When I was growing up in Italy, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many people started believing in an urban legend that, as it is most often the case, proved to be completely phony. The legend said that if you were to hang a CD on a piece of string from your inside rearview... Continue Reading →
I've always been fascinated (and a bit shocked, at first) to see how Russian cities still have active power plants right in the middle of the city, often in nice, upscale, residential neighborhoods. This is not a case of a city "growing around" industrial buildings that were, once, in the outskirts or even in the... Continue Reading →
Before moving to Russia, I had lived in a number of different countries for extended periods of time, but my first impression was that I had never seen such a stark contrast between poverty and wealth as I have here. In other parts of the world the classes tend to "mix less" and this contrast... Continue Reading →
Russia can undoubtedly be a wonderfully inexpensive holiday destination (see also my previous post on the price of medicine in Russia). The country's largest cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg in particular, offer a huge choice in prices for lodging and eating. For hotels it might be sometimes less than advisable to choose the cheapest option... Continue Reading →
Imagine you have a clothing store on a central street in a medium-sized Russian city, (about half a million people). Of course you want the maximum possible number of people to see the clothes you sell, in the hope they will like them and come to buy them from you. Your clothes range from business... Continue Reading →
Tea is the national beverage of Russia (ok, vodka, as well...) and tea is an important part of Russian culture, to the point that some Russian language expressions are closely tied to the hot drink. "Let's drink some tea", for instance, is a classic way of saying "we should talk..." or even, depending on the... Continue Reading →
One of the biggest culture shocks I've had in Russia is the (almost) complete absence of recycling. The only recycling I've found prior to 2017 was a series of small volunteer-based (I believe) organizations that leave containers outside of building entrances to collect batteries and then come and take away on a semi-regular basis. After... Continue Reading →
So, it would seem that Russian pizza chains don't watch Dr. Sheldon Cooper's "Fun with flags" (from the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory), but they should. Let me tell you how I came to that conclusion. A little while ago I was taking some pictures (no surprise there) around Moscow's Kremlin and the Red... Continue Reading →
I have wanted to write about this for a while, but for a long time I didn't know whether finding caviar in a fast food was more of a culture shock (it certainly was!) or a travel tip (certainly worth following!). In the end I decided it was definitely both and so I put this... Continue Reading →
Russia Through The Lens 