Last summer the world’s greatest football tournament saw thousands of fans head to Russia to watch 32 nations compete to be world champions. It was an opportunity photojournalist Peter Dench could not resist and so he set out across the country on the Trans-Siberian Railway, travelling more than 5,000 miles in seven days.
Ahead of Peter’s work going on show in London, we look back at a few of the pictures taken during his journey.
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Peter Dench
On the station platform at Belogorsk, Amur Oblast, a golden statue of Lenin gestures towards the Trans-Siberian railway
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Peter Dench
Dench’s cabin-mate for start of the journey, Toni, a FC Rostov football fan who works in the Russian army
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Peter Dench
A Russian fan at the Moscow Fifa Fan Fest located at Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) with a venue capacity of 25,000
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Peter Dench
A fan outside the Fan Fest looks down the hill, directly towards Luzhniki Stadium and the city of Moscow
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Peter Dench
Football fans with makeshift sunshades
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Peter Dench
Danish fans drink beer and sing in central Moscow ahead of their match with France
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Peter Dench
A woman sells smoked fish to passengers on the platform at Barabinsk, during a short stop
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Peter Dench
A young woman sitting in third class
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Peter Dench
Two Russian soldiers pose for a picture during another short stop
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Peter Dench
A man and a baby try to cope with the heat during their journey
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Peter Dench
A 50-minute stop at Omsk station allows passengers to buy supplies for their journey
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Peter Dench
Army recruits play cards in a third-class carriage
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Peter Dench
Time to stretch the legs again and perhaps phone home during another short stop
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Peter Dench
Passengers asleep in a second-class cabin on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian World Cup by Peter Dench can be seen at the After Nyne Gallery in Holland Park, London, from 31 January to 5 February 2019.
All photographs copyright Peter Dench.