Living in a country mired in despair, Russian athletes criticise life in Iran

Russian soccer players' complaints about living conditions in Iran, voiced after a friendly match in Tehran between the two countries on March 23, have hit a nerve with many Iranian and Central Asian citizens.

Their criticism left a bitter taste in Iran, one of a dwindling number of countries that still freely admit Russian visitors more than a year after the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Nikolay Komlichenko, a forward for the Russian national soccer team, was the first player to question the quality of life in Iran after his three-day stay in Tehran.

Russian media quoted Komlichenko as saying he "did not much like" daily life in Iran, adding, "Honestly, everything was at a very low level."

His team's previous match was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which had a better quality of life than Iran did, he said.

"But in Tehran, the hotel had problems, particularly related to food," he said, according to a March 24 report by Sports.ru.

"In my hotel room, I couldn't get a signal -- I had to sit in the hallway to get connected [online]," he said.

Danil Prutsev, another Russian soccer player, also griped about his trip to Iran, telling Russian media that he had difficulty accessing the internet to reach his family.

Konstantin Tyukavin, a striker on the Russian team, told Sport24 he was "somehow uncomfortable" during the entire time he spent in Iran.

"The weather is strange -- always foggy," he said. "The internet practically didn't work ... We basically spent three days without internet."

Iranians' reaction to Russian complaints

Iranians are known for their hospitality and generous treatment of foreign guests, which is why the Russian soccer players' criticism was an astonishing affront.

Alireza Mansourian, head coach of Khuzestan's Foulad soccer team, who was reportedly present during the lead-up to and aftermath of the March 23 match, reacted to Komlichenko's grumbling in a news conference last Saturday (April 1).

"As far as I know, the Russian team left for the stadium from the hotel, and to the airport from the stadium. So how would this guy know how we live?" he asked.

"Either he's crazy, or they've told him to say these things," Mansourian added.

"We've been living with severe internet restrictions since widespread protests began in Iran in September. Some cell phones have a stronger internet connection, but most people have been using VPNs [virtual private networks]," said Ali, a soccer coach who also runs a soccer school for children in Tehran.

"Even if the internet connection in the hotel was purposely filtered, was the Russian team unaware of the regime's actions since September?" he remarked to Caravanserai.

Notes taken from Russia

Amid Tehran's isolation in the global community and its increasingly close relations with Moscow and Beijing, the Islamic Republic has implemented methods of oppression pioneered by the Soviets and the Communist Chinese.

Since the early days of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, many of the regime's means for crushing dissent, monitoring members of the public and suppressing opponents evidently stem from the notes it has taken from older dictatorships.

Most average Iranians harbour deep resentment toward Russia and China, and toward Iran's massive deals with the two countries.

Many have likened the agreements the Iranian government has reached with Moscow and Beijing to "selling Iran at a low price".

"The citizens of the country that is virtually robbing Iran and Iranians are now criticising our way of life," said a politics lecturer at an Iranian university who requested anonymity. "We have been struggling under this dictatorship for over four decades -- a dictatorship that has copied Russia's ways of suppressing its people."

"What I don't understand is why the Russian athletes complained about our food."

"I understand their complaint about pollution, as our government's priorities are misplaced and the budget allocated to combat pollution is very small," he said. "But the food is objectively good!"

"If a regular citizen had denounced the situation or way of life in Iran, the Iranian regime would've detained him. If a Westerner had done the same, we would never hear the end of it."

"However, when Russians insult Iran, Iranian officials are tight-lipped," he said.

'Country in a hole'

It is strange for Russian athletes to mock Iran, said Ulan Omorov, an employee at a store in Moscow who hails from Tokmok, Chui province, Kyrgyzstan.

"Could it be they went to Iran so they could forget, even for a while, that their country is in a hole now, so they could remember the good old days? Because now, even in Moscow, the atmosphere is depressing," he told Caravanserai.

"People don't know what future awaits them, what they should do, how to live their lives from now on, how to plan their lives," he said.

"Many want to abandon everything and leave Russia, because they don't see a future there. Yet these athletes behaved as if they had arrived from a thriving country."

Aigerim Jakasheva, a family physician at Almaty Polyclinic No. 32, said she was not surprised by the Russian athletes' disparagement of Iran.

Russians "always treat other nationalities arrogantly, like they're second-rate people", she said.

"This is especially noticeable in the case of residents of Central Asian countries, like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, who go to Russia to work. Russians who hire them clearly feel like slave owners," she said.

But the situation has changed, Jakasheva said.

"Russia has serious problems, as it is a pariah state. Life isn't sweet, so it's long past time for Russian citizens to understand they don't come from a great and successful power," she told Caravanserai.

Russia seeking Iran's help

After a war characterised by staggering Russian casualties and deficient Russian weapon performance, the Kremlin has been forced to seek assistance from Iran, making the athletes' insults even more offensive.

Moscow's reliance, under sanctions, on Iran for drones in its war on Ukraine, as well as for help filling the void that Western automakers have left in Russia, shows Russia is in a weak position, observers say.

The deployment in Ukraine of Iranian-made Shahed and Mohajer drones has given Iran an important propaganda opportunity, the Carnegie Endowment said in an October 26 report.

With all eyes on Russia, "Iran's armaments have accrued valuable attention and potential future clients, particularly from rogue regimes and sanctioned states that face difficulties in acquiring these weapons", it said.

"Today, Russia depends on Iran for many things," said Dauren Ospanov, a retired Kazakh army major and former officer in the Almaty provincial garrison.

"The vaunted Russian military-industrial complex proved itself unable to produce enough to meet the goals assigned to it in Ukraine," he said. "That's why the Russians had to ask for Iran's help."

"Iran today is in a better position than Russia is and can dictate its terms to Russia," he told Caravanserai. "When the Russians laugh at Iran, it shows they don't understand in the slightest the situation they're in."

[Kanat Altynbayev contributed to this report from Almaty.]