Moscow has a lot of elevators—upward of a hundred and twenty thousand, which is more than twice as many as New York City. Many are old—every fifth elevator in the Russian capital has exceeded its lifespan. And a lot of people get stuck in them—depending on whom you ask, anywhere from an estimated hundred and twenty thousand to more than two hundred thousand people get stuck in a Moscow elevator each year. 

Sally McGrane meets Moscow’s specially-trained elevator mechanics, and reports on the art of elevator rescue: http://nyr.kr/UDVK7o