{"id":139821,"date":"2018-06-12T00:21:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T00:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/world-cup-2018-kaliningrad-the-venue-next-door-to-the-west\/"},"modified":"2018-06-12T00:21:24","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T00:21:24","slug":"world-cup-2018-kaliningrad-the-venue-next-door-to-the-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/world-cup-2018-kaliningrad-the-venue-next-door-to-the-west\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2018: Kaliningrad — the venue next door to the West"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NewImage copyright AFP
Image caption The Kaliningrad Stadium has 35,212 seats and will host four group matches <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For European football fans wary of Russia, a World Cup match just 50km (31 miles) across the border from the EU could be just the ticket. <\/p>\n

The westernmost host city for the tournament, Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave squeezed between Lithuania and Poland. As six of the eight teams playing there are from Europe, many visiting fans could bypass Moscow altogether. <\/p>\n

One popular route for England supporters is likely to involve a budget flight to Gdansk and a short hop into Russia by bus. <\/p>\n

Previously known as K\u00f6nigsberg, Kaliningrad was German territory for centuries before World War Two. Residents say that past, and their region's position, give the place a unique character. <\/p>\n

Image caption The war smashed the city's German buildings but some traces survived <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

"The mentality in Kaliningrad is different to the rest of Russia. People are more smiley, open and friendly here," claims the director of the city's airport, Alexander Korytny. <\/p>\n

"Citizens of Kaliningrad are very mobile," he adds, and more likely to travel west for the weekend than to Moscow.<\/p>\n

Fixtures in Kaliningrad:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • 16 June<\/strong> - Croatia v Nigeria (Group D)<\/li>\n
  • 22 June<\/strong> - Serbia v Switzerland (Group E)<\/li>\n
  • 25 June<\/strong> - Spain v Morocco (Group B)<\/li>\n
  • 28 June<\/strong> - England v Belgium (Group G)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Fifa World Cup - BBC in-depth coverage<\/li>\n
    • World Cup venue guide<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Despite the possible land route for fans via Poland, Kaliningrad's Khrabrovo airport is expecting more than double its usual traffic during the football tournament. <\/p>\n

      With direct charter flights requested for fans, as well as extra flights from Moscow and new connections to other host cities, the airport's long-delayed expansion was finally fast-tracked.<\/p>\n

      "Before, it was very slow progress," Mr Korytny admits. "So we're very glad for the World Cup."<\/p>\n

      Putin's showpiece spectacle<\/h2>\n

      Inside the terminal building, teams are hastily hammering together new shops and stringing welcome banners from the roof. <\/p>\n

      Among the football souvenirs there is a stall displaying a portrait of President Vladimir Putin. It's crafted from amber, mined locally. The picture is a giant orange reminder of the political tensions that have put some foreign fans off this World Cup. <\/p>\n

        \n
      • Russian welcome with a warning for England fans<\/li>\n
      • How BBC crew was followed in Nizhny Novgorod<\/li>\n
      • Yashin - the greatest goalie of them all<\/li>\n
      • Why Russian workers are being taught to smile<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        "There's a lot of [England] fans sharing their fears, obviously. The main thing is the political events of the past few months," England supporter Greg Lymar admits. <\/p>\n

        He describes a negative mood about Russia in blogs and online forums. <\/p>\n

        "I think it's the Euros too, the hooligan violence, that's deterred people," Greg adds, recalling clashes with Russian fans in France in 2016.<\/p>\n

        "It doesn't faze me one bit though," he says, displaying his Russia 2018 T-shirt on a video call from the UK. "I think the World Cup will be great."<\/p>\n

        Russian fan of Newcastle<\/h2>\n

        Greg has good reason to be positive. When he travels to see England play Belgium in Kaliningrad later this month, a local football fan has invited him, his brother and a friend to stay - for free. <\/p>\n

        Image caption Nikolai already feels a bond with England fans <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        "I don't know them at all, but I think we'll easily find a common language," Nikolai Domanitsky laughs, in a flat with a red British phone box painted on the wall. <\/p>\n

        There is a British-themed doormat and a London lampshade. Even Nikolai's shower curtain is decorated with the Union flag.<\/p>\n

        He is a big fan of English football too; he has followed Newcastle United ever since he first saw Alan Shearer on TV in the 1990s. <\/p>\n

        He chose Greg as a guest because he and his brother are also Newcastle fans.<\/p>\n

        "They said they'd bring me a scarf!"<\/p>\n

        Image caption Nikolai is getting to know England fans who will be his guests <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        World Cup makeover<\/h2>\n

        K\u00f6nigsberg was heavily bombed by the British in World War Two but some older Germanic architecture has survived in modern-day Kaliningrad, amid the concrete housing blocks flung up in the post-war USSR.<\/p>\n

        There are even traces of the city's past at the local football club. <\/p>\n

        The grand entrance arch to Baltika FC is made of columns taken from a German church that was almost totally flattened during the air raids.<\/p>\n

        The club expects to inherit Kaliningrad's World Cup stadium after the tournament.<\/p>\n

        Image caption The World Cup stadium - a new landmark in Kaliningrad <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        Last week, President Putin urged regional leaders not to let the expensive new stadia turn into "flea markets", as happened to other venues in the economic crisis of the 1990s. <\/p>\n

        The Baltika stadium was one of them. <\/p>\n

        European cars were lined up for sale round the football pitch: they were cheaper in Kaliningrad, and people travelled from all over Russia to buy them.<\/p>\n

        The cars only vanished when Baltika got promoted. <\/p>\n

        Image caption Baltika's stadium has a very second-division look <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        These days, the second-division side pulls in just a few thousand loyal fans. So the club hopes moving to a smart new home will attract big crowds and a major sponsor, and propel Baltika back to the top league.<\/p>\n

        At a recent away game, just one hardy supporter showed up. <\/p>\n

        "It's not like England, where you can just drive to a game," a team spokesman points out. The team have to fly longer than 12 hours to reach their farthest fixture, in Vladivostok. <\/p>\n

        Image caption Nikolai's block of flats is typical of Soviet-era housing <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        Greg and his friends will have a far easier journey to the England match, with a flight to Gdansk then a bus. <\/p>\n

        From Nikolai's home, the World Cup stadium is a short walk away, across the river.<\/p>\n

        The flat itself might be a little cramped, but Nikolai doesn't think his guests will be too worried.<\/p>\n

        "I want to show them my city," he says. ''They're only here for one night, they can catch up on their sleep on the plane!"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Image copyright AFPImage caption The Kaliningrad Stadium has 35,212 seats and will host four group matches For European football fans wary of Russia, a World Cup match just 50km (31<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}