Transportation in Russia

While I have talked about this before, I thought my recent trip to Russia was a good opportunity to talk about it again.

In America a car is a basic necessity--just try to get to your place of employment on a bus. If you are lucky, you might be near a bus route and your place of employment might too. But the chances are you will have a long walk at one, or both ends of your trip. Yes, I know that some large cities have adequate mass transit. Even Los Angeles has added train lines in recent years that seem to be well used--at least the train stops look busy as I drive by.  But as a general rule the US is structured around the automobile, with driving a car being a rite of passage for American teens.

Typical Parking in MoscowWhile the Russian middle class are buying more and more cars, Russia is not structured around the automobile. Parking is a big problem in all modern cities, but it is acute in Russia. The older apartments were built with the assumption that no one would have cars. The result is cars parked everywhere--on side walks, in the street that was not designed for it so one half of the car is on the dirt, and so on.

We took a boat trip on the Moscow River in Moscow. Our host was my wife's friend since grade school. He dropped us off at the boat and drove to his place of employment to park and walked back. We walked back after the ride. It took about 20 minutes. BTW, I recommend the boat trip if you are in Moscow. On my first trip to Russia I did so much walking I lost weight.

The traffic in Moscow did not seem that bad, but Igor was avoiding the heavy traffic areas as he lived very close, but not in Moscow. He also had some sort of real-time navigator with traffic information. Every trip we made could have been done on the bus system. A car is, of course, more convenient. One major factor in the convenience is the Russian winters--waiting for a bus in the winter wind can't be much fun.

Moscow City on the RiverIn my wife's home town it costs 15 rubles, 20 cents, to ride anywhere in the town one way on the bus. If for some reason you want to take a taxi, a one way trip costs 100 rubles, about $1.50. If I lived there, except for the winters, I would not want a car. Since a taxi is so cheap, I might not even want a car for the winter months. (You may have noted I said, if I lived there. This is a real possibility if I retire next year. A little goes a long way in Russia.)

Russian cities have an extensive rail system that connects most of the larger cities. From Murom to Moscow, a 4 1/2 hour trip, it costs from 450 ($7) for a seat, 800 ($12) for a sleeping car you will share with six people with upper and lower bunks in an open area, a four person cabin with more privacy will be around 2000 ($29). There are also more luxurious accommodations available that include food, a safe for money, more personal service, and a TV.

A lot of the blogosphere is concerned about an economic apocalypse. I do not agree, but I also do not think it is impossible, just unlikely. Russia is very well suited for such a scenario. They are a large energy exporter, and contrary to what you might expect, even with Ukraine being independent, Russia has been a grain exporter. Currently Russia taxes grain exports to reduce domestic costs. In Russia land seems underutilized, and many Russians grow their own food in a garden plot or at their dacha (farm house).

Russia has many economic issues, but Russian transportation is well situated for a crisis.

Next time I will talk about an interesting, and rather obscure, museum I went to on our Moscow trip.

Hazelnut Snickers

I was in Russia recently and noticed that a hazelnut Snickers double bar was at the checkout. The hazelnut added an interesting tang. The cost was 40 roubles. That is about 70 cents. In the US at a similar checkout at the store it would be around $2. I noticed that while food was more expensive in roubles than it was on my last trip, it was a lot more inexpensive in dollars due to the drop in the rouble.

Coffee was an issue for me as instant coffee is not my first choice. Instant coffee is the staple for coffee drinking in Russia. However this is more an issue of space, as the average Russian kitchen is small. But I did notice that the Russian version of Best Buy, Eldorado, had all the coffee machines one might want, including a $1200 coffee machine from Germany. The fact that Eldorado carried it meant that some Russians were buying these expensive machines. Turkish style coffee machines are also popular. 

We had the lunch special at the downtown café several times. It was 320 roubles. It began with a salad. (Think more like a three bean style salad instead of a lettuce salad.) Then I had the Spicy Georgian soup. (Think the Eurasian country next to Russia, not the American state.) Then the main entrée was cabbage rolls stuffed with ground beef. 320 roubles is $4.50. There is no sales tax and a tip is optional more than expected. Yes, you buy the bottled water, but this is really a necessity as Russian water is of varying quality. Oh, let me add that this was for both my wife and me and it included tea. This type of lunch special is called the "businessman's lunch." 

Food in Russia is of a generally better quality. Yes, the fruit and vegetables are not as pristine as an American would expect, but they are organic. The tomatoes are especially nice in the summer as the varieties are designed to be eaten locally and are not made tough genetically for transportation. It was difficult to get the exact food I wanted, but the choices were large in some areas, like deli meats. I love Russian deli meats like lamb sausage, or chicken roulette. Alas, since I was in vacation mode I ate too much of these meats. Now I must pay!

Next time I will talk about Russian transportation.

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