Russian subway kiosks and childhood memories
Over at the ru_metro community, a member who goes by fabelos reported that the Moscow subway is preparing to take out a whole bunch of kiosks to to make way for security checkpoints
I've never been to Muscow Metro, but growing up, the merchandise tables and kiosks in St Petersburg Metro were a big part of my childhood experience. When the Soviet Union collapsed, a lot of people tried to take advantage of millions of people using subways every day to sell newspapers, books, jewelry... just about everything under the sun, really. From what I understand, kiosks aren't as widespread in St. Petersburg Metro as they used to be, so I'm grateful that, when I last visited Russia back in 2006, tweelore got to see it in all its glory.
(In one of the funniest moments in our entire trip, she tried to buy a Russian version of Playboy at a newsstand in Gostinyi Dvor station. She chickened out at the last moment, and I wound up buying one of the Sergey Lukyanenko books).
My first reaction when reading this post was outrage. Growing up in Russia, you become skeptical of law enforcement agencies' ability to protect anything, and kiosks are pretty useful. My outrage died down somewhat once I realized it was in Moscow, because, well, at least it wasn't my home city... But still.
Maybe the security checkpoints will do some good. Given the events in Volgograd, I don't blame the subway system that serves the Russian capital for being a bit paranoid. But the part of me that remembers 1990s Russia still can't help but wonder just how helpful it would be.
After I read this piece, I tried to look up what's going on with subway kiosks in St. Petersburg. Couldn't find any information on kiosks in the subway specifically.
If any of my Russian readers know, please feel free to chime in (и не обязательно по английски. Можно и по русски.)
It's probably silly to get sentimental about subway kiosks. But sentimental I am. They were part of my childhood. It's where my grandfather bought me toys. It's where my grandpa bought me toys and treats. And while some of them, let's be honest, were a bit shady... it's sad to see a part of your childhood vanish.
I've never been to Muscow Metro, but growing up, the merchandise tables and kiosks in St Petersburg Metro were a big part of my childhood experience. When the Soviet Union collapsed, a lot of people tried to take advantage of millions of people using subways every day to sell newspapers, books, jewelry... just about everything under the sun, really. From what I understand, kiosks aren't as widespread in St. Petersburg Metro as they used to be, so I'm grateful that, when I last visited Russia back in 2006, tweelore got to see it in all its glory.
(In one of the funniest moments in our entire trip, she tried to buy a Russian version of Playboy at a newsstand in Gostinyi Dvor station. She chickened out at the last moment, and I wound up buying one of the Sergey Lukyanenko books).
My first reaction when reading this post was outrage. Growing up in Russia, you become skeptical of law enforcement agencies' ability to protect anything, and kiosks are pretty useful. My outrage died down somewhat once I realized it was in Moscow, because, well, at least it wasn't my home city... But still.
Maybe the security checkpoints will do some good. Given the events in Volgograd, I don't blame the subway system that serves the Russian capital for being a bit paranoid. But the part of me that remembers 1990s Russia still can't help but wonder just how helpful it would be.
After I read this piece, I tried to look up what's going on with subway kiosks in St. Petersburg. Couldn't find any information on kiosks in the subway specifically.
If any of my Russian readers know, please feel free to chime in (и не обязательно по английски. Можно и по русски.)
It's probably silly to get sentimental about subway kiosks. But sentimental I am. They were part of my childhood. It's where my grandfather bought me toys. It's where my grandpa bought me toys and treats. And while some of them, let's be honest, were a bit shady... it's sad to see a part of your childhood vanish.