Word: russianizing
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...aggression. In the same week, a second opportunity to whip up national hysteria came when Russia defeated Canada to win ice hockey's World Championship for the first time since 1993. And Putin continues to pour funds into his pet project of holding the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian Black Sea resort Sochi...
...Moscow-London relations sank to a low ebb in a series of tit-for-tat moves following Britain rejecting Russia's demands to extradite tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, while Russia turned down British demands to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, prime suspect in the murder of former Russian security officer Aleksander Litvinenko. It would be premature, however, to judge the blanket visa approval as signaling a thaw in relations, rather than simply a necessary move to remain onside with European soccer authorities. This week, Russian security offficials again raided the Moscow headquarters of the British oil company...
...possible. Their charter flights landed at different airports, and most were taken directly to separate fan stockades connected to the stadium by special galleries to prevent any mixing. Alcohol sales at the stadium were banned on the night of the game. And last but not least, the Russian authorities preemptively locked up some particularly notorious Russian neo-Nazis, who had previously been responsible for deadly attacks on foreigners, although they had hitherto hardly been a priority of law enforcement...
...anxious riot police manned street corners as Chelsea and United fans - easily distinguished by their, respectively, blue and red-and-white regalia - strolled the streets, drinking beer and riding the famous Moscow subway. In Red Square, a football pitch had been set up right by Lenin's tomb, and Russian and British fans played pickup games under a bizarre combination of Bolshevik stars and Imperial eagles. The combination of official goodwill and vigilance appears to have been successful - just a single brawl among the Russian and British fans was reported throughout...
...Official commentators covering the match tried drumming up Russian support for Chelsea on the grounds of it being owned by oligarch Abramovich, which, they suggested would mean it could bring Russia a victory by proxy. But the proxy result was a defeat. Much as connoisseurs enjoyed the often dramatic match, a touch of bitterness lingered. A friend summed it up succinctly: "That's what Abramovich spent a billion dollars on? To buy these blue-clad fumblers? What a waste of our money...