So he's from the South Western region of Russia? Is hockey popular in the South Western Russian territories?
I was watching a TV show and they were showing Chechnyan MMA. They interviewed the leader of the area, he wasn't even dressed up like a normal President, he was wearing a T-shirt, big beard, absolutely jacked, seemed a very interesting story and area, although they did show how the area oppressed gays, so thats pretty terrible. They showed how the men in that region double in the army and MMA. Looked very hot, as well. Didn't look like a hockey region.
Do those areas play hockey or is Russia a country where what sport you play is dependent on region, whether its hockey, football, MMA, basketball. Sorry if its a random question, but I was interested after I saw this, and I don't really know Russian people to ask, so I thought this seemed kind-of related, why not ask?