Komsomolsk-on-Amur

And it was good to learn that it really does take eight hours to fly from one side of Russia to the other. But it was also like taking a trip in a time machine: Komsomolsk has endured various time periods – the ‘30s, the ‘50s and the ‘80s, and still shows signs of all of them.

"Dedicated to the young members of the Komsomol"

It’s worth mentioning that this trip broke all records for the quantity of unsmoked cigarettes. All flights are now non-smoking. Smoking in the theater and at art exhibitions was also not allowed, and that’s where we were spending a substantial amount of our time. But what amazed me the most was that most of the cafes and restaurants in Komsomolsk were non-smoking!

"Our town is decorated with honors."

We had to smoke in the street. A few of the places actually had special smoking sections, but they were pretty dubious; the smoking area in a Komsomolsk restaurant is a separate room that looks a lot like a prison cell, with a typical prison toilet for the cigarette butts.

I had only ever seen this kind of tram in magazines. Note the shape of the pantograph.

Aside from this, the people in this far eastern region of Russia are very pleasant. They speak without any accent or dialect, either. But this is understandable, since they used to send a lot of educated people into exile there. Today they manufacture “SU” fighter planes in the city. They also quietly produce submarines.

The smoking area in a Komsomolsk restaurant is a separate room that looks a lot like a prison cell, with a typical prison toilet for the cigarette butts.

At the end of the day shift at the factory, streams of people flowed from the factory exit to their homes. The marketplace and bus stops were right nearby – a quiet life, to be sure. Then, suddenly, with a great roar, a fighter jet flew right over everyone’s heads. Apparently this was normal, because were the only ones who looked up.

They don't build memorials like this anywhere else.

"Use [of toilet] requires payment. No discounts." These fonts became obsolete at the end of the last century.

While you are in Komsomolsk, you kind of loose your connection with Moscow. But Moscow is still with you. The time difference, for example, is not addressed at all. Moscow time is indicated on all train tickets in Russia. If you are taking a train from Komsomolsk to Khabarovsk, you need to add seven hours to the time indicated on the tickets. It’s outrageous.

From Komsomolsk to Khabarovsk and then home.

-Artemy Lebedev