Thousands of rowdy football fans will descend on the campus of Russia’s top university during finals.
A few meters from the
imposing entrance of Russia’s most prestigious university, the sound of
bulldozers tearing down trees is echoing across the historic campus. In just a
few short weeks, some 25,000 football fans from across the world are due to
descend here to watch FIFA World Cup matches on a giant screen, and
preparations for their arrival are in full swing. There’s just one problem:
Their arrival coincides with the students’ exams.
The decision to host a
World Cup fan zone at Vorobyovy Gory, on the edge of the Moscow State
University campus, was announced in late
2016, and since summer last year students have been campaigning to have it
moved. But with less than a month to go until the first match, the
students’ pleas have been met with silence from city and university officials.
In a last ditch effort to have their voices heard and the decision reversed,
they are taking their protest to the street.
