Audio Content: Russian soccer fans ecstatic after their team’s victories!
Visual Content: Moscow’s Nikolskaya Street, the gathering place for jubilant soccer fans from all over the world (video two).
With Russia’s hosting of the World Cup 2018 successfully concluded, let’s have a look at some of the fan celebrations. France took home the championship trophy, but Russians were very happy with how their national team performed. Expectations were low before the tournament started because the Russians had played very poorly in preliminary practice games and were at the bottom of the national rankings. The team, however, surprised its fans with a resounding 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their first official match on June 14. The first video below highlights one happy fan’s reaction as he exits the main Moscow sports stadium, Luzhniki.
A second victory, this one against Egypt, was followed by a close loss to Uruguay, concluding the group stage of the tournament. Russia had performed well enough to make it into the World Cup play-offs for the first time since 1986, when it was still playing as part of the Soviet Union. This was already more than fans had expected, but one more stunning win was on the way. This came on July 1, when Russia beat Spain and advanced into the quarterfinals. This game, tied at 1 -1 after regular play, was decided by a penalty shootout. The decisive moment came when the Russian goalkeeper Ivan Akinfeev made an improbable penalty save with his foot. The second video below, shot on Nikolskaya Street in Moscow, shows fan reactions after the victory over Spain. Nikolskaya Street served during the World Cup as an unofficial center for soccer fans from all over the world, as it was decorated with hanging lights and had many bars and restaurants to attract fans. In the video below, TV Rain’s correspondent makes his way through an international crowd of people who have poured out into the street at the conclusion of the big game. Also see Meduza for a number of good photos of celebrations after the victory over Spain (look for the fan in the horse mask).
Russia ultimately lost to Croatia in the quarterfinals.
So watch the videos below and find out: What were fans expecting? How do they express extreme excitement? How far did they think Russia would go? Who plans to stay sober amid all the partying?
Заметки о языке: A generic Russian word for “team” is “команда,” but a unified national team is more often called a “сборная,” from “собирать” = “to gather.” A victory of any type is a “победа,” but winning and losing in the context of playing games is expressed by adding prefixes to the verb “играть” = “to play.” To win a game is выиграть (perf.) / выигрывать (impf.) матч. Losing is проиграть (perf.) / проигрывать (impf.) матч. To express beating a particular opponent, use “обыграть / обыгрывать (кого?).” And fans are “болельщики,” a word that has a (troubling?) connection to the verb for being sick.
Regarding the Luch Sveta project in general: There are more paywalls and geographic video streaming restrictions appearing in Russian media outlets, and even for a major topic like the World Cup it’s harder than one would expect to find useful language practice segments. But good things do come up now and then and I’ll post what I find. Friendly topics like international sports events are nice, but of course there are also lots of controversial yet important and interesting topics related both to Russia’s domestic dynamics and its influence campaigns abroad. I try to mix different kinds of topics, but a lot depends on where I happen to find decent audio quality and relatively clear, interesting language. For those interested in Putin, U.S.-Russia relations and Trump’s preference for Putin’s talking points over U.S. intelligence, some earlier posts here and here give a pretty good idea of Putin’s style, views and persuasive power.
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Video One
June 14, 2018
0:00-1:05
Когершын Сагиева, ведущая Дождя: Ну, а прямо сейчас в фан-зоне ФИФА рядом с Лужниками находится наш коллега Алексей Коростелёв. Лёша, привет!
Алексей Коростелёв, корреспондент Дождя: Да, Когершын, привет. По-настоящему праздник сейчас царит в Лужниках, потому что пять – ноль сборная России обыграла сборную Саудовской Аравии. Но, правда, праздника вы, может быть, за моей спиной не видите, потому что первыми стадион как раз покидают болельщики сборной Саудовской Аравии.
Мужчина с флагом России на плечах: С победой! Ура!
Коростелёв: Что чувствуете сейчас?
Мужчина: Победа! Счастье! Россия! Ура! Вперёд! Здорово!
Коростелёв: А вы ожидали, что пять – ноль, такой матч?
Мужчина: Нет, честно. Да это просто…
Коростелёв: Не верили?
Мужчина: Нет, правда, не верил. Это… это сказка, это чудо, это… спасибо нашим ребятам, за Россию, за подарок. Спасибо большое. С победой всех!
Коростелёв: Выйдем из группы?
Мужчина: Выйдем, выйдем! И дальше пойдём.
Коростелёв: До финала?
Мужчина: Да дай Бог!
Коростелёв: Спасибо большое. Вот такие эмоции первых болельщиков сборной России, которые следом за болельщиками Саудовской Аравии покидают стадион Лужники.
(As the video continues, the people Korostelyov tries to interview are Saudi Arabian or are not sober enough to speak clearly.)
English translation below.
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Video Two
July 1, 2018
The clip opens in the TV Rain studio where leading TV Rain personalities were broadcasting a “soccer watching party,” part of their World Cup programming. Then, in the portions transcribed below, we move to Nikolskaya Street in central Moscow, where TV Rain correspondent Vasily Polonsky is reporting from a crowd of international soccer fans just after Russia’s victory over Spain.
2:05 – 3:10
Василий Полонский, корреспондент Дождя: Вообще удивительно, что за сборную России болели все. Представители многочисленных национальностей. Вот мы видели сейчас колумбийцев, так же мексиканцев. Вот сенегальцы только что тоже болели. Давайте ещё поговорим. Скажите, как вам матч?
Девушка: Отлично, супер! Очень много эмоций, волнений.
Другая девушка: Матч супер! Мы чуть не посидели!
Молодой человек: Про навальный футбол уже кто-то говорил? Нет? Сегодня был навальный футбол, ребята. Спасибо.
Полонский: Скажите, пожалуйста. Верили ли, что сборная России так выступит?
Молодой человек: Я верил. Я ставил на три – ноль, но к сожалению только один – один и по пенальти.
Полонский: Довольны ли качеством футбола сборной России?
Молодой человек: Я очень доволен. Я думаю, мы до полуфинала точно дойдём и третье место наше. Спасибо. Спасибо, слава. Черчесов, ты просто лучший.
Полонский: Как будете праздновать сегодня?
Молодой человек: Сегодня я буду трезвый, ребята, потому что завтра на работу. [Поцелуй] Спасибо.
Полонский: Вот видите, люди всё-таки в отличие от того матча, когда мы играли против Египта и вышли впервые за свою историю из группы, всё-таки люди понимают о том, что ещё будут матч, и видимо, ещё будут поводы, когда можно будет отметить.
4:20 – 5:15.
Полонский: Вот так! Я могу вам сказать о том, что если дойти до конца этой площади, я думаю, что можно будет найти себе жену и новую работу, потому что люди настолько счастливы. И каждый человек, которого вы тут встречаете, он крикнет вам о России и подержит вас в любой кричалке.
Девушки: Россия! Россия!
Полонский: Девушка, у вас упал телефон. Скажите, как вам игра?
Девушка: Игра просто супер-спонтанная, невероятная! Она была… что-то типа “экшн.” Никто ни ожидал.
Женщина: Мы вообще не ожидали, что так будет. Было счастье, что они выиграли две игры. Но то, что они сделали, то, что они сдержали, и кого! Это просто выше всяких спор. Ребята, спасибо. Это невероятно!
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English Translation
Video One
0:00-1:05
Kogershyn Sagieva, TV Rain anchor: Well, right now our colleague Aleksei Korostelyov is in the FIFA “fan zone” next to Luzhniki stadium. Hi, Lyosha!
Aleksei Korostelyov, TV Rain correspondent: Yes, hi, Kogershyn! A true celebratory mood “reigns” right now at Luzhniki stadium, because – five to zero – Russia’s team beat the team of Saudi Arabia. However, it’s true that you, perhaps, don’t see the celebration behind my back, because it happens that the first ones who are departing [lit. “abandoning, leaving behind”] the stadium are the fans of Saudi Arabia’s team.
Man with a Russian flag around his shoulders: Yay for the victory! Hooray! [The first phrase derives from the usual construct for holiday greetings in Russian: “поздравляю вас с [+ Instr.].” = “I greet you on the occasion of…”.]
Korostelyov: What do you feel now?
Man: Victory! Happiness! Russia! Hooray! Forward! It’s great!
Korostelyov: And did you expect a five – zero score, a game like this?
Man: No, honestly. This is simply…
Korostelyov: You didn’t believe [they might win]?
Man: No, honestly, I didn’t believe. It’s… it’s a fairy tale, it’s a miracle, it’s…. thank you to our guys, thanks for Russia, for this gift. Thank you very much. [I congratulate] all of them on this victory!
Korostelyov: Will we make it out of the group stage?
Man: We’ll make it out, we’ll make it out! And will go further.
Korostelyov: Up to the final?
Man: May God grant it!
Korostelyov: Thank you very much. These are the sorts of emotions [experienced by] the first fans of Russia’s team who, coming after the fans of Saudi Arabia, are departing Luzhniki stadium.
(As the video continues, the people Korostelyov tries to interview are Saudi Arabian or are not sober enough to speak clearly.)
Video Two
July 1, 2018
The clip opens in the TV Rain studio where leading TV Rain personalities were broadcasting a “soccer watching party,” part of their World Cup programming. Then, in the portions transcribed below, we move to Nikolskaya Street in central Moscow, where TV Rain correspondent Vasily Polonsky is reporting from a crowd of international soccer fans just after Russia’s victory over Spain.
2:05 – 3:10
Vasily Polonsky, TV Rain correspondent: In general it’s striking that everyone was rooting for the Russian team. Representatives of numerous nationalities. Just now we saw Columbians, and also Mexicans. Senegalese were also cheering us [rooting for, being fans of us] just now. Let’s have another conversation. Tell me, what did you think of the game?
Young woman: Excellent, super! Lots of emotions, excitement.
Other young woman: A super game! We almost didn’t sit [until the end]!
Young man: Did anybody talk about “navalny” soccer yet? No? It was “navalny” soccer today, folks. Thank you. [“Navalny” refers to a particular soccer formation, sort of implying a “full press,” but it also happens to be the name of Russia’s most well-known opposition politician. This coincidence gave rise to an on-air pun early in Channel One’s World Cup coverage, which went viral because the state-affiliated TV channels otherwise never mention Navalny’s name on air. It’s unclear whether this man is using the term straight or means to make an ironic reference.]
Polonsky: Tell me, please. Did you believe that Russia’s team would perform like this?
Young man: I believed. I bet on three to zero, but unfortunately it was only one to one and [decided] by a penalty shoot-out.
Polonsky: Are you satisfied with the quality of the Russian team’s soccer play?
Young man: I am very satisfied. I think that we’ll definitely make it to the semifinal and third place is ours. Thank you. Thanks! Glory [to you]! Cherchesov, you are the best. [Cherchesov is the Russian coach.]
Polonsky: How will you be celebrating today?
Young man: Today I’m going to be sober, folks, because [I have to go] to work tomorrow. [Kiss.] Thank you.
Polonsky: As you see, people do — in contrast with the game when we were playing against Egypt and made it out of the group stage for the first time in our history, this time people do understand that there will be another game and, it appears, there will still be occasions when one can celebrate [lit., “mark” an event].
4:20 – 5:15.
Polonsky: That’s how it is!! I can tell you that if one walks all the way up to the end of this square, I think that it’s possible to find yourself a wife and a new job, because people are so happy. And each person whom you meet here will shout to you about Russia and support you in any chant.
Young woman: Russ-ia! Russ-ia!
Polonsky: Young woman, you dropped your telephone [your telephone fell]. Tell me, what did you think of the playing?
Young woman: The playing was super-spontaneous, incredible! It was… something like an “action” film. No one expected it.
Woman: We did not at all expect that it would be like this. It was fortunate that they won two games. But what they did here, what they held up against — and against whom! It is simply above any dispute. Guys, thank you. It is incredible!