I have been visiting all different parts of Moscow lately at the most unusual hours. One evening not long ago I found myself near Elektrozavodskaya, one of the many suburban train platforms. As I was emerging from the metro, this voice drew my immediate attention:

Its owner was advertising fabulous discounts in a shop which was being liquidated. She was standing on a small rock pedestal, slowly turning around to reach the greatest possible number of potential customers.

Advertising one’s products or services in the streets is a common practice in Moscow. Megaphone-deformed voices encapsulate the passers-by on every street corner, they slowly but surely inject the public with their message, until one day one finds oneself chanting “iuristy, advokaty, besplatnye konsultacii” for no reason and absolutely against one’s will. This one lady, however, stands out from the crowd. I have never heard a street vendor so desperate to drag customers to their enterprise. The determination in the lady’s voice leaves me thinking that there was a dramatic situation behind it. I hope it was a challenge, a plan, a project, an ambition, not a lack of any essentials – and I hope that she made it. Such determination deserves recognition.


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Sounds are as important in travelling as writing or photography. You can hear all kinds of things on a fine Moscow evening. Click through to hear more.

The Flying Update

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