Kaliningrad greets Universiade Torch as it reaches Russia's western extreme

The 27th Summer Universiade Flame was delivered to Russia's Western border last night on an airplane from Yekaterinburg. Kaliningrad is the ninth city on the Universiade Torch's epic journey on Russian soil. Oleg Kosenkov, the Minister of Sport of the Kaliningrad Region, met the Universiade Flame at the airport in Kaliningrad.

The Kaliningrad leg of the Torch Relay will begin at 12pm local time. The length of the route measures more than 4 kilometres. Traditionally, Torchbearers are famous athletes, officials, representatives of the 2013 Summer Universiade's partner companies and, of course, university students; all in all, 32 people. Together they will carry the Torch through the most historically and socially significant places in the city. Among them are the Memorial Ensemble to Sailors of the Baltic Sea, the Kaliningrad Academy of Arts, Zakkhaimsky Gates, the Royal Gates, the monument to Marshal Vasilievsky and others.

Aleksey Silanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kaliningrad Region, gave the following comment on the Universiade Torch Relay's route: "The Torch Relay in Kaliningrad is unique in the fact that it is connected to the past, the present, and the future of our city. The ceremony's starting line is in front of the cathedral where the great philosopher Immanuel Kant is buried, аnd finishes at the Federal Baltic University. The interest and enthusiasm with which the university has participated in organising the Universiade Torch Relay, a grand student celebration, means that new student traditions are born in our country. I would also like to add that Kaliningrad is a sports enclave of Russia where matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held just as they will be in Kazan."

The finish line of the Universiade Torch Relay in Kaliningrad will be on the territory of the Federal Baltic University, one of the largest universities in Russia. The ceremony of lighting the City Cauldron will also take place here.

To date, the 2013 Summer Universiade Flame has already been to Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Volgograd, Tyumen, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg as part of the Russian leg of the Torch Relay. Immediately after Kaliningrad, the Universiade Flame will be taken to Arkhangelsk.