FROM a boat cruising past the south bank of the Neva in St Petersburg, passing the baroque facades of the Winter Palace and the gilded dome of St Isaac’s cathedral, it can seem as if the 19th century never ended in Russia. But turn to the river’s north side and you will see something much more futuristic: Krestovsky stadium, a Japanese-designed football arena nicknamed “the spaceship”. In June and July the newly opened stadium hosted several matches of the Confederations Cup, a second-tier tournament, meant to serve as a dress rehearsal for Russia’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup next year (and, unavoidably, won by Germany’s B team). Russians are hoping the competition itself works out better than the preparations. Krestovsky stadium was completed eight years behind schedule and 540% over budget.

The scandals that have plagued the project since construction started in 2007 have made it a symbol of the corruption in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. A former vice-governor of the region has been charged with taking a $351,000 kickback to award the stadium’s lighting contract. Western newspapers report that the builders made extensive use of forced labour by North Korean workers.

Meanwhile, the building had to be redesigned. Engineers feared that a combination of heavy snow and high winds could cause the roof to fall in. The pitch was torn up and replaced after failing an inspection by FIFA, international football’s governing body. When the ground was finally finished, some players loved it: Michael Boxall, a New Zealand defender, termed it “top-notch”. Yet certain opinions in football matter more than other ones. A Portuguese forward called it “a difficult pitch where the grass was somewhat too long”; unfortunately for the Russian groundskeeper, that forward’s name was Cristiano Ronaldo.

The problems echo those of the Winter Olympics that Russia hosted in 2014 in Sochi, the cost of which eventually exceeded 1.5tn roubles ($25bn). In 2015 the regional government of Krasnodar agreed to spend a further 3bn roubles to convert its Winter Olympic stadium into a football venue by removing the roof. The job was finished five months late, and although the stadium will host some World Cup matches, no home team has been found to play there afterwards.

Mr Putin is unlikely to lose sleep over his stadiums’ bloated budgets. He is certain to be re-elected president next year. But in protests organised in June by his chief opponent, Aleksei Navalny, tens of thousands of demonstrators across the country chanted “corruption steals our future”. Mr Putin hopes the World Cup will distract Russians from corruption. Debacles like Krestovsky stadium may instead focus their attention on it.