Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Railways Translation Gaffe: A Shower in Exchange for a Soul

Sergei Fadeichev / TASS

The price of a shower on Russian Railways? Your soul, if the translation offered up on a sign in the World Cup host city of Volgograd is any indication.

The similarity between the Russian words for “shower” and “soul” (“dush” and “dusha,” respectively) led to a sign offering for-pay showers in Volgograd to be mistakenly translated as “The cost of the service is the soul.”

The first Twitter user who posted a photograph of the sign ridiculed it as “irrefutable proof that Russian Railways is a subsidiary of hell.”

https://twitter.com/VladlenLos/status/1012390387154145282

Predictably, Twitter had a field day with the gaffe.

https://twitter.com/katiedavies91/status/1012638928162250757
https://twitter.com/yaffaesque/status/1012643648155144192

“Obviously, whoever translated this sign didn’t bother to think, or he was making a deal with the devil,” the website Weirdrussia.com observed.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more