Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing… (хоккей · декабрь · указ)

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing December 22 as the Day of Hockey to promote and develop the sport.

Consensus

President Vladimir Putin signed an official decree establishing December 22 as the Day of Hockey.
The date, December 22, was chosen because it marks the start of the first Soviet Championship in ice hockey in 1946.
The holiday is intended to promote and develop hockey in Russia.
The decree came into force on the day of its signing.
December 22 will not be a public holiday or a day off.

The date was chosen by the Ministry of Sport, and Moscow Dynamo won the first championship in 1946; silver went to CDKA (historical name for CSKA), bronze to Spartak. — kommersant
The initiative to establish the holiday came from the Ministry of Sport, which developed the draft decree at the request of the presidential administration. — fontanka
In 1946, the tournament was still referred to as 'Canadian hockey'. — tg_sotavisionmedia
The Ministry of Sport proposed creating a list of sports with special development and funding mechanisms in early July; hockey is expected to be among priority disciplines. — vedomosti
Putin also established other new holidays around the same time, including the Day of Military Police (February 8), the Day of Memory of Victims of Genocide of the Soviet People (April 19), and two cultural holidays for indigenous peoples and languages. — vm