Valeri Kharlamov
Soviet ice hockey player (1948–1981)
Valeri Borisovich Kharlamov (Russian: Вале́рий Бори́сович Харла́мов, IPA: [vɐˈlʲerʲɪj bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ xɐrˈlaməf]; 14 January 1948 – 27 August 1981) was a Russian ice hockey forward who played for CSKA Moscow in the Soviet League from 1967 until his death in 1981. Kharlamov was a speedy, intelligent, skilled and dominant player, being named the Soviet Championship League most valuable player in 1972 and 1973. An offensive player who was considered very creative on the ice, he also led the league in scoring in 1972. He was also a gifted skater who was able to make plays at top speed. Kharlamov was considered one of the best players of his era, as well as one of the greatest players of all time.
In international play, Kharlamov represented the Soviet Union at 11 World Championships, winning 8 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. He participated in three Winter Olympics, 1972, 1976 and 1980, finishing with two gold medals and one silver, and participated in the 1972 Summit Series against Team Canada. He spent most of his career playing on a line with Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov, and this trio is considered one of the best in the history of ice hockey.
Kharlamov was killed in a car accident in 1981. After his death, Kharlamov was elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Russian Hockey Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the forwards on the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team.
The public source identifies “Valeri Kharlamov” as soviet ice hockey player (1948–1981). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Valeri, Kharlamov and Soviet.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q380267. VIAF identifies the subject as 282678333. The Library of Congress control number is n99054139. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1948, 1981, 1967 and 1972.
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This entry incorporates text from “Valeri Kharlamov” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.