Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

The opening day of Russia 2018 was certainly not a disappointment  after four years of anticipation. English pop star Robbie Williams, Russia soprano Aida Garifullina and former Brazil striker Ronaldo were the principal attentions at the musical opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The ceremony took place at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium 30 minutes before the group A opener between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. The 80,000 fans in attendance were treated to Robbie Williams' lively music and dance performance.  A performance of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's notable works marked the beginning of the ceremony. Robbie Williams then kicked in with a rendition of "Let Me Entertain You", before performing a miscellany of hits, which included a duet on Williams' worldwide hit "Angels" with Russian opera star Aida Garifullina. Russian harpist and composer Alexander Boldachev, and Russian pianist Danil Trifonov played during the "Angels...

British singer Robbie Williams may just be the first offender to host nation Russia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He may have broken Russian law after flicking his middle finger at watching fans during the World Cup opening ceremony. Russia cracked down on the use of explicit language in the arts in July 2014 by banning the use of swear words in the arts. Those who go against the law face "fines of between $70 and $1,400 depending on whether they're an individual, an official or an organization. Williams performed a few songs to kick off the tournament then gave the middle finger during the pause of his performance of "Rock DJ" at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.  Angry and perplexed football fans took to Twitter to express their disbelief. One angry user tweeted, "Robbie Williams swearing at the camera at the opening ceremony of the World Cup just shows you what a tactless and classless person he is. Absolutely disrespectful and coupled with a nonchalant ...

"Russia is a riddled wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.", said late British statesman, Winston Churchill. It's time to know more about the country that will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As of 2015, the Russian population was 144.3 million inhabitants. The country is ruled by President Vladimir Putin, with Dmitry Medvedev serving as prime minister. The country's official name is the Russian Federation ( Росси́йская Федерaция) .  The major cities in Russia are: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. The official language spoken in Russia is Russian. The Russian currency is the Russian Ruble (RUB). The following peculiarities  will make you develop more interest in Russia. 1. The deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal, is found in Russia. It is estimated to be 1,642 meters deep. Lake Baikal is also the world's largest freshwater lake (in terms of volume).  Lake Baikal is also the oldest lake in the world. 2. Russia...