Moscow’s blue light special

In Moscow, the blue light special sells for about $20,000 on the black market. What is it? A traffic kit including a flashing blue police light, a siren, a special license plate that exempts the driver from traffic violations, and supporting documents. Its purpose is to help you fight traffic. Why would anyone pay such a high price just to ...

606081_Moscow15.jpg
606081_Moscow15.jpg

In Moscow, the blue light special sells for about $20,000 on the black market. What is it? A traffic kit including a flashing blue police light, a siren, a special license plate that exempts the driver from traffic violations, and supporting documents. Its purpose is to help you fight traffic. Why would anyone pay such a high price just to avoid traffic? Well, Moscow streets are a nightmarish clog of some 3 million cars, a 12-fold increase since the end of Communism. Here's a look:

In Moscow, the blue light special sells for about $20,000 on the black market. What is it? A traffic kit including a flashing blue police light, a siren, a special license plate that exempts the driver from traffic violations, and supporting documents. Its purpose is to help you fight traffic. Why would anyone pay such a high price just to avoid traffic? Well, Moscow streets are a nightmarish clog of some 3 million cars, a 12-fold increase since the end of Communism. Here’s a look:

   

Hat tip: English Russia (Photos by Anton Nossik)

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.