Russian City’s Dazzling New Soccer Stadium Outshines Its Team

An anticorruption group says World Cup stadium construction became another means for the Kremlin to reward favored oligarchs. KALININGRAD, Russia — Nikita I. Zakharov leads the fan club for the soccer team in this leafy, slow-paced provincial city, and yet he keeps a cleareyed view of its place in the wider world of soccer. “We cannot really boast of soccer success,” he said mournfully. The team, Baltika, plays in a second-tier Russian league. In its 64-year history, it has won the championship once — in 1995, “the golden year!” exclaimed Mr. Zakharov — and came in second twice, in 1959 and 1961.