World Cup will change people's impressions of Russia
Russian Ambassador says tournament will show the best of the country
Corruption, hooliganism, assassination attempts.
For many people, Russia may be linked to all that.
But the Russian Ambassador to Singapore, Mr Andrey Tatarinov, 67, is confident that once the football World Cup begins on June 14, such negative perceptions of his country will change.
The British royal family has said they will not attend the tournament because of alleged Russian involvement in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4 in the UK.
Mr Tatarinov, who was posted to Singapore in 2015, believes this decision to skip the World Cup is a mistake.
"There are certain forces, mainly in the West, which try to create a toxic atmosphere around this event due to some bilateral complications which are mainly of artificial character," he said.
"I'm sure that the desire of hundreds of thousands of foreign fans to go to Russia despite what their government says is a very clear testament to my main idea that sports is beyond politics."
He said hosting the tournament would be an excellent opportunity for people to see a different side of Russia.
The diplomat was speaking to The New Paper last Thursday ahead of the first World Cup to be held in Russia.
He said: "We are living in a world full of fake news, full of different distortions with very strong anti-Russian hysteria in the West...
"Those who accuse the Russian fans (of aggressive behaviour) seem to forget that the Europeans, especially the British, football lovers, remain unchallenged in their after-match fighting skills."
Mr Tatarinov said more than a million international football fans, including about a thousand from Singapore, are expected to visit Russia during the tournament.
It will take place in 11 cities, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi, across four time zones from June 14 to July 15.
As the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of Russia-Singapore diplomatic relations in June, Mr Tatarinov hopes a shared love of football will contribute to further enhancing friendship between the countries.
To mark this golden jubilee, a photo exhibition titled Russia-Singapore 50 years of Diplomatic Relations is on at the National Library until tomorrow.
Russia has prepared a large-scale programme to allow fans to experience its cultural diversity and places of interest. Part of the preparation includes the training of some 15,000 volunteers in languages such as English, French and Japanese, said Mr Tatarinov.
There will be fan festivals in parks and beaches with large screens showing matches and after-parties with live music.
The ambassador will be catching the World Cup fever here with some of his diplomat friends, like those from Egypt and Saudi Arabia - whose teams are in the same World Cup group as Russia.
With the Russian team currently 66th in the Fifa rankings, he said: "Of course, I wish to see Russia in the final, or at least in the semi-finals.
"But speaking realistically, if we succeed in getting to the play-offs, it would be very, very good."
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