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One of the two priority divisions of the Lagardère group, Lagardère Travel Retail is a global leader in the Travel Retail industry, harnessing its pioneering culture to make travel more enjoyable with bespoke offers and experiences. Investing our world-class global expertise and local knowledge to bring tailor-made offers and experiences to life that benefit landlords, brands and travelers alike. We operate 5,120 stores across Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Foodservice in airports, railway stations and other concessions in 42 countries. In 2023, we generated €6.6bn in sales (managed 100%).

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Arnaud lagardère elated by ‘unbelievable’ growth in travel retail as revenue tops $8.8 billion.

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An Aelia store from Lagardère Travel Retail at Riyadh Airport in Saudi Arabia.

French media-to-retail giant Lagardère Group’s share price has seen a revival in the past few days and nudged close to €21 on Wednesday after the company revealed strong revenue for 2023, driven by its travel retail business, Lagardère Travel Retail (LTR). Year-to-date, the stock is up by 12.4%.

Lower profits impacted the stock in morning trading but it recovered in the afternoon (CET) to close higher than the previous day. The group generated €8.1 billion ($8.8 billion) up 14% like-for-like, though net profit fell to €144 million ($156 million) for 2023 versus €161 million in 2022. Net debt was also a concern, rising to €2.1 billion from €1.7 billion in the preceding year, mainly due to several acquisitions in 2023.

Nevertheless, the group sees a bright future and is surfing the wave of Lagardère Travel Retail’s success. There, revenue broke the €5 billion barrier, up 23% like-for-like (and 28% reported) while recurring EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) soared by 80% to €245 million whereas it was stagnant for Lagardère Publishing, but still higher at €301 million.

The percentage difference in travel retail’s like-for-like and reported percentages was largely due to a negative currency effect. The depreciation of the US dollar and Chinese yuan had an impact as did scope effects of acquisitions like Costa Coffee Poland, Marché International, and Tastes on the Fly .

Finally moving past 2019

Arnaud Lagardere: “In 2023, we achieved performance levels not seen for 15 years.” (Photo by JULIEN ... [+] DE ROSA / AFP) (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

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LTR saw all its key business indicators exceed 2019 levels across the majority of its geographical regions. Double-digit growth was posted in France (16%) and EMEA (27%), thanks to rising traffic, with Italy and Poland showing “excellent” performances. EMEA’s share of sales is now close to 50% while the Americas’ performance, though “solid” in the United States led to its share falling from 30% in 2022 to 27% last year.

Arnaud Lagardère, chairman and CEO of the group was delighted at the overall results. He told investors last night: “We are extremely happy. We are taking advantage of travel retail and investing in that business unit where the growth is unbelievable. We don’t want to miss out on this momentum.”

In a statement, he added: “In 2023, we achieved performance levels not seen for 15 years. At Lagardère Publishing, vigorous trading helped maintain elevated revenue and profitability, despite a softer publishing market (while) Lagardère Travel Retail took full advantage of the growth in domestic, regional and international air traffic across its various locations, particularly in the EMEA region.”

Lagardère Travel Retail has lifted its operating margin to 4.9%.

The publishing division’s results—where sales hit €2.8 billion—were driven by several bestselling titles in France and the United Kingdom, including the latest Asterix L’Iris Blanc, Captive trilogy, and the late Matthew Perry’s autobiography. The Friends star died unexpectedly in October 2023.

Lagardère Travel Retail looks to be in a good position going forward, except in Greater China where the economic situation remains uncertain and where 7% of the division’s revenue comes from. The retailer also managed to lift its operating margin substantially last year to 4.9%, well above 2019’s 3.6% despite an inflationary environment, a nice cushion to have. Avolta , one of LTR’s main global duty-free retail rivals, will release its full-year results on March 7.

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Lagardère Travel Retail sees strong Q1 revenue performance

By Jill Sayles in Global , Latest News , Lead Stories , Retail News April 25, 2024 0

Lagardère Travel Retail once again achieved double-digit revenue growth, which was the main driver of the lift in group revenue

Lagardère Travel Retail first-quarter (Q1) 2024 revenue totalled €1,242m, up 18.7% as reported and up 13.6% like for like.

The difference between reported and like-for-like data is attributable to a €53m positive scope effect, mainly due to the acquisitions of Tastes on the Fly (€37m), Marché International (€9m) and Costa Coffee in Poland (€7m), as well as a €6m negative currency effect mainly related to the depreciation of the US dollar and Chinese yuan.

With global air traffic having returned to normal levels, Lagardère Travel Retail once again achieved double-digit revenue growth.

In France , business for the division grew by 16.2%. The EMEA region (excluding France) saw a strong 22.5% increase in revenue, driven by all the countries in the region on the back of the return of air traffic to pre-Covid levels, and led by the Middle East (up 109.9%), Italy (up 23.8%) and Romania (up 29.0%). Revenue in the Americas rose by 7.8%, thanks to dynamic growth in the United States (up 6.4%) and Canada (up 14.5%). The AsiaPacific region recorded a decline of 15.5%, which was particularly marked in North Asia (down 20.3%) due to the economic slowdown in China and consequent contraction in Chinese consumer spending.

Lagardère reports group revenue totalled €1,883m for the first three months of 2024, up 12.4% as reported and up 8.9% like for like.

The difference between reported and like-for-like data is attributable to a €60 million positive scope effect, mainly due to the acquisition by Lagardère Travel Retail of Tastes on the Fly (United States), Marché International (Germany) and Costa Coffee (Poland), as well as a €5m negative currency effect mainly related to the depreciation of the US dollar and Chinese yuan.

Lagardère Publishing continued a robust level of activity (up 0.8%) due to growth in the United States and United Kingdom. Form Other Activities , there were stable activity levels (up 0.1%) driven by strong attendance in entertainment venues.

Lagardère SA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Arnaud Lagardère said: “In the first quarter of 2024, the Lagardère group recorded growth of 8.9%, illustrating the solid performance of our divisions at the start of the year.

“With global air traffic having returned to pre-pandemic levels, Lagardère Travel Retail delivered an increase in revenue in the majority of its operating regions, confirming its growth model.

“At the same time and in a softer market, Lagardère Publishing is maintaining record levels of activity, confirming the strength of its strategic model, thanks in particular to the success of bestsellers in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Lastly, Other Activities continue to be driven by the momentum of our entertainment venues and a revival in audience figures for Europe.”

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A leading global travel retail operator

• One of the 4 divisions of the Lagardère group
• Operating in 34 countries throughout EMEA, North America, and Asia Pacific
• More than 4,400 stores serving travelers at 240 airports and 750 railway and metro stations worldwide
• Operating the largest international network of duty free and luxury, travel essentials and foodservice stores, with 460,000 sqm of commercial space
• Presence on all types of platforms from airports and inflight to rail and ferry
• 160 years’ heritage reaching travelers’ needs
• In 2017, Lagardère Travel retail achieved a turnover of €4.5 billion

Thinking global

Cumulating more than 160 years of experience in travel retail since the opening of the first bookstore in 1852 at Paris Gare de Lyon, Lagardère Travel Retail has been focused on delivering new experiences every day for travelers.

We design and deliver optimal value propositions for travel retail landlords and strive to become their partner of choice.

Backed by our global strength, our geographical divisions understand and deliver the specific needs of landlords – including local teams to ensure that the region, the location and the traveler are fully understood.

A unique positioning to maximize growth opportunities

Lagardère Travel Retail has a unique holistic approach aimed at developing and executing tailor-made solutions to optimize our landlords’ assets by focusing and adapting to travelers’ needs.

We are committed to exceeding travelers and partners’ expectations, everyday:

• by offering memorable shopping and food experiences
• by adapting to each environment and to specific needs of travelers
• by constantly innovating for a frictionless customer journey

Axel GAUTHEY Executive Vice President International Development Lagardère Travel Retail

Telephone: +33 (0) 1 46 41 80 55 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.lagardere-tr.com

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Arnaud lagardère forced to resign as ceo of vivendi-owned publisher & travel retail giant due to indictment.

Arnaud Lagardère, head of Vivendi-owned French publishing and travel retail giant Lagardère Group, has been forced to resign as CEO of the company following his indictment related to accusations of embezzlement.

“This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to personal companies wholly owned by Arnaud Lagardère and not involving any Lagardère group companies,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

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“In the context of his indictment, Arnaud Lagardère has been provisionally banned from holding executive office, a measure which he is contesting and against which he intends to appeal, but which nevertheless will oblige him to resign his executive offices within the group, despite the appeal,” it added.

News of the forced resignation followed reports on Monday that Lagardère had been questioned by a Paris judge in relation to accusations of embezzlement.

The Lagardère Group, which was founded by Lagardère’s father Jean-Luc Lagardère in 1992, is home to publishing giant Lagardère Publishing and Lagardère Travel Retail. Its assets also include Paris Match and Le Journal du Dimanche and top radio stations Europe 1.

Vivendi took full control of the Lagardère Group in November 2023 following approval from European Commission, under its EU merger legislation,in return for selling publishing assets Editis and Gala magazine, which was part of its Prisma Media subsidiary.

Lagardère was retained as CEO of the group.

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Lagardere CEO Steps Down After Being Accused of ‘Misappropriating Company Funds’

By K.J. Yossman

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The CEO of French media conglomerate Lagardere – owner of publishing house Hachette – has stepped down from his executive roles as he battles accusations of embezzlement in France.

Arnaud Lagardere, who is Lagardere’s chairman and CEO, has reportedly been accused by French prosecutors of “misappropriating company funds,” according to a report from Reuters. The publication reported Lagardere denies all the allegations.

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Lagardere’s father Jean-Luc was responsible for turning the company into a media powerhouse. Under Lagardere’s stewardship it has sought to focus on publishing and travel retail (including the line of Relay stores ubiquitous in French railway stations), selling off other parts of the business.

Read the full statement from Lagardère below:

Arnaud Lagardère, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, today informed the directors of Lagardère SA of the indictment against him, which he is contesting and against which he will appeal.

This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to personal companies wholly owned by Arnaud Lagardère and not involving any Lagardère group companies.

As regards Lagardère SA, the indictment relates solely to facts dating from 2018 and 2019, qualified as vote buying, abuse of power and dissemination of false or misleading information, which Arnaud Lagardère firmly disputes.

The directors have taken note of this measure and will meet in the near future to take all provisional measures required to ensure the Group’s governance pending Arnaud Lagardère being able to resume the management of the Group.

The directors wish to reiterate that Arnaud Lagardère is presumed innocent, and that an indictment in no way prejudges the outcome of the proceedings.

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French media mogul resigns after getting charged with embezzlement

Arnaud Lagardère, the French business scion who heads a publishing group now controlled by Vivendi SE, was charged with alleged embezzlement and has resigned provisionally as chief executive officer of Lagardère SA.

The charges against the 63-year-old executive also include vote buying, abuse of power and breach of trust, disseminating false or misleading information and failure to publish accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter. He has been placed under judicial supervision, banned from holding executive roles and needs to post a bond of €200,000 ($214,000), said the person, who asked not to be named discussing a legal case.

Lagardère, who is chairman and CEO of Lagardère SA, informed the board that he was forced to resign as CEO following the indictment and provisional ban from management activities issued against him on April 29, the listed company said in a  statement . Jean-Christophe Thiery was appointed as chairman and CEO on a provisional basis to ensure business continuity. Lagardère “is contesting these decisions and intends to lodge an appeal against them.”

“This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to personal companies wholly owned by Arnaud Lagardère and not involving any Lagardère group companies,” the company said in a previous statement Tuesday. “As regards Lagardère SA, the indictment relates solely to facts dating from 2018 and 2019.” 

The businessman’s attorney, Sebastien Schapira, declined to comment, while Vivendi, which controls Lagardère SA, reiterated on Monday its “support to the Lagardère group.”

The charges come after the prominent heir was questioned on Monday by a Paris judge. French daily Le Monde  reported  that he’s suspected of using around €80 million in company funds for personal expenses such as home renovations and private jet flights, as well as paying off debt related to inheritance. According to the newspaper, he’s also alleged to have unlawfully secured the support of Qatari shareholders during a 2018 corporate battle with Amber Capital. 

Lagardère’s legal woes are a dramatic twist for the businessman often glossing the pages of gossip magazines and cited in France as being at the center of one of the highest profile succession debacles in the nation’s corporate history. 

His father, Jean-Luc Lagardère, founded a French industrial and media giant whose influence reached deep into the country’s military and political establishment. After his sudden death in 2003, Arnaud took the helm and presided over the once sprawling conglomerate’s steady demise.

The son jettisoned much of the business to focus on publishing and travel retail and fended off takeover attempts that included a tussle between rival French billionaires Vincent Bollore and Bernard Arnault. The former prevailed through a plan to buy out the stake held by Amber Capital, which had attempted to shake up the Lagardère company.

In 2021, just as Vivendi was sealing the deal with Amber, French financial police raided Lagardère’s Paris headquarters searching for evidence of abuse of power, presentation of inaccurate accounts, misuse of corporate assets and vote buying.

The investigation began on April 30 of that year following a complaint from Amber Capital and an alert from France’s stock market regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the justice ministry source said. 

Lagardère retains a stake of around 11% in Lagardère SA, which had revenue of €8.1 billion last fiscal year and paid Arnaud Lagardère €3.5 million. At the end of December, Vivendi had a stake of 59.8%, Qatar Holding LLC 11.5% and Arnault’s Financiere Agache had nearly 8%. 

Lagardère SA’s holdings include the Hachette imprint, Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Europe 1 radio and the Relay travel retail chain. Luxury giant LVMH, controlled by Arnault, is in talks to buy French glossy magazine Paris Match from Lagardère.

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Lagardère CEO Resigns After Being Charged With Embezzlement

(Bloomberg) -- Arnaud Lagardère, the French business scion who heads a publishing group now controlled by Vivendi SE, was charged with alleged embezzlement and has resigned provisionally as chief executive officer of Lagardère SA.

The charges against the 63-year-old executive also include vote buying, abuse of power and breach of trust, disseminating false or misleading information and failure to publish accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter. He has been placed under judicial supervision, banned from holding executive roles and needs to post a bond of €200,000 ($214,000), said the person, who asked not to be named discussing a legal case.

Lagardère, who is chairman and CEO of Lagardère SA, informed the board that he was forced to resign as CEO following the indictment and provisional ban from management activities issued against him on April 29, the listed company said in a statement . Jean-Christophe Thiery was appointed as chairman and CEO on a provisional basis to ensure business continuity. Lagardère “is contesting these decisions and intends to lodge an appeal against them.”

“This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to personal companies wholly owned by Arnaud Lagardère and not involving any Lagardère group companies,” the company said in a previous statement Tuesday. “As regards Lagardère SA, the indictment relates solely to facts dating from 2018 and 2019.” 

The businessman’s attorney, Sebastien Schapira, declined to comment, while Vivendi, which controls Lagardère SA, reiterated on Monday its “support to the Lagardère group.”

The charges come after the prominent heir was questioned on Monday by a Paris judge. French daily Le Monde reported that he’s suspected of using around €80 million in company funds for personal expenses such as home renovations and private jet flights, as well as paying off debt related to inheritance. According to the newspaper, he’s also alleged to have unlawfully secured the support of Qatari shareholders during a 2018 corporate battle with Amber Capital. 

Lagardère’s legal woes are a dramatic twist for the businessman often glossing the pages of gossip magazines and cited in France as being at the center of one of the highest profile succession debacles in the nation’s corporate history. 

His father, Jean-Luc Lagardère, founded a French industrial and media giant whose influence reached deep into the country’s military and political establishment. After his sudden death in 2003, Arnaud took the helm and presided over the once sprawling conglomerate’s steady demise.

The son jettisoned much of the business to focus on publishing and travel retail and fended off takeover attempts that included a tussle between rival French billionaires Vincent Bollore and Bernard Arnault. The former prevailed through a plan to buy out the stake held by Amber Capital, which had attempted to shake up the Lagardère company.

In 2021, just as Vivendi was sealing the deal with Amber, French financial police raided Lagardère’s Paris headquarters searching for evidence of abuse of power, presentation of inaccurate accounts, misuse of corporate assets and vote buying.

The investigation began on April 30 of that year following a complaint from Amber Capital and an alert from France’s stock market regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the justice ministry source said. 

Lagardère retains a stake of around 11% in Lagardère SA, which had revenue of €8.1 billion last fiscal year and paid Arnaud Lagardère €3.5 million. At the end of December, Vivendi had a stake of 59.8%, Qatar Holding LLC 11.5% and Arnault’s Financiere Agache had nearly 8%. 

Lagardère SA’s holdings include the Hachette imprint, Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Europe 1 radio and the Relay travel retail chain. Luxury giant LVMH, controlled by Arnault, is in talks to buy French glossy magazine Paris Match from Lagardère.

Read more: LVMH in Exclusive Talks With Lagardère for Paris Match Magazine

--With assistance from Benoit Berthelot and Nayla Razzouk.

(Updates with Lagardere resigning in headline and first paragraph; appointment of provisional CEO in third paragraph.)

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The Moscow Metro Museum of Art: 10 Must-See Stations

There are few times one can claim having been on the subway all afternoon and loving it, but the Moscow Metro provides just that opportunity.  While many cities boast famous public transport systems—New York’s subway, London’s underground, San Salvador’s chicken buses—few warrant hours of exploration.  Moscow is different: Take one ride on the Metro, and you’ll find out that this network of railways can be so much more than point A to B drudgery.

The Metro began operating in 1935 with just thirteen stations, covering less than seven miles, but it has since grown into the world’s third busiest transit system ( Tokyo is first ), spanning about 200 miles and offering over 180 stops along the way.  The construction of the Metro began under Joseph Stalin’s command, and being one of the USSR’s most ambitious building projects, the iron-fisted leader instructed designers to create a place full of svet (radiance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future), a palace for the people and a tribute to the Mother nation.

Consequently, the Metro is among the most memorable attractions in Moscow.  The stations provide a unique collection of public art, comparable to anything the city’s galleries have to offer and providing a sense of the Soviet era, which is absent from the State National History Museum.  Even better, touring the Metro delivers palpable, experiential moments, which many of us don’t get standing in front of painting or a case of coins.

Though tours are available , discovering the Moscow Metro on your own provides a much more comprehensive, truer experience, something much less sterile than following a guide.  What better place is there to see the “real” Moscow than on mass transit: A few hours will expose you to characters and caricatures you’ll be hard-pressed to find dining near the Bolshoi Theater.  You become part of the attraction, hear it in the screech of the train, feel it as hurried commuters brush by: The Metro sucks you beneath the city and churns you into the mix.

With the recommendations of our born-and-bred Muscovite students, my wife Emma and I have just taken a self-guided tour of what some locals consider the top ten stations of the Moscow Metro. What most satisfied me about our Metro tour was the sense of adventure .  I loved following our route on the maps of the wagon walls as we circled the city, plotting out the course to the subsequent stops; having the weird sensation of being underground for nearly four hours; and discovering the next cavern of treasures, playing Indiana Jones for the afternoon, piecing together fragments of Russia’s mysterious history.  It’s the ultimate interactive museum.

Top Ten Stations (In order of appearance)

Kievskaya station.

Kievskaya Station went public in March of 1937, the rails between it and Park Kultury Station being the first to cross the Moscow River.  Kievskaya is full of mosaics depicting aristocratic scenes of Russian life, with great cameo appearances by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.  Each work has a Cyrillic title/explanation etched in the marble beneath it; however, if your Russian is rusty, you can just appreciate seeing familiar revolutionary dates like 1905 ( the Russian Revolution ) and 1917 ( the October Revolution ).

Mayakovskaya Station

Mayakovskaya Station ranks in my top three most notable Metro stations. Mayakovskaya just feels right, done Art Deco but no sense of gaudiness or pretention.  The arches are adorned with rounded chrome piping and create feeling of being in a jukebox, but the roof’s expansive mosaics of the sky are the real showstopper.  Subjects cleverly range from looking up at a high jumper, workers atop a building, spires of Orthodox cathedrals, to nimble aircraft humming by, a fleet of prop planes spelling out CCCP in the bluest of skies.

Novoslobodskaya Station

Novoslobodskaya is the Metro’s unique stained glass station.  Each column has its own distinctive panels of colorful glass, most of them with a floral theme, some of them capturing the odd sailor, musician, artist, gardener, or stenographer in action.  The glass is framed in Art Deco metalwork, and there is the lovely aspect of discovering panels in the less frequented haunches of the hall (on the trackside, between the incoming staircases).  Novosblod is, I’ve been told, the favorite amongst out-of-town visitors.

Komsomolskaya Station

Komsomolskaya Station is one of palatial grandeur.  It seems both magnificent and obligatory, like the presidential palace of a colonial city.  The yellow ceiling has leafy, white concrete garland and a series of golden military mosaics accenting the tile mosaics of glorified Russian life.  Switching lines here, the hallway has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, impossibly long with decorative tile walls, culminating in a very old station left in a remarkable state of disrepair, offering a really tangible glimpse behind the palace walls.

Dostoevskaya Station

Dostoevskaya is a tribute to the late, great hero of Russian literature .  The station at first glance seems bare and unimpressive, a stark marble platform without a whiff of reassembled chips of tile.  However, two columns have eerie stone inlay collages of scenes from Dostoevsky’s work, including The Idiot , The Brothers Karamazov , and Crime and Punishment.   Then, standing at the center of the platform, the marble creates a kaleidoscope of reflections.  At the entrance, there is a large, inlay portrait of the author.

Chkalovskaya Station

Chkalovskaya does space Art Deco style (yet again).  Chrome borders all.  Passageways with curvy overhangs create the illusion of walking through the belly of a chic, new-age spacecraft.  There are two (kos)mosaics, one at each end, with planetary subjects.  Transferring here brings you above ground, where some rather elaborate metalwork is on display.  By name similarity only, I’d expected Komsolskaya Station to deliver some kosmonaut décor; instead, it was Chkalovskaya that took us up to the space station.

Elektrozavodskaya Station

Elektrozavodskaya is full of marble reliefs of workers, men and women, laboring through the different stages of industry.  The superhuman figures are round with muscles, Hollywood fit, and seemingly undeterred by each Herculean task they respectively perform.  The station is chocked with brass, from hammer and sickle light fixtures to beautiful, angular framework up the innards of the columns.  The station’s art pieces are less clever or extravagant than others, but identifying the different stages of industry is entertaining.

Baumanskaya Statio

Baumanskaya Station is the only stop that wasn’t suggested by the students.  Pulling in, the network of statues was just too enticing: Out of half-circle depressions in the platform’s columns, the USSR’s proud and powerful labor force again flaunts its success.  Pilots, blacksmiths, politicians, and artists have all congregated, posing amongst more Art Deco framing.  At the far end, a massive Soviet flag dons the face of Lenin and banners for ’05, ’17, and ‘45.  Standing in front of the flag, you can play with the echoing roof.

Ploshchad Revolutsii Station

Novokuznetskaya Station

Novokuznetskaya Station finishes off this tour, more or less, where it started: beautiful mosaics.  This station recalls the skyward-facing pieces from Mayakovskaya (Station #2), only with a little larger pictures in a more cramped, very trafficked area.  Due to a line of street lamps in the center of the platform, it has the atmosphere of a bustling market.  The more inventive sky scenes include a man on a ladder, women picking fruit, and a tank-dozer being craned in.  The station’s also has a handsome black-and-white stone mural.

Here is a map and a brief description of our route:

Start at (1)Kievskaya on the “ring line” (look for the squares at the bottom of the platform signs to help you navigate—the ring line is #5, brown line) and go north to Belorusskaya, make a quick switch to the Dark Green/#2 line, and go south one stop to (2)Mayakovskaya.  Backtrack to the ring line—Brown/#5—and continue north, getting off at (3)Novosblodskaya and (4)Komsolskaya.  At Komsolskaya Station, transfer to the Red/#1 line, go south for two stops to Chistye Prudy, and get on the Light Green/#10 line going north.  Take a look at (5)Dostoevskaya Station on the northern segment of Light Green/#10 line then change directions and head south to (6)Chkalovskaya, which offers a transfer to the Dark Blue/#3 line, going west, away from the city center.  Have a look (7)Elektroskaya Station before backtracking into the center of Moscow, stopping off at (8)Baumskaya, getting off the Dark Blue/#3 line at (9)Ploschad Revolyutsii.  Change to the Dark Green/#2 line and go south one stop to see (10)Novokuznetskaya Station.

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Jonathon Engels, formerly a patron saint of misadventure, has been stumbling his way across cultural borders since 2005 and is currently volunteering in the mountains outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  For more of his work, visit his website and blog .

Photo credits:   SergeyRod , all others courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission