Teams from Belarus travelled to an international junior hockey tournament in Russia, but the organisers failed to display the Belarusian state flag and did not play the national anthem. This was reported by Russian lawyer Vladislav Lunkov on his VK blog.
The incident concerns the 25th International Youth Hockey Tournament in memory of Aleksandr Ragulin, which took place in the town of Sudogda in Russia’s Vladimir Region in early January 2026. Among the participants were Belarusian hockey clubs Lokomotiv Orsha and Gomel.
“What happened there? The flag of the Republic of Belarus was not displayed. The anthem was also not played. After the tournament ended, relatives of Aleksandr Ragulin spoke out,” Lunkov said.
The subsequent 13-minute video presents, in a rather manipulative manner, the essence of the complaints voiced by Ragulin’s wife and son, who are unable to divide control over the tournament with the new local administration. The conflict also involves the Aleksandr Ragulin Charitable Foundation, established by his wife Olga Ragulina, and the All-Russian Youth Hockey Club Golden Puck. At the end of December, the Aleksandr Ragulin Charitable Foundation withdrew the right to use the hockey player’s name. The foundation’s president, former head of the Sudogda District administration Aleksandr Smirnov, accused local officials of “attempting to usurp the tournament to suit political expediency, as well as seeking to place ‘their own people’ everywhere.”
Ragulin’s wife demanded that Vladimir Putin intervene in the conflict.
According to their accounts, the state flag of the Republic of Belarus was later displayed at the tournament, but “smaller than the others.”
As a result, an inspection will be carried out into the organiser of the tournament, the Sudogodets sports school. This was announced by the Vladimir Region Ministry of Sports.
“For our part, we would like to note that the teams of the Republic of Belarus were satisfied with the event, repeatedly expressing gratitude for the warm reception and organisation of the competition during personal meetings and in official correspondence,” the regional ministry said.
It is worth noting that in photo reports from matches involving Belarusian teams, the red-and-green flag is present, and its size matches that of the Russian flag.
