Unseen Russia: ‘Closed Cities’ through the prism of football at World Cup
Photographer Sergey Novikov narrates to Sriram Veera his experience of travelling through the hinterland of the country with his lens capturing the connect with football in ‘Closed Cities’
A ground near an abandoned church in Fednia, a village with just 2,500 residents. (Sergey Novikov)
Sergey Novikov stood outside the town in North Russia, staring at a signboard. It read: “No recording, photographs, or video or cinema.” He was there to take photographs. It was one of the many towns that are noted as “Closed Cities”, or Zatos in local speak.
Established in 1940’s to serve as nuclear weapon development or disposal sites or as mineral-extraction sites, these cities were not on any maps. They had encrypted names and the residents couldn’t mention the name of their place. Even though Soviet Union collapsed decades back, the Zatos are still closed.
Now there are 41 closed cities with 1.2 million residents, where even other Russians aren’t allowed without a pass. “Budget subsidies, safer cities, good medical services have led the authorities and residents to retain the barriers,” Novokov says. He was at one of the Zatos, where submarines are repaired. And he was there to take photographs of people playing football, for his Grassroots Football project where he left the cities, and lurched ahead into rural hinterland, Zatos, and provincial towns to track life through the prism of football. At that Zato, after prior permission, he was taken around by two handlers.
Novikov believes that Russia is “witnessing a conscious political backsliding towards Soviet times now and sports (football in particular) is the national idea again”. It’s a fascinating project which has thrown up images of the current state of Russian society.
Football fills the weekends of factory workers in Artem in Vladivostok in Far East Russia, which is a hub of manufacturing and fish-processing industries. (Sergey Novikov)
A group of people playing at a park in the shadows of a gorgeous abandoned church at Fedina. Gold-painted church domes that sparkle in the light adjacent to the field. Bushy overgrown parks crawl with the footballers’ shins even as factory plumes fill the air in Vladivostok region or by the gorgeous Volga river. In 2011, his photo book, titled FC Volga United, came out about football fans who live along Volga, Europe’s longest river. He has also documented the crumbling old movie halls of Russia, and his work has been nominated for several awards.
Gold-painted church domes that sparkle in the light adjacent to the field in Kurganinsk, Krasnodar in South West Russia. (Sergey Novikov)
“Rural Russia isn’t always a united society. Problems with work, finance, political issues hit them; some don’t have any work; many are underpaid. Football plays a major role here. These are towns with just 10,000 residents. Banal life with everyday problems, far away from the lives of big cities. It’s easy to forget they exist. I saw that football helped build a bridge between people, gave them a sense of public space. It’s a slow life, and football has a way of making them feel good,” Novikov says.
In a football culture, where private oligarchs are funnelling money into urban clubs and swelling their own egos, rural and provincial Russia can’t get their hands in the money pot. To them, the weekend football games are more than just leisure, which in itself isn’t something to be sneezed at for the hardworking and often poor people.
The ground at a ‘closed city’, Polyamy, in Murmansk region in northwestern Russia. (Sergey Novikov)
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Dybala,Messi,Aguero,Banega,Di Maria,Higuain ,all superstars..but OK.
RUSSIA 2018 – The Best World Cup Ever
http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2018/07/08/russia-2018-the-best-world-cup-ever/
World Cup 2018: Fernando Hierro steps down from Spain role
Fernando Hierro, who led Spain at the 2018 World Cup, has stepped down as coach and will not return to his former role as sporting director.
Hierro was placed in temporary charge of the team after Julen Lopetegui was sacked on the eve of the tournament.
However, the 2010 world champions were knocked out on penalties by hosts Russia in the last 16.
Hierro, 50, has decided to "seek new horizons", according to the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
Unseen Russia: ‘Closed Cities’ through the prism of football at World Cup
Photographer Sergey Novikov narrates to Sriram Veera his experience of travelling through the hinterland of the country with his lens capturing the connect with football in ‘Closed Cities’
Sergey Novikov stood outside the town in North Russia, staring at a signboard. It read: “No recording, photographs, or video or cinema.” He was there to take photographs. It was one of the many towns that are noted as “Closed Cities”, or Zatos in local speak.
Established in 1940’s to serve as nuclear weapon development or disposal sites or as mineral-extraction sites, these cities were not on any maps. They had encrypted names and the residents couldn’t mention the name of their place. Even though Soviet Union collapsed decades back, the Zatos are still closed.
Now there are 41 closed cities with 1.2 million residents, where even other Russians aren’t allowed without a pass. “Budget subsidies, safer cities, good medical services have led the authorities and residents to retain the barriers,” Novokov says. He was at one of the Zatos, where submarines are repaired. And he was there to take photographs of people playing football, for his Grassroots Football project where he left the cities, and lurched ahead into rural hinterland, Zatos, and provincial towns to track life through the prism of football. At that Zato, after prior permission, he was taken around by two handlers.
Novikov believes that Russia is “witnessing a conscious political backsliding towards Soviet times now and sports (football in particular) is the national idea again”. It’s a fascinating project which has thrown up images of the current state of Russian society.
A group of people playing at a park in the shadows of a gorgeous abandoned church at Fedina. Gold-painted church domes that sparkle in the light adjacent to the field. Bushy overgrown parks crawl with the footballers’ shins even as factory plumes fill the air in Vladivostok region or by the gorgeous Volga river. In 2011, his photo book, titled FC Volga United, came out about football fans who live along Volga, Europe’s longest river. He has also documented the crumbling old movie halls of Russia, and his work has been nominated for several awards.
“Rural Russia isn’t always a united society. Problems with work, finance, political issues hit them; some don’t have any work; many are underpaid. Football plays a major role here. These are towns with just 10,000 residents. Banal life with everyday problems, far away from the lives of big cities. It’s easy to forget they exist. I saw that football helped build a bridge between people, gave them a sense of public space. It’s a slow life, and football has a way of making them feel good,” Novikov says.
In a football culture, where private oligarchs are funnelling money into urban clubs and swelling their own egos, rural and provincial Russia can’t get their hands in the money pot. To them, the weekend football games are more than just leisure, which in itself isn’t something to be sneezed at for the hardworking and often poor people.