Russians seem to avoid using N, S, E and W

[Richard Robin]

Come to think of it, Russian *road signs *are rather sparse on compass
directions, at least in the cities I have driven in or between (Moscow, SPb,
Petrozavodsk, Arkgangelsk). (For those who do not drive in the US, nearly
all numbered road markers, from the widest Interstate to a lowly country
state route, usually have direction tags, e.g. I-95 North) The only time I
remember seeing compass directions used is on  the MKAD: МКАД - СЕВЕР, МКАД
- ЮГ... which actually makes little sense, since it's a ring (albeit oval
shaped, and at 109 km, about the same dimensions at the 103-km Atlanta
Perimeter Road, I-285), and you're never going in one direction for long (in
theory - although traffic may keep you in one place for hours). But for all
the exits (and for the Petersburg KAD as well and intercity roads beyond),
the directions are referenced by suburb and city names, e.g. ЦЕНТР vs.
МУРМАНСК. Road markers are rare (like M10 / E95) and never include direction
tags. Plus, identifying markers are totally non-existent for secondary
roads; directions are often  given by landmarks: Go about 10 minutes until
you see the dacha development billboard, then turn right. The approach to
Petrozavodsk from the only intercity road (Murmanskoe shosse) has two signs
showing ЦЕНТР within a few hundred meters of each other. They both lead
downtown, but one leads to a northern spur, the other to a southern spur.
The signs don't give you a clue as to which is which.

Of course in general American signs are in general more loquacious than
Russian signs, which hew to established international symbolic standards.
Russian signs convey in symbols not words things like No Left Turn, One Way,
End Divided Highway (BTW, why are these apparent imperatives in American
English?), etc. And some of our No Parking signs have so much verbiage on
them that they resemble legal contracts.

-Rich Robin
-- 
Richard M. Robin
Director Russian Language Program
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-7081

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