Russia 2018 fan survey

[tyke]

Dear Millers,

Many thanks for taking the time to read this. I am a Barnsley and England fan based in St Petersburg, who is involved in a project, the aim of which is to help travelling supporters have fun, and stay safe at Russia 2018 and beyond, and avoid many of the common pitfalls and complications associated with travelling to and around Russia – such as language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and difficulties in finding decent places to eat, accommodation and transport tickets at a reasonable price.

Even if you are not intending on travelling to Russia 2018, if you have travelled abroad in the past to support your club or country, your information is invaluable to us. We are especially (but not exclusively) interested in the experiences of fans who travelled to Ukraine in 2012, as we are sure that many of the logistical problems which cropped up there will be repeated in Russia.

The survey can be found here - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R577TJT - and will take about five minutes to fill in. You can also find us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1507475152867678/ - and our full website and app for download are planned for launch in the next few months. If you wish to contact me directly for any reason, you can drop me a line at john@worldcup-2018.info .

THIS PROJECT IS 100% INDEPENDENT AND UNOFFICIAL.

Best wishes, and good luck for the season.

Cheers, John

[FrickleyAway]

Hi Tyke,

I follow England away on a regular basis, as do many other Millers. I did all 4 games at the Euros and apart from the football, which was mostly abysmal, had a great laugh (and stayed well out of trouble). Having witnessed the horrific scenes in the ground in Marseille and seeing the other stuff on tv, just how safe is Russia 2018 going to be for England (should we qualify)?

The Russian hooligans specifically targeted England, as a resident of Russia what are your thoughts on what will appen to anyone intending to travel? I know no ones safety can be guarenteed but Russia 2018 just seems like a suicide mission !!

Sadly, its put me off going any where near the place

[FrickleyAway]

Survey done by the way

[tyke]

Hi Tyke,

I follow England away on a regular basis, as do many other Millers. I did all 4 games at the Euros and apart from the football, which was mostly abysmal, had a great laugh (and stayed well out of trouble). Having witnessed the horrific scenes in the ground in Marseille and seeing the other stuff on tv, just how safe is Russia 2018 going to be for England (should we qualify)?

The Russian hooligans specifically targeted England, as a resident of Russia what are your thoughts on what will appen to anyone intending to travel? I know no ones safety can be guarenteed but Russia 2018 just seems like a suicide mission !!

Sadly, its put me off going any where near the place

Thanks for doing the survey. My opinion is that Moscow and St Petersburg will be completely safe. The authorities here have huge experience of managing large and sensitive events (St Petersburg Economic Forum, G8 etc). Coupled with that is the fact that the vast majority of the nutjobs are disenfranchised young lads from single industry towns miles from anywhere. Completely isolated and completely devoid of jobs or hope. Imagine places like Barnsley or Rotherham in the late 80's after Thatcher had destroyed them, but ten times worse, and hundreds of miles from anywhere. Completely isolated, both geographically and culturally, where the only thing to do is learn to hate everyone and everything, and how to fight. Moscow and St Petersburg are nothing like this, and you'll be made to feel very welcome everywhere.. Neither are Kazan, Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg. As for the other, more provincial places - it's hard to say. I'll certainly be staying in St Petersburg for the majority of the tournament I would guess, but having said that everyone was saying how going Donetsk in Euro 2012 would be a complete death-wish, but it turned out to be absolutely brilliant there.

[tony260674]

Fair enough Tyke but if all these guys are unemployed from desolate areas, who paid for them all to go to France?
Not sure i'm buying that.

[tyke]

Fair enough Tyke but if all these guys are unemployed from desolate areas, who paid for them all to go to France?
Not sure i'm buying that.

I was wondering about this myself, and asked around some of Zenit fans who travel I know. They reckon that it's a mix of low-level criminal gangs, who'll make money from minor drug dealing, protection rackets, extortion etc, and lads in low-level jobs who will have just saved every ruble for the last two years to make the trip.

They will all live with their parents, or in tiny apartments that came into their family when the Soviet Union collapsed, so they won't pay any rent. Travelling from Russian to mainland Europe overland is not expensive, especially if you don't pay for your tickets, which they definitely won't do within Russia. Working class footy fans here are renowned for being extremely adept at skipping trains. Your passport costs the equivalent of £30. So while at first glance it seems like a contradiction, once you start piecing it together and doing the maths, it is actually more than feasible.