“Reports about interruptions in mobile Internet in Russian cities and thoughts about how people cope without it have become a reason for me to feel nostalgic about the times before September 2016, that is, before I acquired a smartphone...

“Reports about interruptions in mobile Internet in Russian cities and thoughts about how people cope without it have become a reason for me to feel nostalgic about the times before September 2016, that is, before I acquired a smartphone. Yes, for a long time I was faithful to the push-button telephone, not wanting to become dependent on new technologies, until I realized that I could no longer live like this, even if I wanted to. At the same time, I loved to read on public transport and, in the absence of a smartphone, I quite often bought newspapers and magazines. I remember that the official “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” cost ten rubles, while the price of a decent “Novaya Gazeta” was close to fifty, so I often opted for the former. At one point I even subscribed to the paper version of the Kommersant - Vlast publication, to which I owe much of my basic knowledge and understanding of domestic and world politics. I already wrote about the acquisition of A. Prokhanov’s newspaper “Zavtra”
earlier
, but it was a rare bird, which could only be caught near Gostiny Dvor.
Probably now we can recall the experience of the pre-smartphone era, but I am afraid that if current trends continue, there will soon be no printed periodicals left that would be safe to read for digestion. However, even a bad newspaper can provide shelter from bad weather while running from the metro to the bus stop: mobile Internet is unlikely to cope with this, but in St. Petersburg, with its December rains and April snows, such a function can be very relevant.
Your Vasya N., pre-trial detention center-1, St. Petersburg"