If England are looking for self-reflection and meditation, this sleepy Russian town where they will train during the World Cup next summer could fit the bill. The 10-minute drive north from their modest accommodation in the village of Repino, 19 miles from St Petersburg, cuts through birch and pine forest, the view occasionally punctuated by a large steak restaurant or a glimpse of the Baltic Sea. An invisible nuclear threat could be lurking among the tranquillity, warn scientists and researchers. Across the Gulf of Finland lies the town of Sosnovy Bor, home to the largest nuclear cluster in the Baltic Sea region. Next year, upgrades to the Leningrad nuclear power plant, as well as the completion of a new nuclear facility, are expected to go on stream. While they pose no immediate threat to residents, neither have undergone environmental impact checks, says physicist Oleg Bodrov, who sits on the board at the Public Council of the South Coast of the Gulf of Finland, a non-profit organisation concerned with the local environment. “If an accident happens, it will take one and a half hours to reach Repino,” said Bodrov, adding that Russia’s state-run atomic industry has forfeited safety for economic gain. “Fifa should take this into account.”
Guardian 7th Oct 2017 read more »
