MOSCOW (AP) He towers over the crowds at Moscow’s Spartak stadium, a metal gladiator atop a vast football.
The meaning of the 25-meter high monument outside one of Russia’s Confederations Cup stadiums is rarely clear to foreign fans, even as they shoot selfies in front of the giant.
Some reckon he’s an ancient Greek warrior while others have no clue at all.
In fact, he represents the revolutionary history behind Russia’s champion club, Spartak Moscow, and how it keeps an underdog mindset even when it’s on top.
The club switched names repeatedly in the years following the Russian Revolution of 1917.