Seeing Russia Through the Lenses of Foreign Photographers

FIFA World Cup has attracted not only a lot of fans but also foreign correspondents to Russia. Many of them wrote that fears about their visit to the country had not materialized and they have only fond memories of their trip. Sputnik offers you a glimpse to what Russia is like from the perspective of foreign photographers.

Lionel Messi's birthday celebration as well as picturesque views of Russian cities and life of ordinary citizens — photographs managed to capture the most precious and elusive moments.

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© AP Photo / Ricardo Mazalan

Dancers wait to perform at a celebration to commemorate Lionel Messi's birthday near Argentina's training camp base at the 2018 World Cup in Bronnitsy, Russia, Sunday, June 24, 2018. With a cake sculpture and a music festival, the town of Bronnitsy celebrated the striker's 31st birthday.what Russia is like from the perspective of foreign photographers.

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© AP Photo / Frank Augstein

Tourists pose for photos in front of the 20m (65ft) bronze tree that marks the center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Provision of the Republic of Tatarstan during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Kazan, Russia, Thursday, June 28, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Felipe Dana

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is illuminated at dusk during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 22, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Darko Vojinovic

A child runs through a city fountain in Volgograd, Russia, Thursday, June 21, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Michael Probst

A mural painting is seen on an apartment building in the center of Kazan during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Kazan, Russia, Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Francisco Seco

Commuters check and talk on their smartphones as they walk in and out of Krasnopresnenskaya subway station in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 22, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Dmitri Lovetsky

A seagull sitting on a statue of an angel fixed atop the Alexander Column and a Russian flag are silhouetted against the rising full moon in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, June 28, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Felipe Dana

Two women sit outside a store downtown Moscow during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia, Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Frank Augstein

People enjoy water games opposite the Kazan Kremlin during hot and sunny weather at the 2018 soccer World Cup in Kazan, at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in Russia, Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda

A municipal worker sits on a bench, next to a statue in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, during the 2018 soccer World Cup, Thursday, June 28, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Ricardo Mazalan

A woman crosses a bridge during the 2018 soccer World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, June 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

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© AP Photo / Michael Probst

A woman carries a baby through a pedestrian bridge over a highway during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Podolsk near Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 19, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Felipe Dana

A young couple sit on a bridge as the sun sets during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Michael Probst

A Lenin statue stands on a column as the sun sets during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Podolsk near Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 21, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Thanassis Stavrakis

Tourists visit the Motherland Calls monument as the portrait of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin is seen on the wall in front during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Volgograd, Russia, Sunday, June 17, 2018. The monument commemorates the victims of the Battle of Stalingrad, in which the Red Army turned back Nazi Germany's army in Volgograd.