Travellers Moscow & St Petersburg

The market - rynok - is a central element of city life in Moscow and St Petersburg. Somehow these strongholds of small-scale capitalism managed to survive communism's assault on private property. This was not least, perhaps, because even the dutiful party functionary relied on the markets for that little something special when the shelves of the state were barren of all but a few wizened beetroot and dusty jars of pickled cucumbers. Moscow's Cheryomushinskiy or St Petersburg's Kuznechniy markets are an experience in themselves, a microcosm of the old Soviet Union. Traders from all corners of the former empire accost the casual visitor: swathy Georgians proffer bright red roses 'for the beautiful lady, sir'; Uzbeks and Turkmen crouch over piles of watermelons and sacks of roasted sunflower seeds; buxom Ukrainians invite you to try their national favourite - huge slabs of pork fat called salo; fishermen from the Caspian Sea stand proudly in front of bucketfuls of red and black caviar; and old ladies in bright headscarves sell salted tomatoes and pickled garlic from their allotments in the suburbs of the city.Booth, Chris is the author of 'Travellers Moscow & St Petersburg ' with ISBN 9781841575704 and ISBN 1841575704.