--- Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> wrote:
>
> Part of the reason is the absence of junk food -
> this stuff is usually
> wrapped and the wrapper discarded when the item is
> consumed. For example,
> in the Soviet times, the Russians used soda
> dispensers with an actual glass
> that was washed after each use (subject of derision
> by many yanks).
>
Au contraire, Russians eat lots of fast food. There are around 40 McDonald's in Moscow and lots of other places too. And young people litter like mad. Their elders might tut them about it on the street, but the likely response would be to mutter "mudak," turn up the headphones and walk on. Just last week we had our first real thaw, which I like to call the "Garbage bloom" because all the detritus previously covered in snow comes to light, largely beer bottles.
I think the reason for the metro's cleanliness is mainly that every station contains a police substation, so there are usually at least one or teo cops in sight. This is probably why you _do_ see litter inside the cop-free metro wagons.
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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