Hold On Tight

A Lesson in Siberian Carriage Etiquette 

In the year 1915, the Valdez Daily Prospector published a story about a cultural lesson learned the hard way. There was a time in the past when riding in a Siberian droshky—a type of low, open, four-wheeled carriage—required an etiquette all its own. For the uninitiated traveler, this unusual custom could be quite surprising. But as writer Mrs. John Clarence Lee noted in her book, "Across Siberia Alone," it was based on a practical consideration. The primary concern? The very real danger of being thrown from the carriage on bumpy roads.

 This led to a custom that would feel unfamiliar today. If a gentleman was escorting a lady, it was his duty to physically hold her in the droshky. He was expected to accomplish this by putting his arm securely around her waist. A man who failed to do so was not just being unhelpful—he was seen as lacking in basic courtesy. While the experience of "settling back into a stranger’s arms" might have been strange at first, once you understood the reason behind the custom, it seemed "entirely sensible and comfortable." 

To illustrate this point, the article shared an anecdote from an American man who had lived in Russia. He told the story of a particularly bumpy ride he once took with a middle-aged Russian woman, who worked as a physician. He was unaware of his social obligation, and the two of them thrashed around the small, three by five droshky until finally the woman had enough. She turned to him angrily and asked, "Have you been brought up in the backwoods that you don't know enough to hold me in this droshky?" He immediately put his arm around her waist and held on tight.

It's probably safe to say that this was a lesson in etiquette that he never forgot!