Section 2 of 6
The ground, and what a cold republic does to a pitch
Spartak Stadium, the winter break, and the artificial-pitch argument.
- A ground built for a different league, and keptSpartak Stadium in Nalchik held the club's top-flight years with a capacity and a layout inherited from Soviet municipal football.
- Grass does not grow to a fixture listCold-republic clubs argued for artificial surfaces because a natural pitch cannot recover between March fixtures at that altitude.
- The season stops because the ground doesThe Russian calendar carries a long winter break, and where a club sits on the map decides how long its own version of it lasts.
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