Car Stories from Russia
By James R. Salazar

I expected to see many Ladas and Volga’s in Russia and maybe a few German cars. Imagine my surprise when I saw so many German cars driving around St. Petersburg and Moscow. I even saw some of Moscow's "Road Inspectors" driving 5-Series BMWs!

The most interesting thing was the number of dark blue or black BMWs and Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows and a small blue light sitting atop of the roof. I asked about these cars and I was told these were supposed to be "special". Basically, they were official cars or escorts and the lights gave them special privileges in traffic. But, for $1,000 you can buy a blue light for your car and be special, too, and most of those cars running around town with the blue light fell in this category (there was no doubt many were Russian Mafia staff cars).

Blue light specials aside, there are many other expensive German cars driving around Russia. Some of these cars were legally purchased in Russia or abroad. But I am told that many more were stolen cars that were brought in from Germany and elsewhere. In a typical arrangement, if the car is not stolen outright from, say Germany, the owner is paid a small sum for his car and told to wait three months before reporting the car stolen. This gives the new owners time to get the cars to Russia and to have all the paperwork done. After three months, the original owner reports the car stolen and collects the insurance. One of our e-mail list members living in Russia tells me that there are so many stolen cars from abroad in Moscow's impound that there is no more room for other cars to be brought in. If the police pull you over and discover you are driving a stolen car from Germany (for example), they may simply stamp your paperwork saying the car is stolen and send you on your way (this way you are not delayed too long in the future!).

If you are wondering why the insurance companies have not reclaimed these cars, it is quite simple: it is too expensive. And if you are thinking about going into business reclaiming these cars for the insurance companies and transporting them back, remember, you will probably be stepping on someone's toes (namely, the Russian Mafia) and you don't want to do that!

Other memorable (car) moments:
Flying down Nevsky Prospect in a Volga taxi that reeked of gasoline, all the time worried my cabby would light up a cigarette.

In St. Petersburg, sticking my hand out to signal a taxi to stop and hearing the screech of several cars coming to a stop, all offering a ride. But these are private cars or what one of my Russian friends calls "Gypsy taxis". These cars could be just about anyone you can think of: a mother and her kids on the way to the market or someone else on his/her way to work or to run an errand. If they see you waiting for a ride they will stop and ask you where you are going. If you are on their way or if you are going somewhere that could be profitable for them, they will negotiate a price. How safe are they? They seem to be relatively safe for both men and women - for both passengers and drivers. (By the way, regardless of what you have heard, I found Russia to be very safe, especially compared to our cities.)

A foggy Sunday morning and a drive to Peterhoff in another Volga. At an intersection, all traffic was forced to stop and wait for a caravan of trucks with radiation signs painted all over them to pass. A few minutes later our taxi catches up with the trucks and its police escort. But they are driving much too slow for my driver. We come up to the rear police Lada from the left and I start to wonder if my driver is really thinking about passing the going to try to pass the caravan and if the policeman is going to allow him to. Yes, my driver is going to try to pass the policeman (who has been watching us in his mirrors) and it looks like he is going to let us pass - I am surprised by this. Then, at the very last second the policemen cuts us off, forcing my driver to slam on the brakes. I can't help but laugh. I watch as the same policemen does this to several other cars - he obviously enjoys his job.

I noted that many streets did not have lanes painted but what was more interesting was the flow of traffic in these streets: the direction with the most traffic gets most of the road. For example, lets say a street is wide enough for four lanes. It is Friday evening and everyone is west-bound and leaving the city. There is hardly any east-bound traffic so the west-bound traffic takes three or even four of the lanes. If a car appears heading in the opposite direction, they make room for him.

Side note (as told to me by Russia guide): "It has been concluded that Adam and Eve were Russian. You may be surprised to read this but who else but a Russian would consider a place with just one apple to be Paradise." It is nice to know that Russians have a sense of humor.