Quote:
Originally Posted by OEhman
We were put in a cell but the door was left open, so after maybe half a minute we decided to go outside to the beautiful morning showing no fear for them. After a few minutes the police finally arrived with their passports and let us go...They probably hoped for us to hand over some dollars immediately when we were put in the cell.
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This is exactly the kind of thing that gets blown way out of proportion. Pretty soon we'll be reading distorted reports based on your post about tourists being locked into cells with convicted murderers until they paid $1000, etc.
I don't mean to criticize you for posting this, actually it is an interesting story and a useful example. And while I wasn't there and so could be missing some important context, I don't know if it is fair to assume that they put you in the cell to get money from you. If that was the case, I think they'd have certainly locked the door? Who knows, maybe they didn't have anywhere else to put you, or SOP in that detachment was to put everyone in the cell until further notice, they were having a birthday party in the usual waiting room, etc. It is not as if these stations are large, well-planned facilities. The fact that they gave you a bible seems to indicate that they didn't have hostile intentions.
I don't mean to be always sticking up for the Russian police, I have met some right fine bastards among them, but many stories are way overblown and based on misunderstandings on both sides due to lack of a common language. I just hate to see people scared of coming to Russia because of fear of police, it is a serious overreaction.
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