The message reads, in particular:
“First of all, I want to congratulate from all my heart our Olympians, athletes of all generations, and winter sports fans on Winter Sports Day, which our country is celebrating for the second time now.
This holiday is justifiably called a national celebration, because winter sports in Russia have always enjoyed widespread and deserved popularity. In many parts of the country, thousands of people of different ages, walks of life and interests ski and skate with enthusiasm, play hockey, and take to the mountain ski trails. This amateur sport is the source of our renowned champions too, who performed so triumphantly at the 2014 Olympics and Paralympics.
The Olympic flame was lit exactly two years ago in Sochi. Our entire country prepared hard for this event, and we are deservedly proud to have held the best Olympic Games in history. We built unique sports facilities and put in place a modern transport, holiday and leisure infrastructure. Thanks to this constructive effort, the XXII Olympics and XI Paralympics were of the very highest standard and have bequeathed us a unique legacy that will serve people for many years to come. One of the most vivid examples in this respect is the Sirius educational centre in Sochi, which seeks out and supports gifted children, who come here from all around Russia.
I am sure that Winter Sports Day will become a good tradition that will always remind us of our ‘home’ Olympics, and unite all fans of sport and fitness in the noble aim of promoting a healthy and active lifestyle in society.”