Pavel Kolobkov hopes the FIFA World Cup will show off a new Russia ©Getty Images

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov has prioritised security at the Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup football events following this week's subway attack in Saint Petersburg,

Kolobkov also hopes that the events will project a better image of the country that what is projected in the Western media.

A device hidden in a briefcase triggered an explosion on the metro line on Monday (April 3), killing 14 and leaving a further 45 injured.

"When you have such a situation, you never think about sport but you think about the tragedy," Kolobkov told insidethegames at the SportAccord Convention here.

"I think that unfortunately, now all over the world, not just Russia but in many countries, awful and dangerous things are happening.

"That’s why for me, not just in Russia but all over the world, we should not let such a thing happen.

"We have a lot of very huge events in Russia, not only competitions, but huge meetings and conferences.

"I am sure that during the Confederations Cup, everything will be done in the Russian Government and Russian police to prevent such awful things happening."

Similar security fears clouded the build-up to the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi.

There were no incidents, however. 

Flowers left in honour to victims of the Saint Petersburg metro blast earlier this week ©Getty Images
Flowers left in honour to victims of the Saint Petersburg metro blast earlier this week ©Getty Images

Kolobkov hopes a similar balance will be struck once again between adequate precautions and overbearing restrictions.

"The main idea is to make 100 per cent sure on security matters," he said.

"But we should also be warm and hospitable for everybody."

There remain concerns about hooliganism following incidents involving Russian supporters at last year's European Football Championships in France. 

"Now, you know, that all the countries and towns, the beautiful Russian towns where we are organising the Confederations Cup," Kolobkov said.

"I hope it will be very interesting for fans and football visitors who come to Russia.

"It will give people an opportunity to look at Russia in a different way from how they see it in the newspapers and on TV. 

"Russia is different.

 "I know a lot of friends from all over the world, who love Moscow, Sochi, Kazan and all our other cities."

The Confederations Cup is due to take place from June 17 to July 2 across all three of these cities, as well as Saint Petersburg.

The FIFA World Cup is then scheduled for June 14 until July 15 in 2018.