The Russian Five is the name of two separate but related units of five Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 players.

CSKA Moscow and Soviet National Team

The first, also known as the Green Unit was a unit of players for both the CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...

 and the Soviet national hockey teams during the 1980s. It consisted of Vyacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov

Alexei Kasatonov

Alexei Viktorovich Kasatonov is a retired ice hockey defenceman, a long-time member of the Soviet Union national team.On the international stage, Kasatonov won two golds and one silver in the Olympics, and five golds in the World Championships...

 on defense, Sergei Makarov

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist, regarded as one of the greatest players to play the sport...

, Igor Larionov

Igor Larionov

Igor Nikolayevich Larionov is a Russian retired professional ice hockey player, known as The Professor. Along with Viacheslav Fetisov, he was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the National Hockey League . He primarily played the centre position, and is...

 and Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov born June 1, 1960) is a former Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line...

 (also known as the KLM Line) on offense. The five dominated national and international hockey for nearly a decade before being split up when heading to the NHL in the early 1990s.

Detroit Red Wings

The second unit, also known as the Red Army, was a lineup for the Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 during the 1990s. The Russian Five—all hockey legends in their own right in their native Russia—emulated the style of the Soviet Red Army teams that dominated world and Olympic competition during the 1970s, '80s and early '90s with a combination of speed and puck control.

Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman

Scotty Bowman

William Scott "Scotty" Bowman is a retired National Hockey League head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He coached the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and...

 put together the unit after finding out that many Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 teams frequently put their forwards and defensemen together on five-man units. Reports of the time credited Larionov (nicknamed The Professor) with mentioning the idea to Bowman, and leading the Red Army line through a spectacular display of their prowess in which they played a two-minute shift at both ends of the ice, denying all attempts at defensive maneuvering. The five skater group included Larionov and Fetisov in their respective positions, but also included Sergei Fedorov

Sergei Fedorov

Sergei Viktorovich Fedorov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward and occasional defenceman...

 at (C

Centre (ice hockey)

The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...

), Vyacheslav Kozlov

Vyacheslav Kozlov

Vyacheslav Anatolevich 'Slava' Kozlov is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger who plays for Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion from his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings. He has also played for the Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Thrashers...

 at (LW) and Vladimir Konstantinov

Vladimir Konstantinov

Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov is a Russian retired professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, he had played for Soviet club CSKA Moscow...

 on defense.

The Russian Five were often noted for their skill and ability on the ice together. Fedorov won the Hart and Selke Trophies in 1994, and the Selke again in 1996, while Konstantinov was runner-up for the Norris Trophy in 1997. The unit played an instrumental role during the Red Wings' success of that decade. During the 1997 playoffs, the Red Wings went 16–0 when any of the Russians scored a point and 0–4 when they did not, helping the team to win the 1997 Stanley Cup.

The Russian Five would lose one of their members just days after the 1997 Stanley Cup championship, when Konstantinov became involved in a limousine accident, which ended his career and the career of team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov. Fetisov was also injured in the same accident but he recovered and returned in the subsequent 1997–1998 season. The team wore a special patch on their jerseys, which read "Believe," in both English and Russian. This motto helped inspire the team through the 1998 playoffs, resulting in the second of the Wings' back-to-back Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

s.

After the Red Wings acquired Russian defenceman Dmitri Mironov

Dmitri Mironov

Dmitri Olegovich Mironov is a retired Russian ice hockey defenseman. He was drafted in the eighth round, 160th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft....

 at the 1998 NHL Trade Deadline, a less-successful "Russian Five II" was briefly formed by Fedorov, Larionov, Kozlov, Fetisov and Mironov. Fedorov and Larionov also played key roles in Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup championship.

As of the 2010–11 season, only Sergei Fedorov and Vyacheslav Kozlov are still active, playing for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Metallurg Magnitogorsk is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League...

 and CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow

HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...

respectively. Slava Fetisov was the Minister of Sport for Russia from 2002 to 2008.