Russia's World Cup drives some students to rare protests

Many students would be delighted to have the World Cup in town, but not Maria Cheremnova.

The 20-year-old physics student in Moscow is one of thousands campaigning against the June 14-July 15 soccer tournament, which is set to disrupt academic life across the country.

There will be a 25,000-capacity fan zone outside the main building at Russia's prestigious Moscow State University during exam season. In other cities, exams have been brought forward and thousands of police are set to move into dorm rooms.

The Moscow fan zone a public viewing area with a big screen, beer and music is on prime real estate near the vast Luzhniki arena, the river and the main university building, a Stalin-era colossus that ranks among the Russian capital's most recognizable structures. The building is also home to around 6,500 students. Residents say it doesn't have great soundproofing.

"I came to university to study, not to watch football and listen to that noise," Cheremnova said. "Imagine 25,000 people and the events at night. It'll all be visible, with lights, a big screen, music and fans, who aren't very quiet guys. It's going to stop people sleeping before their exams. It's just awful."
World Cup organizers have revised earlier plans for Moscow's fan zone to be larger and closer to the university. FIFA said "to lessen the impact of the event on students and the adjacent infrastructure of the university, it was agreed to move the stage away from the main building by several meters, to reduce the capacity to 25,000 spectators and to change access flows."
"There will be no forced eviction of students under this process," the ministry told The Associated Press, adding that security forces will "not disrupt the learning process."
Zhokhangir Mirzadzhanov, a student in the western city of Kaliningrad, said his university initially offered to buy tickets for students to leave the city and free up dorm space for the tournament but details remained unclear