After becoming a coach, he led the Russian national ice hockey team to the championship title. Oleg Valerievich is not only an Honored Coach of Russia, but also an honorary order bearer: for special merits and achievements in sports he was awarded the Order of Friendship and the Order of Honor.
The childhood of Oleg Znark
Oleg Znarok, the future legend of world hockey, was born on January 2, 1963 in the small town of Ust-Katav, Chelyabinsk region.Parents from childhood noticed the tough disposition of the eldest son. Father, Valery Petrovich, decided to channel the boy's unbridled energy in the right direction. And for a football coach, only sports could become such a mainstream. So at the age of 3, Oleg started skating.
Mother, Svetlana Georgievna, taught German at school and was engaged in the education of her son. And she successfully succeeded while the family lived in Ust-Katava - there was not a single triple in Oleg's diary.
With the move to Chelyabinsk, the guy's priorities changed. The eighth grader Znarka was invited to the sports school of the hockey club "Traktor", and his studies gradually faded into the background. Training became not only the meaning of Oleg's life, but also an instrument of his upbringing. When the father first found his son with a cigarette, he immediately threatened that if he did not quit, no training. Smoking was over in an instant.
Oleg easily joined both the new school team and the sports team. He was always a ringleader, and teachers noticed that his character was very accurately emphasized by the name "Znarok". Indeed, in Dahl's dictionary, this word is on a par with the designations "on purpose, with intent, intentionally."
In the sports camp, Oleg earned his authority with fists and grueling workouts, which often continued at home. Znarok honed his hockey skills by playing with his younger brother Igor. Wielding clubs around the apartment, the brothers scratched the expensive German lacquered furniture, for which they were severely punished. The unbridled teenager got it for both curses and fights with peers, but strict upbringing only tempered the athlete's character.
Hockey player Oleg Znark's career
Oleg Znarok played his first matches on ice as a striker of the Chelyabinsk Tractor, playing shoulder to shoulder with Vyacheslav Bykov, a five-time world hockey champion. Coach Gennady Tsygurov immediately noted the dedication of the new player, calling him a "bunch of energy". He was echoed by the legendary Anatoly Tarasov, who called the young athlete a "hockey bandit".In the team, Oleg got the nickname "Icon". And when the young Znarok came from the European Championship among juniors not only with the cup, but also with the title of the best scorer, they came up with a more serious and capacious nickname “Znara”.
The promising athlete was invited to play at CSKA, but the sporting authority of his father (Valery Petrovich was then coached by the Chelyabinsk football club Lokomotiv) helped Oleg stay at home.
Titles and recognition could not prevent the talented hockey player from receiving a one-year disqualification with the official wording “for soldering the team”. Before that, they tried to transfer Znarka to another Chelyabinsk club, Metallurg, which played in the second league. But the athlete was categorical in his refusal, for which he was removed from the "tractor drivers".
In 1982, the talented Chelyabinsk resident was invited to play in the Riga "Dynamo". Oleg came to Latvia sick with jaundice, so at first he trained according to an individual program. And when he recovered, he joined the team and became the leader of the Dynamo team. Coach Vladimir Yurzinov called the new player “the tank that was a god in the patch”.
For Dynamo Znarok played 9 seasons, while playing for the national teams of Latvia and the USSR. In 1992, he was invited to one season in the American Hockey League, where he played with the Maine Mariners farm club.
Hockey player Oleg Znarok
Due to his lack of knowledge of English, Oleg felt uncomfortable across the ocean and could not find friends in the team. This prevented Znark from becoming a member of the legendary Boston Bruins team: he was offered a contract in English, but there was no one nearby who could translate it. Seeing the amount of the fee, Oleg refused, suggesting that it was a salary for a year. And only a dozen years later, one of his friends translated the contract for him, and it turned out that the Bostonians offered him this money for a month. Now this contract is kept in Znark's personal hockey museum in his house in Riga.
Returning from America, Oleg Znarok did not stay in Latvia for long. He started the new season as a player for the German "Landsberg". In Germany, the hockey player spent 8 seasons, also playing for Freiburg and Heilbronner. Due to injury and meniscus problems, he ended his career as a player in 2002.
Career coach Oleg Znark
Oleg Znarok began his coaching career in the youth team of Latvia. Since 2006, he has headed the Latvian national ice hockey team. By updating the team with new faces, he made it pretty strong. 
In 2008, Oleg Valerievich was invited to Russia. Until 2010, he coached the hockey club of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia "Balashikha", for which he was awarded the title "Best coach of 2010" of the Continental Hockey League.
In the new 2010 season, he was invited to coach Dynamo Moscow. Under the leadership of Znark, the team became a two-time winner of the Gagarin Cup (in 2012 and 2013).
In March 2014, Oleg Znark was appointed head coach of the Russian national ice hockey team. Two months later, the national team became the world champion.
Oleg Znarok showed a "gesture of death" to his Swedish colleague
In the semifinals, Znarok showed the Swedish coach Ricard Grenborg a threatening gesture, for which he was disqualified for one game. Therefore, he watched the World Cup final from the tribune of the Minsk-Arena, but this did not prevent Russian hockey players from becoming world champions 5 times.
In 2015, the team headed by Oleg Valerievich won the silver medal at the World Ice Hockey Championship, losing to the Canadian national team.
Personal life of Oleg Znark
Oleg Znarok saw his wife Ilona on the podium. She was not at all interested in sports, but she was friends with the players from Latvia Berzs and Dynamo, so sometimes she went to their matches for the company. Together with her friends, Ilona came to celebrate another victory in a restaurant. Oleg plucked up courage and went up to the girl. Since then they have been together. 
Ilona experienced all his ups and downs with her husband. She was also a witness of her husband's fight with the crime boss "Khariton", the consequences of which remained as a reminder in the form of scars on her face. For the fight with the "king of racketeers" in the cafe "Juras perle" Znarok received a reprimand from the coach and his first non-sports medal "For the protection of public order".
The spouses are raising two daughters, for whom Oleg Valerievich became the ideal man. Once at a family dinner, the girls confessed to their dad: “We would like our husbands to be like you,” which brought the iron “Znar” to tears.
The eldest daughter Valeria works at the Islande Hotel, and the youngest Alice is known in the fashion world. After graduating from Herder High School, she became interested in photography and herself became a sought-after fashion model.
Oleg Znarok now
At the 2018 Olympics, the Russian ice hockey team under the mentorship of Oleg Znark managed to reach the final, where they met with the German national team. In the last seconds of the decisive match, the Russian hockey players drew the score and scored the final goal in overtime. Thus, the Russian national ice hockey team won the gold for the first time (except for the victory of the United Team of CIS Players in 1992). 
Nevertheless, in the spring of the same year, Znark was removed from his post as head hockey coach. This was announced by the President of the Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak. Oleg Valerievich will serve as a consultant until the end of his contract.
Published on 4/12/18 10:35 PMFHR President Vladislav Tretyak commented on Znark's departure.
"Information intkbbee that the head coach of the national team Oleg Znarok was dissatisfied with the distribution of the Olympic awards, in particular the fact that the members of the coaching staff were not presented with the cars that the state donated to the athletes is fundamentally untrue, "the press service noted.
FHR President Vladislav Tretyak also commented on Znark's departure.
“Now he is tired psychologically, he was under a heavy load both in the national team and in SKA. Vorobyov will be acting temporarily for this tournament, ”Tretyak said.
We will remind, earlier it was reported that the interim head coach of the Russian national team at the 2018 World Cup in Denmark was appointed Ilya Vorobyov. At the same time, Znarok, who has led the national team since 2014, will be a consultant to Vorobyov.
According to the portal, Znarka's departure was expected, if not long-awaited. After all, many complained about his rudeness, hostility towards journalists, unwillingness to change players in the national team. Among the objective reasons for his departure are called one "gold" in XV in 4 years, a failure at the World Cup last September. Moreover, everyone, with the exception of the patriots, calls the Olympic "gold" a fake, since there were no NHL players at the Olympics in Korea, and without them this tournament was similar to the Eurotour.
Where did Oleg Znarok go? The unexpected departure of the legendary coach horrified Russian hockey fans, because now the fate of the national team will remain in question.
So, a complete and final break. At the end of May, it was announced that now Oleg Znarok was not only dismissed from his position as a coach, but also deprived of his position as a consultant. As a real man, he did not complain and accuse anyone at press conferences, but simply resigned as an officer, not wanting to bend under the conditions of his superiors.
Oleg Znark was "lucky" with his superiors. Roman Rotenberg is a large figure. The general manager of the Russian national team is a person close to the emperor, the vice-president of Gazprombank, the son of Pope Bori and the nephew of Uncle Arkady Rotenberg. According to rumors, the boss even refused to pay salary debts to Oleg Valerievich until he admits that he left voluntarily. Naturally, Znarok still does not make contacts with the press.
The coaching staff, as well as the athletes, considered the dismissal of Oleg Znarka unfair. In particular, Igor Zakharkin noted: "I think you shouldn't treat people so casually, especially one of our best coaches."
In fact, at the peak of his career, Oleg Znarok lost his profession and job. Well, that's how it happens in life. However, after the collapse of the USSR, the Russian national team did not have sports victories at all before Znarka. And it probably won't be.
What is the cause of the conflict?
At the moment, a million versions are being built. One of them is rather ridiculous - allegedly after the victory in Pyeongchang, Oleg Znarok was offended that the coaching board was not presented with a BMW crossover. The rumor has very weak ground - one of the publications published information that Oleg Valerievich expressed dissatisfaction with the distribution of awards after the Olympics.
However, the salary of the coach of the Russian national hockey team is 4 million rubles a month. It is unlikely that Znarok would break off relations out of greed, given that he could buy BMW X5 with every paycheck.
Most likely, the reason for the conflict between Znark and Rotenberg lies in personal misunderstanding. Both are extremely tough leaders with a lot of ambition. This can be understood not only from interviews, but also from the emotional attitude towards the referees during the matches. Rotenberg belongs to the elite Putin caste, Znarok has a heightened sense of justice, and, according to many, is conflicted.
There are audio recordings on the Internet where he simply speaks obscenities with his athletes. It is possible that he threw one (and maybe not one) such phrase in the face of Roman Rotenberg, explaining to the businessman everything that he thinks about him at the level of the Ural punks.
Be that as it may, the tough obscene methods of Znark gave their results - the Russian national team began to win. The new coach, Ilya Vorobyov, is unlikely to be as tough as “pumping” the players in the locker room.
Where is Oleg Znarok now?
Currently, Oleg Znarok works in Moscow as the head coach of the Spartak hockey club. Prior to that, he coached the youth team as a consultant. The details of his work are still unknown.
After leaving the national team, he was on vacation. Most likely, in Riga, where he lived with his family in recent years.
After his departure from the post of coach, Oleg Znarok asked not to speculate on the topic of his dismissal and "not to go into personal space." As you can see, it is still beneficial for him to adhere to the official version about fatigue and the need for rest.
Oleg Znarok also promised to return to hockey. But he is unlikely to start working for the Russian national team as a coach, except after a series of apologies from the management. From 2006 to 2011 Znarok was the coach of the Latvian national team. In addition, he has German citizenship, so he may well find a job in any EU country, and even for a higher salary than in Russia.
Where Oleg Znarok will go to work, everyone is now very worried, and if the new team of Oleg Valerievich in some match collides with the Rotenberg national team, then even those who are indifferent to hockey will be guaranteed to watch the match.
Latest news
Summer 2019. Oleg Valerievich Znarok began his work as head coach of the KHL "Spartak"... A contract has been signed with him until the end of the season with the possibility of a year extension.
Spring 2019. Oleg Znarok will take part in the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk. As a Consultant to the Russian national ice hockey team. In May, many fans regretted the departure of Znark, since under him the national team showed a more effective and power game.
February 12, 2019. Oleg Znarok made a speech at the game dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Kapitan club. The former coach works more and more with young people, does not interfere with Vorobyov's work.
December 6. Oleg Znarok returned to work with the Russian team! True, so far for the position of a consultant. He will mentor not only the hockey players, but also the coaching staff.
November 9. Champion Alexander Kozhevnikov admitted that Vorobyov is weaker than Oleg Znark. A large number of lost matches after the coach left had a detrimental effect on the performance of the Russian national team.
The 4th of October. Dynamo captain Dmitry Kagarlitsky met with Oleg Znark in Riga. Unfortunately, Oleg Znarok did not lead the Moscow “Dynamo”, although such negotiations were conducted. Now the famous coach works as a hockey consultant, job offers continue to come to him.
September 3rd. Putin awarded Oleg Znark. The legendary coach was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Despite the fact that Vorobyov remains the main mentor of the national team, Znark is expected to return to the KHL.
August 30. Oleg Znarok lost his father. Valery Petrovich also devoted his life to sports, but only to football. We express our condolences to the family and friends of V.P.
3 July. Oleg Znarok may become the head coach of the Belarusian national hockey team. This was hinted at in an interview by the head of the Ice Hockey Federation of the Republic of Belarus. The only question is the amount of salary, since Belarus is not able to "pay 100 million dollars a year."
August 4th. Oleg Znarok can return to the Russian national team and again become its coach. A banquet was held, at which Rotenberg awarded the coaching staff with gold medals, including Znarka. So the first step towards reconciliation has already been taken.
With Oleg Znark SKA stunned twice. First, two years ago, when he was released for the national team, he made a part-time job. Then in May of this year, without renewing the contracts with the champion coach and his assistants Harijs Vitolins and Vladimir Fedosovs. For St. Petersburg they won the Gagarin Cup a year ago, and for the Russian national team Znarok and Vitolins won the "gold" of the Olympics.
PHOTO by Alexander DEMYANCHUK / TASS
The resignation of the already former head coach of the St. Petersburg SKA and his assistants quickly became overgrown with a mass of rumors and speculation. What are the most popular versions?
"Skidded" on the fly
One of the most common is conflict. Say, in the plane that, after the defeat in the sixth match of the Gagarin Cup semifinals from CSKA, held the course from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the vice-president of SKA Roman Rotenberg began to point out to Oleg Znark the mistakes that, in the opinion of the functionary, he made when preparing the team for the play -off. The energized and hot-tempered Znarka did not last long, and after that his fate in SKA and the national team was a foregone conclusion.
There is also a more peaceful version and also related to the moment of defeat by CSKA. Allegedly, Znarok and Rotenberg, after the sixth game, locked themselves in the coaching room and, after talking there for about an hour, went their separate ways, shaking hands.
The price of the Olympic "gold"
The classics of the detective genre argue: usually the main thing is the selfish motive. The coaches ended their contracts - and neither the club nor the FHR simply began to renew them. After all, each new agreement, obviously, carries new conditions. There is a version that Znarok, who won the first Olympic "gold" for Russian hockey in 26 years, estimated his coaching talent too highly. He was already the highest paid mentor in the KHL, according to unofficial data, Znarka's salary in SKA ranged from $ 1 to 2 million. The club estimated that the appetites of the young mentor Ilya Vorobyov were much more modest and made an investment in the future.
German "pig" to a compatriot
The beginning of this version is funny: they say they wanted to fire the Znarka immediately after winning the Olympics. This is because all kinds of Russian hockey bosses bit their lips very hard 56 seconds before the end of the final match. Indeed, it would be extremely ridiculous, even in an ideal scenario, not to take advantage of the chance to return the Olympic "gold" to the Russian team. Even more ridiculous - to concede it to the German hockey team!
Recall that the NHL for the first time in 20 years did not let its players go to the Olympics, and as a result, Pyeongchang hosted the weakest hockey tournament in at least the last 24 years. Of course, the team, which included such performers as Pavel Datsyuk, Nikita Gusev, Ilya Kovalchuk, was the favorite at this "extended Eurotour". But 56 seconds before the end of the third period of the final, it burned 2: 3! And if it were not for Gusev's puck in the minority, and then his own assist in overtime to Kirill Kaprizov, the team would have remained at a broken trough.
Actually, seeing that even in such refined conditions Znarok became a winner due to a huge luck, and the achievements of the national team at the World Cup after winning in 2014 in Minsk are going downhill - "silver" -2015, "bronze" in 2016 and 2017, - the national team, they say, and decided to "refresh". And since SKA is the base club of the Russian national team, the fresh morning wind blew Znarka with his comrades from there.
Fatigue
Banal, but the most obvious version. Four years at the helm of the main team of the country, two of which are combined with work in such a specific club as SKA, do not pass without leaving a trace for the nervous system. No matter how steel and brutal Znarok may seem, he is primarily a person whose body wears out.
Vitolins does not exclude the fact that Oleg Valerievich will in any case miss the next season, just to reboot the "hard drive". At the same time, Harijs himself has already started looking for a new team. By the way, Vitolins has little experience of independent work at the KHL level - from 2014 to 2015. he led Dynamo Moscow, and not very well. So this is an opportunity for him to supplement and correct his resume.
NHL
"Znarok will become the first Russian head coach in the NHL club." The headline, of course, is spectacular, especially if you “draw” “Columbus” as an NHL club, for which Alisa Znarok's boyfriend Artemy Panarin stands, but hardly believable.
Yes, Paul Maurice, now the head of Winnipeg, a few years ago characterized the style of play of Znarok's Dynamo as "typically North American", nevertheless, Oleg Valerievich's methods are hardly applicable overseas - the local hockey players will not tolerate such an attitude towards themselves. And how Znarok will "treat" and "relate" to them, if he does not speak languages.
It is clear that there is Vitolins, who is fluent in English, but in this case, what will Znarok do, who is primarily a motivator trainer? Throwing objects around the locker room is not enough. We must also be able to explain why they fly.
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Oleg Znarok / Photo: Elena Razina / Sportbox.ru
A week ago, no big news was expected from the reporting and election conference of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. The probability of a coup was estimated at zero percent. But it still happened, although not in the FHR, but in the Russian national team. But first things first.
Tretiak reelected for a fourth term
Head of the Ice Hockey Federation since 2006. On April 12, in uncontested elections, he was unanimously re-elected for a fourth term.
Compared to the previous elections, which took place in 2014, the current one was held in absolute calm. Then, we will remind, the competitor of Tretyak was Vyacheslav Fetisov, who actively criticized the head of the FHR. The impressions of the failure in Sochi were still fresh, there was enough ground for criticism. But Fetisov received only 11 votes, Tretyak - 125.
Then, too, no revolution happened, it was quiet and happened later, in the summer of 2015, when the structure of the federation was changed, the Board appeared, the chairman of which was Arkady Rotenberg. By that time, Roman Rotenberg was already vice-president and took over all the operational issues of managing the federation.
FHR President Vladislav Tretyak. / Photo: Elena Razina
Tretiak gives interviews, travels around the country, participates in press conferences, photo shoots of the national team, but other people make key decisions. And this situation suits absolutely everyone, including the most famous goalkeeper. And there was no reason to change anything: they won the Olympics.
The influence of Tretyak on the processes taking place in our hockey is indicative of the results of the vote by the KHL Board of Directors on the exclusion of Lada and Yugra.
Only two voted to leave the two Russian clubs in the league - Tretyak and Siberia's general manager Kirill Fastovsky.
Znarok left the post of head coach of the national team
But another decision made at the FHR conference was quite unexpected.
A friendly match between the teams of the Russian national team and the hockey club "Spartak" / Photo: © Vasily Ponomarev / Edgar Breshchanov / Sportbox.ru
Of course, after Znarka's divorce from SKA, questions arose about continuing his work with, because the FHR is run by the same people as the club from St. Petersburg. And the fact that mutual contradictions are accumulating in Znark's relations with top managers has been known for a long time.
But the federation hastened to immediately reassure everyone, confirming that the contract with the head coach is valid until the end of May and no one will break it. However, in the same statement it was said that the contract of the permanent assistant of Znark Harijs Vitolins ends on April 30. Do you have any questions here? Why was this date at the time of signing, because the world championships have long been held in May? If this is not a technical mistake, what was the intent not to include one of the main tournaments of the year in the term of Vitolins' contract?
But even these questions are no longer relevant. The team to Copenhagen will be driven by Ilya Vorobyov, one of the assistants in the coaching staff of Znarka. He himself will remain a coach-consultant with unclear functions. Vitolins is free.
Vorobiev is now in charge
Was born on March 16, 1975 in Riga. He is the son of the famous hockey coach Pyotr Vorobyov, now working in the SKA system.
As a player, Vorobev played for Dynamo Moscow, Lada, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Khimik, but spent most of his career in clubs in Germany. He played as a center forward. In 1993, he received German citizenship, renouncing Russian.
In 2010, he finished his playing career and joined the coaching staff of Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, which was led by his father.
Since October 2015, after the resignation of Mike Keenan, he became the head coach of Metallurg. In the same season he won the Gagarin Cup. He retired in November 2017.
Ilya Vorobyov has been working in the coaching staff of the Russian national team since 2014.
Emotions of the coaching staff of Russians / Photo: © Vasily Ponomarev / Sportbox.ru
After his resignation from the post of head coach of Magnitka, Vorobyov received offers from other clubs, including Avangard Omsk, but refused, referring to his employment in the national team.
Surely, Vorobyov already knew about his future work. But it was not the national team, but SKA (which has not yet been announced), because he knew that Znarok would not remain in St. Petersburg at the end of his two-year contract. Was it a surprise for him that the national team should be hosted right now? Most likely, this decision was already made shortly after the Olympics. Znarok has a trusting relationship with his assistants and Vorobyov could not help but know that the head coach was "tired".
Who benefits from this?
Paradoxically, Znark's departure is beneficial to everyone.
Oleg Valerievich himself leaves the winner. It will be incredibly difficult to win the world championship, the opponents are gathering serious teams, and the defeat partially devalues the Olympic triumph.
With the federation, in case of failure, bribes are smooth. What do you want, the coach changed three weeks before the start of the World Cup. And if successful, everyone will appreciate the far-sighted decision.
Vorobyov himself, at the age of 43, receives the position of the country's head coach, albeit for the time being as an acting one. There is a long coaching career ahead.
Fans get an additional reason to follow the national team before (there are two more stages of Euro Hockey Tour ahead) and during the World Cup.
The only loser is Harijs Vitolins, who lost two jobs in three days - both in the club and in the national team.
In any case, an interesting world championship and a hot summer off-season await us all.