Souvenirs from Moscow – Pic of the Week

The following is a guest post by Robert Newlen, the Assistant Law Librarian for Collections, Outreach and Services in the Law Library of Congress.

Last month I spent a week in Russia in my favorite city in the world, Moscow.  One of my guilty pleasures while there was roaming the wonderful flea markets on the outskirts of the city and I devoted two full days to this activity.  I am an obsessive collector so I was not disappointed in the array of treasures I found.  One item, which I purchased for 100 rubles (about US$3.00), was a 1969 book on traffic laws and regulations in Moscow.  I was particularly dazzled by the graphics of the traffic patterns illustrated in this book which, even today, are very challenging to negotiate and not for the faint of heart.  My expat friend there morphs into an Indy 500 racer when she gets behind the wheel.  I was told that 8,000 new cars hit the pavement every month in Moscow and given the constant gridlock I witnessed, it appears everyone is on the road at the same time.  The book also has dire warnings for those who disobey the traffic laws and regulations in the form of grisly photographs of car wrecks.  So let this be a warning, obey all signals and traffic directions the next time you are in Moscow!