The tournament's first game pitted the two lowest-ranked FIFA teams against one another at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium in Group A.
Russia were keen to give president Vladimir Putin and the home crowd something to cheer about and they achieved that within the opening stages.
Gazinsky rose highest to meet a cross from the left, directing his header past Abdullah Al-Mayouf and inside the left upright to give the hosts the lead.
With it, tthe defensive midfielder writes his name in the history book as the first goalscorer of the 2018 World Cup.