MOSCOW -- The Russian capital is gridlocked. This grim observation applies both physically and metaphorically: The city cannot manage its traffic, and the nation cannot handle its problems.
In Moscow, ground transportation, including private cars, has become all but useless. Be it a weekday or weekend, chances are it will take you at least an hour to drive 15 km. As for Friday night or Saturday afternoon, forget it.
It has become almost normal to spend four hours crossing Moscow either way, and if you are heading for one of its four airports for a domestic flight, you will wish you had taken a train instead. All shortcuts known to seasoned drivers have become traps. You take your car through a maze of backyards and narrow alleys only to discover the desired intersection clogged -- and, of course, you are on a one-way street and now will have to spend the next 40 minutes in an irritating traffic jam.