Look Out! Muscovites Dodge Falling Icicles

It’s bad enough that paychecks come late, pensions are paltry, cheap vodka is a just a memory and city sidewalks lie hidden under brown slush.

Now, Moscow’s ice is falling.

“You! Grandfather! Get off the sidewalk and go into the street!” shouted Yekaterina, the brisk matron who was supervising a city icicleremoval squad last week in downtown Moscow.

The old man hobbled onward, transfixed by the careful progress of his own felt-wrapped feet. Only at the last minute did he hear Yekaterina’s cry and notice chunks of ice the size of footballs hurtling down.

It was a week of living dangerously in Moscow. After nearly three months of below-zero weather, relatively warm temperatures - in the mid-20s, that is - brought a meltdown which sent avalanches of icicles and snow crashing down on pedestrians.

Nine Muscovites were hospitalized after being injured by daggerlike icicles last week - a record as far as city workers can remember.

In one 24-hour period, at least 472 people fell on slippery streets and sought hospital treatment.

Spring thaws, of course, happen every year. So, for centuries, the profession of Russian icicle removers - usually hired by the city to climb on slippery roofs and clear them - has existed in most cities.

All of last week, workers could be found on Moscow rooftops, casually shoveling ice and snow onto the streets below. Many Russian pedestrians complain bitterly that they are in more danger from the ice squads than from Mother Nature.

Lately, competition has come to the icicle business. College students who know mountain-climbing techniques are hiring themselves out as daredevil ice sweepers.

For example, Micha Trulov and his friends had strapped on their backpacks, ropes and ice picks and were cleaning the roof of an old apartment building. “We call ourselves industrial mountain-climbers,” he said.