Welcome to our first issue of the Language Exepress!

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Found right across from the ЦСКА (CSKA) home ground is Russia’s sole Ice Hockey Museum. It is housed in a twentieth century building, designed by the Avant-Garde architect Konstantin Melnikov. This bright bricked building, with striking white window frames and a curved green roof looks out of place compared to the other architecture in this former industrial park. Despite the age of the building, the museum is quite new, having been opened in 2016 to coincide with Russia hosting the International Ice Hockey World Championships. 

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The most prestigious room of the museum is the Hall of Fame, which, although open for visitors to peruse, is often used for press conferences and ceremonies. It is easy to see why; the room has a Romanesque feel to it, but also makes use of modern technology. Displays around the room celebrate individuals who are important to the World of Russian Hockey, whether they be figures of the past, or present day. These likenesses are displayed on glass panels, which are backlit, and the light reflects satisfyingly on to the marble style floor. It is this floor alongside some columns and a well illuminated mural of hockey payers that give the room its true grandeur. 

The interior of this room is a stark contract to the upstairs exhibition; however both rooms use a white so pristine you can’t help but be reminded of white winter snow, or more aptly the white of the ice so integral to the game of ice hockey. The floor design in the upstairs exhibition room is even marked out like an ice hockey rink. 

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The purpose of this exhibition – titled «Красная Машина. Страницы истории» (Red Machine – Pages of a History) - is tied closely to the mission of museum: to inform visitors – whether they be impressionable school children or keen tourists – about the history of ice hockey in Russia, one of the nation’s most popular sports. 

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Surprisingly, the history of the ice hockey in Russia is not a particularly old one. The exhibition traces the development of the sport in Russia, and although it provides some background information on the Russian game ‘Bandy’, the exhibition is most concerned with the years 1946 – the year the first Soviet ice hockey league was established - through till 2016.The exhibit showcases a range of hockey paraphernalia including photos of early players, such as Anatoly Tarasov who has become known as the ‘The Father of Soviet Ice Hockey’, jerseys worn by the past CCCP (USSR) team, and examples of equipment such as a hockey stick used in one of the first ever league games. These physical embodiments of history are accompanied by information to contextualise them. The layout of the exhibition encourages the visitor to explore chronologically rather than thematically, and so by the end the visitor is aware of Russia’s ice hockey triumphs and how the Soviets came to prove themselves on the sporting world stage.