Vodka, Sickle, Hammer, and the Treaty of Turkmenchay!

If the World Cup is a globally exciting event that entertains the whole world - and of course most participating nations - hosting this event is an exceptional opportunity to sit in front of the world's camera lens for a month and showcase yourself. Now, this camera is focused on Russia, and everyone is waiting for the whistle to start and the camera to turn on. Russia is not a simple country. It has a tumultuous history and an exceptional position in today's world. Most importantly, it has been Iran's northern neighbor for a long time and since it emerged in this region in the last two centuries, its decisions have impacted Iran's existence and demise. From consecutive wars and annexing parts of Iran's territory to occupying half the country in the mid-20th century. However, mentioning historical treaties and world wars just two days before the start of the World Cup in Russia is honestly not a good start for a blog post! Not only does it confuse you, the reader, but it may also not be fair to the Russians. So why did I refer to this not-so-sweet historical background between Iran and Russia? Because this history, alongside the good quality of Russian vodka and the exceptional history of the Soviet Union, are the most important things I know 'about Russia.' And I hope this situation changes somewhat in the upcoming two weeks. How? By traveling to Russia. The story is that I - along with thousands of other journalists from Iran and around the world - will travel to Russia during the World Cup. In this trip, I will report on the sidelines of the World Cup and Iranian fans in the cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, and Saransk. Simultaneously, I will narrate the stories of this trip in short blog posts here (on the Radio Farda website). This short post is also an introduction to this blog, which I have written in the Radio Farda office in Prague. Of course, this is not the only blog related to the World Cup that will be published during this time on the Radio Farda website. Some of my colleagues will also write about football in another blog called 'Cut-off Talks,' and Radio Farda's football experts will cover World Cup news daily in live news blogs. For now, however, I am sitting among my colleagues who, like many national team fans, are spending their days predicting results and how incredibly everyone is waiting for a miracle. (Among them is Roozbeh Boualeri, who has been my friend and colleague for a long time, and he has somewhat driven me crazy. Roozbeh has a special interest in Russia and almost after every sentence that has a trace of Russia in it, he comes to me with two lines of information; from the history of Catherine the Great and Lenin's revolution to Glasnost and Perestroika!) Now, what is the quality of the Russian World Cup? What do Iranians think about this country? What is happening these days in various cities of this country? And most importantly, what is Russia like? How is the life of Russians nearly three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union? And how has this country quietly and steadily returned to the club of decision-making and influential global powers? All these are questions whose answers you can find in the writings of this blog and, of course, in reports that will be published simultaneously on the Radio Farda website. In this context, Nike: Due to sanctions, we will not provide shoes to the Iranian national team. The Iranian national football team was the first team to enter Russia. Iran in World Cups; one victory out of 12 matches. Atlas Lions; introduction to Iran's first opponent in the Russian World Cup.