Vignette: Waiting in Russia

#1 wanted us to have the full Russian experience. He knew that we enjoyed taking trains, so he suggested that we take the train to & from St. Petersburg from Moscow. He made reservations for us to take the night train up, but for variety of experience, we would take the fast train back in the middle of the day. He was of the opinion that train transportation is one of Russia’s bright points, particularly the night train. 

He was right. The night cars are luxurious complete with nice bathroom facilities. The breakfast is decent with fresh-brewed hot tea or coffee. Night trains have young female train attendants who perform a similar role as flight attendants; in addition to checking tickets and passports, they see to the comfort of passengers. We ate breakfast as we approached St. Petersburg. We got off the train and found our hotel, the Ibis without a hitch.

The day train had other advantages. We could look out and take in the countryside, plus it was really fast. When we flew into Moscow, we were surprised that the sprawling  metropolis was surrounded by virgin land. That is, there were forests and green spaces, but no evidence of farming, livestock, and typical rural infrastructures.  Our vision out of the large train windows only confirmed that the hinterlands are pretty fallow. They are woodsy and green, with a sprinkling of old houses. The stops were few, but around lesser cities are the usual dreary & unsightly high-rise government-built housing. We were not surprised to find frequent ruins of now deserted factories. These present day eyesores were typically placed near a railroad line.* 

(You might be thinking that this vignette is about trains, but, as you’ll note, in fact you are “waiting.”)

Notice the black arrival and departure screens which orient the "Waiting Room."

We arrived in Moscow sooner than we thought & called #1 who had lent us a cell phone for the duration of our stay. He, too, was thinking we would be coming in later. He said he would be at the train station in a short hour, and for us to wait for him in the large waiting room. He said that we couldn’t miss it, “You know, the one you crossed when you took your night train.” Well, actually, I’m afraid that part of our station-crossing went by without a notice. JJ & I were following the leader, & were merely concerned with getting on our night train and doing things right. What we never noticed was now of concern to us. If it was so obvious why in the world didn’t we remember it? “You know, he said, “It’s has a gigantic marble bust of Lenin right in the middle.” Now, how come that didn’t compute when we passed through? Oh well…

We trudged from the quay toward the station central with our belongings. Sure enough, we entered a long, neon-lighted, rectangular room. Oh law! How could I have missed such a sight. I apologize, I do, but I couldn’t contain my laughter.** This room gave the compound noun “waiting room” a whole new meaning. The space was about 125 feet in width, about 200 feet in length, & maybe 20 feet high. This cavernous room was filled front to back with even rows of travelers sitting in perfunctory, linked, metal-frame chairs five together. With their motley bags (because Russians tend to travel with all manner of old-style sacks and suitcases), every chair was taken by waiting travelers. They were peaceably facing the large black screens announcing train arrivals and departures. 


Since all we had to do was wait for #1 to meet us, we had time to observe the waiting ritual. We counted there were 24 rows of chairs, all occupied by170 waiters. A space and a rock garden around Lenin’s enormous, raised white marble bust was situated about two thirds back, and beyond were the remainder of rows filled with more patient travelers. But, on close observance we noticed that there were waiters along the sides of the rows who were invited to take a seat when a traveler vacated. Hence, there was imperceptible movement, a quiet game of musical chairs. As previously mentioned, elders had priority and exercised it, with mothers and children next in line. JJ & I were not old enough to get special treatment. I have never seen such an organized waiting room, nor such disciplined waiters. There was very little conversation & no smiling. Waiting in Russia is serious business.  

* #4 says I must explain why we were shocked by the wilderness surrounding cities in Russia. It is because all of the countries we fly over, or drive in are covered with planted fields and pastures of livestock. The forests in western Europe are rare & must be government protected from being gobbled up by human development. Russia imports most of its food & exports oil. While Germany imports a fair amount of food, its varied exports far exceed imports. Even then, the last time we were in Germany, we were amazed at how quickly the east Germans had cultivated fields and re-established cornerstones of industry. Russia needs desperately to re-establish its agriculture which was wiped out by Stalin's collectivization.

** A beautiful young Russian woman was standing under Lenin and waiting. She saw me laughing uncontrollably & asked me why in very good English. When I told her that I had never seen such a waiting room, she said, "Well, maybe they wanted the waiting room to resemble a train, with passengers all in a row, facing the same way." Even though, as we conversed I could tell that she had been out of Russia quite a bit, I still think she secretly thought my sense of humor was slightly bizarre. 

#4 advised to make this photo smaller. Be sure to note the statue of Lenin far back. The photo doesn't give a very good idea of how big it was, nor all the rows of seats behind it.