According to Eastern European editor Alexei Bayer, they just might get some much-needed help from the Italians. Russian trains could warm the heart of any railroad buff. The rail system is easily the world's longest, stretching across eleven time zones from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. But with the exception of the overnight express from Moscow to St. Petersburg, which has comfortable first-class compartments, you would need the boundless patience of a Russian peasant to enjoy riding them. Russia already has the world's largest rail network.
Trains are slow, filthy and crammed with the huddled masses.
Train stations are magnets for undesirables and frequently double as transit hotels for long-distance travelers. But you wouldn't know this from watching the TV commercial produced by Russian Railways, which is Russia's train monopoly. The agency seems to have taken a few tips from Madison Avenue, circa 1950s. The spot features what looks like your typical middle-class American family Mom, Dad, little Ivan and little Natasha riding off to vacation in a Russian train. They drink tea, admire beautiful vistas from the window of their compartment and get ready to turn in onto snow-white, starched sheets.