Moscow size and sociality

Moscow is a very large city, where the population of Moscow proper is nearly as large as all of Kazakhstan. Registered population of Moscow is about 10.5 million people, with estimates of unregistered residents (read illegal immigrants) anywhere between 2 and 4 million people. The total population of Kazakhstan is 16 million people. Moscow is very large. Despite the fact that the majority of the population lives in apartment buildings all around, the diameter of the city is about 40 kilometers. The city has an extensive metro network, a number of trams, buses and mini-buses and it's streets are permanently full of traffic. Because of the size and the problems with traffic, it is essentially impossible to get anywhere in Moscow on time by car. You either get there very early or very late. The more relevant alternative is Metro, which functions just as well as it did during the Soviet times and is relatively cheap (a single costs about a dollar, but can come down to about 50 cents if you buy more than one ride at a time).

Metro in Moscow is nothing short of spectacular - the Soviets were trying to make a statement as they built the Metro as an expression of nationalism and communist might as well as a transport and a bomb-shelter system. The older stations are very grand, with statues and ornate ceilings, mosaics and gorgeous plaster work. The newer stations are a bit more sparse, but still beautiful. Despite the efficiency of this form of transport and its reach, getting from one end of Moscow to another will take about 2 hours. This has a huge effect on how people socialize here. They plan occasional meetings, where everyone heads out to "nature" but generally this is all about calling each other up and seeing whether you are in the same area and have time for a quick coffee. people also develop relationships with others who live nearby and they maintain those relationships until they move. Many of those do not survive moves because the distance precludes in-person interactions and the whole point of those relationships was in fact in-person interaction.

Moscovites are social and the favorite past-time is what they call "to sit" - that is to sit down, share a coffee or an alcoholic beverage and to talk. The length of the encounter and the amount of liquid and food consumed defines how "well" people had managed to "sit". The location of these "sittings" is negotiated, where people compromise on meeting "in the middle" to shorten distances and length of travel - many in my interviews complained that going over to someone's house was harder because of the distances and cafe's were a poor subsitute. As Moscow looses it's parks to land development, fewer public spaces are left for the purpose of "sitting" but those are still there, are amply used.