“Life within the Kremlin was shrouded in impenetrable secrecy.” Harrison Salisbury

 

Once upon a time, if there is one word that would have your hair raised on your back, that would be the world Kremlin.  Indeed from 1922 to 1991, the world waved and moved on the whim of the Kremlin.  Most of us say “the Kremlin” the same way we say, “the White House” or “l’Elysee”. It is the power behind the walls.

 

But the physical Kremlin is a 68-acre fortress (i.e. kremlin in Russian) located in the center of Moscow.  Unlike the White House in Washington, it is not simply one house. It is a small city in the city, surrounded by impressive fortified red walls. It encompasses five citadels, four cathedrals, the Armoury museum, the Arsenal, and many other architectural delicacies such as the new helipad installed by Vladimir Putin in 2013.

Add to the fact that the Kremlin is located on Red Square (open to the public) and next door to Saint Basil, you will quickly understand that you have to wake up early if you want to actually visit the Kremlin, since traffic around the landmark is horrendous. Of course, security is quite tight.

 

Our group paid a visit to the Kremlin, on Saturday, June 23rd.  Lines were long, but pre-visit planning allowed us to avoid them.  Red Square was overfilled with red jerseys, capes and flags, pertaining to yelling, screaming partisan crowds of Belgium and Tunisia who were disputing the first game of the day.

We left before lunch to head toward the sporting joust that we could not miss.

 

……………………….

 

It was a joyful pain to walk from the bus drop-off site to the FIFA VIP Lounge C1 located at Gate 7. It took me an hour.  The walk was repeatedly slowed by a crowd of funny amusers, overjoyed fans, loud musicians, volunteer high-fivers, and stilt walkers…  We were also stopped a couple of times by onlookers who wanted to have a picture with me and my children.   Great to be exotic, nao e?

FIFA VIP Lounge C1 was a large decorated bar room, offering a white variety of sandwiches, burgers, and finger foods, along with beers and all non-alcohol drinks. It exits directly onto the stadium seating area, on Category One.   My seat was the 13th, on row 23, in a sea of yelling jumping Belgian well-wishers.   Some did not speak French, I became their translator…

 

The game was a one-way affair (5-2).  There was no way Tunisia was going to resist long to a group of seasoned stars counting on the likes of Eden Hazard, Romely Lukaku, Marouane Fellani,  Moussa Dembele, and Thibault Courtois.  Lukaku score two goals, Hazard was Man of the Match.

 

 

We were supposed to board the bus in front of the McDonald in the street next to the stadium, but the police had the vehicle moved one kilometer away.  Security was tight. The streets were replete with police officers and army soldiers in fatigue.  Not a good set-up for any terrorist to stick their nose out.

 

At the hotel, we watched Mexico qualify to the knockout phase by defeating South Korea (2-1).  Later in another World Cup thriller, Germany narrowly escaped a humiliating first-round elimination by scoring a last minute free-kick to beat Sweden by 2-1.  Lots of adrenaline and sweat were spilled in the course of these historical battles, wholly comparable to the Battle of Moscow and the Siege of Stalingrad…. More of these are to come.

 

From the Palmira Business Club, this is the Traveller reporting from Moscow, capital of the former Soviet Union…

 

(Odler Robert Jeanlouie, Sunday June 24, 2018)

 

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