We Bring Light to the People!

Every day, specialists from city services take on a number of complex tasks to help citizens and keep the city alive and well. There is no doubt that their work is vital to the city, but we still know very little about them.

For our 'People of the City' section, we have asked these professionals about their unique experiences and interesting stories from the job. The interview with Alexandra Anufrieva was prepared in partnership with the Moscow city utilities authority.

How long have you been working in your profession and what made you choose it?

I joined the company 8 years ago as a 2nd category engineer with the cable line service in the Moscow region branch of Rosseti. As for my choice of occupation, I picked it when I was enrolling in university. My parents helped me decide. I received my first higher education degree from the State University of Land Management and, more recently, I completed a master's degree in Power Engineering and Electrical Equipment at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute.

What do you like about your job? Is there anything about it that inspires you?

It's a fairly complex job, but it's very interesting, and there's a lot of variety day-to-day. We don't spend a lot of time at the office, no matter the time of year or the weather. Even in training, we would go to a special training ground for a month to practice. That was when I knew I had picked the right job. A quarry, field conditions, nature... It was the perfect life for a student!

Do you have any interesting stories from your work?

My job is not usually seen as 'women's work', but it just so happens that our unit is almost entirely female. We have facilities both in Moscow and out in the region. They're almost always in areas with challenging terrain that don't really suit standard passenger vehicles. So we've had plenty of amusing situations.

What are some of your favourite places in Moscow? Do you have any favourite spots related to the job?

Thanks to my job, I know Moscow pretty well. Still, I'm sure there are plenty of interesting spots here that I haven't been to that are totally worth visiting.

I really like Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo park, it's so quiet, cosy, and very beautiful. There's also a sluice on the Moscow canal that I like seeing in action. It's a pretty interesting and entertaining process to watch.