June 26, 2021

Soccer Takes Over St. Petersburg


Soccer Takes Over St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg has dusted off its decorative soccer balls from the FIFA World Cup held in Russia in 2018. Wikimedia Commons user A. Scott Fulkerson

If you have not noticed that Russia is hosting one leg of the month-long European soccer championship... you're probably an American, who statistically does not watch adult soccer.

St. Petersburg is currently one of 11 cities forgetting that COVID-19 is a thing and hosting gobs of foreigners.

The tournament, called UEFA Euro 2020, even though it is happening in 2021, began on June 11 and continues for one month.

The cool new St. Petersburg soccer stadium on trendy Krestovsky Island is alternately called Zenit Stadium, Krestovsky Stadium, The Spaceship, Saint Petersburg Stadium, and Gazprom Arena. The official name is Gazprom Arena. It opened in 2017 and held 56,196 fans in the Before Time. It has a sweet, retractable roof.

UEFA fans could enter Russia without a visa.

Budapest, Hungary, is the only UEFA 2020 city to allow players to perform in front of capacity crowds. St. Petersburg's Gazprom Arena is open to about 50% capacity. The city has four fan zones: Konyushennaya Square, Yubileiny Sports Complex, Palace Square, and Nikolskie Ryadi.

Meanwhile, Moscow is tightening pandemic restrictions as cases are skyrocketing. Though Moscow is not part of the UEFA tournament, it did have a fan zone, which is now closed. With similar concerns over rising COVID cases, St. Petersburg decided to cap capacity in fan zones and stop selling food inside.

Seven matches in the tournament are being held in the Northern Capital. The last one is a quarterfinal on July 2.

Peter the Great would be proud: even after all this time, Europe calls the city Peter built from a swamp "The Window to Europe."

You Might Also Like

The World Cup Whirlwind Begins
  • June 14, 2018

The World Cup Whirlwind Begins

Is it football or soccer? Either way, TWERF prepares for the start of the World Cup by examining Russia’s chances (not great), while still paying attention to a few other stories before the madness begins.
Lost Game, but Newfound Pride
  • July 12, 2018

Lost Game, but Newfound Pride

What’s out of this world? Russia’s performance in the World Cup, a Russian cargo ship, and showers in Samara!
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955