MONTREAL (CP) -- Valeri Bure blasted his compatriots who refuse to join the Russian Olympic hockey team and called on them to set aside their differences with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. The Montreal Canadiens right-winger told La Presse this week the reluctant Russians, including his friend and teammate Vladimir Malakhov, should be proud to play for Russia. "Some of them have got a taste of life in North America and they don't want to go backwards," Bure said Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the Canadiens were on a road trip. "They're millionaires now and they think they're big stars. How are they going to listen to a coach who makes $10,000 or $20,000? I don't think they're acting like professionals. It's not fair to the coaches." Bure and his older brother Pavel, a star winger with the Vancouver Canucks, are among the Russian NHL players who plan to play at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, in February. But others, including Malakhov and Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, have made it clear they have no intention of playing for Russia again. "I know the Russian federation doesn't have much money for them, but it's a question of pride," added Bure. "I want to represent Russia in Nagano and so does my brother Pavel. "I know there were some incidents during the World Cup last year, but they should forget about that. But if guys don't want to play, we're better off without them." Malakhov once said he considered retiring before a World Cup game in Vancouver in August 1996 because he was fed up with Russian hockey officials. "Don't remind me of bad memories," was his only comment on the Russian squad. Others have complained the Russian federation is disorganized, overly political and even corrupt.