June 03, 2019

Scooters Kick Off in Russia


Scooters Kick Off in Russia
Mother leading daughter’s scooter on a string in a small town of the Northern Caucasus. Katrina Keegan

What characteristic unites Russian businessmen in suits sporting expensive backpacks, active babushki, children in Victory Day parades, and hip baristas in the favorite bookstore of the St. Petersburg youth? Scooters.

Tip jar scooter Russia
A tip jar reading “For a scooter vroom vroom :)”
and the feet that wish to ride it. / Katrina Keegan
Victory Day Russia scooter
A scootering family in the Immortal Regiment march on Victory Day in St. Petersburg. / Katrina Keegan

Scooters have become a cross-generational, serious means of transport for urban Russians in the past few years. In 2011 the Moscow-based group “Let’s Kick!” was founded to form a community of scooter riders; their VKontakte group currently has nearly 6,000 members. Scooters really started to become common in Moscow around 2015, mostly among professionals in their 20’s, and continues to spread from there, both geographically and among the population. 

The latest development is kicksharing, or scooter rental, usually through an app. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared the inaugural 2018 season successful, with a total of 140,000 rides. Many providers are expanding services this year. For example, Samocat Sharing has 15 stations in Moscow, but will kick that up to 100 this year. Kicksharing can now even be found outside major cities, in places like Omsk and Sochi

Although the trend is likely due to worldwide popularity – 2018 was named “the year of the scooter” – scooters have a respectable history in Russia. In the Soviet period, they were a popular toy for children. Before factory-made ones became widely available, as several bloggers remember, practically all children had do-it-yourself versions made of planks of wood and rings of metal. 

Soviet scooters flea market in Russia
Soviet children’s scooters at a flea market in St. Petersburg. / Katrina Keegan

In 1973 a Soviet engineer published an article proposing an adult model that would quickly and effortlessly transport heavy loads, but it was never mass produced. That engineer was 40 years ahead of his time. Nowadays, children still enjoy playing on scooters, but adults also find them very practical. For example, Adel Mavzyutova, a 20-year-old student in St. Petersburg, said she especially likes riding her scooter to the grocery store, so that she can hang the food bags on the handles. 

Compactness is one of the biggest advantages of scooters for urban Russians. While a bike might make sense at the dacha, the apartments in which 66% of Russians live don’t have a lot of extra space. Indeed, 67% of scooter purchasers choose the even more compact, folding models. 

Mavzyutova also mentioned that she prefers scooters because she feels safer on the sidewalks than in the streets. Currently, scooter riders in Russia are considered pedestrians, unlike bikers. In Perm, for example, bikers were forbidden last month from cruising along a riverbank, but not scooter riders. However, this issue is being studied by the Scientific Center of Traffic Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the results should be available by the end of the year, which could lead to legal changes. 

The popularity of scooters is somewhat surprising in Russia. Roads leave much to be desired, according to the centuries-old saying “В России две беды: дураки и дороги” (In Russia there are two misfortunes: fools and roads). Additionally, as everyone knows, Russia is a pretty cold and snowy place, which keeps scooter-riding strictly contained to the summer season. However, these kinds of barriers aren’t stopping a people adaptable enough to nail together their own scooters out of wood, and there is every indication that Russians will continue to get a kick out of scooters for years to come. 

Scooter park Moscow
Scooter riders admire the Uzbekistan Pavillion in VDNKh park in Moscow. / Katrina Keegan

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955