Yearly Archives: 2018

Ghost stations of the Kiev Metro

Hidden beneath the streets of Kiev, Ukraine is something unusual – a trio of unused metro stations that see train pass through, but never stop. Львiвська Брама (Lvivska Brama) Львiвська Брама (Lvivska Brama) is the best known of the three […]

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What do Russians finance at payday lenders?

Following on from a previous post on a clever advertisement from a payday lender in Nizhny Novgorod, this advert from ТФБ-Займъ (TFB-Zaim) has another oddball list of reasons to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates. I can understand car repairs, […]

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Roadside billboards in Russia

You’ve got to hand it to Russia – decades of communism haven’t affected their ability to get people to buy useless crap, if these billboards along the Volga River in Nizhny Novgorod are anything to go by. ‘High returns’ from […]

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‘Exit via the gift shop’ at the Church of the Savior on Blood

Exiting via the gift shop is something you expect to do at a museum – but what about at a church? However when I paid a visit to the Church of the Savior on Blood in Saint Petersburg, that is […]

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«Саквояж СВ» – inhouse magazine of the Russian Railways

Inflight magazines are a common sight whenever you fly, but the Russian Railways also have give their passengers something to read on long train journeys – inhouse magazine «Саквояж СВ». «Саквояж» is the Russian word for a leather travel bag […]

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Sochi construction before the 2014 Winter Olympics

My visit to Sochi was during the leadup to the 2014 Winter Olympics, so the city was in a state of flux. Cranes soared into the sky. As new apartment blocks took shape. As well as new hotels. Adding to […]

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Builder’s plates on Russian-built trains

A builder’s plate indicates who built a particular piece of machinery, as well as the the model number, serial number, and date of manufacture. Here are some examples from the rolling stock of the railways of Russia and Ukraine. ЭД4МК […]

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Ice fishing across Russia

As I travelled by train across Russia in the middle of winter, there was one thing I saw on every river I passed over – people going ice fishing. They drive down to their local river. Then tramp across the […]

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Setting sail on the Railklipper

What happens when you send a train out to sea? You get the Railklipper – a vessel built by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) in 2005 to celebrate the country’s maritime history. Photo by Edwtie, via Wikimedia Commons Dutch-language Wikipedia has […]

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Sacrificial buffer stops at Munich Hauptbahnhof

Across Europe a common theme at major railway stations is dead end platform tracks ending at buffer stops, with the main passenger concourse behind. But there was one thing I didn’t realise – sometimes the buffer stops are designed to […]

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