Away from the World Cup, the secret lives of goalposts

Children play with a puppy near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian settlement of Novosyolovo, Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Never mind Russia's state of the art World Cup stadiums, Reuters photographers have been capturing the eclectic settings of communities' spartan goalposts and pitches.

The sometimes ramshackle goalposts were photographed in Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, giving a glimpse of life away from the fervour of a tournament that will be watched by fans from around the world.

Young Russians do pull-ups from the crossbar and run around on pitches in the shadow of golden onion domes, old Soviet concrete walls and modern high-rises.

A man rides a horse near a goalpost in the village of Bolshaya Dzhalga in Stavropol region, Russia, March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

Locals also find alternative uses for the rusty, netless posts that have seen better days. One man ties his goat to the upright, children take a dog for a walk, and a man gallops past another on horseback.

For the photo essay, click on https://reut.rs/2snVfV0

A dog stands near a goalpost in Ryazantsevo settlement in Yaroslavl region, Russia, May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

(Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)

A boy rides a bicycle near a goalpost in Yevpatoria, Crimea, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A goalpost in a yard of a Stalin-era high-rise building in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2018. Picture taken using long exposure and freeze light. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

A goalpost stands in the village of Zhuravli, Crimea, May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A goalpost stands in Sevastopol, Crimea, May 19, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A goalpost stands in the village of Lesnovka, Saksky district, Crimea, May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A boy rides a gyro-scooter near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian town of Divnogorsk, Russia, April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

People and dogs walk near a goalpost on the Ostrov Otdykha (the Island of Rest), located in the middle of the Yenisei River in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

A boy hangs from a goalpost in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

A man runs near goalposts on a football pitch in a settlement in Stavropol region, Russia, May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

A participant is seen through a goalpost during an amateur football tournament at a stadium made from straw and named Zenit Arena, in the settlement of Krasnoye in Stavropol region, Russia, July 22, 2017. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

A goalpost stands in the village of Pribrezhnoye, Saksky region, Crimea, May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A goalpost stands in the town of Dolgoprudny in the Moscow region, Russia, April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Hay fills a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania, Russia, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

Children play at a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania, Russia, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko

Self-made goalposts stand on a soccer pitch in Verkhnyaya Biryusa village, located in the Taiga area near the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

A car is seen through a goalpost while driving along a road in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo, Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin