“Our job is to develop the most democratic and accessible cultural locations for Muscovites,” says Maria Rogachyova, who oversees Moscow’s libraries.
Moscow
I love Moscow, even if it’s the most manic, maddening place I’ve called home. I moved back in December 2016 after a five-year stint in Berlin. I had missed losing myself in the lanes of old Moscow or running along the Moskva River embankment.
I first visited Moscow as a student in 1991, the last year of the Soviet Union’s existence. The city was hungry and gray. Nobody spoke English or had any idea about the outside world. Today Moscow has reclaimed its rightful place not just as the capital of Russia, but of Eurasia.
Muscovites Protest Mayor’s Plans to Demolish Their Homes
“They’ll make our life hell, and sooner or later they’ll squeeze us out,” Anna Sazonkina said. “But my civic conscience won’t allow me to vote for it.”
In Moscow, New Barbershops Trim Away Old Notions Of Russian Masculinity
The fact that barbershops are now in vogue in Moscow is a reflection of what could be called the emancipation of the Russian male.
Potemkin Village
As a friend and I sat on one of Moscow’s ubiquitous summer verandas one evening, quaint trams trundled by. For a moment, it almost felt like Prague.
Putin’s Moscow is Anxious, Gilded and Hollow
Moscow is always a surprising kind of place. I expected Putin’s us-against-them nationalism to be more strident than ever. But I find the city uncharacteristically subdued and anxious about the future.
The Middle Class Malaise
The closest I came to becoming a socialist was when I was a teenager growing up in the U.S. Midwest in the 1980s. I first had to move to Russia to grasp the folly of socialism and reclaim my middle-class roots.
Demise of ‘Last Mohican’ Cements Medvedev Win Over Local Bosses
Yury Luzhkov’s ouster after 18 years as mayor of Moscow completes Russia’s purge of independent regional leaders begun during Vladimir Putin’s presidency.
Tina Turner, Deep Purple Play Kremlin at Gazprom Birthday Bash
When Tina Turner asked the audience: “Is everybody all right?” her question was met with silence. Most of the guests were middle-aged managers who remained in their seats during the show.
Moscow Style Claims New Fashion Victims
Even Russian men, whose clothing choice was once limited to polyester business suits or polyester jogging suits, have become fussy dressers. Local trends in men’s fashion have developed in mysterious directions: pointy elf shoes or the male purse.
