“Where does Lenin sleep?” is among the weirdest questions that Moscow metro staffers have been asked by foreign fans during the World Cup.
Every day, around 100 volunteers help visitors from across the world navigate the Russian capital’s complex transit system and find their way to their destination.
More than 270,000 of Moscow’s foreign visitors have had their questions answered by the volunteers in red baseball caps, who were deployed on June 12, City Hall announced in a press release.
“The most popular questions are: ‘How do you reach the Red Square?’ and ‘Where is Nikolskaya Ulitsa?’” said the deputy mayor and transportation chief of Moscow, Maxim Liksutov.
The tourists often point to a photograph with fans celebrating on Nikolskaya, a pedestrian street that has become an unofficial gathering place for throngs of fans, Liksutov says.
In addition to directions to Lenin’s tomb or the Red Square, said Liksutov, “passengers from other countries are interested in where the station is with the dogs.” That question refers to Ploshchad Revolyutsii, where legend has it that stroking the bronze shepherd dog’s nose on a sculpture in the metro brings you luck.
The mayor’s office says some of the foreign fans’ strangest questions include: “Will you marry me?” and “Can I spend the night on the metro if I have an unlimited card?”
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