Hacker News Reader

Comment by tomjen3 | Hacker News Reader

That is sad, as they did post some interesting columns (the war nerd was always worth reading).

Take this as a warning: do not do business in Russia.

I always thought they had incredible longevity, and attributed that to Russia. They were a small English-language rag who made money off advertising bars - they were no threat to the powers-that-be over there (until they were). And the libel law was such that they couldn't be sued for the libelous things they wrote about the rest of the world.

Not that the matters. they were in Russia because they loved living there. Ames is one th record as hating the "beigeocracy" of America. Given a choice between living in Moscow, living the Hungry Duck years, flaming high and living large and publishing from America and lasting a few more years... I know what choice I'd make, and I guess history knows what choice they made.

Anyway - thank the heavens they lasted as long as they did, as alive as they did. Thanks for all the stuff that still trickles out now. It's more than we have any right to expect.

"Every time you come from Russia to America, you feel as if the world has stopped rotating. The feedback wail of corruption, scandal, intrigue, and murder is cranked up so high over there that America sounds like elevator music by comparison. Days go by very slowly in America, and you can waste a lot of time hoping for something to happen."

-- http://exiledonline.com/the-last-puppet-show-an-eyewitness-a...

> Take this as a warning: do not go to Russia

Fixed

But seriously, does Russia have ANY redeeming features right now besides possible tourist spots and pretty countryside?

Well, for one, some of the most brilliant coders I've ever spoken to have been in Russia.

A lot of incredible web technology we in the startup scene don't hear about comes from Russia. Unfortunately, most of it is used for spam/fraud.

I think this is the case in Russia because the odds of the government shaking you down, taking all your stuff and then throwing you in some awful prison are about the same whether what you're doing is perfectly legitimate or totally illegal.

The food, I was really surprised by the quality of restaurants in Moscow last time I went there...

No that is not accurate - Russia is no more dangerous to tourists than many other countries.

It is only when you start having money that it becomes dangerous.

Highly educated populace. Good mathematicians and engineers. Generally nice people. Rich cultural history. A pride in their culture and in being Russian that Americans don't, in my experience, have (disregarding our jingoistic biblethumpers). Tall skinny blonds if that's your thing. A more relaxed culture in terms of laws and rules than the US. Excellent, if heavy, food. Better public transport, at least in Moscow, than anywhere in the US.

Excellent public transport in Moscow??? It's so untrue, I just assume you don't live here.

The Moscow subway is cheap and as of ~ 2005, utterly reliable -- far more reliable than NYC subways. In SF, muni is a bad joke, and bart breaks every other month.

Reliable? On any given year at least one of the major stations is fully or partially closed down. Recently Park Kultury was partially closed for several months, Belorusskaya is probably going to be closed for some time next year. The latter is a very high-traffic station so maybe they will just limit its capacity by 50%. 90% of the time I go via subway, at least one escalator (they are usually in groups of two) is not working, reducing capacity by 50%, with people waiting in a huge line. Sometimes the train will just stop between the stations and stand there for anywhere between 10 minutes and half an hour. Rarely, like once in several months, some shit will happen on Filevskaya line and it will halt for several hours. Underground it's always uncomfortably warm and stuffy – both in summer and in winter. More than enough to get sweaty. The Filevskaya (surface) line, on the contrary, was very cold in the winter (maybe it's better now with the new trains, though). Passenger density of one per square foot in rush hour is also not very comfortable, and when random strangers apply considerable force to push you deeper into the train so that they can get in too, it's also not OK (and it happens in rush hour always, not once a day/week/year). The new trains are simply idiotic. They always smell bad to some extent (they probably chose overly absorbing materials for the floor), they have no place for a map (the few places that could hold it are covered with ads), so the map is posted on the window, and is remarkably unreadable because of the combination of bright white letter outline, an otherwise transparent background, and the fact that you have to lean over a sitting person to see anything unless you have perfect vision and the train is on that rare spot of railroad where the train is not tossed sideways because the tracks are so old.

And it's not cheap. One pass ticket costs nearly $1. It was cheaper to take a bus in LA where median salary is several times higher. The subway is so popular only because it's rather fast with the roads being totally jammed in rush hour (and the buses go with them since there are no dedicated bus lanes). Except for speed, pretty much anything else about Moscow subway is horrid, unless you are a tourist who values the beauty of central stations and was brought there once and in off-peak hour.

Um... if you think that's bad, all I can say is you haven't used public transport in the US. To pick just one thing -- the subway in NYC isn't air conditioned. In a city that regularly sees 80F-95F temperatures with high humidity. In the summer, the subway doesn't make you just sweaty; it makes you pour sweat out of your body. Entering the stations feels like descending the mouth of hell.

And in NYC, the subways break all the time. Like when it rains. Because, you know, that never happens in the city :rolleyes: And again, passenger density in Moscow is no greater than on the green line in NYC. Shoving is worse in NYC. And for the record, I rode the subway I'd at least 600 times.

Or in SF, it's a minor miracle when elevators and escalators work. Or when muni gets you places reasonably quickly. And you see stuff like, well, your halfwit muni driver pulling over to fire up her crack pipe. Or a banger dropping his gun down his pants. Or street trash with an odor noticeable 20 feet away physically assaulting passengers. Etc.

You'll note that in my original post, I compared it favorably to American public transport. The fact that you haven't mentioned, in two exchanges, any comparison except price in LA where Moscow is worse than American transport makes me believe you aren't aware of any. Quoting myself: "Better public transport, at least in Moscow, than anywhere in the US."

I indeed haven't seen much of US transportation, only MTA buses in LA which seemed nice (they can even carry bicycles on the outside). European subways are not perfect but totally reasonable, definitely better than Moscow. Frankly it's hard for me to imagine that most public transit in the US is worse than in Moscow. I'll have to see it to believe it, hope will be able soon :)

I've had problems with Muni, but uh, nothing ever that bad. The bigger beef for me is that on most bus routes, from A to B less than a mile, you can outwalk the bus.

Lots and LOTS of delicious crepes, everywhere you go!

It's par for the course in most of the world that an alien loudly mouthing off about politics will be run out of town. There are probably less than ten countries where that's not the case.

The War Nerd is hit and miss. The article on carriers from a couple years ago is so stupid and uninformed I'm not sure how seriously to take anything else.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com