I have a personal assistant at work, a girl Nastya, a Muscovite, 22 years old, in her last year at the Law Institute. Asks me a question:
- Oh, and are they building the metro so deeply? It's awkward and hard!
- Well, you see, Nastya, the Moscow metro originally had a dual purpose. It was planned to be used both as urban transport and as a bomb shelter.
Nastusha grinned incredulously: - A bomb shelter? What stupidity! Is someone going to bomb us?
***
- I'll tell you more, Moscow has already been bombed.
- Who ?!
- Well, how … Hm-hmm, - the Germans bombed Moscow. During the war. Their planes flew in and dropped bombs.
Promotional video:
- What for!? Did they want to destroy us ?!
- Well it is more like Yes…
- Here are bastards !!!
- Yes, really!
- And what, all the people were hiding from the bombing in the subway?
- Well, not all … But many. Someone spent the night here, and someone was constantly.
- And the bombs didn't hit the subway?
- Not.
- Why did they throw bombs then?
- Not understood…
- Well, I mean, instead of uselessly throwing bombs, we would go down the subway and shoot everyone.
- Nastya, well, they are Germans! They didn't have our cards on the subway. And up there, the turnstiles, the grandmothers on duty and the cops. They were simply not allowed here!
- A-a-a-a. Well, yes, I see.
- Nastya, I was joking! In fact, our Germans were stopped at the approaches to Moscow and did not allow them to enter the city.
- Our good fellows, huh?
- Yeah, - I say, - really crossover !!!
- But what about here, in the subway, did people live?
- Well, not very well, of course. Wooden bunks were hammered together and slept on them. The bunks even stood on the rails.
“I don’t understand,” Nastya said, “but how did the trains go then?
- Well, the bombings were mainly at night, and people slept on the rails, and during the day the bunks could be removed and the trains started up again.
- Nightmare! What are they, completely crazy, to bomb at night! - Nastena was indignant. - It's loud! How to sleep? !!
- Well, these are Germans, Nastya, we have a time difference with them.
- Got it.
On the way back, I tried not to touch on any serious topics in the conversation. But nevertheless I ran into it again
- On the next vacation I want to go to the Baltic states, - Nastya dreamed.
- But where exactly?
- Well, somewhere to the sea …
- So to Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia? - I clarify the question.
- ?????????????
- Well, it is believed that the Baltic states include three countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia. Which one did you want to go to?
- Class! And I thought it was one country - the Baltic states! I go where the sea is.
- All three have.
- Darn! How to choose now?
- Well I do not know…
- Have you been to the Baltics?
- I was. In Estonia.
- So how is it? Is it troublesome to apply for a visa?
- I was there even during the Soviet Union. We were one country then.
- How is it "one country" ?!
- All the Baltics were part of the USSR! Nastya, didn't you know that ?!
- Stunned!
- Right now, you're going crazy! Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova were also included in the USSR. And also Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. And also Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia!
- Georgia !? These are the goats with whom the war was ?!
- They are the most. Well, you know that there was the USSR, which then collapsed? You were still born in it!
- Yes I know. There was some kind of USSR. Then he fell apart. Well, I didn't know that so much earth fell off from him …
***
I rode the subway and looked at people around. Lots of young faces. All of them are only 10 - 12 years younger than me. Are they all the same as Nastya ?! Zero generation. Perfect vegetables …