October 25, 2021

Scoot Safely


Scoot Safely
Because scooters aren't fast enough to outrun the reach of the law. The Russian Life files

Electric scooters are undeniably fun, and there's nothing that says undeniably fun like regulations from the Russian Ministries of Transport and Internal Affairs.

These two agencies have recently released a set of rules for the safe and legal use of electric and gyroscopic scooters. This should probably be unsurprising, since Russians probably like riding scooters as much as anyone.

The rules state that scooters should top out at 25 kph (15 mph) and weigh a maximum of 35 kg (77 lbs). Operators should be over the age of 14, and should ride on the right side of the road or on the sidewalk. The speed limit is actually an increase, as the new statute will override a 2019 law capping scooter top speed at 20 kph (12.5 mph).

These regulations affect not just scooters, but any "means of individual mobility" (SIM, in the Russian acronym), defined as a "vehicle with one or more wheels (rollers), intended for individual movement of a person through the use of an engine (motors): electric scooters, electric skateboards, gyro scooters, segways, unicycles, and other similar means."

While safety is important, we are looking forward to documenting the inevitable scooter-versus-police chase to barrel through a Russian city at a brisk thirty miles per hour.

You Might Also Like

Running City
  • July 01, 2012

Running City

There is no better way to get to know Moscow than to explore it on foot. And no better way to enjoy the exploration than to make a game of it!
Veliky Ustyug
  • April 26, 2016

Veliky Ustyug

Yuli Lyubeznikov and Alexandra Ivanova show off their town, one of the oldest in the Russian North: Veliky Ustyug
Scooter Blacklist
  • May 26, 2021

Scooter Blacklist

The Moscow City Duma is proposing safety regulations that will help prevent Muscovites from scootering into peril. 
Not-So Smart Crosswalks
  • January 18, 2021

Not-So Smart Crosswalks

When the Russian city of Salekhard tried to upgrade its pedestrian crosswalks, crisscrossed chaos ensued.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
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.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

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