Dominik Hasek says he received death threats from ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened NHL legend Dominik Hasek, the Hockey Hall of Famer said in a lengthy post on social media this week.In a post on X on Monday, he said he sent two letters to the president of the International Olympic Committee, along with members of the executive board, the president of the IIHF and members of its council. “I inform them that former Russian President Medvedev threatened to kill me,” he wrote.“Furthermore, among other things, I point out how important their decisions will be in the coming months and again offer assistance in creating rules so that sports competitions are not an advertisement for the Russian war and people do not die because of them.

I consider both letters very important not only for the IOC and IIHF, but for the entire sports and also non-sports community.Therefore, I will publish them in a few days.”Hasek, 60, has been a strong critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Medvedev, 59, is currently the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, and in comments published by the TASS news agency, a Russian state-owned media outlet, Medvedev said through his assistant that Hasek suffered from “Russophobia.” The comments also included remarks that Hasek should be careful crossing the street and should “not drink beer in unverified places,” along with a recommendation for the legendary goaltender to see a psychiatrist. The alleged threats toward Hasek have created a strong response from leaders in Hasek’s native Czechia, with the country’s Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, calling them “unacceptable” but “not surprising.” Czechia Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský described Medvedev’s behavior as “primitive.” “This time attacking NHL legend Dominik Hasek simply for speaking the truth — the truth about Russia’s war and the misuse of sports in promoting it.

Such intimidation may be normal in Putin’s Russia, not in the civilized wo...