A handful of young Muscovites spend their spare time braving the risk of arrest, injury and even death to scale tall buildings. Their motivation is simple: to feel more alive.
The group consists of four Russians and one Frenchman who visits Moscow and they call their team 'Rudex', which stands for "roof and decay exploration."
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Some of the Rudex group said they fear that authorities will introduce legislation to ban their pastime outright, perhaps out of concern that it could induce teenagers to commit suicide. The reality, they said, is that urbex is life enhancing.
"Let's ban everything and the atmosphere for youths will really get dull," Shukhov said. "What will we do? Sit and booze on the porch of our homes? Or maybe look for drugs?"