4 ms·

I was there a couple times and was discouraged from taking pictures in the stations. Not knowing the language, I was afraid of the warnings and didn't take too

I was there a couple times and was discouraged from taking pictures in the stations. Not knowing the language, I was afraid of the warnings and didn't take too many pics, but ... yeah, the architecture and art is extremely impressive. Unless you live there and use it every day - you probably get to a 'meh' stage at some point. I do remember pretty much no one smiling or expressing much of any emotion, and remember there being just... in my mind, enormous numbers of people. I've been in NYC and London subways, but it felt like Moscow's were just handling far more people (and it felt ... faster too, once I got the hang of reading the maps).

fjsolwmv 9y ago
In Russian culture, smiling at a stranger is considered buffoonish behavior.
- simongray 9y ago
  Not just in Russia. I found this article quite enlightening: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-and-smiling/483827/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-...
- geoka9 9y ago
  Not really, people there are just not that happy with each other.
- vbezhenar 9y ago
  People would just think that you're foreigner. Russians don't usually smile without reason, but it's not like they discourage that.
thriftwy 9y ago
People on e.g. BART don't smile. Just google "people on bart". Interestingly enough, people on Caltrain do.
ivan_gammel 9y ago
This has changed: professional photoshoots still require permission, but otherwise you can make pictures of whatever you want.
konart 9y ago
>I was there a couple times and was discouraged from taking pictures in the stations. This was changed, thakfully. Now we even have stickers on the floor which suggest where you should stand to take best picture.
- mgkimsal 9y ago
  Thanks. If I ever get back I'll do that. When I say 'discouraged', it wasn't from any workers or Russian people - it was from my host. FWIW, this was 2011, and... my host just wasn't all that sure. He defaulted to "permission" vs "forgiveness" mode in a foreign country, which was probably wise.
  - konart 9y ago
    >2011 Well, another reason might be terrorist attacks of 2010. For a time being metro was on higher alert levels.

fjsolwmv 9y ago

In Russian culture, smiling at a stranger is considered buffoonish behavior.

simongray 9y ago
Not just in Russia. I found this article quite enlightening: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-and-smiling/483827/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-...
geoka9 9y ago
Not really, people there are just not that happy with each other.
vbezhenar 9y ago
People would just think that you're foreigner. Russians don't usually smile without reason, but it's not like they discourage that.

thriftwy 9y ago

People on e.g. BART don't smile. Just google "people on bart". Interestingly enough, people on Caltrain do.

ivan_gammel 9y ago

This has changed: professional photoshoots still require permission, but otherwise you can make pictures of whatever you want.

konart 9y ago

>I was there a couple times and was discouraged from taking pictures in the stations. This was changed, thakfully. Now we even have stickers on the floor which suggest where you should stand to take best picture.

mgkimsal 9y ago
Thanks. If I ever get back I'll do that. When I say 'discouraged', it wasn't from any workers or Russian people - it was from my host. FWIW, this was 2011, and... my host just wasn't all that sure. He defaulted to "permission" vs "forgiveness" mode in a foreign country, which was probably wise.
- konart 9y ago
  >2011 Well, another reason might be terrorist attacks of 2010. For a time being metro was on higher alert levels.