WORK CONDITIONS
The trade of a “train thief” required more than just daily training. Cold-blooded calculation, resourcefulness, keen observation and reconnaissance skills were all indispensable qualities. First, one had to learn the train timetable by heart. In Stalin’s time, passenger trains ran meticulously on schedule. They were never late. Secondly, train thieves knew all the geographical nuances of their route: all the bends and turns where the train would slow down, and all the elevations and inclines, where trains also decelerated. They knew exactly when this or that train was going to be passing any of those areas. And they preferred those trains which hit the right “terrain” at night. They carefully watched the passengers board the train, sizing up their luggage and marking the c
