OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2009. 34 years after first making the train journey from Moscow to Sergiev Posad, EBRD Deputy Director of Communications retraces his steps to see how things have changed, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

Students of Russian and Soviet history quickly learn the pivotal role that the railroads have played in the country’s economic development. In czarist times, it was the construction of the mammoth Trans-Siberian Railroad which opened up the Russian Far East, much as the completion of the transcontinental railroad had opened up the American West a few decades before.

In Soviet times, it was the rails that facilitated breakneck industrialisation, military victory and the proverbial “over-fulfilment” of five-year plans – not to mention the ideological frenzy under Brezhnev which accompanied construction of the BAM, a second, parallel spur of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. And today, in a transformed, market-driven Russia, rail transport binds and services the world’s largest country as no other national system does – an indispensable colossus with over a million employees hauling 1.3 billion tonnes of freight and transporting the same number of passengers annually.

The rail network remains key to industrial growth but has assumed an additional, no less vital role. Still arteries of supply and trade, passenger trains are now promoters of small business of every description, facilitating economic activity and individual enterprise across the country from the ground up – literally.

Russia’s train stations have become veritable beehives of small business, offering an amazing array of goods and services – as have the trains themselves. In days past, I might have ensured that I had adequate food and water for my recent trip, departing Moscow’s Yaroslavl Station punctually at 12.56 on a Wednesday for Sergiev Posad. No need any longer! A minute or two out of the station, and what was to become a parade of small vendors began.

First came the refreshments (ice cream, drinks, snacks) and then came a salesman (or woman) of (in order): magazines and newspapers; detective novels; plastic reading glasses; self-sharpening knives; household goods; plastic raincoats; potato peelers; ladies wallets; shopping bags; sponges; classical and historical novels (including Maria Stuart); maps and tourist guides; brooms; oriental fans; kids stickers; and, finally, butterfly collections. Each salesman had a practiced speech and sales were surprisingly brisk. (As an added treat, the return trip included the day’s single entertainer: a talented female violinist with her rendition of the Beatles’ “Yesterday” on a pink, electric violin.)

The on-time arrival in Sergiev Posad brought other surprises. The sleepy train station that was a dull, dirty and depressing Soviet backwater has been transformed into a series of kiosks, shops and restaurants. It has also served as a catalyst for economic development bringing numerous stores, a modern shopping mall and supermarket to the streets surrounding the station. An orderly, attractive complex of souvenir stands and craft stores is now across the street from the monastery.

There are at least two good reasons to make the short train journey to Sergiev Posad. The first is a toy museum exhibiting traditional handicrafts from across Russia – with a magnificent collection of toys from noble families, as well as from the family of Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II. The most moving reason to make the journey though is the monastery complex which has been lovingly and meticulously restored to its past grandeur. The defensive walls of the complex have been freshly painted, the gold-leaf stars on blue cupolas now glisten in the sun, the magnificent frescoes on its chapels and buildings have been fully restored. It is a place rich in history, now filled with worship, the sound of bells and choral song – with orthodox priests serving the spiritual needs of people of all ages.

They say that “one picture is worth a thousand words”. There should be a saying about travelling by train in Russia – something along the lines of “one short journey begets a myriad of stories”. Falling into conversation with people comes easily in Russia and especially on the train. Arriving and departing punctually from 27 suburban stations on a modern commuter train between Moscow and Sergiev Posad, mine ranged from Marshall Zhukov to contemporary politics, from rubbish collection to the state of Russia’s forests, and from the state of the economy (east and west) to the effects of the current financial crisis. Each of them is a story in and of itself.