The Fire Escape Is Locked For Your Safety

This book is about Molly Baier travelling throughout the former Soviet Union in the mid 1990s. She went to: the Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia. She spoke fluent Russian and so didn't have the language-barrier that most non-Russian speakers do in the former USSR. Her book showed many similarities that many foreigners encounter (including myself.) While I never personally stayed in a Russian or other former Soviet hotel I have heard many stories from friends that have and it seems to fit exactly with what Baier experienced. I especially liked the excuses the hotel officials give as to why the fire escapes are locked (hence the title.)If there is a fire then the floor woman will have the key and unlock it to let you escape to safety. If you question the floor woman's authority then you question everything in society. This one example shows the true mentality of the Soviet system that continues to plague the former USSR.

The overt corruption found in all levels (from the hotel floor women, to the police, OVIR - visa registration office, etc) is also a major stumbling block for true change to occur. Everyone wants to have his/her own little bit of power and will do whatever it takes to hold onto that authority.

Along with the overt corruption is the overt discrimination (at least in Russia.) As the book states, numerous times, there is a 3-tier pricing system on everything from trains to concerts. The Russians pay the lowest rate, former Soviets the middle rate and all other foreigners pay a rate that can be 150% more than what the ordinary Russian pays - and yet the service and quality is the same.

This book shows how Russia and most of the former Soviet Union was in the mid to late 1990s and how it continues today. You get a glimpse into the mindset that can be found from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. On paper things may seem to have changed (especially since it has been 20 years since the Soviet Union collapsed) but reality is completely different.