For ages now, the matter of keeping good time in Kazan is administered from the top of Spasskaia Tower of the city's Kremlin. From there, the main clock of this ancient town dispenses hours and minutes to its million plus inhabitants. For the last twenty years or so, keeping the timing of city life smooth has been the responsibility of Viktor Vrachev. The tower is his almost exclusive fief, and he is the only one to deal with the clock. So in a way, he is the local boss of time. But he has got his superstitions, and he does not treat time lightly, not inside the tower at least. He says: «Sure I can stop or launch the clock at will. But I cannot stop time, its the other way round. We all have our own time: me, you, the city; and lets leave it at that».
RUNNING THE TIME
Mikhail DOVZHENKO
Photo: Yuri FEKLISTOV