Winds of Change on the Red Square

Almost three decades later, the spirit of change as sung by Klaus Meine was reignited in Russia, the host of the 2018 World Cup. Its citizens worked hard to change their country’s persistent stigma.

KOMPAS/YULVIANUS HARJONO

Thousands of supporters of the Argentinian national team gather at Moscow’s Red Square, an icon of the Russian capital, on Friday (15/6/2018). Russia is expected to welcome 2 million football fans from abroad during the 2018 World Cup.

In the late 1980s, Gorky Park in downtown Moscow served as an important part of Russia’s transformation into a more modern and open state. Social and political changes in the former Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War were immortalized in rock band Scorpions’ iconic song “Wind of Change”.

“I follow the Moskva/ down to Gorky Park/ listening to the wind of change/ …/ The world is closing in/ did you ever think that we could be so close/ like brothers// The future\'s in the air/ I can feel it everywhere/ blowing with the wind of change...” such was the song’s lyrics.