Я не стал возражать, когда дежурная сказала держаться за поручень во время движения.

In Russian, стать + infinitive often means to begin/start doing something.

So:

• стал возражать = started to object / began arguing
• не стал возражать = didn’t start to object, which naturally becomes didn’t object

This is a very common Russian way to express a decision not to do something:

• Я не стал спрашивать. = I didn’t ask.
• Она не стала спорить. = She didn’t argue.

It often has a nuance of choosing not to do something.

Возражать is the imperfective verb, and возразить is the perfective one.

After стал / не стал, Russian normally uses the infinitive, and the imperfective is often preferred when talking about starting or not starting an action:

• стал возражать = started objecting
• не стал возражать = did not start objecting

If you said не возразил, that would mean did not object too, but the structure and nuance would be different:

• Я не возразил = I didn’t object
• Я не стал возражать = I chose not to start objecting

So the sentence is not just about the fact that no objection happened; it also suggests a conscious decision not to object.

Дежурная is a feminine noun meaning something like the woman on duty, the attendant, or the staff woman in charge, depending on context.

It comes from the adjective дежурный / дежурная = on duty. In Russian, some adjectives can also function as nouns when the context is clear.

So дежурная could refer to:

• a female attendant
• a female staff member on duty
• a woman responsible for passengers, a building, a floor, etc.

The exact English translation depends on the situation.

Yes, сказала мне would be perfectly possible and very natural.

In this sentence, мне is simply omitted because it is understood from context. Russian often leaves out words that are obvious.

So these are both possible:

• ...когда дежурная сказала держаться за поручень...
• ...когда дежурная сказала мне держаться за поручень...

The meaning is basically the same here. The shorter version sounds natural when it is already clear who was being addressed.

Yes. In Russian, сказать + infinitive can be used to mean tell someone to do something, especially when the person being told is understood from context.

So:

• сказала держаться за поручень = told me/us/people to hold on to the handrail

This is similar to:

• Он сказал подождать. = He said to wait / He told me to wait.
• Нам сказали войти. = We were told to come in.

If you want to make the person explicit, you can add it:

• сказала мне держаться
• сказала пассажирам держаться

So here сказала is functioning more like told than plain said.

Держаться means to hold on, to keep hold of, or to steady oneself by holding onto something.

That is different from держать, which usually means to hold something in your hand or keep something somewhere.

Compare:

• держать сумку = to hold a bag
• держаться за поручень = to hold on to the handrail

In buses, trains, and similar situations, держаться за что-то is the normal phrase for holding on to something for support.

Because держаться за + accusative is the standard pattern meaning to hold on to something physically.

Examples:

• держаться за поручень = hold on to the handrail
• держаться за стену = hold on to the wall
• держаться за руку = hold someone’s hand / hold on to someone’s hand

Here за does not mean a literal English behind or for. It is just the preposition required by this expression.

Because the preposition за in this meaning takes the accusative case.

The noun поручень is masculine inanimate, so:

• nominative: поручень
• accusative: поручень

For many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

So:

• держаться за поручень is correct

If it were a feminine noun, you would see the accusative more clearly:

• держаться за стену (not стена)

Literally, во время движения means during movement.

This is a standard Russian expression used in transport contexts:

• во время движения не отвлекайте водителя = do not distract the driver while the vehicle is moving
• во время движения держитесь за поручни = hold on to the handrails while the vehicle is in motion

Grammatically:

• во время = during
• движения = genitive form of движение (movement)

So во время + genitive is a fixed structure meaning during.

In natural English, you would usually translate it as:

• while the vehicle was moving
• during the ride
• in motion

depending on context.

Because the expression во время requires the genitive.

So:

• время = time
• во время = during
• движение → движения in the genitive

This is the same pattern as:

• во время урока = during the lesson
• во время поездки = during the trip
• во время дождя = during the rain

So движения is not special by itself; it is simply the case required after во время.

Because когда дежурная сказала... is a subordinate clause.

The sentence has two parts:

• Я не стал возражать
• когда дежурная сказала держаться за поручень во время движения

Russian uses a comma to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause introduced by когда.

This is very normal:

• Я ушёл, когда стемнело.
• Она улыбнулась, когда увидела нас.

So the comma is required here.

Its basic meaning is when, but in context it often implies at the moment that or once.

So here:

• Я не стал возражать, когда... сказала...
  means something like
• I didn’t object when the attendant told us/me to hold on...

Depending on the context, English might also phrase this as:

• when
• after
• once

But grammatically, Russian is using the normal word когда = when.

Russian often uses the singular in a generic way where English might use singular or plural depending on context.

So:

• держаться за поручень = hold on to the handrail / a handrail

This does not necessarily mean there was only one rail. It can simply refer to the available support rail as a general object.

In announcements, Russian also often uses the plural:

• держитесь за поручни = hold on to the handrails

Both are possible; the singular here is not strange.

Yes, but the nuance changes.

• Я не возражал = I wasn’t objecting / I did not object
• Я не стал возражать = I decided not to object / I didn’t start objecting

Не стал возражать sounds a bit more deliberate. It suggests something like:

• I could have objected, but chose not to.

That is why this version is especially natural in a situation where someone gives an instruction and the speaker decides not to protest.

A useful breakdown is:

• Я = I
• не стал возражать = didn’t object / chose not to object
• когда = when
• дежурная = the woman on duty / the attendant
• сказала = said / told
• держаться за поручень = to hold on to the handrail
• во время движения = while in motion / during movement

So the structure is:

I chose not to object when the attendant told me/people to hold on to the handrail while the vehicle was moving.

This is a very typical Russian sentence pattern: main clause + subordinate clause with когда + reported instruction with an infinitive.