Travel Around Russia's World Cup Cities (Part II)

Sochi



A woman sits next to giant matryoshka dolls inside a terminal of Sochi's airport in Adler, Russia.





The 21st FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Russia in the summer of 2018, and preparations are already underway for the event in the 11 cities chosen to host matches during the tournament.



The Moscow Times continues its series of photo galleries dedicated to the cities chosen to host parts of the event. This second gallery shows the Russian cities of Sochi, Volgograd, Samara and Rostov-on-Don.



These cities have long played a role connecting Moscow to its regions and the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. They have impressive histories that span centuries. During the Soviet period, they witnessed an economic boom and became important industrial and transport centers. With the large investments currently being made to develop infrastructure and telecommunications, the 2018 FIFA World Cup is bringing a new period of growth to these four cities.



See part I of the 'Travel Around Russia's World Cup Cities' Photo Galleries: Travel Around Russia's World Cup Cities (Part I)

Yachts are seen tied up at the marina of Sochi.



Sochi, Russia's largest sea resort, is best known as the host city of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Situated between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Sochi is home to an important film festival — Kinotavr — and an UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Caucasian Biosphere.

Men ride a scooter past the Olympic cauldron, as the Fisht football stadium is seen in the background, in the Olympic park in Sochi.

A view of a construction of the Fisht football stadium in Sochi.

Rostov-on-Don



A street vendor walks across a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don.



Rostov-on-Don boasts a long history as a hub for commerce and transport thanks to its position on the River Don. Mentioned by such great Russian writers as Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Rostov-on-Don remains to this day a center of cultural and educational importance.

Cossacks performs at traditional welcoming ceremony in the village of Starocherkasskaya near the city of Rostov-on-Don.

A boat sails along Don river in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

A model of the new football stadium in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

Volgograd



An aerial view shows the statue of Mother Homeland at the Mamayev Kurgan (Mamayev Hill) World War Two memorial complex in the city of Volgograd.



Volgograd, which was previously known as Stalingrad, was the site of the bloodiest battle in human history, World War II's Battle of Stalingrad. The city is also the home of the Motherland Calls statue, declared in 1967 as the tallest statue in the world at that time.

A general view of a construction site of the new airport terminal in the city of Volgograd.

Members of the Russian honor guard perform a ceremonial change-over at the Military Glory hall of the Mamayev Kurgan (Mamayev Hill) World War Two memorial complex in the city of Volgograd.

A worker stands next to a miniature model of the new Pobeda (Victory) Arena football stadium at the construction site in the city of Volgograd.

Samara



An aerial view of the city of Samara.



Samara, Russia's sixth-largest city is located where the Samara and Volga rivers meet. One of Russia's main industrial and transport centers, Samara also takes pride in its cultural and educational establishments, which include opera and ballet theaters, an orchestra hall, Nayanova University and Samara State Aerospace University.

An exterior view shows the Soyuz spacecraft with the Space Samara museum and exhibition center in the background, in the city of Samara.

Youths play football at Kuibyshev square with the Opera and Ballet theater seen in the background, in the city of Samara.

Laborers work at a construction site of the new Cosmos (Space) Arena football stadium in the city of Samara.