WORLD-WIDE WRESTLING

I was in the Chistye Prudy metro station yesterday afternoon, walking back and forth, searching for the No. 6 train back to Kitay-Gorod, when a young man gave me a shoulder block that had to be premeditated, because he kept going, without missing a stride, while I was rocked back, stopped in my tracks, off balance, and had to recover and start moving forward again.

If you think that Grand Central Station and Penn Station are crazy at rush hour, you haven't been to Moscow. If you think the Russians defeated the Hordes and drove them out of Moscow, they, The Hordes, have simply transformed into Muscovites and are alive and well riding the metro.

Often, I have to dash for a safe spot, to contemplate my metro map and the signs to figure out where to exit or where to transfer for the next train.

Passengers entering the trains barely leave you space to exit. Passengers depart and head for other trains or exists as if a dam has burst.

I think, What a shame. This chaos belies the stunning beauty of the architecture and decoration of some of these very stations in which these Russians are battling daily.

PBB