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Nikolai Starostin: From Hero to Gulag and Back Again
This is the second and last part of Vincent Tanguy’s mini series about Spartak founder and Soviet football legend Nikolai Starostin. You can read part one here. One man was going to send the life of...
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Zenit – Spartak: The Capital Calling
Photo: Danny Armstrong There are few cities more contradictory than St. Petersburg. Its uncanny likeness to a major European town – a product of the travels of its founder Peter I to the cities of...
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A Union of One – Russian Footballers Union
The original (shorter form) of this article appeared in print 06.06.16, this online edition includes relevant links. Some weeks ago the proverbial cat was put among the pigeons. As is known to anyone...
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Failing the Kids – Russian Football’s Greatest Crime
Try to imagine the following. An ambitious teacher-sports coach is embroiled in a child abuse scandal. Defending his colleague and lifelong friend against accusations from dozens of boys from 12-20....
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Lokomotiv and the Attempt to Solve Moscow’s Spectator Crisis
Lokomotiv Stadium before the game between Lokomotiv and Ufa. Photo: Toke Theilade Over the past month, I have had the pleasure of visiting home games of all of Moscow’s major football clubs. From...
View ArticleDinamo Moscow’s 1945 Goodwill Tour of Britain
Click to view slideshow. “The Russians are Coming”: Arrival 4th November 1945, Croydon. Two planes, appearing to be Douglas DC-3 Dakotas, approached the runway and touched down amidst a barrage of...
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Reforming the Trans-Siberian Football League
The Football National League is the biggest football league in the world according to geographic area, covering over 4,500 miles as-the-crow-flies and even crosses eight time zones. Due to the size of...
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Akhmat Grozny – Three Name Changes, Two War’s and One Crazy Owner
Ramzan Kadyrov and Dmitry Medvedev at the Akhmat Arena in Grozny. Photo: Kremlin.ru Before this season we saw a change in names with the team of Grozny. The city which is located in the province of...
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New Stadia’s Impact on Attendances in the RFPL
The Zenit Arena on Krestosky Island looking resplendent at night with Sergei Kirov Statue overlooking it. Source: James Nickels/RFN Low attendances in the RFPL have been the subject of much debate and...
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A Mess Worth Making? – The Rise and Fall of Mordovia Saransk
The Mordovia Arena in August, 2017. Source: ПСО Казань. In Russia as elsewhere in football, it is a reasonably rare thing to see a team emerge from obscurity, climb the league system and find itself...
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