Today, on the day of the 65th anniversary of the German attack on the Soviet Union, in Berlin at the monument to the soldier-liberator will be crowded. To the Russian immigrants who settled here for permanent residence, compatriots who came to Germany to see the World Cup will be added. Special expectations are associated with the Ukrainian support group: Oleg Blokhin’s team will play in Berlin on June 23, and the main forces will be pulled to the capital a day before the match. But immigrants from Russia should not remain in debt. There are many of them; someone is preparing a harmony, someone is rehearsing patriotic songs. The Germans will have to be patient.
The Russians who came to Germany for the World Cup are piece goods. Considering the absence of the Russian national team at the tournament, only a few offices laid out the tourist route to Germany, which for the opportunity to join the football festivities raised huge prices. As a result, either very wealthy fans or single lunatics were able to attend matches of the best national teams of the planet. One of them was an unknown fan, dressed in Russian colors and seen in the yellow-blue crowd before the match Ukraine - Spain. “Take away your flach already,” some Ukrainian fans told him with an inimitable Kiev accent. "Our countries are fraternal, so I have every right to cheer here for Ukraine," said the peace-loving Russian and continued to move to the stadium. The second time the Russian colors became noticeable in the championship at the game of Brazil and Australia. In the first half, the flag of Russia suddenly appeared on the central platform of the stadium - like a reminder for Guus Hiddink about which team he will lead after breaking up with the Australian team.
The rest of the Russian contingent in Germany is formed by emigrants. In a suburb of Stuttgart in a Chinese restaurant, I met a Russian military man. This soldier, Lesha, served in the Western Group of Forces, married a German woman and remained in Germany. Almost immediately after the withdrawal of Soviet soldiers, he moved with his wife near Stuttgart, to her parents. Football, as it turned out, does not like and of all professions respects only military affairs. When he found out what I was doing, he looked at me with some kind of inner regret - such a machine gunner disappears.
It was he who told me what it means for a Russian immigrant to meet at the famous Berlin monument. In short, a lot.
- A normal person should come there at least twice a year - June 22 and May 9. And not some football. This is a duty to the motherland! Have your parents fought?
- Grandfather.
- He will tell you what if he finds out that you did not go there?
- He won’t stroke the head ...
- Here!
We sipped a beer. And he quietly added:
- Come, it will be sincere. The harmony will bring the guys, sing.
I have promised. In addition, he assumed the functions of an agitator and managed to agree with three fans from Moscow and one sailor from St. Petersburg that they would come too.
It was already in the city of Hamburg. The sailor came there on business (he drives a used German car on a ferry).
“If I don’t swim away,” he said, “I will definitely.”
I met another portion of Russian fans on the tram after the game Ukraine - Saudi Arabia. They were pleased not so much with the victory of the Ukrainians as the very fact of getting to the stadium.
“We went here - we didn’t plan to watch football live,” said one of them, Sergey (by the way, all three were in t-shirts of the German national team). - They thought - on the square, on the big screen ... And then the guys tell us that before the first game of Ukraine, speculators gave tickets almost at face value, the stadium was not full. And this was a match with Spain! And we thought that there would definitely be free tickets for the game with the Arabs.
As a result, Muscovites fell into good places, giving 100 euros each. Inspired by their success, on June 23, when Ukraine will play with Tunisia, they are going to Berlin. Rather, the plans have changed: not the 23rd, but the 22nd. Lesha will be pleased.
Cheering for Ukrainians costs more than 2500 euros
Nikolay is one of the few Russian fans who came to Germany specifically to support the Ukrainian team in the group stage of the championship. At the request of the Izvestia correspondent, he painted an article of his expenses at the tournament, after which it became clear how expensive the support of his western neighbors at the football level is.
Flights (Germanwings budget company) - 400 euros.
Accommodation in a three-star hotel in Berlin - 150 euros per day. The total cost of 12 nights is 1800 euros.
Tickets for the matches Ukraine - Spain (venue Leipzig) - 100 euros, Ukraine - Saudi Arabia (Hamburg) - 100 euros, Ukraine - Tunisia (Berlin) - 100 euros.
Tickets for the train Berlin - Leipzig - Berlin - 72 euros (second class).
Tickets for the train Berlin - Hamburg - Berlin - 94 euros (second class).
Total: 2,666 euros.
Chermen Dzgoev, Germany