Putin gives players from Russia's winning World Championship team Mercedes-Benzes

Months ago, after he'd finished downing champagne with the team, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the players from Russia's gold medal winning team at the 2014 IIHF World Hockey Championships will receive a Mercedes Benz vehicle for their winning performance in Minsk, Belarus in May.

Those vehicles have begun to appear in earnest on the web, suggests Sovsports.ru, with an Instagram photo posted by former Winnipeg Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov being the first example:

There's still no word on whether or not in Russia these cars will, in fact, drive you.

[H/T George Malik]