The Lastochka is a Russian Railways (RZD) train made up of cars with seated places, running on the Nizhny Novgorod – Moscow line. In other regions, such trains run on the railway lines of the wealthiest metropolitan areas, such as the near and far Moscow suburbs (spiteful tongues count Nizhny Novgorod among the latter), the St. Petersburg area (the Leningrad Region, the Novgorod Region, and Karelia), and "Greater Sochi," including the "Olympic route" to Krasnaya Polyana. Compared to ordinary elektrichkas, it stands out for its higher speed, stops only in major cities and only for a short time, and its futuristic appearance.
A commuter train for megacities
The designers of the Lastochka took care of the train's appearance. What's more, the train's livery is bright and cheerful. Apparently to make that stand out even more, ordinary trains and elektrichkas have, ever since the Lastochka appeared, been painted in the same color scheme but with gray predominating, which makes them look like giant mice and adds an extra dose of gloom to the muted charm of the northern landscape. As for the Lastochka's interior, the goal of fitting the maximum number of seats into each car is plain to see, while any awareness of basic human anatomy is not. Passengers sit in pseudo-anatomical seats: the backrests have pretensions to comfort, but the knees and feet end up pressed against the row in front.
This odd combination adds a certain sociability to the trip, since you constantly have to keep an eye on your own legs. And if the row ahead of you is turned to face you, then on your neighbor's legs as well. That is presumably why less sociable passengers prefer seats that back onto the next row, even though there is very little room there.
A simple anatomical detail beyond RZD's designers
In principle, if the legs cannot be stretched out, then the backrest should be vertical and rigid — like an aristocratic chair that keeps your posture straight, or like the seats in old elektrichkas. But if the seatback is more form-fitting and reclines, then there should be room to stretch the legs out.
Queue for the restroom in advance
Some Lastochka cars are fitted with a gray restroom that, because it sits in the middle of the car, looks bulky. Traveling from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow, a queue for the restroom starts building up as early as around Vladimir. Since the train carries quite a few passengers, and many of them take a thorough approach to using the restroom and don't limit themselves to just a few minutes, if you want to use the restroom before the final stop, plan ahead.
Vandalism
Watching Lastochka trains in service, one can notice a curious detail: usually several windows in the train are broken at once. A train that does not fully meet the middle class's expectations for a reasonably comfortable journey nevertheless, because of its flashy appearance, draws the kind of blow essentially meant for the owners of superyachts and mansions — from those who like to vent social protest in a simple, physical form. Given the train's high speed and momentum, the impact ends up being quite noticeable. Characteristically, most of the "brick attacks" on the Lastochka happen in the near, rather than the far, Moscow suburbs.
Example
On April 2, 2017, at 2:20 p.m., on the Kupavna–Zheleznodorozhny stretch of the Gorky Railway, unknown persons pelted a Lastochka train with stones and broke a window.
Railway staff reported the incident to law enforcement.
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One of the stones hit the double-glazed window of the fourth car. The outer pane of the glazing cracked but withstood the impact. Fortunately, none of the passengers were hurt. The train continued along its route, and there are no delays to suburban services. | 
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