. It’s clear that everywhere has its pros and cons. At first, everyone was mad at me that I ate tomatoes and cucumbers all the time. There then they are tasteless,” Efimova told Match TV.
And we are not even talking about the large number of foreigners who have received Russian passports in recent years. One of these was the long-time head of the IIHF, the Swiss Rene Fasel, who demonstratively burned his American passport, the famous fighter Jeff Monson, who now lives in Ufa on a permanent basis. Foreign football players and hockey players from the RPL and KHL also received it with pleasure, and someone else is preparing to accept our citizenship. And all this can hardly be called a mere coincidence. Makes you think, doesn't it?