Hundreds of thousands of fans from have been in the capital for weeks and their presence has helped produce a laissez-faire attitude which may not prevail

‘The celebrating has finished,” said a Russian police officer, curtly, to a drunk reveller who was trying to make his way to the bars of Nikolskaya Street through a police barricade in the early hours of Tuesday. “We have an order not to let anyone pass.”

Just as thousands of England fans arrive in Moscow, the city’s long World Cup party seems to be winding down. With only two games left in Moscow – England’s semi-final against Croatia on Wednesday and the final on Sunday – most of the hundreds of thousands of fans who were based in the city or passing through for a few days, have left the country.

Nikolskaya, the pedestrianised street that runs between Red Square and Lubyanka Square, home of the headquarters of the KGB, now the FSB, has been the unofficial party hub of the World Cup. The street events have been the heart of a city and country that has met hundreds of thousands of visiting fans with a warm welcome, for the period of the tournament at least.

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On any given night during the first two weeks, large groups of fans could be found drinking, dancing and singing in the street, which was often tightly packed. The atmosphere was mainly jovial and policing was minimal. People bought food and drink from shops and cafes, and there were some enterprising Brazilians who sold cans of beer out of rucksacks. All of this was ignored by police, despite the fact drinking in public is illegal in Russia.

Despite the police officer’s curt admonishment, there was still drinking and merriment on Nikolskaya on Monday night, it was just that police had sealed off all the exits but one, and people had to take long detours to get on to the street. The party street still has some life in it yet but there is no doubting the mood is very different to the ecstatic evenings of the early part of the tournament.

Gone, are the cosmopolitan masses from across the globe. This World Cup has been notable for the huge numbers of visitors from North and South America, with tens of thousands of Peruvians, Colombians, Mexicans, Argentinians and Brazilians all making the journey.

It was they, rather than European fans, who gave Nikolskaya its atmosphere, along with surprisingly large travelling contingents of Morocco and Tunisia fans, as well as a sprinkling of Panamanians and Costa Ricans. They all brought flags, costumes and in many cases music to Nikolskaya Street, which resembled a carnival of nations most nights. With the semi-finals an all-European affair, most of these fans have gone home.

On Tuesday morning, there were occasional echoes of how it had been before: a group of around 20 Argentinians singing and dancing, a few Moroccans with a drum, a smattering of England fans, and hundreds of Russians, strolling and drinking. But the street now feels like a once-popular nightclub that has stayed open for a bit too long.

Shortly after 1am a fight broke out on the street as three men assaulted a fourth. Police intervened and marched off the offenders, while medics appeared and treated the victim’s bleeding head. After about 20 minutes he walked off with police accompaniment, a large slick of blood remaining on the pavement. All involved were Russian.

At one bar close to the Red Square end of Nikolskaya, a group of around 20 England fans were drinking, with occasional chants of “It’s Coming Home” emerging from inside. Outside, they discussed their strategy for the next few days. Most had already got hold of semi-final tickets but were wary of laying down well in excess of £1,000 apiece for tickets for Sunday’s final until they knew England would definitely be there.

In the coming days, Nikolskaya is likely to be the hub for England fans, either celebrating a win on Wednesdayand their first World Cup final since 1966, or drowning their sorrows.

After that, the question remains of whether the World Cup will change Moscow for ever, or whether things will go back to normal when it leaves town. In a video that went viral from earlier in the tournament, a man approached a police officer on the street and asked him whether it would be possible to drink and party in the streets like this when there was no World Cup on.

“If you’re a foreigner, yes, they’re allowed everything. For Russians, no,” said the officer, only half-jokingly.