Big day for transport nerds: it’s the final day of the Moscow Monorail before it shuts down for good. I’ve ridden it before and it was completely empty, like a romantic ride where every couple gets their own pod. Today, the city’s come out to give it a send-off. Прощай, легенда!

ah shit, here we go again

May holidays at the dacha only mean one thing: manual labour

Crazy situation in my housing complex in Moscow that shows the downsides of smart tech. The internet has been down for 24 hours. That would be fine, but the gates to the complex are internet activated, and the doors are opened with an app (or face), so nobody can get in! Madness

Christmas Tree ➡️ Chinese New Year Tree ➡️ Maslenitsa Tree

77 million people voted for this guy

Looks like COVID and then the war have been the death knell for Moscow’s Izmailovo Market. The last time I was here in 2019, every stall was open, and the place was full of foreign tourists.

Chinese New Year in Moscow, with fake terracotta warriors

Moscow is repurposing its Christmas trees for Chinese New Year by wrapping dragons and snakes around them

the perfect t-shirt to fit my very small niche

Party in Sokolniki

Always an honour to be invited to the British Ambassador’s residence in Moscow

Moscow in the snow

Always interesting to bump into some fellow Brits abroad in a Russian cemetery

Paying my respects to the man responsible for my weight gain over the Russian holidays

туманный питер

I absolutely love watching PandaSakha, the Instagram/YouTube channel showing life and cooking in -55 degrees in Yakutia, Russia

I love train rides in the Russian winter

First walk of 2025 around snowy St. Petersburg

Anyone want a Khrushchevka, Brezhnevka or Stalinka construction set?

Indoctrinating one Russian kid at a time 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

At my partner’s New Year party, the opening conversation is about a relative who died in Ukraine. The entire village is knocking on their door asking for money. The village is small, poor, and not Russian-speaking. The family received $30k after his death, which is a huge sum.

Bluesky, I’m looking for book recommendations I’d like to read a non-fiction book on Russian history (any period), written in Russian. It should be available for purchase in Russia today, but not filled with nonsense or propaganda. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Christmas dinner made by chef @kotelnaya.bsky.social in Moscow

⬅️ New Year decorations outside Gorky Park in December 2022 ➡️ Today, same location, December 2024 Massive difference. Nothing war-related at all this year.

This evening I went on a walk through the centre of Moscow and noticed that the army recruitment billboards, posters and benches seem to have totally disappeared overnight It seems like they’ve been replaced by Moscow city government ads for events over the festive period

Red Square market 🎄

First week of December in Moscow and it’s still above zero with no snow. Feels like Lancashire in January

Very Lancashire weather in St. Petersburg today ☔️

12 years after construction began, the Lakhta Centre in St. Petersburg - the tallest skyscraper in Europe - is finally open to the public. Based on my experience today, it has become the city’s new popular photoshoot spot.

Ice skating season has started in St. Petersburg

Just walked past this strange billboard in central Moscow showing ‘Xi Jinping’s Favourite Phrases’ This one says “Delicious soup is cooked by combining different ingredients”

Nobody loves American-style consumer capitalism more than the Russians

Christmas decorations starting to be put up around Moscow

Inflation in Russia is outpacing the depreciation of the ruble, so we’re at a point where even the most ignorant Western expat will start to feel the insane price rises we’re seeing here 10,000 RUB basket in 2023 is now 12,800 RUB Even with the fall of the ruble, that’s grown from $112 to $128

finally, social media I don't need a VPN for

Looking for recommendations for good Russia-focused starter packs 👋