Russian Cottage Industries

While the elite of the Babuskas can find themselves gainfully employed overseeing a room in one of the Russian state's many museums, the rank and file of Babushkas can be found toting any number of wares and services on the streets of Russian cities.

Here in Moscow for instance there aren't any public toilets (you might have thought that the Soviets might have established toilets for the working masses, but no) and as a result it's common to see a row of portaloos in the street with a Babushka in the end one charging a small fee for the use of them.

I was discussing with some other travellers as to how we thought this worked. Does for example the Babushka have to make the capital investment for the portaloos and rent the land, or is there a company who owns the outfit who employs the Babushka? The answer we do not yet know, but seeing Babushkas selling everything from a random selection of books to a more organised magazine rack to last night overseeing a machine that took your weight and height and probably told you in the typically forthright Russian manner whether you are a fat bastard or not.

It'll be interesting to see whether the ubiquity of the Babushkas will extend beyond the major cities or not, but one thing's for sure they're absolutely inseparable from the daily running of life in St Petersburg and Moscow.