Russian female hockey players undress for a 2020 calendar (PHOTOS)

January – Diana Kanayeva, 22, Dinamo St. Petersburg

This forward on the Russian national team was born in Naberezhnye Chelny (1,066 km from Moscow). In 2015, playing with the Russian national junior team she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship, and in 2018 she took part in the Olympic Games.

“Initially, I wanted a warmer and more delicate look with the flowers, but the photographer saw me this way and captured the real 'me' in this image. He was right: the result was great,” Diana says about her experience during the photoshoot for the calendar.

February – Yelizaveta Kondakova, 22, Tornado 

Yelizaveta entered the world of ice hockey by following in the footsteps of her father, who also was a goaltender. In 2015, she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship. She loves Russian rap music.

March – Milena Tretyak, 19, Dinamo St. Petersburg

Milena's brother loved swimming, but because of health problems he began to play hockey. Milena joined him for the sake of friendly company, and immediately she fell in love with the sport. In the spring of 2017, she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship. Milena loves horror movies, and cannot say 'No' to desserts.

April – Anastasia Smirnova, 33, SKIF 

Anastasia began to play hockey at the age of 19, and a year later she signed her first professional contract. Previously, she participated in beauty contests and dreamed of becoming a singer. Anastasia collects old coins and is learning photography.

May – Alyona Starovoytova, 20, Tornado

Starting at the age of two Alyona trained as a figure skater, but at age nine she switched to ice hockey. In 2015, she won a silver medal at the World Championship and was ranked as a top scorer, and in 2018 she participated in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. In her free time, Alyona loves riding bicycles and four-wheelers.

June – Alina Orlova, 19, Gorny

Alina took up ice hockey in her brother's footsteps, and for a long time she played for a boys team. A few years later she joined the Moscow team, for which she played in the Russian championship for under 18s. She was a bronze medalist at the World Junior Championship.

July – Anna Prugova, 26, Agidel

A goaltender, a champion of Russia and a participant in the Olympic Games (2010, 2014), Anna watched her first hockey game in the early 2000s and fell in love with the sport. In 2004, she played her first game, and 18 months later she started playing with a Russian boys team. Anna loves Fall Out Boy and Fight Club, and in her free time she also likes swimming and solving jigsaw puzzles.

August – Nina Pirogova, 20, Tornado

Nina won a bronze medal at the World Championship (2016), a gold medal at the Winter Universiade (2017) and has played in the Olympic Games in PyeongChang (2018). She says that she'd like to be able to write like Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. Nina is a fan of basketball player Derrick Rose.

September – Anastasia Letovaltseva, 21, Biryusa

Prior to ice hockey Anastasia was fond of football, and even after switching to hockey she did not abandon it altogether. As a member on the Moscow team Anastasia won a silver medal at the Bandy World Championship. Her dream is to visit Spain.

October – Alexandra Vovrushko, 27, SKSO 

Initially, Alexandra dreamed of becoming a figure skater, but after playing in her first hockey match she soon switched to the latter. Alexandra loves painting by numbers and is a fan of Harry Potter.

November – Yelizaveta Rodnova, 20, Agidel 

For six years starting in 2009, Yelizaveta trained with a boys team at an outdoor hockey rink. In 2017, she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship. She is a fan of Sidney Crosby, and as far as films Yelizaveta prefers science fiction, romcoms and comedies. She spends her free time cooking and traveling.

December – Maria Batalova, 23, Agidel 

Maria is already a three-time champion of the Winter Universiade, and in 2018 she participated in the Olympic Games. She likes listening to Russian rock and rap.