September 25, 2021

Remembering Yaroslavl's Lost Hockey Team


Remembering Yaroslavl's Lost Hockey Team
Yaroslavl Memorial at Arena-2000. Via Kremlin.ru

Ten years ago this month, Yaroslavl's entire Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team was wiped out in one freak airplane accident.

Dubbed Lokomotiv (locomotive, or train), the team has been around since 1959 and has gone by five names in its history.

On September 7, 2011, a Yak-Service flight headed from Yaroslavl to Minsk, Belarus, for a game against Dinamo Minsk plunged to the earth only seconds after takeoff. Everyone died except for one aircraft mechanic onboard. One player survived the crash but, with burns on 80% of his body, died in the hospital five days later. Perhaps the most famous players lost were Czech former NHLer Pavol Demitra and Belarusian former NHLer Ruslan Salei. Also killed was former NHLer and team coach Igor Korolev.

Yak-Service was a regional Russian airline out of Moscow with which the team routinely traveled. After the 2011 crash, it had its license revoked. The plane could not gain altitude after taking off. The accident was attributed to crew error, but it was later revealed that the pilot had falsified documents in order to gain permission to fly the Yak-42 aircraft for which he was not trained.

With no players and little front office staff, Lokomotiv sat out the 2011-2012 season and rejoined the following season with a whole new set of players.

About 100,000 people attended the farewell ceremony at Lokomotiv's arena in 2011. The city had a population of less than 600,000. Putin was among the mourners. Even the NHL in North America played several games in memory of the Yaroslavl team, wearing special patches.

Oddly enough, the Lokomotiv crash was not even the first fatal plane crash of a Russian hockey team. In 1950, most of the Soviet Air Force team, VVS Moscow, was killed in a crash landing at the airport in Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg).

Ruslan Salei gravesite
Ruslan Salei gravesite in Minsk. / Wikimedia Commons user Gruszecki

 

You Might Also Like

New Life Breathed into the Museum of Hockey
  • February 28, 2021

New Life Breathed into the Museum of Hockey

Moscow's stunning Museum of Hockey and Hockey Hall of Fame is a hidden gem with new investors ready to keep it going – hopefully for a long time to come.
KHL Victor Crowned
  • May 23, 2021

KHL Victor Crowned

Omsk Avangard clinches Russian hockey's Gagarin Cup with some famous NHL faces.
Holier Hockey
  • September 20, 2021

Holier Hockey

In which a Russian priest becomes a hockey referee and begins to transform the sport. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955