Winds of Change on the Red Square

KOMPAS/YULVIANUS HARJONO

Thousands of supporters of the Argentinian national team gather at Moscow’s Red Square, an icon of the Russian capital, on Friday (15/6/2018). Russia is expected to welcome 2 million football fans from abroad during the 2018 World Cup.

In the late 1980s, Gorky Park in downtown Moscow served as an important part of Russia’s transformation into a more modern and open state. Social and political changes in the former Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War were immortalized in rock band Scorpions’ iconic song “Wind of Change”.

“I follow the Moskva/ down to Gorky Park/ listening to the wind of change/ …/ The world is closing in/ did you ever think that we could be so close/ like brothers// The future\'s in the air/ I can feel it everywhere/ blowing with the wind of change...” such was the song’s lyrics.

Almost three decades later, the spirit of change as sung by Klaus Meine was reignited in Russia, the host of the 2018 World Cup. Its citizens worked hard to change their country’s persistent stigma, even long after communism collapsed and the Cold War ended.

“This country is not as bad as what your Western colleagues are telling you. We are opening ourselves to outsiders,” Russian Konstantin Viktorovich, 36, told Kompas after the World Cup opening match in Moscow on Thursday (14/6/2018).

Viktorovich said that the spirit of opening-up was in the air, from Gorky Park – the city park by the Moscow River – to the Russian seat of government at the Kremlin. It was evident on the Red Square enclosed by the high red-colored walls in front of the Kremlin that was filled with thousands of football fans from across the globe.

They wore apparel and team T-shirts and carried flags of their countries. Some wore Mexican sombreros and others wore Peruvian bright red-and-white shirts. In one café not far from the Red Square, Julia Ivanovna was relaxing under the summer sun with her friends by her side and a bottle of beer in front of her. The young Russian lady had an oversized Mexican green-white-red flag covering her body.

Mexican football fan Miguel Arreguin, who had just arrived in Moscow, gave the flag to her. Despite having only just met, Ivanovna and Arreguin conversed warmly in English. Sometimes they talked about football amid jokes and laughter, much like old friends. “[Russians] are very warm. We feel like we are home,” said Arreguin, who was accompanied by two other Mexicans.

Russia’s openness was also represented by the numerous signposts in English and Latin alphabets on streets and subway stations in Moscow. Some locals, including students and café waiters near the Red Square spoke fluent English. This was despite Russians being famed for their reluctance of using English during the Soviet era.

Still, locals refused to be referred to as Europeans as they did not want to be seen as identical to the Western Bloc of the Cold War era. “Two years ago, when we first arrived here, signposts in English were rare. My wife and I needed to use sign language and bring a calculator to order and pay for meals in cafés. Thanks to the World Cup, things are slowly changing,” Indonesian ambassador to Russia and Belarus, M Wahid Supriyadi, said.

Politically, Russia remains “ignored” by Western countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. The European Union and the US recently imposed a trade embargo against Russia after its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which led to a conflict with Ukraine. Russia-phobia increased even more after the 2016 US election and the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK in March.

However, none of these seemed to deter Elly from coming to Moscow from the UK. She was here not for the World Cup but for a meeting with her Russian friend Ekaterina Makanina, 29. Elly and Makarina had been friends since 2014, when both participated in a cultural exchange program at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts and Culture in Bandung.

“This is my first time in Russia. I do not have concerns because of Katya,” she said, referring to her friend. “Political matters have never been a problem for us. I come here to celebrate Idul Fitri and to try gamelan with Katya,” said Elly during a gamelan practice session in the Indonesian Embassy complex in Moscow on Friday (15/6/2018).

Idul Fitri

That day, the Indonesian Embassy complex near the Red Square was busy. Hundreds of Indonesian students, workers and journalists flocked to the historical building to celebrate Idul Fitri and try rice cakes and other Indonesian delicacies. Some of them joined in the Idul Fitri prayer.

Near the embassy, locals gathered at a mosque for the Idul Fitri prayer. Roads in the area were closed off with barricades of trucks to prevent security disruptions. The prayer went smoothly despite the area being surrounded by thousands of football fans.

Wahid said Russia was similar to Indonesia in that both countries strived to be open and tolerant toward people of different races and religions. “Russia is often cornered by Western countries as it does not have good public communication. However, the country is incredibly diverse and has 180 ethnicities. They tolerate differences. Life here is unlike what is often pictured abroad,” he said.

As Meine sang in “Wind of Change”, the wind of change is never foreign for Russians. Sometimes, it is reinforced through magical moments such as the World Cup. “Take me/ to the magic of the moment on a glory night/ where the children of tomorrow dream away”.