Criminal Moscow: audio tour bot

You have walked the same Moscow street a hundred times and never wondered what happened there. This bot turns the city into something you can hear: grab your phone and headphones, follow the route, and let the story play as you walk. 🎧

The tour was made by the Moscow culture project FOMOTEKA together with the true crime podcast Lora Palna Diaries. The podcast is known for breaking down high profile criminal cases, and it also has a book edition.

A guided tour in your pocket

A regular tour needs a group, a guide and the right time slot. An audio tour works differently. You start when it suits you, walk at your own speed and stop on a bench to finish a story.

Everything runs inside Telegram. The bot delivers the material and you just walk.

Four commands to start

The menu is short, so you can learn it in a minute:

• /start. Launches the bot and shows the welcome message.
• /buy. Gets you access to the tour. It is a paid product, so the purchase comes first.
• /go. Begins the tour once you are on location and ready to listen.
• /support. Support contacts if something does not open or a payment fails.

Check the price and terms inside the bot before paying, since they can change.

Prepare for the walk

True crime sounds great on the move, but a little preparation helps. 🚶

1. Charge your phone and bring headphones, wired or wireless.
2. Buy access in advance at home, on a stable connection.
3. Check your signal on location, since audio loads slowly on weak internet.
4. Walk in daylight if you do not know the area. Wandering unfamiliar courtyards with headphones on after dark is a bad plan.
5. Press /go only when you are on location and ready to listen.

What the stories are about

The title says it plainly: the criminal history of Moscow. It is an adult subject with descriptions of crimes, so the tour is not for children or for anyone who finds stories of violence hard to hear.

If you already enjoy true crime podcasts, the format will feel familiar, except your armchair is replaced by real streets. If you are new to the genre, try a couple of podcast episodes first and see if the genre is for you.

Before you pay

An audio tour is a digital product. Before paying, find out how access works and if you can return to the material later. There is a dedicated support command for payment and access questions.

Pay only inside the bot and never send money through links from strangers. A chat offer of the same tour at a lower price is a reason to be careful.

The people behind it

FOMOTEKA writes about events and places in the city and has an audience of people who follow Moscow cultural life. The podcast hosts are journalists who investigate notorious murders and serial offenders. Together they built a format where the story is tied to a place rather than a screen.