According to the preliminary results, only 11,8% voted for Grudinin, but so far his moustache remains intact. He is not the first in the line of politicians and football coaches to wager his facial hair.
Former Russian national football team coach Guus Hiddink's face wasn't always smooth; he used to sport a 'stache during his Real Madrid days. On December 1, 1998, Real players shaved it off after beating Brazil's Vasco da Gama for the Intercontinental Cup. Obviously, Hiddink had made the promise to give up his facial accessory if the team wins prior to the game.
On December 29, 2005, Russian State Duma First Deputy Speaker Oleg Morozov, a United Russia party member, came to work without his usual moustache. Morozov told the reporters he bet his friend, a Life party member, he wouldn't switch sides and join the United Russia. The vice-speaker joked that his moustache "fell victim to the class struggle."
On February 13, 2005, FC CSKA coach Valery Gazzaev said: "If we win the UEFA Cup, I promise to shave," during a live chat with Soviet Sport readers. In May, the red-and-blue defeated Lisbon's Sporting 3-1 for the trophy, but the manager bailed out, saying it was a joke.
On December 7, 2012, former adviser to US President Barack Obama, David Axelrod shaved his moustache of over 40 years live on MSNBC. A month prior, Axelrod had pledged to strip his upper leap if he raised over $1 million for epilepsy research (his daughter Lauren suffers from the disease). The goal was reached by November 30.
On June 20, 2014, photos of a stacheless Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov popped up on social media. Turned out, a year ago Peskov promised his daughter Elizaveta to change his look if she does well on her state exams. The girl got high grades across the board and the father had to oblige.
