We speak English, Russia tells the world ahead of FIFA World Cup 2018

Names of all metro stations are now put up in English and Russian

There seems to be a softening in the city's stubborn 'only Russian' attitude with stickers screaming 'We Speak English' at all 76 metro stations in Moscow city these days.

Moscow City is all set to welcome guests and fans for the FIFA World Cup that it is hosting from June 14. Moscow is clear that it wants to make the lakhs of football fans from all over the world comfortable and one way to do that is to converse with them in a language they know.

The transport department has also started making announcements in English for the convenience of foreigners. "Traditionally, announcements were made only in Russian. But, for the past few months, they have started announcing in English, too. What's more, they have also put up names of all metro stations in both English and Russian," said Jimmy Kotwani, a Moscow-based Indian businessman.

The city is also being given a face-lift, with old buildings around Kremlin being repaired and repainted. "During beautification and restoration, the original structures were preserved to showcase the history of old Moscow. And, the hoardings have substantial information in English, too," said Neeraj Shah, a Mumbai-based business consultant, and a regular visitor to Moscow.

Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15. Matches will be held in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Sochi.

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