The train ride back to Vladimir from Moscow yesterday was one of the stranger experiences I have had in Russia. I boarded the 14:29 local train from Moscow's Kursk Station to Vladimir and found a bank of seats all to myself. This was an electrichka--a Russian suburban train. These are considered short-distance trains, although you can travel on them for several hours, and they are an uncomfortable, sometimes smelly, and not-very-pleasant way to get from place to place. You buy a ticket simply to get on the train; you don't get a reserved seat, and the train can be so packed that there aren't enough seats (I once traveled from Lukovitsi to Moscow--almost a three-hour trip--standing up because there were no seats). These trains are usually old and are pretty clunky and drafty, and a normal local train makes stops every few miles. 

Fortunately the train yesterday wasn't crowded, and I didn't have to share my bank of seats with anyone for very long. But there was a very drunk guy sitting a few rows ahead of me, and everyone in the car was giving him sidelong glances as he alternated between drunkenly cursing at the public service announcements and lying down on the bench seat. I didn't really pay him much attention and just listened to my music and looked out the window. 

But soon the conductors came around to check tickets. You have to keep your little receipt-like ticket until the end of your trip because conductors come around periodically to check and sell tickets. Some smaller train stations don't have ticket offices, so people who get on at those stations buy their tickets from the conductors. Also, it is very easy to jump fences or walk off the end of the platform to get around paying the fare at stations with ticket offices, so there is a always a whole crowd of people who try not to get caught by the conductors so they don't have to pay the fare. Anyway, when the conductors got to this drunk guy, he refused to show his ticket and started to curse out the conductors, who at first were being pretty nice. But soon they had had enough, and the train guards--big, burly guys who didn't look like someone I would want to mess with--sat the drunkard up and started to get firm with him. Then, one of the conductors lost her patience and grabbed the guy and dragged him into the area where the train doors are. 

The guy continued to be obstinate and was yelling all sorts of nasty words and daring the guards to do something, and pretty soon one of the guards lost his patience and punched the guy in the face. The guy was so drunk that he didn't seem to notice, and he shoved the guard back, which prompted the other guards to tackle him to start beating him into submission. 

At this point, the whole car's attention was focused on what was happening. An old woman started imploring the guards to stop, and several guys jumped up and helped get the situation under control. In the midst of all this chaos, someone paid the drunkard's fare, and, once he calmed down and the guards let him go, the conductors told him to sit back down, quietly finish his beer, and ride out the rest of his journey in peace, which is what he did. 

Maybe an hour later, a group a gypsies came into the car. I don't know if I have ever seen a gypsy in real life before, but this time it was obvious. I put my arm around my traveling bag and noticed that everyone else also grabbed hold of their belongings. No one made eye contact with the gypsies, and one lady firmly told a young gypsy boy to get away from her. They rode in our car for a few stops and then moved on, and, as far as I could tell, didn't steal anything or bother anyone. But I have been told many times by Russians to be extremely careful around gypsies and not under any circumstance to allow them to start a conversation with you. Russians claim that gypsies have the power to quickly hypnotize you and steal your things before you can think about it, and that certainly wasn't something I wanted to have happen. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful, although my feet froze from the frigid draft that was blowing across the floor during the whole trip. The heater on the train was very weak, and it was maybe 15F outside, so after three and a half hours of that, I was very happy to get back into a warm place. Here are a few pictures of electrichki: