Page 48 - bne_Magazine_July_2017

48 I Eastern Europe bne July 2017
Spotlight trained on Russia for 2018
World Cup dress rehearsal
Jason Corcoran in Moscow
The spotlight is on Russia as
the country hosts its dress rehearsal ahead of next
year’s football World Cup amid growing concerns about the readiness of the venues and safety of fans.
The Kremlin has boosted security measures and rushed to complete a controversial $1.5bn stadium in St Petersburg as it banks
on Fifa’s Confederations Cup to showcase its ability to host a successful World Cup in 2018. The eight-nation tournament kicked off at the scandal- plagued St Petersburg stadium on June 17 when hosts Russia took on soccer minnows New Zealand.
President Vladimir Putin, who personally participated in Russia’s bid to host the World Cup, will be hoping the two-week competition
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goes without a hiccup as the country struggles to emerge from political isolation over his interference in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Deputy head of the FSB intelligence service Alexei Lavrischev said security measures are being tightened for the tournament, which will run until July 2 in St Petersburg, Moscow, Sochi and Kazan. Some fans have declined to travel in the wake of a metro bomb in St Petersburg in April, which killed 14.
Construction and upgrading of many
of the stadiums has been a massive financial headache for Russia,
which is just emerging from a three- year recession. The building of the 68,000-seater St Petersburg stadium has been a farce, with the budget jumping six-fold in its decade-long construction. There are still concerns about the
state-of-the-art retractable pitch, which had to be re-laid just a month ago after cutting up during the first test game.
On June 14, Russian media reported that a significant fire had broken out at the Volgograd Arena. The stadium, which is earmarked for completion early next year, is supposed to be hosting eight World Cup games.
More damaging for Russia’s reputation has been allegations of “slave
labour” and human rights abuses.
In a report released on June 14, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has documented cases in which workers were not paid, worked in dangerously cold conditions, and suffered reprisals for raising concerns. HRW claims at least 17 workers have died on World Cup construction sites in Russia, while