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MOSCOW, July 20 (Reuters) New Russia coach Guus Hiddink got his first taste of the job by making a whistle-stop tour of the capital this week.+ The Dutchman began his 2-1/2-year stint as Russia's first foreign manager by visiting the Russian FA headquarters and meeting fellow coaches, the national team's staff and officials.

Accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, Hiddink also toured famous Moscow landmarks such as the Kremlin and Red Square.

He even had time to make a quick trip to St Petersburg to watch local side Zenit take on Russian champions CSKA Moscow in a key premier league encounter yesterday.

Everywhere he went, Hiddink was followed by a horde of reporters, photo and television cameras.

''Moscow is a great city, the only problem seems to be these huge traffic jams. It's just a nightmare,'' he said.

President of the Russian Football Union Vitaly Mutko told Reuters: ''It was purely a business visit.

''Of course, he couldn't resist the opportunity to see two of our top clubs in action, meet some of the players, feel the atmosphere. We also had to look for a suitable residence for Guus and his family, opening a bank account for him and so on.'' According to media reports, Hiddink will earn close to $3 million per year and Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, who was responsible for luring the Dutchman to Russia, will also help to pay his salary.

Hiddink guided relative newcomers Australia to the second round of the World Cup in Germany. Previously he led the Netherlands and South Korea to the semi-finals.

Hiddink left Russia today and will return to Moscow next month to prepare for the European championship qualifiers.

Russia, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, open their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign by hosting Croatia on September. 6.

REUTERS DH RK1631