ABSTRACT
I decided to take the night train from Tbilisi to Sukhumi. Ilia, with a group of friends, came to the station and gave a final word of advice as I stepped into the carriage. “Have you ever been on a Soviet train before . . .? Be warned!” The implication was, as with all things Soviet,
it might not make it. Or if it did, would be late, uncomfortable, unhappy, and every other negative attached to the Soviet world.
