On December 31, 1898 (Julian calendar), which corresponds to January 12, 1899 (Gregorian calendar), the Minister of Internal Affairs' telephone rang. Who was his interlocutor? Moscow Post Director. He called from the Main Telegraph Office on Myasnitskaya Street. Actually, the report is of no interest, unlike the very fact of the conversation between the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg – the first long-distance conversation in Russia. Back then, Russia was not a very backward country: the Paris–Brussels line, which prompted Russian post superiors to initiate the project, was opened only a decade earlier. Long-distance communication was expensive and not very convenient: those who wanted to make a call to another city filed applications in advance and paid one and a half rubles for a three-minute conversation. At that time, despite what Emil Krotky wrote, the women used to speak French a great deal, and a little – on the telephone.