Russia 2018 World Cup Notebook - Day 18

When it rains in Moscow, it pours

*****
Moscow experienced a storm on Saturday evening for the first time since I arrived here two weeks ago. Moscow’s wide roads have pavements on either side, with closed drainage system so efficient rain water is channelled out of the roads in a matter of minutes.

The heavy rainfall, which lasted close to an hour and a half, forced public service vehicles to park at bus stops with passengers inside.

I was to learn later that all drivers of public transport buses and trams as well as those in charge of the metro transport system get advance warning of an impending storm so as to take safety precautions.

Most Moscovites are Orthodox

*****

Seventy-five per cent of Russia’s population of 144 million are Orthodox Christians, while five per cent of the population are Muslims. Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism and Buddhism each accounts for one per cent of the population.

At the Christian Orthodox Church, a stone-throw away from my hotel, I saw people, mostly women with their heads half-covered with scarves, trooping in for church service which lasted close to an hour and a half.

The Russian Orthodox Church has jurisdiction over the Orthodox Christians who reside in the former Soviet Union republics, excluding Georgia and Armenia.

Journalists probe Russian data bank

*****

On Friday, organisers held a press conference where Fifa’s director of competitions, Colin Smith, and chairman of the tournament’s Local Organising Committee, Alexei Sorokin, updated the media on the progress so far.

Sorokin was bombarded by questions as to what Russia would do with personal data collected from 2.17 million fans from various countries who have attended matches in various host cities since June 14.

For the first time in the history of the World Cup, Russia, which is hosting the tournament this year, has put in place a means of identifying fans called "Fan ID." It is as detailed as a Kenyan passport.

Heavy storm causes closure of ‘fan fest’

*****

Since the World Cup started two weeks ago, organisers have set aside fan zones, or ‘fan fests’, those designated areas where fans can view matches live on giant screens outside the 12 stadiums hosting the matches.

But a storm experienced in Moscow on Saturday forced the tournament’s organisers to suspend a viewing session for the tournament’s first knock-out match between Argentina and France, which France won 4-3.

The city of Moscow gave the information an hour before kick-off. Moscow city has two fan zones – at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium and at 45,000-seater Spartak Moscow Stadium.