Russia – Monuments to Tsars and Keyboards

June 24-25

Hello everyone!

My long train ride dropped me in the eastern – well, relatively eastern, though still nowhere near Russia’s eastern coastline – city of Yekaterinburg (the city's name can be spelt with a Y or without), Russia’s fourth largest city and one which has been the host of some interesting and important events in history.

Japanese fans in costume outside the Ekaterinburg Arena

It was here, for example, that the final royal family of Russia was executed. Tsar Nicholas II was removed from being Russia’s leader in 1917 but this wasn’t enough for the communist government which took control later in the year. Nicholas’ family were imprisoned in a house in this city, over 2,000 kilometres from their previous home in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, in 1918.

Tsar Nicholas II was leader from 1894 until 1917

Large family photos can be seen outside the Church of Spilled Blood 

The Romanov family, as well as some other sympathisers, were assassinated in the middle of July in 1918. Initially the new government denied the execution of the other family members and their remains were only discovered in 1989. The rather long-winded Church-on-the-Blood in the name of All Saints Shone Forth in the Land of Russia (and breathe) was built on the site of the murders in 2003 as a memorial.

The church was consecrated in June 2003

Someone got into trouble two years ago for
playing Pokemon Go inside the church

As well as this dark moment of Russian history, Yekaterinburg also seems to be home to a bit of wealth. Skyscrapers and futuristic buildings are rising from the banks of the Iset River.

The Iset Tower is 212 metres tall

A view of modern Yekaterinburg 

One of the stranger buildings is their stadium, which is hosting four World Cup group matches. Stadia used in the FIFA tournament have to have a minimum capacity, which the Ekaterinburg Arena didn’t meet. Until they did this…

The FIFA picture of the stadium, which was opened in 1957

The arena is also a protected landmark so the main part of it had to be preserved

What you see at each end are stands which soar to 45 metres tall…outside the walls of the arena. These stands are temporary and will be removed after the tournament has finished, allowing the local team to play in a smaller arena which costs less to maintain.

The lower tier of the temporary stand

Safe enough?

One of the main concerns was that the view at the top of the stand would be blocked. Luckily for me, I was just over halfway up one of these wedges and had a great view of a very entertaining match between Senegal and Japan.

A great view of an entertaining game

The game finished 2-2

Though being relatively far from other World Cup venues, football fever is noticeable in Yekaterinburg. I also noticed that not a single Russian cheered when England scored their goals against Panama. Maybe the political tension is still in the undercurrent…

Locals were desperate to have photos with fans from Senegal,
which I found very interesting given the media
focus on racism before the tournament

After almost two weeks of daily football matches to watch,
tiredness can be expected

This tired young man had plenty of nicer places to sleep than a coffee shop. Yekaterinburg is a pretty city with plenty of parks and fountains.

Fountains in the Plotnika area of Yekaterinburg

There are quite a few green parks in the city

If he had stayed awake, he could have seen one of the stranger monuments I’ve seen – the QWERTY monument. A monument to…a computer keyboard. Children saw them less as a monument and more of a playground.

The monument was made in 2005

It has both Latin and Cyrillic characters

As the sun set on my final night in Russia, I watched the fountains dance and people mill about, enjoying their summer. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in the world’s largest country and hope that the warmth and openness I’ve experienced during the World Cup stays long after the football departs. Whatever your view on the politics of the country, the vast majority of its citizens are wonderful and I’ve cherished sharing their country with them.

Yekaterinburg in the late evening - very similar to the next
place I'm visiting...

до свидания Россия!

Love you all,

Matt