14 million people

Everyone in Moscow rides the metro, it seems.  Plus the bus or the tramvai.  We live only a couple of buildings away from a small street with tramvai (tram or streetcar) tracks in it.  There is no time, rush hour or not, when our tramvai is not crowded.  And even though we live only 2 metro stations from the end of the line, it seems like there is no time we get on, rush hour or not, when you can get a seat (i.e. already so many people on it some are standing).

And walking in the fancy but old underground passages connecting one metro train line to the other, it just seems like there is a constant stream of people up and down those stairs.

Sometimes you feel like you have seen all of Moscow's reputed 14 million inhabitants(FN1). Or that the 14 million have stood way too close to you (FN2)(FN3).





FN1: At some point Moscow's population was about 14 million.  But according to some speeches S listened to last week, even the professional census takers and city planners do not know exactly how many people actually live in Moscow.  A lot more people work in Moscow than live here, and people move all the time.  They keep their official registration at one place, but might live in a series of other places, or one if you go abroad.

FN2: Every culture has informal rules ("norms") of personal space. Think of personal space as a little bubble around yourself, and if someone gets inside that space they have to 1) be invited (i.e. give a hug); 2) be friend or family; or 3) apologize or 4) be stuck on public transit.   In the US, ours is very large, compared to Russia and Europe.  But even Europeans think Russians stand too close.

FN3: This is all the worse because most Russians don't wear deodorant…