One week to go, if I go by counting full days in my time zone. In reality at this time next week Russia will have beaten Saudi Arabia after a last minute, very controversial penalty. And that after a Saudi player will have got sent off for doing nothing other than trying to swat a mosquito too close to a Russian's face with said Russian falling to the ground like he was the poor swatted mosquito.
The next stop on my geography lesson of Russia is Volgograd, 580 miles south of Moscow, home of Russian second division team Rotor Volgograd, a team that has had a very interesting recent past. They were in serious financial trouble in 2009 when Volgograd was chosen as host city for Russia's World Cup bid. The city had to have a team and with Rotor declining into oblivion, the government created a new team, FC Volgograd and financed the team. Eventually the team became Rotor Volgograd again but trouble returned with evidence of financial misconduct. The government withdrew it's funding and the club fell into non-league darkness. They have since revived and successive promotions saw them back in the second division for season 2017-18.
Volgograd was Stalingrad up until 1961 and is, unfortunately, best known for one of the bloodiest battles in any war, the infamous Battle of Stalingrad. There are a number of parks and monuments which would make any visitor very aware of the history of the city.
Volgograd Arena is a short walk from the Square of Fallen Fighters. The Motherland Calls statue is close by as is the Friendship Park. Football fans may also come across the Square of Grief and the Monument to Residents of Stalingrad (Victims of Bombing)
Any search of things to do in Volgograd includes a list of all the above monuments listed above, and more to visit. Remembering the war and the heroic struggles are obviously very important for the city. But it also has one of the largest constructed waterways in the world. The 63 mile Volga-Don canal links the Volga River and the Don river at their closest points and has 13 locks along it's length.
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