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| 1. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians 
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1. Relocation Services Offered by Allied Pickfords & Delight Realty
Allied Pickfords Moscow, part of Allied Worldwide / SIRVA, the world’s biggest relocation organization, and Delight Realty, one of Moscow’s finest real estate agencies, have united their efforts and are proud to offer you and your family full relocation services in Moscow, including:
• Orientation Services & Pre-Arrival Support
• Moving to Moscow
• Home Search Assistance
• School Search
• Cultural Assistance & Settling-In Service in Moscow
• Leaving Moscow |
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| 2. | Community and Religious Organizations:: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow International Club
Looking to ride in Moscow Russia? New to town? Look no further, Moscow International Club is a small informal club of road enthusiasts. We use road racing bikes. Moscow International Club is happy to take on new riders, who want to be members or just to drop in. Moscow International Club does expect some level of road riding proficiency. If you are a "leisure cyclist", there might be some members or member spouses that can accomodate you. Moscow International Club can also suggest places and routes for leisure cycling. Start times vary as the sunrise in Moscow changes a lot. Moscow International Club members ride from late March to early December. During winter they have a trainer that gives them access to the velodrome for indoor cycling. We are riding at the velodrome (indoors) on Sundays as well. If you have a road bike for fast laps or if you have a track bike to use one of the world's fastest tracks please contact us.
E-mail: moscow.cycling@gmail.com
Web: www.sites.google.com/site/moscowroads. |
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| 3. | Community Organizations:: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow International Choir
The Moscow International Choir brings together amateur and professional singers from Russia, Sweden, The Netherlands, England, France, Wales, America, Cameroon, Iceland, and many other places around the world. The conductor is Sergei Sidorenko, a Moscow Conservatory graduate specializing in choir direction. MIC concerts are performed to raise awareness and funds for charitable causes. All funds raised beyond costs of our concerts are donated to the charity chosen by the choir. There are no auditions to join and the working language of the choir is English. All singing residents of Moscow are welcome to join! To become a member - send an email to moscow.international.choir@gmail.com.
Web: www.micrussia.tripod.com |
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| 4. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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5. Adopt a Cat or Dog
If you are moving to Moscow or are presently living in Moscow and would like to adopt a cat or dog, please consider adopting a pet from an animal shelter!
Homeless animals are a big problem in Moscow, there are literally thousands of them, and as of today there are no official state shelters or animal homes. Only a few lucky dogs and cats are temporarily given a new home at one of several private animal shelters in the city, and even smaller numbers eventually go to a good new home. |
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| 5. | Business Groups :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow International Business Association (MIBA)
Established in 1997 and politically supported by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, the Association organizes investment forums and other major business events in Moscow and abroad. MIBA has 18 regional offices, as well as offices in the US, Israel, Zambia, Germany and Finland. Recently MIBA’s member list contains about 200 foreign and Russian companies, dynamically working on Moscow and Russian market. The main purpose of MIBA is to form top-comfort conditions for SME activity in Moscow and regions Russian Government cooperates with.
Address: Novy Arbat ul., 36/9
Metro: Smolenskaya
Tel: 690-9107
Fax: 694-7820
E-mail: miba@mibas.ru
Web: www.mibas.ru |
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| 6. | About The Moscow Expat Site :: The virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians, Moscow, Russia
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Liability
The Moscow Expat Site ("the site") assumes no liability for the accuracy or truthfulness of messages posted by users of the "Message Folders". Anyone posting messages to The Moscow Expat Site assumes responsibility for the posting. While The Moscow Expat Site makes every effort to insure that other information on the site is accurate and up to date, the site and its publishers assume no liability for inaccurate or out of date information. Further, users of The Moscow Expat Site understand that by posting to the "Message Folders" they make available to all site users certain information about themselves, and, at the very minimum, provide other users with the means of contacting them publicly (through the "Message Folders") or privately (through the user's private mailbox). While The Moscow Expat Site shall take measures to warn and ultimately bar site users who are abusive, the site and its publishers assume no responsibility or liability for any responses that may be sent as a result of any posting made by a user to its "Message Folders". |
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| 10. | TV Sportland Calendar :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The NUMBER 1 bookmakers and sports bar in Moscow, dedicated to offering you the widest range of bets and the largest showing of live sports from around the world, 12:00 - 04:00 every day!
With a large projector screen, 60” Plasma and another 40 LCD/TV’s
We have more choice than any bar, where you can watch up to 20 different events simultaneously
In four different rooms!!
Our bookmakers covers every event so you can have a bet while watching your team win!
Not only the regular bets, we have all opportunities available including a full “in running” betting service
On all Live football matches!!
Added to this, Sportland is the ONLY place in Moscow to watch and bet on LIVE Horse & Dog racing from the UK, USA and South Africa, 7 days a week!!!
Our restaurant has a great range of meals and snacks with the biggest portions you have ever seen.
The bar is always fully stocked with Russian and Western beer/spirits at the most competitive prices.
Sportland Bookmakers – The only place in Moscow to watch and bet on what YOU want!!! |
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| 11. | Snow Arena Polo World Cup Moscow :: The virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians, Moscow, Russia
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Snow Arena Polo World Cup Moscow
February, 28-29
Central Moscow Hippodrome
Snow Arena Polo World Cup Moscow, to be held on February 28-29, 2004, in the Central Moscow Hippodrome, will be the first competition of its kind in Russia. Organized by the Moscow Polo Club, this will be a historic event in the sport of polo. Internationally renowned polo players and polo personalities have confirmed their participation. The list of invitees includes polo club owners, businessmen, politicians and polo fans from all over the world. One team from England and two teams from Italy will be battling for the honor of claiming to have won Russia’s first polo on snow tournament. The organizers expect this event to become an annual event and the final stop of the European polo on snow circuit which is played in France, Switzerland and Italy.
The aristocratic sport of polo has a long-established tradition in this part of the world. Russia’s first polo tournaments were held in the days of the tsars. However, the Bolshevik coup of 1917 caused a long break in this tradition.
Now, the Moscow Polo Club and its founding President Victor Huaco are reviving the sport of polo in Russia after nearly a century-long hiatus. The First Russian Polo Cup in 2003, which took place last September and featured some of the world’s best polo players, drew over 400 spectators. In that tournament, the ESN Group team emerged as the winner.
Snow Arena Polo World Cup Moscow will surely be one of the most exciting and spectacular events in Russia’s capital this year, in both the world of sports and the world of high society.
www.moscowpolo.com – the web site of Moscow Polo Club.
EVENT PROGRAM
SNOW ARENA POLO WORLD CUP MOSCOW
Date: Saturday 28th and Sunday the 29th of February 2004
12:00-16:00
TimeEvent12.00-12.30Arrival of the guests12.30-15.00 Officially announce the Opening of the tournament
Welcome of the President Moscow Polo Club
Polo teams parade
Players presentation
Games15.00 Closing the tournament
Prize giving
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| 12. | The Moscow Expat Site :: The virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians, Moscow, Russia
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Every day new on The Moscow Expat Site:
Culture Picks
Moscow's cultural scene is famously enormous and varied - but where to start? Our arts-savvy editorial team trawl what's on offer, to bring you our selection of Culture Picks for your leisure time.
Parks & Estates
If you'e feeling jaded by the grey grim concrete of your favourite haunts, Moscow is the perfect place to commune with nature without leaving the reaches of the Moscow Metro. The Moscow Expat Site has lined-up the complete listing of parks, former royal and aristocratic estates and other green spaces for your leisure-time hours, from black-tie outdoor classical concerts through to nudist beaches for those who like to get their kit off.
Moscow Phone Directory
Got your finger on the butten? Now you can, using the Moscow Expat Site Phone Directory - a unique listing of expat-friendly services and organizations that will be of maximum use and benefit to you. All the numbers are updated for accuracy, and many offer English-speaking services. Do more and find more in Moscow, with the Phone Directory!
Expat.ru is on Telegram!
Put the info, listings and links, parks and picks in your pocket! Expatsite on Tele packs all the opportunities, secrets, tips, vacancies in a channel-chat you should not be without!
Vacancies
The best people will always be in demand, so if you are seeking new challenges in your career or new outlets for your professional skills, let your mouse wander over to our Vacancies section, to find job openings posted and updated daily on The Moscow Expat Site. Vacancy of the day: A British School in the centre of Moscow is looking for a Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics IGCSE and IA-level teachers for 2024-2026. Successful candidates will have students getting B to A* in the subject in the past years, have solid classroom management skills and be dedicated to students’ progress. Part time as well as full time contracts may be considered. We offer visa support, medical insurance, meals, paid holidays, a competitive salary and work with a great team. |
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| 14. | The Origin of Romanovy Dynasty (17th Century)::The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Tired of civil war and anarchy, Moscow leading citizens gathered to elect a new tsar. In 1613, a 16-year old Mikhail Romanov, grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible's first wife Anastasia, was named hereditary tsar. Romanovy dynasty was to rule for more than 300 years up until the October Bolshevik revolution in 1917.
Mikhail Romanov (1613-1645) ruled together with his father, Moscow patriarch Filaret. They made considerable efforts to help the country to rise from the ruins. Mikhail also founded the tradition of state loans from other countries, the tradition of which Russia still can't get rid of. During his reign the amount of foreigners working for Tsar of Russia increased. So-called German Village (Sloboda) appeared in Moscow suburbs; later it became the favourite place of Peter the Great.
Mikhail's heir, Alexey the Quiet (1645-1676) made further steps in modernizing Russia, carried out the codification of the law, although it was exactly during his reign that serfdom, actual slavery, was legalized. In 1654 the Ukraine joined Russia extending influence of the Moscow state to the South. The most important event of Alexey's reign was the schism in the Church between the reformers, led by Patriarch Nikon, and the conservative Old Believers. Difference of opinion concerned mostly ritual details but the schism echoed in following centuries splitting the country into two camps always at enmity. |
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| 16. | Restaurant Reviews :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Restaurant Reviews
Planning to dine out? Visit the Expat Site Restaurant Guide
for a listing of restaurants and menus in English and Russian.
Every two weeks the Moscow Expat Site presents yet another Moscow eatery for your consideration.
If you'd like to suggest a restaurant for review - or even review a restaurant yourself - click here and we'll consider your suggestion. |
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| 17. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Allied Pickfords Moscow - Our Services
• Door-to-Door International Moves
• Export & Import of Artwork & Antiques
• Export & Import of Motor Vehicles
• Export & Import of Pets
• Comprehensive Insurance Cover
• Local Residential Moves
• Office Relocations
• Storage of Personal Belongings & Furniture
• Full Range of Western Packing Materials
• Free Surveys, Quotations and Moving Advice
• Full Relocation Services in Association with Delight Realty, including Home Search, School Search, Moscow Orientation Programs, Pre-Arrival Support, and Relocation Guide. |
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| 19. | The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The History of Moscow
The first reference to Moscow dates back to 1147 when Yuri Dolgoruky called upon the Prince of Novgorod-Seversky: "come to me, brother, to Moscow". Nine years later, in 1147, Prince Yuri Dolgorukov of Rostov ordered the construction of a wooden wall - which was to be rebuilt multiple times - to surround the emerging city. The city replaced Tver and became the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal during the reign of Ivan I. In 1480, Ivan III won a great victory against the Tatars and made Moscow the capital of the new Russian Empire that soon included all Russia and Siberia. Despite destruction by fires and Mongol and Tatar invasions, Moscow expanded until it became the national capital in the 16th century - when Ivan IV, Prince of Moscow, took the title "tsar". Peter the Great moved the capital to St.-Petersburg in 1712, and a consequent period of decline followed in Moscow. The city was burnt down again in 1812 during the war with Napoleon's France but was rebuilt and expanded rapidly as an industrial and communications center. After the 1917 Revolution Moscow again became the national capital in 1918 and has continued to grow in both size and influence, particularly since the end of WW2, to become the country's leading industrial, cultural and political center.
Ancient Times and Rise of Moscow (5th-15th Centuries)
Ivan the Terrible and the Times of Troubles (16th-17th Centuries) The Origin of Romanovy Dynasty (17th Century)
Reign of Peter the Great (Late 17th-18th Centuries)
Palace Revolutions and Catherine the Great (18th Century) Russia in the 19th Century
October Revolution (1917)
Soviet Union (1920-50s)
From Thaw to Perestroika (1950-90s)
Present Times |
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| 20. | Environmental Assessments
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7. Our laboratories
All the laboratories that we work with are accredited and state-approved.
Chemical analyses of air, soil, water, building materials, furniture and foodstuffs are carried out at the analytical centre of the chemistry faculty at Moscow State University.
Bacteriological analyses of air, water, soil and samples from various surfaces are carried out in the Gamaleya research institute.
The measurement of noise and vibration levels are carried out by the analytical centre of the physics faculty at Moscow State University.
The equipment used to measure electromagnetic fields and radiation levels is certified and state-approved. |
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| 22. | Ask your Visa and Travel advisor
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Are you going to travel to Russia, or do you plan to go abroad? Do you need to register your visa, or want to work officially and get a work permit? Or maybe you have other travel inquires and do not know how to fulfill your plans?
Please address your questions to your online Visa and Travel advisor Andrew’s Travel House. We really like the idea of helping people!
Just a brief company history, so you can rely on our services even more. The result of a successful merger between Andrew's Consulting and Travel House, Andrews Travel House is one of the oldest and largest corporate travel management companies in Russia, being active in this field since 1994. Andrews Travel House offers a complete travel service including flight booking, accommodation and visa services for foreigners wishing to travel within Russia, and for Russians looking to travel abroad.
In addition to providing one-stop corporate travel services, Andrews Travel House offers incentive programs, training seminars and special leisure packages for corporate clients and their staff, as well as high class FIT services for individual travelers via partner agencies.
For more information on any of our services contact Andrews Travel House
in Moscow: +7 (095) 916-9898, in St.Petersburg: +7 (812) 325-9400,
or in London: +44 (0) 20 77272838. E-mail: moscow@ath.ru
Web: www.ath.ru, www.russianvisa.ru |
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| 23. | Russia in the 19th Century::The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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In 1812 Napoleon army invaded Russia. Russia had already taken part in the war against Napoleon but suffered defeats against France, such as the Battle of Austerlitz (1805), and signed the humiliating Treaty of Tilsit in 1807. This time everything was different. This critical situation united Russian people and helped them to find powers to expel Frenchmen out of the country. The weather was also on the Russian side as Napoleon had underestimated severe climate in Russia and, left without supplies, hundreds of thousands French soldiers froze to death during their winter campaign. In order to save the country and not to let Napoleon enjoy triumphal entry to the ancient capital, the great Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov decided to sacrifice Moscow. Deserting the city, Russian troops set Moscow on fire; as a result two thirds of the wooden city were destroyed. Left without food, which they hoped to find in Moscow, French soldiers were forced to abandon the city and start their terrible retreat.
Later Moscow's architectural look was completely changed; a brand new architectural plan was introduced by Osip Bove, the chief architect of Moscow reconstruction after 1812. Rebuilding the historical centre of the city, Bove introduced extremely patriotic Empire Style, mostly presented in noble mansions.
The Napoleonic wars were a turning point in the history of the Russian Empire, as many soldiers returned from Europe "infected" with liberal ideas. Moscow became a fertile environment for the seeds of growing political discontent, which resulted in so-called "Decembrists Rebellion". The Decembrists strove for the freedom of the serfs, constitutional monarchy and other civil rights. But this small group of liberal noblemen couldn?t change the situation; instead they provoked a period of reaction and stagnation during the reign of "the Iron Tsar", Nikolay I (1825-1855).
Finally the Big day for Russian peasants came: 1861 is the year of the Emancipation of the serfs. Slavery in Russia was officially over and some other liberal reforms by tsar Alexander II (1855-1881) opened the way for capitalism in Russia. Anyhow, former serfs were too poor to buy their own land and were forced to go to Moscow and other big cities searching for a job, as it was the time of rapid advances in industrialization. They worked at factories 14-16 hours a day, while their families were starving at home. Their miserable existence was one of the reasons why the Bolshevik's revolution was accepted so easily by the working classes. |
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| 25. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Hamovniki::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Hamovniki Area
A large number of the buildings were constructed during the Stalin epoch; therefore, the architecture is quite specific, surviving the buildings of "a new era" (Soviet period architecture). The area was a suburban land of Moscow, and up until the 17th century, this place was considered inconvenient and dangerous for settlement due to the proximity to the Crimean ford - a Tatar raid route near Moscow.
In the late 17th century, this green picturesque area drew a lot of attention, which was followed by the rise of suburban estates with regular parks, ponds and buildings belonging to such eminent families as Dolgoruky Volkonskiy, Galitzin, Trubetskoy, Obolensky, Kropotkin, to mention but a few. Until the late 19th century, the area was famous for its meadows and gardens, owned by Count V. Orlov. The erection of modern plots on Frunzenskaya embankment and Komsomolsky prospect began only after the revolution in the late 1920s. First there were a few 4 to 5 storey houses for the workers of the silk factory. Then there began an intensive development of the area - the scope of work had tremendous character. Frunzenskaya embankment was erected in granite and combined piers for river trams. A lot of Stalin style architecture buildings, such as the Ministry of Defense were built in this period. Most of the buildings in the Hamovniki area are of the business-class, and actually the area is one of the most rapidly developing in Moscow.
Frunzenskaya Embankment
Stretching along the Moscow River, this neighbourhood is close to the city center and features spacious old courtyards and clean air. The green parks of southern Moscow are located right across the river: Gorky Park runs into ancient Neskuchny Sad with its picturesque summerhouses dating back to the late 18th century. Riverboats busily glide up and down the river during summer months.
The infrastructure of the Frunzenskaya area is entertainment-oriented. There are lots of restaurants, cafes, bars, cinemas and MDM entertainment center. Large supermarkets are available on Komsomolsky prospekt. Residential buildings in this neighbourhood mainly date back to Stalin's times. Apartments typically have high ceilings and large windows, with some offering great views onto Frunzenskaya embankment. |
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| 27. | Reign of Peter the Great (Late 17th-18th Centuries)::The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Peter the Great
Peter the Great was probably the most discussed, most controversial and most extraordinary Russian Tsar. Determined to bring Russia back on her feet and to make her a modern European state, Peter the Great wouldn't stop at nothing, thus making Russia's way to progress rather painful.
As a child he had seen relatives murdered in Kremlin during the Streltsy rebellion (strelets - member of privileged military corps in the 17th century Russia). This may have affected his character developing his predisposition to fits of rage and a pathological distrust for Moscow. 16 years later Peter got the chance for revenge on the Streltsys, when he executed over a thousand of them after another rebellion. This was a perfect demonstration of how he used to deal with his enemies.
Hatred for patriarchal Moscow and desire to change stagnant way of living in Russia forced Peter the Great to carry out many crucial reforms. In order to get familiar with modern European technologies in shipbuilding and other fields, he became the first tsar ever to go abroad with the aim of studying. After this educational trip Peter got reforms going: he built Russian navy, reformed the army, restructured administrative system, supported the development of Russian industry and trade. He was also a very successful commander, defeating the Swedes, who had been a threat to Russia for more than a century, and the Turks, giving Russia free access to the Black and Caspian Sea. All this allowed to say that Peter the Great "hacked a window to Europe" for Russia.
Being an admirer of Western life, Peter the Great insisted on Western style clothing for his courtiers, literally shaved boyars' beards, which reminded him of so much hated old Russia. His reforms split Russian society into Slavophiles and Westerners; this division lasted for centuries. Peter's final step in fighting the spirit of old Russia was the removal of the capital from Moscow to recently built pompous St.Petersburg, a city standing on the swamps and bones of dead builders. For the next 200 years Moscow existed in St.Petersburg's shadow being Russia's second city. |
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| 28. | Dating Agency
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Matchmaking service
If you need our professional matchmaking advice feel free to visit our Moscow office. We will arrange a date with a lady for you at the time and place convenient for you.
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| 29. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow Neighbourhoods
The city is divided into ten administrative okrugs (regions) and 123 districts. Nine of the ten administrative regions, except the City of Zelenograd, are located within Moscow's main boundaries. All administrative okrugs and districts have their own emblem and flags, some districts also have elected head officials.
The ten administrative okrugs of Moscow are: 1) City of Zelenograd; 2) Northern okrug; 3) North-Eastern okrug; 4) North-Western okrug; 5) Central okrug; 6) Eastern okrug; 7) Southern okrug; 8) South-Eastern okrug; 9) South-Western okrug 10) Western okrug.
In addition to the districts, there are Territorial Units with Special Status, or territories. These usually include areas with small or no permanent populations, such as the case with the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, the Botanical Garden, large parks, and industrial zones. There are no ethnic-specific regions in Moscow. And although districts are not designated by income, as with most cities, those areas that are closer to the city centre, metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious. Moscow does not yet have any exclusively residential or commercial neighbourhoods with most central districts providing a mix of residential and office buildings along with retail space.
Arbat
Boulevard Ring
Hamovniki
Kitai-Gorod
Krasnaya Presnya
Lubyanka Patriarshiye Prudy
Polyanka-Yakimanka
Prechistenka-Ostozhenka-Volkhonka
Pushkinskaya Square
The Kremlin Area
Tverskaya
Zamoskvorechiye |
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| 30. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow Neighbourhoods
The city is divided into ten administrative okrugs (regions) and 123 districts. Nine of the ten administrative regions, except the City of Zelenograd, are located within Moscow's main boundaries. All administrative okrugs and districts have their own emblem and flags, some districts also have elected head officials.
The ten administrative okrugs of Moscow are: 1) City of Zelenograd; 2) Northern okrug; 3) North-Eastern okrug; 4) North-Western okrug; 5) Central okrug; 6) Eastern okrug; 7) Southern okrug; 8) South-Eastern okrug; 9) South-Western okrug 10) Western okrug.
In addition to the districts, there are Territorial Units with Special Status, or territories. These usually include areas with small or no permanent populations, such as the case with the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, the Botanical Garden, large parks, and industrial zones. There are no ethnic-specific regions in Moscow. And although districts are not designated by income, as with most cities, those areas that are closer to the city centre, metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious. Moscow does not yet have any exclusively residential or commercial neighborhoods with most central districts providing a mix of residential and office buildings along with retail space.
Arbat
Boulevard Ring
Hamovniki
Kitai-Gorod
Krasnaya Presnya
Lubyanka
Patriarshiye Prudy Polyanka-Yakimanka
Prechistenka-Ostozhenka
Pushkinskaya Square
The Kremlin Area
Tverskaya
Volkhonka
Zamoskvorechiye |
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| 36. | Palace Revolutions and Catherine the Great (18th Century)::The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Palace Revolutions
From the death of Peter the Great to the beginning of Catherine the Great's reign, Moscow throne was occupied by six different monarchs who came to power after dirty palace intrigues and palace revolutions. Two of them - Ivan Antonovich and Peter III - were deposed by force and assassinated. This period was the time of political instability, when the country was mostly ruled by women and minors (so-called "The Petticoat Period"). They all thought little of country's prosperity, paying attention to balls, luxury and fun; although that was good for Russian architecture: many palaces were built and some interesting architectural tendencies were introduced. That concerned mostly St.Petersburg as monarchs preferred to live in this Europeanized city. Only Elizabeth the First (1741-1761), daughter of Peter the Great, decided to live in Moscow periodically, presenting the former capital with a flurry of new buildings. This fun-loving empress is also the one to thank for the foundation of Moscow State University in 1755, the first University in Russia. She was guided by Russia's 18th-century Renaissance man Mikhail Lomonosov, the poet and the scientist in one.
Catherine the Great
In 1762 the wife of Peter III, a German princess, planned a conspiracy, as a result of which her husband was dethroned and killed. Under the name of Catherine II she proved herself as an energetic and intelligent leader. She was one of the most educated monarchs of her time, art and literature lover, even Voltaire and Didro were among her correspondents. Catherine the Great was known to share views of the Enlightenment ideologists, but in fact she was an adherent of Absolutism, Russia under Catherine the Great became a perfect example of an absolute monarchy. Catherine aimed to continue the centralization of power using rough methods, she liquidated self-government in the Ukraine, suppressed many peasant rebellions (Pugachev's Rebellion for example), made territorial gains at the expense of Turkey and Poland. At the same time she carried out a progressive reform of education in Russia, reform of Russia's legal system and some other innovations. |
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| 37. | Airports::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Domodedovo
Tel: 933-6666, arrivals and departures can also be checked online at www.domodedovo.ru Today, Domodedovo works with 80 partner airlines, including 30 Russian, 35 foreign and 15 air carriers from the CIS countries, which fly to 220 destinations in Russia and world-wide. Moscow Domodedovo Airport is easily accessible at any time of the day. The airport complex is connected with the capital by a modern speedway which enables our passengers to catch their flights on time using public transportation or taxi, as well as their personal vehicles. The airport offers a network of convenient parking areas. Moscow Domodedovo Airport operates an additional passenger terminal located in downtown Moscow, in the Paveletsky Railway Station building. The terminal is connected with the airport by a regular railway service - Aeroexpress.
HOW TO GET TO DOMODEDOVO
Aeroexpress
Paveletsky railway station has a city passenger terminal connected to Domodedovo airport by high-speed railway. The comfortable high-speed Aeroexpress train travels to and from Paveletsky-Moscow and Domodedovo Airport. Time of journey: 40-50 minutes. Fare: 300 Rbs (adult), 80 Rbs (children). Departure from Paveletsky railway station hourly from 06:00 untill 23:40. Departure from Domedovo hourly from 07:00 untill 00:40.
Commuter Train
This train goes from Moscow, Paveletsky station to Domodedovo airport and from the airport to Moscow, Paveletsky station, with all stops en route. Time of journey: 1 hour 10 minutes. Fare: 92 Rbs. Special rate tickets: 46 Rbs. Children: 22,9 Rbs.
Express Buses
Modern Scania, Man, Mercedes buses go non-stop to Domodedovo airport from Domodedovskaya underground station. Timetable: from 06:00 to 00:00. Time of journey: 25-30 minutes. Departure time: every 15 minutes. Fare: 80 Rbs. Children under 7 go free of charge. Luggage carriage is free of charge. Ticketing: one may acquire a bus ticket in the passenger terminal, near the 0 (zero) counter at the domestic arrivals area. Bus stops: 1) Domodedovo airport - at the airport landside area between the entrances 2 and 3; 2) Domodedovskaya metro station - get off the last carriage of the train (if you go from the city centre), turn right in the pedestrian subway. The bus stop is close to the subway exit.
Shuttles
Mini buses go from Domodedovskaya underground station to the airport round the clock. Timetable: from 06:00 to 00:00. Time of journey: 25-30 minutes. Departure time: every 15 minutes. Nighttime schedule (from 00:00 to 06:00): 00-00; 00-40; 01-20; 02-00; 02-40; 03-20; 04-00; 04-40; 05-20; 06-00. In case of non-observance of the departure time, call, 8-800-200-33-66 (24 hours a day).
Taxi
To get to the International Domodedovo Airport by taxi you need to use the Kashirskoye shosse - 22 km to the south from Moscow. Official taxi carriers for Domodedovo airport:
MV-Motors (Citroen, Doninvest-Condor, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Sonata 5)
Gorodskoe taxi (City Taxi)(Peugeot 406, Peugeot 607, Peugeot 807, Peugeot Partner, Ford, Ford Mondeo. Ford Galaxy)
"Formula taxi" (Renault Logan).
By Car
The main road leading to the airport from Moscow is Kashirskoe shosse, which flows into the airport junction road (Domodedovo Airport road). Both paid and free parking lots are available at Domodedovo International Airport. At paid parking lots 15 minutes period from the moment of arrival is free of charge. Some airlines offer check-in for your flight directly at Paveletsky railway station: Sibir, Domodedovo Airlines, TransAero. For passengers flying British Airways, there are two counters for self-service check-in at the airport. If you are late for checking-in, proceed to the late passengers check-in counter. |
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| 38. | Patriarshy Dom Tours :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Capital Tours is the first company in Russia organizing regular daily City Bus Tours, weekly Kolomenskoye Estate, Lubyanka and Gulag tour, Metro tour, Red Square and Kitai Gorod tour (including St.Basil's Cathedral). Regardless of the weather, we are always at your service. Capital Tours offers you a commentary by an English-speaking guide. Moscow All Around (The Moscow City Bus Tour): 7 days a week (even if it snows) Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30, 13:30; Monday, Wednesday at 10:30 only. Adults: in the office 950 Rbs, on the bus 1000 Rbs, children: in the office 450 Rbs, on the bus 500 Rbs, Lubyanka and Gulag tour: every Thursday from 14:00 to 16:30. Adults: 1000 Rbs, children: 800 Rbs, Kolomenskoye Estate: every Thursday from 10:30 to 13:30. Adults: 1000 Rbs, children: 800 Rbs; Metro Tour: every Sunday from 11:00 to 13:00. Adults: 700 Rbs, children: 500 Rbs; Red Square and Kitai Gorod tour: every Sunday from 14:00 to 17:00. Adults: 1000 Rbs, children: 400 Rbs.
Address: Gostiny Dvor, Ilyinka ul., 4, vkhod 6, 7. Tel: 232-2442, Fax: 234-2717; capitaltours@col.ru.
At the Russian-American Cultural Center we offer unique group tours, led in each case by an expert in the field. We offer other services, including hotel reservations, special private tours tailored to individual interests, both in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We also offer group or private Russian language classes for all levels as well as interpreting and organizational support for business negotiations. You can also book plane and trane tickets with us.
In Russia:
Tel/Fax: (501/495) 795-0927
E-mail: alanskaya@co.ruIn the United States:
Tel/Fax: 1 650 6787076
E-mail: pdtours@yahoo.com
Web: www.toursinrussia.com
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| 39. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Krasnaya Presnya::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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In the 17th and 18th centuries, the area developed as a craftsmen's and trade center. Presnya became a large arts and craft shopping centre of the city and a favourite vacation spot for Muscovites. Now it is a very popular location where structures of federal and city value are located: the House of the Government of the Russian Federation, the World Trade Centre, the Moscow Zoo, the Cinema House, ITAR-TASS, Expo Centre. The construction of the large business centre "Moscow City" will cause an active development of this area, eventually turning it into a modern Manhattan. This area is not on the elite areas list despite the fact that one of the very first and well-known elite houses in Moscow - Agalarov House - was erected here. On the other hand, the affinity to Kutuzovsky prospect makes it very attractive to many people. Krasnaya Presnya has some very good, modern apartment buildings, especially on Zoologicheskaya street. Bolshaya and Malaya Gruzinskaya streets are also popular with expatriates, as is Novinsky boulevard.
Despite its revolutionary past (the first strikes that preceded the October Revolution began here), famous American millionaire Armand Hammer built Moscow's first modern skyscraper here in the 1970s. Today it is referred to as the International Trade Center and Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Bolshaya and Malaya Nikitskaya
Bolshaya Nikitskaya street is hard to stick to one Moscow area, as it stretches along from the very center and adjoins Barrikadnaya street in Krasnaya Presnya. Both Bolshaya ("Great") and Malaya ("Small") Nikitskaya streets take their names from the old Nikitsky Monastery founded here in the late 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries they were mostly inhabited by the aristocracy. Luckily, narrow and densely built Bolshaya Nikiskaya was not reconstructed in Soviet times and kept a lot of remarkable buildings.
At the beginning of Bolshaya Nikitskaya one can see the building of Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, constructed after Bykovsky's project especially for this unique collection of zoological rarities. The facade is decorated by zoological mouldings; the light and airy interiors designed by famous animalists design in the same style.
The next attractive building here is the Moscow Conservatory. Vasily Bazhenov designed it in the late 18th century for princess Catherine Dashkova; in I860 it was bought for the Moscow section of the Imperial Russian Music Society headed by outstanding musician Nikolay Rubinstein.
In 1954 a monument to Tchaikovsky, the famous Russian musician and one of the conservatory's founders, was put up in front of the building. In 1940 the Conservatory was named in his honour and since 1958 the Tchaikovsky International Competitions have been held here.
Povarskaya
In the 16th century the area to the south from Bolshaya Nikitskaya street was mostly inhabited by the royal cooks; no wonder that the word "povar" ("cook") became an origin of the street's name. The names of many neighbouring lanes are also connected with the kitchen: Stolovy ("Table"), Khlebny ("Bread"), Nozhovy ("Knife") and others.
In the 18th century Povarskaya was densely populated by Moscow nobles; till the revolution it was considered to be the most aristocratic street in the city. After the revolution luxury mansions of the nobles were either occupied by the State institutions or put at the disposal of foreign embassies.
The church of St. Simeon Stolpnik is situated right in the beginning of the street, at the corner of Novy Arbat and Povarskaya streets. Former parish church of Nikolay Gogol, it's the only 17th-century building on Novy Arbat not touched by the Soviet reconstruction.
Mindovsky's house on the corner of Povarskaya street and Skaryatinsky lane is considered to be one of the best examples of Russian Art Nouveau. Now this architectural masterpiece is occupied by the embassy of the New Zealand. A picturesque mansion with a colonnade on the facade in the end of the street formerly belonged to Sollogub family. But it's much more widely known to Muscovites as the "Rostov House", as Lev Tolstoy "settled" here the heroes of his world-famous novel "War and Peace". The imaginary story of the great writer somehow affected the real destiny of this building: since 1932 it houses the Union of Writers organization. |
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| 40. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Patriarshiye Prudy::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The cultural and aristocratic center of Moscow is situated around Patriarshiye Prudy ("Patriarch's Ponds"). Currently, there is only one pond, surrounded by the garden. In the 17th century, it was a whole district called the Goat Marsh, which was part of the Patriarch's suburb. Here, somewhere in the vicinity, was the Patriarch Zhitnii yard. By order of the Patriarch, the Ponds were dug to "supply" fish for the patriarchal table. The choice of the location was ideal, because the ground was swampy and required drainage, and the settlement was one of the centers of the patriarchal economy. In the 17th century, Patriarchiye Prudy were kept clean, but over the years, they were abandoned and forgotten; only after the war of 1812 were the ponds cleaned. Nowadays, the best locations in this area are with a view over the pond. During the warm summer days, the park is filled with people promenading, children playing games and young people sitting and talking on the benches, while in the winter, the pond turns into an ice rink. The area hosts the best restaurants, main theaters and nightlife. This area is also legendary from the literary point of view: a lot of Russian writers (and their protagonists) lived here.
Moreover this is a very popular residential area. It allows for easy access to many central points of interest, including the Kremlin, Tverskaya street with all its stores and restaurants, the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow Conservatory, as well as various fitness and health clubs. The best apartments are located around the pond and along Spiridonovka street, Granatny lane, Bolshaya and Malaya Bronnaya streets, Trekhprudny and Kozikhinsky lanes.
Spiridonovka Street
Spiridonovka street took its name from the no longer existing St. Spiridony Church. The most interesting building here is No 17, one of the first Schechter's works - the Morozov's mansion, built in the late 19th century. Here Gothicism and Neo-Gothicism are mixed; later this specific mixture became the basis for Russian Art Nouveau. The first owner of the house, millionaire and patron of the arts Savva Morozov devoted his whole life (and the huge part of his reaches) to the Moscow Arts Theatre, but the conflict with the theatre management and other nuisances became the cause of his suicide. Currently the Morozov's mansion is the Reception House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
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| 41. | Soviet Union (1920-50s)::The History of Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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In December 1922 the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics was proclaimed; Moscow became capital of the new state. Within a very short time the Bolsheviks had shown that they cared about democracy and civil rights as much as the tsar, ignoring the existing Constitution, establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat (in fact the dictatorship of the Communist Party), and setting up one of the most frightening and blood-thirsty secret services in the world history, the CheKa (the ancestor of KGB).
The first person to govern the Soviet Union was Vladimir Lenin. Being a charismatic speaker, he managed to captivate millions of souls with his obsessive communistic ideas. For many decades Lenin was almost God to Russians; the entire nation went crazy: songs were written about Lenin, thousands of monuments to him were erected all over the country and icons were replaced with Lenin's portraits.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Iosif Stalin took his position as General Secretary of the Communist party. A real paranoiac and sadist, Stalin gradually removed all his enemies and possible rivals. Most of his comrades-in-arms ended up in prisons, labour camps or were simply executed. Several waves of purges brought millions of innocent people to labour camps, where most of them died of inhuman treatment and starvation.
Meanwhile in the countryside the collectivisation of agriculture began. Peasants were obliged to give up their land and property to collective farms and work for them for a small salary or even for no salary. People were forced to give up all corn that they had; that caused famine in 1931-32, when more than 10 million starved to death.
Stalin's regime encouraged denunciation and spying. People were afraid to speak in their own houses, always waiting for a neighbour to overhear something and tell the CheKa. Secret agents could come in the night and take anyone with them without explanation; people arrested by the CheKa were mourned as murdered victims.
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
Stalin put too much into his dirty business dismissing more than three quarters of army officers. The Great Dictator got the chance to regret it when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. In 1939 a secret Non-Aggression Pact was signed by Germany and the Soviet Union therefore the Soviets were caught by surprise by the summer invasion. While the country tried to summon up its powers, the Germans advanced rapidly and by December of 1941 they were already near Moscow. But Hitler, just as Napoleon 130 years before, underestimated the harshness of Moscow winter and outstanding courage of Russian soldiers. After a famous battle, partly ruined, Moscow escaped destruction. So did Leningrad (former St.Petersburg) but it paid a horrible price: the city was besieged for more than 900 days; almost no food supplies were left and people were dying of hunger in the streets. More than two thirds of city's population never saw the end of the siege.
In 1943 after the battle of Stalingrad it was already clear that the victory of the Soviet Union was only a matter of time. In 1945 victorious Soviet Army occupied Berlin and on May 8 Germany signed capitulation. The war of 1941-1945, which caused death of more than 20 million Russian people, is known in the history of Russia as the Great Patriotic War.
But while the whole world celebrated the victory over the Nazis, Stalin got the wheel of repressions going again, as he wanted to get rid of those who had seen what it was like in so called capitalistic world. The terror lasted until his death in 1953.
These new times brought new major changes to Moscow architecture: in 1935 the General plan of the Moscow reconstruction was accepted. Its aim was to change the appearance of Moscow according to the new political doctrine. At the same time tens of churches and cathedrals were being destroyed; new times brought new religion: the belief in Soviet "bright future". |
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| 42. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The Pre-Move Survey
In order to obtain a detailed written quotation for your move, your moving company will offer you to carry out a pre-move survey of your personal belongings at your residence. This survey should be carried out by a qualified moving consultant; it should be free of charge and should not put you under any kind of obligation toward the moving company.
The purposes of the pre-move survey are to:
Provide your moving company with a good idea as to the volume and nature of your shipment (personal belongings, artwork and antiques, motor vehicles, pets, etc.).
Confirm the final destination (city and country) for your shipment and supply you with information on your destination country, including information on the import customs regulations.
Inform you of the various available shipping methods for your relocation, including approximate transit times to your destination country. Based on your personal requirements, moving schedule and budget, your international moving consultant will help you determine the best shipping method or combination of shipping methods.
Discuss your moving schedule, including your prospective packing dates, your personal departure date from Russia / your origin country), your personal arrival date in your destination country / Russia, and the required delivery dates.
Tell you about the customs formalities that are necessary to clear your shipment through customs at both ends of your move.
Explain the Ministry of Culture procedure for the export of artwork and antiques to you (if your move originates in Russia).
Answer any questions you might have regarding packing & packing materials, including special packing and/or wooden crating for fragile or high-value items.
Explain the insurance cover offered by your moving company.
Discuss any special requirements and answer any additional questions you might have concerning your upcoming move.
All of Allied Pickfords Moscow's moving consultants are completely bilingual (English / Russian), with some also speaking German and French. In fact, all of our moving consultants around the world speak English - in addition to the language of their native country.
Please contact the Allied Pickfords Moscow anytime at (+7 095) 796-93-25, or send an e-mail to relocations@alliedpickfords.ru to set up a date and time for a free survey of your personal belongings. If you are moving to Russia from another country, please also contact our Moscow. We will then put you in touch with a qualified moving consultant from our office in your origin country. |
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| 43. | Moscow Neighbourhoods::Prechistenka-Ostozhenka::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The area has a rich historical background and several exceptional sides: it is situated on the river bank near the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Kremlin, Red Square and some of the most popular museums. The architecture of the area corresponded to the unpretentious tastes of its inhabitants: modest apartment houses were side by side with taverns and bars. Over many centuries of its existence, it has earned the reputation of the most expensive, prestigious and fashionable area of the city. Moscow's guests are attracted by its proximity to the historic walls of the Kremlin and the domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The area is very calm and cosy.
Prechistenka and Ostozhenka streets seem to be twins: their names are always mentioned together but their role in Moscow history was different.
Prechistenka was popular among nobility and it is still well seen in local toponyms: many streets wear names of famous noble families (Gagariny, Lopukhiny, Naschekiny). Best architects were invited to design patrimonial palaces for them. Luckily many of the mansions survived through all the fires and historical cataclysms and today allow us to enjoy this corner of old Moscow. In the beginning of Prechistenka an old house called Krasnye Palaty ("Red Chambers") is hiding behind the monument to Engels. Built in the end of the 17th century former residence of prince Lopukhin was completely forgotten. Only in 1972, partly ruined and partly reconstructed, it was discovered by accident among the houses prepared for the demolishing due to president Nikson's visit. House No 11 which is now Tolstoy museum and house No 12, Pushkin Museum, have more in common than just being museums of great persons: these former noble mansions were both built after projects of architect Grigoriev and they are both known as masterpieces of Moscow Empire style.
The Academy of Art occupies house No 21; until 1917 it belonged to a member of the famous manufacturer family - Ivan Morozov. Love to art was in the blood of this family and Ivan was not an exception: being a true admirer of Impressionism, he possessed one of the best collections of modern European art in Russia (Manet, Sisley, Van Gogh, and Renoir). He was also the first patron of Mark Chagall.
Prechistenskiye Vorota Square
If you go around the Cathedral than at the corner of Soymonovsky passage and Prechistenskaya embankment there is one house that stands out among others - Pertsov's house (No 1). This unusual apartment house was designed by Malutin, the official author of "matreshka". He attempted to revive the world of pagan antiquity and tried to create the spirit of pre-Christian times by using the symbols of the chief deity of the pagan pantheon and mysterious sombre colours. From 1908 to 1915 it housed a legendary cabaret "The Bat" and remembers Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko and many other actors as its visitors. Now Pertsov's house belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ostozhenka
Ostozhenka appeared as part of the old road from "Kievan Rus" to "Vladimir-Suzdal Rus", directly adjacent to the crossing of the Moscow River, the so-called Crimean bridge. In contradiction to Prechistenka, Ostozhenka was rather modest street. Apartment houses, inns and cheap eating places - that is Ostozhenka of the 19th century. Moscow aristocracy disliked decent Ostozhenka and began to settle there only in the 18th century and in the first quarter of the 19th century. Although the fire of 1812 demolished most mansions, the spirit of ancient medieval times still lives on in the narrow winding quiet lanes, old yards and houses that stretch down to the Moscow River. Today Ostozhenka is a beautiful, safe and very convenient neighbourhood adjacent to the Arbat area. Within walking distance, you will find Kremlin, Pushkin Museum, Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
As every street Ostozhenka has its legends. According to one of them merchant Filatov decided to quit drinking and as a result of this crucial decision we see a symbolic wine-glass turned upside-down on the top of his apartment house (house No 3 at the corner of Ostozhenka and Obydensky lane). One of Moscow's most interesting styles in architecture was Art Nouveau, or Modern, and Ostozhenka is a proud "owner" of such a beautiful sample of it as Kekushev's mansion (No 21). Kekushev together with the architect of Moderne Fedor Schechter created true architectural masterpieces in the beginning of the 20th century.
Matvey Kozakov designed an impressive residence for P. Eropkin, Moscow Commander-in-Chief during the reign of Catherine the Great. He suppressed a "plague riot" in 1771 when frightened people were about to destroy the city. Today his house is an alma mater for future polyglots: the Moscow University of Linguistics. Pozharny lane boasts proudly rising bronze Peter the Great surrounded by fogs of the Moscow River. This surreal sight sometimes shocks foreign visitors. |
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| 44. | Outings::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Outings
Hit the Beach!
When it gets hot, there is nothing like sun, sand - and whatever inland surf you can muster. Here are some leading Moscow beaches.
Swimming Pools
If you don't want to trek to the beach, take a dip in one of a number of swimming pools. Most pools require a medical certificate, which you can get right at the pool for an extra charge, or from your regular doctor or neighbourhood clinic. Here are some Moscow swimming pools.
River Cruises
There is no better way to sit back and enjoy the sights on a hot summer day than a two hour cruise on one of the boats that ply the Moscow River. The boats feature an upper level open-air deck and a closed deck below. Most have a bar that offers liquor, soft drinks and some snacks.
You can embark and disembark from any pier, but we recommend starting from the Kievsky Bridge and riding all the way to the end point at Novospassky Monastery. From there you can either pay another fare (you have to get off and go to the cashier's booth) or catch a cab or bus. Piers are located at: Kievsky Bridge, Vorobyovy Gory, Frunzenskaya Embankment, Park Kultury, Estrada Theatre, Rossia Hotel, Novospassky Bridge. The boats run from 11:00 until 21:00 daily, sometimes a bit later on the weekends, at half-hour intervals. The ticket price is 400 Rbs for adults, 150 Rbs for children, children up to 6 year old - free of charge.
There are also cruises of one to seven hours departing from both the Northern Riverboat Terminal (Severny Rechnoi Vokzal) and the Southern Riverboat Terminal. A seven-hour cruise from the Northern Riverboat Terminal includes a three-hour stop at a beach area. The ticket prices range from 250 to 800 Rbs for adults, and from 100 to 300 Rbs for children. The boats run from 06:15 until 21:30 daily. You can find detailed information here.
Summer Verandas
"Grab the day!" as the ancient philosophers said... why sit indoors looking at those same four walls when you could enjoy a drink or a meal outdoors in the glorious sunshine? The Moscow Expat Site's coolest insiders share their top tips for al fresco grazing in a specially updated listing of Summer Terraces where you can relax outdoors.
City Parks and Estates
Moscow has many large and pleasant parks. Some are plain parks, others have ponds or beaches and yet others contain old palaces, estates or other places of interest. Most parks are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Note that most neighbourhoods also have smaller local parks, some of which have playgrounds.
Hiking and Running
Virtually every Sunday morning, come snow, sleet or heat, a group of Russians, expats, and short-term visitors gathers for a 10 to 15-km hike. For the latest schedule visit the Community Calendar. For runners there is the Hash House Harriers, who like to describe themselves as drinkers with a running problem. They meet just by the entrance of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (last doors from the metro entrance, under the overhang, near the Mayakovskaya metro exit on Tverskaya ul.) to run or walk in a local park for 40 minutes to an hour at a gentle pace. Again, you can visit the Community Calendar for the latest schedule.
Sports Opportunities
If you are a sport fan, you can choose one of the following venues:
Aero Clubs
Dive Centers
Golf Clubs
Horse Riding Clubs
Paintball Clubs
Squash Courts
Tennis Courts
Water Parks
Yachting & Windsurfing Clubs
Outside Moscow
Summer is perfect for exploring neighbourhoods, the more especially as Moscow Region offers so many beautiful places waiting to be discovered. You have so many options to spend a fabulous weekend far away from the noise, dust and everyday problem. Commuter trains (elektrichkas) are at your services covering all possible destinations outside Moscow. You can just blindly point to a map and experience the fun of an extremely unprepared and unplanned trip. Or you can plan it all in advance, booking a room in one of many country hotels, located from 5 to 50 km away from Moscow. Driving is another option. You can drive your own car, or hire one from the car rental company. |
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| 45. | Tourism::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Tourism
Moscow has a growing number of first-class international hotels and several smaller hostels that offer quality accommodation at more reasonable price. A hotel can be called a "gostinitsa" or an "otel" in Russian. If you intend to stay at a hotel with your pet, make sure that this is possible - not all hotels in Moscow allow pets.
TYPES OF HOTELS
The present Moscow hotel market in general can be divided into 5 groups:
luxury 4-5-star hotels;
tourist-class hotels;
small private 3-4-star hotels;
former ex-Soviet and present hotels of the state departments;
country hotels.
As for 4-5-star hotels, the majority of them are owned or managed by the western hospitality companies (such are "Marriott", "Sheraton", and "Kempinski"). But though some of them in fact belong to the city and are administered by purely Russian management, it doesn't mean a low quality of service.
Hotels of the second category in most cases still carry some features of Soviet time. It is reflected in general management, as well as in the level of service and equipment. Anyway central hotels of this category have no problems with visitors. This determines their price policy: $100-350 per day for a room.
The service standards in 4-5-star hotels have much in common with the western ones. The compulsory set of the facilities includes: parking, safe, room service, satellite TV, business centre (with internet access, copying, faxing, etc.), air conditioning, telephone, mini-bar, different stalls. Depending on the hotel you may be offered a fitness-centre, swimming pool, beauty salon, conference-halls, no-smoking rooms, concierge's services. Unfortunately most of the hotels, even expensive ones, have no conveniences for disabled people.
The prices in the majority of Moscow hotels are quoted in USD, but will be charged in roubles at the prevailing rate. Be careful: many hotels don't include 20% VAT into their prices. According to Russian laws all the payments are received in roubles. The rate of exchange in the hotel may be higher than one for which you've changed money.
Nearly all the hotels accept credit cards, but there are hotels and restaurants which for some reasons don't accept American Express cards. Travelling with children, you should check the amount of the additional payment, which may vary from 0 to 50% depending on the hotel and a child's age.
Movements of Personal Effects
An individual can temporarily bring goods weighing up to 50 kg and valued up to EUR 1500 duty-free into Russia. Individuals shall be charged 30% of the customs value of the imported goods exceeding EUR 1500, but not less than EUR 4.0 per kg in excess of the limit.
Travel Agencies
There are hundreds of travel agencies in Moscow: some specialize in ticket sales, others offer full tour and vacation packages, some specialize in tours to certain countries or continents, and yet others specialize in adventure and nature travel.
Car Rental
If you do not have your own car and feel like doing a bit of driving on your own after having settled in and having acquainted yourself with the Russian style of driving and traffic regulations, you may want to rent a car for a few days to explore Moscow and its surroundings on your own.
Maps
While you may come across a map with a bilingual street index, good English-language maps of Moscow are very difficult to find. In order to use maps you will have to know the Russian alphabet - otherwise you won't be able to look up streets in the index. You can purchase these maps at many bookstores, magazine and newspaper kiosks, and gas stations. The larger bookstores should also have maps for Moscow's suburbs and other cities in Russia.
Address in Moscow
While looking for a certain house in Moscow you should keep in mind the following things:
1. You need to know whether the house you are looking for is on the street (ulitsa), a lane (pereulok), an avenue (prospect), a boulevard (bulvar), an embankment (naberezhnaya).
2. Several streets in Moscow have numbers in front of them. For example, there is a 1st, a 2nd , 3rd and 5th Tverskaya-Yamskaya ulitsa.
3. You must also know whether a house is, for example, located on Bolshaya (big) Ordynka or Malaya (Small) Ordynka. There are many other examples of streets and lanes which exist twice - as a "big one" and a "small one".
4. A house (dom) can have several buildings (korpus or stroenie) to it. Usually the individual buildings are numbered (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), but sometimes they may have letters such as A, B, V, G, D.
5. Also make sure you ask for the entrance number. (There can be up to 20 of them in one house).
6. Google Maps cover Moscow very well, and the Russian search-engine Yandex has a similarly good street-finding map service.
Tipping
If you were happy with the food and the service at a restaurant, a 5 to 10% tip is appropriate. Try to tip your waiter in cash; if you add the tip to your credit card bill, the waiter will most likely never see the money. (In practice the way that credit-card payments are processed in Russia doesn't permit you to add tips in the huge majority of restaurants anyhow). You may also want to give small tips to handymen and plumbers.
Taxi drivers are not usually tipped, but you may want to pay them some extra money if they help you to carry your bags. Hotel/restaurant coatroom attendants are not normally tipped, but as these are often elderly ladies or men, they may appreciate a small token of appreciation. You don't tip coatroom attendants in public buildings, theatres, etc. It's usual to tip guides and interpreters if you've been satisfied with their work - very often their agency will be taking a large part of the fee you've paid.
Language
Russian is the basic language spoken in Moscow and in Russia in general, but you may hear many other languages spoken on the streets as Moscow welcomes lots of immigrants from the former CIS republics. A basic course in Russian comes highly recommended as in most cases, signs, road names and practically everything you see in Russia will be written in Cyrillic, so getting a good grip of the alphabet is key.
Even if you don't learn Russian, being able to read the alphabet will make a quantum improvement in your ability to move around independently, and will quickly repay the time spent in real savings. Practice by writing-out familiar words (your name, address, your friends, etc) using the Russian alphabet. |
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| 55. | Real Estate Primer::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Real Estate Primer
Rent
The majority of people who come to Moscow on a long-term employment contract are faced with the problem of finding a proper residence. You can opt for staying downtown and enjoying the entertainment, shopping and night life options the city has to offer. Families that come to Moscow with children would rather opt for staying in Moscow outskirts, the so-called cottage settlement, in order to provide safer ecological conditions for the children, sacrificing a considerable amount of time towards travelling to and from work.
Unlike many other larger cities, there is no real division between residential and business areas in Moscow yet. This means that wherever in the center you choose to settle, you will have easy access to shopping centers, supermarkets and cultural life. At the same time you will be able to enjoy the many smaller parks, quiet side streets and yards, and the historical charm of central Moscow.
In Russia, residential properties are categorized to the total number of rooms. Kitchen and bathrooms are not included in the room count (i.e. they are not counted as separate rooms). For example, a three-room apartment is an apartment with a living room and two other rooms (e.g. a bedroom and a study or two bedrooms), as well as kitchen and one (or more) bathrooms. Apartment size in Russia is indicated in square meters (m²). There are 10.7 square feet to one square meter.
In Russia, the concept of a ground floor is not common. Floor numbering usually starts from the very first floor, which may be residential or commercial. The first and the top are usually the least desirable, and rent should be cheaper that on the floor in-between.
UTILITIES
Electricity: The power supply is 220V AC, 50 Hz.
Gas: While gas heaters are quickly disappearing from Moscow's apartment buildings, gas is still commonly used for cooking.
Water: Water is piped and, although officially safe to drink, is better avoided.
Heating: The heating system in Moscow is central and turned off from mid-April to mid-October.
TYPES OF BUILDINGS
Pre-Revolutionary Buildings
There are many beautiful pre-revolutionary apartment blocks in the center of the city, and many of the apartments have been tastefully renovated. The apartments in the pre-revolutionary buildings are very popular among expatriates due to their spaciousness, charm, and character. The major attractive features of these buildings include their traditionally high ceilings and large windows.
Stalin Buildings
Specific features of these buildings include high ceilings, large windows, and green yards. They tend to be nice and warm in winter due to their thick walls. The Stalin Blocks include the so-called Stalin Skyscrapers, of which there are seven in Moscow. Four of them are apartment buildings. One is located right outside metro Barrikadnaya, close to the US Embassy; one is on Kotelnicheskaya nab.; one is right outside metro Krasnye Vorota; and the last one is part of the Radisson Royal Hotel (former Ukraine Hotel), located right at the beginning of Kutuzovsky prosp. The combination of their architecture, spectacular views, and good security make them popular with expatriates.
Ministerial Buildings
Most of these buildings were built in the 1970s and early 1980s and were considered the first VIP blocks in Soviet times. Today they are popular for their clean entrance, good security (most of them have a fenced-in yard and twenty-four hour security), secure parking, large windows and balconies, and lots of built-in storage space.
VIP Apartment Buildings
This new generation buildings include Western developments and newly-constructed elite compounds. These buildings usually have a concierge, nice entrance, as well as equipped kitchens, air conditioning, and electronic alarm and fire control systems. Many also feature twenty-four hour security, an underground parking garage, or a private fenced-in yard. Some have a gym, sauna, and/or swimming pool.
Western Developments
While some are located in the city center, others are located outside of the Garden Ring. They offer professional on-site property management and good security. Townhouses in gated communities catering to expatriates and the Russian nouveau riche are also available. There are bargains to be had. Rental prices can sometimes be reduced by 10 to 30% from the original price depending on how long the apartment has been on the market; what the landlord's main interest is (price or timing); the type of building and its location; and the season. The basic rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the center of Moscow or to a metro station, the more you will have to pay.
What You Can Expect to Pay for Rent
Rental prices in Moscow can range from $ 600 a month for a Soviet-style studio or one-bedroom apartment far from the city center to $10,000 and $20,000 a month for a luxury apartment in downtown Moscow. Generally, rental rates for Western-style housing in Moscow are very high and are comparable to those in downtown New York, London, or Tokyo. Prices also depend on whether the neighbourhood is industrialized and polluted or green with parks and trees. Remember to ask your real estate agent whether taxes, such as VAT, are included in the quoted rental price or not.
What You Should and Should not Pay for
Expatriate residential expenses in Russia usually consist of monthly (or quarterly) rental payments. Rent should include all municipal facilities such as water, heating, and building maintenance. Electricity, gas bills and the monthly phone line subscription fee are usually excluded from the monthly rent because the final sum depends on how much, e.g. gas or electricity you use each month. Charges for electricity and gas are still very low in Russia and shouldn't add more than a few dollars to your monthly rental costs. In addition to this, you will of course have to pay the phone bill for any inter-city and international phone calls, as well as the monthly subscription fee for satellite TV.
When renting an apartment through a real estate agency, be prepared to pay a commission fee equal to one month rent. When making the first rental payment to the landlord, you will usually also be expected to pay a one-month security deposit, which is then used as the rent for the last month of your stay in the apartment or house. When negotiating your rental contract, make sure it clearly states who has to pay for what in order to avoid problems later on. |
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| 56. | Ask the Dentist :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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10% discount on first visit, includes X-Rays, teeth cleaning, Exam by Dr. Giovanni Favero who has been working in Moscow for 12 years. We offer excellent Preventive Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Implantology, Orthodontics by Dr. Garo, and Dental hygiene. Emergency care 24/7. Please take the time to "CLICK" on our website for more details about discounts.
Address: Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya ul., 21a, Metro: Mayakovskaya, Tel: 797-9759, e-mail: dentist@ardc.ru, www.ardc.ru.
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| 57. | Communication & Postal Services::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Communication & Postal Services
POSTAL SERVICES
Russian post services handle all kinds of communications, including local and international postal services, registered mail (incoming and outgoing), stamps, telegrams, intercity and international phone calls, newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Box rentals, intercity and international call services may only be available at the Main Post Office. Post offices (pochta) are located all over Moscow; each neighbourhood has at least one.
Moscow's Main Post Office (Moskovsky Glavpochtamt) is located at Myasnitskaya ul., 26, metro Turgenevskaya or Chistye Prudy. It is open 24/7. A convenient, centrally located post office is the Central Telegraph (Tsentralny Telegraph) at Tverskaya ul., 7, just up the hill from the National Hotel. Moscow's Main International Post Office is located at Varshavskoye sh., 37, metro Nagatinskaya.
Sending and Receiving Mail
If you want your friends and relatives to send you mail from abroad to your home or work address, make sure you provide them with the complete address. One of the most important items in your address is the postal index (equivalent to zip code), which consists of six numbers. Find out the index of your home address from your landlord; that of your work should be printed on your business car. An incorrect index will result in your mail being sent to the wrong post office in Moscow, which will delay delivery as your mail will have to be re-sent to the post office that handles your area.
For incoming mail, it is okay if the address is written in English. Ask your friends to clearly print all letters. (Capital letters are best). You might also want to e-mail or fax them your address in Russian printed letters so that they can copy in onto the envelope. Outgoing international mail can obviously also be address in English, but it helps if you spell out the name of the country to which you are sending your postcard, letter or parcel in English and in Russian.
If you want to send a letter or parcel from Russia, you should address it as follows:
country (only for international mail, including that to the former republics);
index and city;
street, building number, entrance number, apartment number;
last name, first name and patronymic (the latter only if applicable).
Public mail boxes are blue with the word "Pochta" written on them in white letters. They are available all over town and each post office usually has one outside (attached to the wall) and one inside. Regular mail will be delivered to the mail box (pochtovy yashchik) inside your building or to your office reception.
If someone sent you a registered letter or parcel and you are not at home when the post office attempts to deliver it, they will put a slip of paper in your post box notifying you of its arrival. The paper will also say at which post office you can retrieve your mail. You must complete the back of the slip which asks for your name, address in Moscow, passport details (issued where, when and by which agency). You must then show your original passport to receive your mail. If you fail to show up within several days of the notification, you might have to pay storage charges.
The Russian post service is still a bit unreliable - an airmail letter from Moscow to another country can take anywhere from three weeks to three months to arrive; the same applies to incoming mail. Important items and documents should only be sent by registered mail. A registered letter is called "zakaznoye pismo"; a registered parcel is called "zakaznaya pasylka". The best (but also the most expensive) option will be express mail company.
COMMUNICATION
Making Phone Calls within Moscow
When dialed from your home landline, phone calls within Moscow are still free of charge. Unless you live in a residential compound or hotel, which might require you to dial a number such as 0 or 9 to get access to an outside line, you just pick up the phone and dial the number. The majority of landline phone numbers in Moscow consists of seven digits. As Moscow has two area codes (495 or 499), sometimes you have to dial eleven digits (if case with 499 code). The same applies to making a phone call to a federal mobile number.
Making Phone Calls to Other Cities in Russia
Phone calls to other cities in Russia are still quite affordable. To reach a phone number in another city in Russia, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 55 or 53, then dial the area code of the city you are calling followed by the local number. For example, to call someone in St.Petersburg, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 55 or 53, then dial 812 (the area code for St.Petersburg) and the local phone number.
Making Calls to Other Countries
It is fairly easy to make an international phone call from a standard Russian telephone line, and normally you will get through even to remote locations. To access an outside line, dial 8 and wait for the tone. Then dial 10, followed by the country code, the city code and the local phone number you want to reach. For example, to call a number in the US, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 10 followed by 1 (the country code for the US) followed by the area code and local number.
If the city code starts with a 0 (e.g. in the UK and Germany), do not dial the 0 and start with the first non-zero number after it. For example, to call London, you would dial 8-10-44-208 followed by the local number (instead of 8-10-0208). When giving friends abroad your phone number in Moscow, remember to tell them the country code for Russia is 7 and the area codes for Moscow are 495 or 499. Your landlord will for sure tell you your area code. If you have a seven-digit home or office number or a direct Moscow mobile number, they need to dial +7 495 111 11 11.
Information on international dialing codes
Mobile Phones and Mobile Communication
The mobile phone market works slightly differently in Russia than in other countries, particularly the US. Service companies do not throw in the handset for free as part of your sign-up package. When you sign-up for service, you will receive a SIM card, which contains all of your account information. The card can be inserted into any unlocked handset (the great majority of handsets on sale in Russia are unlocked). When you purchase your SIM card and phone, be sure to keep all of the paper work that you are given in a safe place. If you lose your phone, call your service provider immediately so that they can freeze your account. In most cases, they can reissue you a new SIM card and you can retain your old number, service package and account balance. Mobile phones are available from numerous stores and shops all over town. At most of them you can get your new phone connected on the spot through the provider of your choice. There are 3 major phone operators in Moscow: Beeline, Megafon and MTS. They all offer a wide range of services and payment plans.
Two different kinds of mobile phone numbers are currently available in Moscow: a direct number and non-direct/federal number. A direct number is a seven-digit number, just like any other Moscow number, and can be accessed from any home, office or other mobile phone. A federal number consists of the number 8 followed by a three-digit area code such as 916, 926, 960 and a seven-digit number. Service charges for a direct number are more expensive than for the non-direct/federal number option. All major phone operator in Moscow offer an international roaming.
If you want to send an SMS to a direct Moscow mobile number you need to enter +7 495 followed by the seven-digit number.
You can top up your mobile phone in a variety of ways:
You can purchase mobile phone cards, that are sold everywhere from supermarkets to kiosks.
You can use multi-kassas - special devices that are on every corner and that look a little bit like ATMs. Usually when you pay with multi-kassa, you have to pay extra commission about 2-5%. In some mobile phone shops (like Svyaznoi) there are multi-kassas without extra commission.
You can top up your phone in any mobile phone shop. No commission is taken.
You can pay by your credit card directly via ATM.
You can top up your phone transmitting money form your bank account via Internet-banking.
Pay Phones
A pay phone is called a "taksofon" in Russian. You will find several different types of pay phones in Moscow. Some work with tokens, which are sold in kiosks and in metro stations; others work with pre-paid phone cards. Some allow you to make local, national and international calls while others are only for local calls. A particular kind of phone card will only work with particular kinds of pay phones, i.e. there are no universal pay phone cards.
Internet Service & Satellite TV Providers
There are many internet service providers in Moscow offering high-speed broadband internet access, as well as ADSL high-speed access with Akado, Stream and Corbina being the most popular ones. Prices for internet access are moderate compared to Europe and USA with the cheapest tariff rates starting from about 250 Rbs. Moscow features lots of free Wi-Fi hotspots available in restaurant, cafes, clubs, hotels and other public places, though internet cafes with wired internet access are also at your service. Satellite TV is getting more and more popular in Moscow. Major satellite TV providers are listed here. |
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| 58. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Export of Artwork and Antiques from the Russian Federation
One important aspect of export customs clearance for personal belongings in Russia is that export permits for artwork and antiques must be obtained from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation prior to the actual customs clearance of your shipment. Your moving company should handle this for you.
Allied Pickfords Moscow employs a dedicated customs specialist who is exclusively responsible for the export and import of artwork and antiques. For more information on this subject, please go to the section on the Export and Import of Artwork and Antiques. |
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| 59. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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| DISCLAIMER - The above information was compiled by Allied Pickfords Moscow and is distributed on an “AS IS” basis, without warranty. Please note that customs regulations are subject to change at any time and without prior notice. The preceding information is a brief summary of customs regulations applicable to the export and import of motor vehicles from and to the Russian Federation and is being provided for general guidance only. Allied Pickfords cannot be held liable for any costs, damage, delays, loss or other detrimental events resulting from non-compliance with Russian Federation customs regulations or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by the information provided here. |
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| 60. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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| DISCLAIMER - The above information was compiled by Allied Pickfords Moscow and is distributed on an “AS IS” basis, without warranty. Please note that customs regulations are subject to change at any time and without prior notice. The preceding information is a brief summary of customs regulations applicable to the export and import of artworks and antiques from and to the Russian Federation and is being provided for general guidance only. Allied Pickfords cannot be held liable for any costs, damage, delays, loss or other detrimental events resulting from non-compliance with Russian Federation customs regulations or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by the information provided here. |
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| 62. | Arbat::Ancient Times and Rise of Moscow (5th-15th centuries)::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Arbat
A wonderful area situated around one of the most ancient streets of Moscow. From the late 18th and 19th centuries, this area was dominated by the home-estates of nobles; in the second half of the 19th century, this was the place where one would find the majority of Moscow's intelligentsia. For a long time Arbat was the haunt of artists, musicians, poets, writers and intellectuals who created an indescribable bohemian atmosphere in this area of rambling streets and overgrown courtyards. Arbat along with its surroundings was almost a sacred place for many generations, an essence of this city, one of the symbols of Moscow.
Arbatskiye Vorota Square
Khudozhestvenny cinema is the first to attract your attention here with its garish posters. It was built in 1909 and in 1913 was rebuilt by the great architect Fedor Schechter, the author of such masterpieces of Moscow Moderne Style as Ryabushinsky house on Malaya Nikitskaya street and Morozov's residence on Spiridonovka street. Here the first Soviet sound film was shown and young Shostakovich worked as pianist.
Stary Arbat (Old Arbat)
The first time Arbat was mentioned in the chronicles in 1493 and it kept its name through all these centuries, even during Soviet times when nearly every street was renamed after some communistic hero. The name Arbat is of eastern origin and it means "suburbs". The road from Moscow to Smolensk laid via Arbat and Vozdvizhenka streets and this road connected Moscow with Western Europe.
For Muscovites, it's not just a street, but a special "piece" of the capital, a kind of "Moscow within Moscow", with its own history, identity and traditions. The street's image is created by its residents. It was always "a closed world", full of exceptional people: the aristocracy and intellectuals. The list of famous Arbat people "arbatovtsy", works written, masterpieces created and scientific discoveries made in this place could serve as information for an encyclopedia. This is also the reason why many memorial museums and memorial flats are placed here. Arbat has always been one of the most beautiful streets of the city. Gradually, century after century, the street emerged with its own unique architectural style. It boasts original ancient mansions with moldings, balconies and caryatids, small cozy streets, laced lamps, stone paved roads.
During the Soviet government, Stary Arbat changed irreversibly: in early 1960s, it became the laid back street of the new modern avenue - Novy Arbat. This led to the destruction of many 18th and 19th century monuments; nevertheless, Arbat has not lost its charm. In 1986, Arbat became a pedestrian street. Today over forty embassies and ambassadors' residences are located here.
House No 2 in the beginning of Arbat is one of the best Moscow restaurants called "Prague". First it was a common inn but later it turned into a fancy place with exquisite cuisine. It was very popular among Moscow artistic bohemia. Here Chekhov was honoured after the first night of "Three Sisters".
Almost every old street has connection with Pushkin. Arbat is not an exception: in the house No 53 Pushkin and his beautiful wife Natalya Goncharova lived for a while after marriage. Nobody paid attention to this refined blue house for a long time; it was a communal flat until 1986 when Pushkin Museum was finally organised. Several years ago Arbat was presented with a sculpture of this famous couple.
The Tsoy's Wall at the corner of Arbat and Krivoarbatsky lane was an alternative to official monuments. First inscriptions and graffiti appeared shortly after the death of Victor Tsoy, Soviet rock legend of the 1980s. His fans keep coming and adding new signs expressing their emotions.
Another memorial flat is located in the house No 55. Here poet Andrey Bely, one of the greatest representatives of Symbolism in Russian literature was born. It has the same entrance with the Pushkin museum.
Arbat is a street for souvenir hunters. Different kinds of matreshkas from traditionally made ones to the ones looking like Gorbachev or even Osama Bin Laden; Russian fur hats, famous decorated shawls or Moscow views are always for sale. Antique and art shops offer wide range of precious souvenirs. After getting tired of choosing presents it is nice to have lunch in one of Arbat's numerous pubs and restaurants or listen to one of the impromptu street concerts given by just another undiscovered talent.
Arbat Lanes
The first thing that one notices in the area of Arbat is that there are almost no straight lines. It is a fanciful combination of curved lanes, gardens and courtyards. Wandering about cosy and quiet little streets might become a pleasant adventure.
In Krivoarbatsky lane a fence hides a true treasure: a strange looking house in the shape of two interlocking cylinders with more than 60 six-sided windows which was designed by the world-famous Soviet architect Konstantin Melnikov. One of the best representatives of Constructivism built this experimental house for his family and that allowed him to use all his imagination. But architect pursued a practical end as well: the house was planned to be a prototype for future housing developments.
Krivoarbatsky lane is connected to Plotnikov lane. In the 17th century it was inhabited with carpenters and joiners, and here is the origin for its name ("plotnik" stands for "carpenter"). An apartment house No 4/5 built in 1907 attracts attention with an interesting sculpture frieze picturing Turgenev, Gogol and Tolstoy surrounded by mythological figures; surprising poses of the writers' sculptures caused many rumours and malignant remarks among Muscovites. Originally sculptor Andreev made this frieze for some museum, but for unknown reason it was split into parts and put on the walls of this house.
One of the most famous lanes of Arbat - Sivtsev Vrazhek - boasts a residence of the count Fedor Tolstoy known as The American. This man with a fame of a cardsharper and troublemaker took part in the first Russian round-the-world trip with admiral Kruzenshtern. For some nasty jokes the American was left on one of the Aleutian Islands and had to walk his way home through Siberia getting covered with tattoos on his way which later allowed him to shock noble ladies in Moscow. Across the street in the house No 27 there is a memorial flat of Alexander Herzen, a radical Russian writer and probably the first Russian political emigrant.
Novy Arbat (New Arbat)
Novy Arbat is a perfect example of resoluteness and implacability of Soviet leaders. This monster street appeared after Nikita Khruschev's visit to "The Island of Freedom" - Cuba. He fell in love with avenues and sky-scrappers in Havana and decided to build a similar street in Moscow. An entire block of old Moscow with its little streets and beautiful houses was destroyed. Today Novy Arbat is an entertainment and shopping street with numerous nightclubs, boutiques, restaurants and shops. The only sad reminder of the old days is the Church of Simeon Stolpnik. It is the oldest building in the area and the only sample of 17th century architecture. Among those giants it looks more like an expensive souvenir. |
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| 65. | ATM Machines :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Raiffeisen Bank's 24 hour ATM's
Cards Accepted: VISA
Metro Sukharevskaya or Tsvetnoy Boulevard: Ul. Troitskaya, 17/1 (Head Office of "Raiffeisenbank Austria")
Metro Taganskaya: Ul. Nikoloyamskaya, 13/2 (Business Center "Forum-3")
Metro Biblioteka im. Lenina or Okhotny Ryad: Per. Romanov, 4/4 (Business Center "Romanov dvor")
Metro Prospect Mira: Olimpijsky Prospect, 18/1 (Hotel Renaissance Moscow)
Metro Paveletskaya: Shluzovaya Nab. 6/1 (Hotel "Katerina")
Metro Mayakovskaya: Ul. Gasheka, 7 (Business Center "Dukat-2")
(Attn: for employees of the tenants of business center only)
Metro Paveletskaya: Paveletskaya Pl., 2/1 (Business Center "Paveletskaya Plaza")
(Attn: for employees of the tenants of business center only)
Metro Marksitskaya: Ul. Taganskaya, 17/23 (Business Center "Park Towers")
(Attn: for employees of the tenants of business center only) |
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| 66. | Children in Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Children in Moscow
Some Formal Issues
Children born abroad to expatriate parents may find their citizenship rights affected, either by laws in the country of assignment or those of their home country. It is, therefore, important to check on both sets of regulations well before the child is born. Your embassy should be able to provide you with all the information you need.
If the baby is born in Moscow you should contact your embassy to receive citizenship for your child and to apply for a passport.
Circumcision can be performed in a maternity hospital, but you should discuss this with your doctor before birth so that the necessary arrangements can be made.
If you are interested in adopting a Russian child, your first step for advice should be your doctor/medical clinic in Moscow. They should be able to provide you with contact details for reliable adoption agencies. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science has an official adoption website at www.usynovite.ru with detailed information on the adoption process and information on thousands of children in orphanages across the country that are up for adoption.
Education
There are over 1800 high schools and 110 colleges in Moscow. Beside these, there are over 200 institutions offering higher education in Moscow, including 60 state universities and the leading Russian University - the Lomonosov Moscow State University, which was founded in 1755.
Moscow has a number of international schools and nurseries, which are popular with the expat community. All schools are fee-paying. The fees depend on the grade level, period of enrolment and whether or not your child requires any additional support programmes. In general, it varies between 3000 and 7000 Euro. The admission procedures for all schools are quite complex and consist of several steps (application form, test, interview etc); therefore, it is better to begin to do it well in advance. The academic year lasts from September 1st to the middle or end of June with summer vacations from July 1st to August 31st.
Books
The majority of bookstores have vast sections of children's books but mostly in Russian. Luckily there are some bookstores offering a selection of children's books in English, German and French.
Shopping
In Moscow you may find anything you need for your child (from an infants to teenagers) as there are plenty of stores to buy children's goods in: from markets and small local shops to large shopping malls and boutiques offering branded children's clothes and shoes. Note that closing and shoes sizes differ in Russia, Europe and USA.
Clothing SizesAge (y.o.)
Height (cm)
Size 1-1,5
86
- Russia
USA
UK
Europe 13
7.5
n/a
24 |
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| 67. | International Dialing Codes :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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International Dialing Codes
Making Phone Calls Within Moscow
When dialed from your home landline, phone calls within Moscow are still free of charge. Unless you live in a residential compound or hotel, which might require you to dial a number such as 0 or 9 to get access to an outside line, you just pick up the phone and dial the number.
The majority of landline phone numbers in Moscow consist of seven digits. As Moscow has two area codes (495 and 499), sometimes you have to dial eleven digits (depending if you're calling between the two). The same applies to making a phone call to a federal mobile number.
Making Phone Calls to Other Cities in Russia
Phone calls to other cities in Russia are still quite affordable. To reach a phone number in another city in Russia, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 55 or 53, then dial the area code of the city you are calling followed by the local number. For example, to call someone in St-Petersburg, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 55 or 53, then dial 812 (the area code for St-Petersburg) and the local phone number.
Making Calls to Other Countries
It is fairly easy to make an international phone call from a standard Russian telephone line, and normally you will get through even to remote locations.
To access an outside line, dial 8 and wait for the tone. Then dial 10, followed by the country code, the city code and the local phone number you want to reach.
For example, to call a number in the US, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 10 followed by 1 (the country code for the US) followed by the area code and local number.
If the city code starts with a 0 (e.g., in the UK and Germany), do not dial the 0 and start with the first non-zero number after it. For example, to call London, you would dial 8-10-44-208 followed by the local number (instead of 8-10-0208).
When giving friends abroad your phone number in Moscow, remember to tell them the country code for Russia is 7 and the area codes for Moscow are 495 and 499. Your landlord will for sure tell you your area code.
If you have a seven-digit home or office number or a direct Moscow mobile number, they need to dial +7 495 111 11 11.
You can buy international prepaid calling cards (in kiosks around Moscow, notably the orange "A La Carte" kiosks) which offer considerable savings on calls. Some cards have optimized tariffs for different countries, so buy one which suits your needs best. The quality of connection can sometimes be spotty with the cheapest of these cards.
Paying your Domestic Phone Bill
Once a month you'll find a small slip of paper in your mailbox with some printing on it. That's your phone bill for long distance and international calls - no envelope, and very easy to miss in the clutter of junk mail.
To pay the bill:
You can go down to the local Sberbank and get in line;
You can use multi-kassas - special devices that are on every corner and that look a little bit like ATMs. Usually when you pay with multi-kassa, you have to pay extra commission about 2-5%;
You can pay by your credit card directly via ATM;
You can transmit money form your bank account via Internet-banking.
Once you've paid your bill be sure to save it. And if you wait too long to pay the service is cut off.
CountryCode
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Andorra
Argentina
Armenia
Anguilla
Antille
Aruba
Alaska
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bolivia
Bosnia & Gercegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Bahrain
Barbados
Bahamas
Bahrain
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Canada
China
Chile
Colombia
Congo (Zaire)
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Cambodia
Cape Verde Islands
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Christmas Island
Denmark
Diego Garcia
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Egypt
Ecuador
Estonia
Ethiopia
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Finland
France
Faeroe Islands
Fiji Islands
French Antilles
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gabon
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Gambia
Ghana
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Hawaii
Hungary
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Japan
Jordan
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Kiribati
Korea (North)
Korea (South)
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Liechtenstein
Lesotho
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Morocco
Mauritania
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
Macau
Malawi
Maldives Islands
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mayotte Island
Montserrat
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
Namibia
Nauru
Netherlands Antilles
Nevis
New Caledonia
Niger
Niue
Norfolk Island
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Palestine
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Reunion Island
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Singapore
Syria
Slovakia
Slovenia
Somali
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Sierra Leone
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Swaziland
Solomon Islands
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Tajikistan
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Turkey
Turkmenistan
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Togo
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Trinidad Tobago
Ukraine
United Kingdom
USA
Uzbekistan
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Uganda
U.S. Virgin Islands
Venezuela
Vietnam
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Western Samoa
Wallis & Futuna Islands
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
61
43
994
355
213
244
376
54
374
1264
599
297
1907
880
375
32
591
387
55
359
973
1246
1242
973
501
229
1441
975
267
1284
673
226
257
237
1
86
56
57
242
506
385
53
357
420
855
238
1345
236
235
61
45
246
253
1767
1809
20
593
372
251
503
240
291
358
33
298
679
596
594
689
241
995
49
350
30
20
233
299
1473
590
1671
502
592
1808
36
509
504
852
91
62
98
964
354
353
972
39
225
81
962
1876
7
254
965
996
686
850
82
856
371
961
231
218
370
352
423
266
389
261
60
223
356
212
222
52
373
976
853
265
960
692
230
2696
1664
258
95
977
31
64
505
234
47
264
674
599
1869
687
227
683
672
968
92
507
63
48
351
970/972
680
675
595
51
974
40
7
262
250
966
221
65
963
421
386
252
27
34
46
41
232
94
597
268
677
248
992
886
66
216
90
993
255
228
676
1868
380
44
1
998
598
256
1809
58
84
678
39
685
681
967
381
260
263
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| 68. | Relocation Guide :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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2. Air Shipments from and to Russia
If your shipment is small and/or you want to receive your personal belongings at your destination as soon as possible, an air shipment might be the ideal choice for your move. Often people who are moving to a far-away destination send the majority of their personal belongings by surface and opt for an additional air shipment for the most urgently needed items, such as extra clothing and toys.
The price for an air shipment will depend on both the actual / physical weight and the volume of your consignment (the so-called chargeable weight).
If you want to ship large or bulky items (e.g. beds, sofas) by air, dimensions are important as not all airplanes flying in and out of Moscow can accommodate such items.
The transit time for a door-to-door air shipment is normally between seven and fourteen days, all depending on the origin and destination country’s customs regulations. Some countries require that the owner of the personal belongings be present in the country before import customs clearance can take place, which means that your shipment can only be dispatched once you have arrived in your destination country. Your moving company should be able to advise you on all these matters.
Allied Pickfords offers air shipments to and from all destinations around the globe. |
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| 69. | In Case of Emergency::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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In Case of Emergency
1. Prepare for Emergencies
Keep your insurance/assistance company card with you at all times. Make a personal emergency response plan, have it translated into Russian, and keep it in your car and your wallet/billfold. This plan should answer the questions: "What would I want people to do if they found me unconscious"
2. Call your insurance/assistance company early in the event of a problem
Make a "check" call when you are not in trouble to ensure the phone number is valid and that you can reach someone who speaks your language. Check that they can do what you would want them to do in the event of an emergency. Do they have the necessary authority to act, and sufficient local personnel and infrastructure to act quickly?
If you have medical and evacuation insurance - and it is recommended that you have both - be sure that the company will agree to evacuate you or repatriate you in the event of a serious medical emergency. Disregard the marketing brochures; fax them a scenario or two and ask them to tell you what they would do. If they will not agree to commit in writing, find a better provider.
3. In the event of an emergency, speed up the response by volunteering the minimum required information logically and clearly
Name and telephone number where you can be reached if the line is cut off
Membership number of company affiliation
Brief description of the medical problem and what kind of help you need
Location of patient and location of passport (vital for overseas medical evacuation)
In certain circumstances, it may be required or recommended to go abroad for medical reasons. As in many other countries, one cannot leave Russian without proper travel documents. Therefore, have your travel documents up to date and accessible at all times. To obtain a special authorization to leave and enter countries without proper travel documents is a difficult and time-consuming process and success cannot be guaranteed.
At all times know the status and whereabouts of your and your family's passports. Never allow your travel documents to be taken from you overnight or over the week unless you know you can retrieve in an emergency.
Important Phone Numbers
Fire fighters 101
Police 102
Ambulance 103
Emergency Gas Service 104
Intercity phone calls 107
Information 109
Time (automatic clock) 100
Emergency rescue service +7 (495) 937-9911 or 911
International SOS (The Moscow Clinic, 24 hour service to its clients)
American Medical Centers (24 hours service)
European Medical Center (French, British and American experts)
International crisis Line
Tel: 8 926 1133373
This is a free English-speaking telephone counseling service for expatriates people in distress. Available 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
In case you ever have to call the fire fighters, the police, or an ambulance, make sure that all family members can correctly pronounce your complete address in Russian.
Post a piece of paper with your full address details and phone numbers in Russian and translation into your native language on the wall next to your phone.
Also make sure that your children know how to reach you or another adult you trust in case they get lost or have an emergency.
Note that in Russia there is difference between the police (militsiya) and the traffic police (GIBDD, formerly GAI). The police are not responsible for regulating traffic or handling car accidents, and the traffic police do not handle criminal offences that are unrelated to traffic.
Pharmacies (Apteki)
Finding a pharmacy in Moscow is definitely not a problem. In fact, quite a few number of them are open 24/7. The prices vary from one pharmacy to another, but the difference is not very significant.
Information on pharmacies in Moscow
Embassies and Consulates
Your country's embassy or consulate can:
Provide information on Russia's foreign-residency requirements;
Renew an expired passport or replace a lost or stolen one;
Report a birth in Russia to your home country;
Provide guidelines for getting married in Russia;
Help make arrangements in the case of a death;
Assist in voter registration and obtaining absentee ballots;
Register its citizens residing in Russia (so that they can be contacted in case of an emergency);
Certify copies of documents in you home country's language.
Please remember that anyone temporarily or permanently residing in Russia is subject to Russian legislation. Any private or public disputes must be settled through the Russian legal system. Diplomatic or consular officials are not authorized to practice law or to act as an attorney or agents in private matters. They should, however, be able to provide you with contact details for attorneys who can represent you in court. |
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| 70. | Establishing a Business in Russia
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Need help in establishing your business in Russia?
After years of providing a full range of start-up services to our clients, VISTA Foreign Business Support realized that there was a better way: one-fee, full-service packages tailored to meet the needs of start-up businesses. These start-up service packages include all the legal, tax, accounting, and administrative support services a company needs to enter the Russian market. We offer three levels of start-up packages to meet your needs, whether you are at the idea stage or nearly ready to begin work.
Why purchase a start-up service package?
1. You get everything you need from one firm with years of successful experience. No running around to find ten different specialists, no multiple contracts, no problems with coordination.
2. You get one team of professional, flexible and committed top specialists – from legal experts to professional bookkeepers - working with you to meet your goals.
3. You get more for your money. With a VISTA start-up service package you get Moscow’s top professionals for a more competitive price than you could get by contracting with several different firms or consultants.
4. You know ahead of time how much it will cost to start your business – no unexpected expenses. And no costly delays. You choose the level of support with a fixed price – and get our guarantee of the results you want.
5. You get just what you need. Chose the level of support that’s right for you and your company. If you want something extra – VISTA can add on services to the basic packages.
VISTA Foreign Business Support provides consulting, law and accounting services for organizations and individuals.
Phone: +7 095 933 7822, Fax: +7 095 933 7823
E-mail: startuprussia@vfbs.ru
Web: www.vfbs.ru |
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| 71. | Health Care::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Health Care
General Information
The Russian health care system has seen major improvements in recent years, both in technologies and pharmaceuticals. Moscow hosts a number of Western medical clinics that can look after all of your family's health needs. The clinics are spread out over the city; therefore, regardless of your location, there is sure to be medical provision in the vicinity.
When coming to Russia, bring a good supply of any prescription medicine needed. Ensure you can continue that supply from a local facility or that you can find a local substitute acceptable to your original prescribing physician.
Early in your stay - when there is no emergency - identify the closest medical facility with English-speaking personnel. Ascertain its working hours and its reputation, if possible. If in Moscow for the first time, bring a copy of your medical records with you to assist your new doctor in becoming familiar with your past medical history. The approach to the provision of medical care as a service to both the population and the individual may be quite different to what you are used to.
Unless absolutely necessary, as in major medical emergency, it is suggested that you do not go to the local hospital on your own without first contacting your medical assistance company; if you must, at least ensure you have a Russian speaker to assist you. Unsure that you have enough money to guarantee any admission fees that may be charged.
Many medications can be purchased here over the counter that would only be available by prescription in your home country. However, in most cases the manufacture is different and, therefore, the drug is identified by a different brand name. Know the generic (chemical) name of your medicines if you think you are going to need to restock locally. Bring the package insert from your previous prescription with you. Fraudulent drugs are not a major problem in Russia, but be careful and check the dispensed drug before you pay for it.
Some medications including controlled drugs and drugs of dependence (i.e., sedatives and hypnotics; medications to treat the hyperactivity disorders of children; strong pain relievers; and some drugs for diabetics and epileptics) are simply nor available in Russia. If you are on such a medication, please speak to your physician in your home country and a physician at one of the medical clinics in Moscow to find out how to best handle this situation.
Vaccinations
Russia has no vaccination requirements, but it is a good idea to keep your shots op-to-date. If you need a shot while here, please contact one of the medical centers in Moscow. The following vaccinations are recommended for individuals traveling to or living in Russia for linger periods of time:
Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). Transmission of hepatitis A virus can occur through direct person-to-person contact; through exposure to contaminated water, ice or shellfish harvested in contaminated water; or from fruits, vegetables or other foods that are eaten uncooked and that were contaminated during harvesting or subsequent handling.
Hepatitis B, especially if you might be exposed to blood or body fluids (for example, health care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, or are exposed through medical treatment.
Typhoid. Typhoid fever can be contracted through contaminated drinking water or food, or by eating food or drinking beverages that have been handled by a person who is infected.
As needed, booster doses for tetanus, diphtheria and measles. Outbreaks of diphtheria have been reported in states of the former Soviet Union.
Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral infection of the central nervous system that occurs in the southern parts of the non-tropical forest belt in Europe and Asia, including Russia. Travelers are at risk who visit or work in forested areas during the summer months and who consume unpasteurized dairy products.
Rabies, if you might have extensive unprotected outdoor exposure in rural areas, such as might occur during camping, hiking or cycling or engaging in certain occupation activities.
Skin Care
Newcomers frequently have difficulty in adjusting to the dry air conditions in their apartments. Ladies complain of dry skin, broken fingernails, etc. Most women find that they use extra face cream. An electric humidifier helps a great deal. It is also useful to place pans of water around you apartment.
Eye Care
Dry, cold and polluted air is hard on eyes, especially if you wear contact lenses. Users are advised to give eyes a rest from contact lenses from time to time. It is advisable to have spare lenses or glasses with you. You can purchase all kinds and brands of imported prescription and non-prescription contact lenses (including Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, etc), colored contact lenses, contact lens cleaners, glasses (including designer frames) and sunglasses at any larger optician's.
Most of them have qualified opticians or ophthalmologists and sophisticated equipment and will carry out a complete eye exam before fitting you with contact lenses or glasses. Fees for the eye exam are usually very moderate. Do not expect the ophthalmologists or consultants to speak English though. If you have just started you Russian lessons, take someone along who can communicate in Russian. Most pharmacies carry imported contact lens cleaners and moisturizing eye drops, while contact lens containers may only be available from specialist shops.
Digestion Care
Generally, it is advisable not to buy meat or diary products from anywhere other than a reputable market or shop. Meat purchased in the market should be inspected carefully to ascertain its freshness, and particular care should be taken in the summer months because of lack of refrigeration. Any meat bought at a market should be well cooked. Diary products bought at outdoor markets may not be pasteurized and should not be given to young children or consumed by pregnant women. All fruit and vegetables should be washed thoroughly before eating. Water from the tap is suitable for cooking, but people normally filter drinking water or use bottled water.
Health Care Insurance
Before coming to Moscow, make sure you have full medical and dental insurance coverage for yourself and all family members that will cover any emergencies (and medical evacuation) that occur during your stay in the Russian federation. Western medical and dental services in Russia are very expensive if you are not covered.
If you are not insured when coming to Russia, please contact several Moscow medical centers to find out whether they offer their own insurance plans, or ask them for recommendations of reputable companies in Moscow or abroad that offer health insurance for expatriates. If you already have insurance, call the medical or dental clinic you intend to visit to make sure that they accept and have a direct billing agreement with your insurance company and which, if any, restrictions apply in an emergency situation. If you are not insured or your insurance plan requires you to pre-pay all services for later reimbursement, check which credit cards are accepted or whether payment must be made in cash.
Note that coverage with foreign insurers must be purchased abroad, under Russian law it is illegal to sell insurance policies that are issued by an insurer that is not licensed in Russia. Before you choose a health care insurance provider, whether local or foreign, make sure you read the fine print and discuss any questions you have. Many insurance companies do not pay for health problems pertaining to pre-existing conditions, which might include any chronic health problems such as diabetes. If you use a foreign insurance provider, deductibles may apply. Since the cost of medical services in may medical centers in Russia is lower that abroad, the doctor's consultation fee may fall under deductible.
Most foreign health care insurance providers have contracts with a limited number of medical clinics in Russia. This could mean that through your insurance policy you are forced to use a certain health care provider in Moscow. Unless your insurance company has a direct billing agreement with the medical clinic you intend to use, you will have to advance the payment and then claim reimbursement from the insurance company later. Some providers require pre-authorization, meaning that you must contact the insurance company before using medical services in Russia.
Clinics and Dental Care
Several Western medical centers and dental clinics operate in Moscow. Most have at least some expatriate doctors and friendly English-speaking support staff and are equipped to handle both minor and major medical emergencies. Some also offer house calls and medical evacuation services. Most clinics are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week or at least provide emergency services during the night.
While most Russian hospitals are not up to Western standards, Russian doctors are generally very good. Several Russian hospitals in Moscow have special arrangements with GlavUPDK (the main administration for the foreign diplomatic corps in Moscow) and accept foreigners for checkups and treatments at more moderate prices that the Western medical clinics.
Psychological Care
Living in a foreign country is always challenging and stressful. Everyone - from the working partner to the spouse and children - can be affected, and there is absolutely no shame in turning to professional help, which is available in Moscow. Problems frequently experienced by expatriates on international assignments include stress, anxiety and loneliness. A problem specific to northern countries, such as Russia, is SAD (Season Affective Disorder). If you find yourself in any situation you feel you cannot cope with on your own, please call someone. This someone can be a friend, a member of your women's club's newcomer's team, a nurse or a doctor at your medical center or some professionals.
PREGNANCY AND GIVING BIRTH IN MOSCOW
General Information
If you are an expecting mother who is moving to or currently living in Moscow, you will need information and advice for the period of your stay in Moscow. One option is to join a "mother-to-be" support group to share experience and useful information. Contact details and useful information can be obtained through one of the international women's clubs in Moscow and - if you have older children that are attending school - through your school's community liaison office or school newsletter.
You can attend childbirth education classes for further advice on pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, and baby care and to learn about what to expect in Moscow. Most classes offered in Moscow are held in Russian, but you can contact any of the Western medical clinics in Moscow to find out about English-language pre-natal classes.
Hospitals and Doctors
Not all hospitals have maternity wards, and even less have neonatal care units. On the other hand there are several hospitals that cater exclusively to future mothers and their babies. A maternity hospital is called "roddom", meaning "house of birth". Most hospitals in Russia require visitors to wear plastic shoe covers. These are usually available from the concierge or at the coat check area near entrance for a small fee.
To make arrangements to give birth at a hospital in Russia, you will need to sign a contract and pay a deposit. Some Russian doctors speak good English (less frequently German or French), but if you need language assistance during labor and birth, you can make arrangements with an English-speaking healthcare provider in Moscow for an interpreter to be present during labor and childbirth. Make sure the hospital of your choice is aware of this arrangement.
Many things are done differently here than in your own country. The layout of the delivery room, for example, is different from those in American or European hospitals and usually offers less privacy.
Once you have chosen a doctor you will be issued a certificate regarding your pregnancy to carry with you. This certificate includes all pertinent information on your pregnancy and prenatal visits. Information on the birth itself and data for the newborn baby will be added later on. The certificate is issued in Russia, and it helps to avoid additional testing on admission to the maternity hospital. It provides the doctors and nursed with all the information they need to ensure a safe delivery and good prenatal care for your baby.
Hospital Stay
The usual length of stay in hospital is between three and five days; if you want to leave earlier you will be asked to sign a special form. After the baby is born you should contact your embassy to receive citizenship for your child and to apply for a passport.
Pediatrician
The Russian public health care system provides a local pediatrician for the first time home visit and a few follow-up visits by the district pediatric nurse. You can make an appointment for the well-baby visit in most family clinics. Some clinics in Moscow provide pediatric house calls. However, if you live a great distance from the clinic, please, check with your pediatrician if this service is provided.
Immunization
You can have your baby vaccinated through a private clinic or you can have vaccinations done for free (Russian-made vaccines) through the public health care system. Most expatriates prefer to use private clinics for their baby's immunizations where only Western-made vaccines from the world's leading manufacture are used. In Russia, a few days after birth a BCG vaccine is administered. You should discuss with your doctor whether you want this vaccination to be done or not. The immunization schedule in Russia differs from that in America and Western Europe - Hib, Varicella and Hepatitus A vaccinations are not on the national immunization calendar.
Private medical clinics will let you follow the immunization schedule from your home country, and most vaccines are readily available. Many local day care centers and play schools will ask you to provide your child's vaccination certificate, and many schools in Moscow test children for tuberculosis (PPD skin) on an annual basis. |
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| 72. | Shopping::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Shopping
Food Shopping
Shopping in Moscow could be done day and night and you can find anything you want. Food shopping is very easy, and the choice of supermarkets - both Western and Russian - and products is huge. There are a number of shopping opportunities, ranging from small convenience stores located close to apartment blocks and metro stations to huge shopping centers found everywhere, including the city outskirts.
For those who like to shop in supermarkets, there is a variety of different chains, offering a wide range of products, including some that are popular particularly within the expatriate community. There are also farmer's markets where you can buy fresh goods directly from the producers.
Last but not least, you will find numerous smaller "kiosks" (small booths or stalls) all over town. Concentrations are particularly high outside metro stations. Some sell a variety of beverages, cigarettes and chocolates while others specialize in bread, fruit and vegetables, meat products, or toiletries. Some sell products made by a particular factory (meat and sausages in particular).
Many supermarkets are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Smaller food stores and food markets are also usually open seven days a week but many close around 9 or 10 p.m. Payment is accepted in rubles only, some of the larger supermarkets accept credit cards (usually they will ask for some photo-ID document). Along with food items and beverages, most supermarkets also sell a variety of other household items - from toiletries, cleaning liquids, detergents, and small selections of kitchenware to pantyhose, magazines and toys.
You should be able to find most of the items you're used to in Moscow. In addition to the locally produced goods, vast numbers of imported food products, and beverages are readily available here. Russian bread, milk products, sausage meats, salads, pancakes and frozen food (such as pelmeni, filled pancakes, vegetable patties, frozen dough, etc) are of excellent quality and taste great.
Carrying large bags, satchels, briefcases or similar bulky items is not allowed in most shops - small lockers are provided near the entrance, which you should use. In some supermarkets there are no lockers but at the entrance you will find a man or a woman with plastic bags of different size - you are supposed to put your bags (satchels or briefcases) in the plastic bag that will be sealed with a special device, and keep it with you while shopping. Most supermarkets charge a tiny fee for carrier bags - others provide very poor ones for free, while offering more substantial ones for a small price. Few Russians have heard of the issue of voluntarily limiting the use of plastic bags for ecological reasons.
Food Markets
What is a Russian "rynok" (market)? This word refers to a typical Russian farmer's market. These markets are located throughout the city and vary in size and pricing, but they all operate year round, seven days a week (except public holidays). Most farmer's markets have separate smaller buildings for such staple crops as potatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots and for marinated garlic, cucumbers and wine leaves. The main hall usually has plenty of fruits and vegetables, spices, herbs, milk products, honey, fish, meat and poultry. Note that the word "rynok" can also refer to a wholesale market, which mostly has canned, boxed and pre-packed foodstuffs along with various household items; to a clothing market; or to a building materials market.
Things to Remember while Shopping at Markets
Bring a basket - you'll probably end up buying more than you planned.
Many vendors will offer you a sample of their product. Bear in mind that fruit and vegetables at the market have not been washed if you accept this offer.
Make sure you understand whether the price is for a kilo (za kilogram) or for one item (za adnu shtuku).
Don't forget to bargain, especially when buying fruit and vegetables. Many vendors at the market come from the Caucasus, where bargaining is an essential part of shopping.
Be careful when purchasing meat in the summertime - it is often not refrigerated.
Check you change - mistakes can and do happen.
Markets tend to be crowded, so beware of pickpockets. Do not carry your keys, passports and money in a lady's purse. Stow them away in a safe place. Never put documents, keys or money in the back pocket of your pants.
Buying Caviar
Be aware that black caviar (sturgeon caviar) is now under very tight legal controls which make it effectively impossible to purchase in Russia - Russian policy has changed, and they now take the Endangered Species of sturgeons very seriously. Do not get involved in buying it - in addition to the moral issues involved, you can end up in jail. Red caviar (salmon caviar) on the other hand is completely legal to purchase (and to take abroad with you) and is just as delicious.
Sweets
Russia produces a large variety of chocolates, bonbons, other candy, and cakes. Large supermarkets often have a separate section selling cakes. While Russians prefer to buy entire cakes, many stores now sell individual pieces. The most famous Russia chocolate factories are Krasny Oktyabr, Rot-Front, Babaevsky. Russian chocolate is of highest quality.
Alcohol
Wines, whisky, and other quality alcoholic beverages are now widely available in Moscow - but only from shops. Street kiosks and stands cannot sell anything stronger than beer by law. Russian-produced wines may be different to the taste you are used to, but you might like to try them - there are no bargains here, and the cheapest ones are cheap for a reason. In addition to a dazzling array of vodkas, Russian-produced cognacs can be enjoyable - once again, avoid the low-priced stuff if you can.
Reading Expiration Dates
Figuring out expiration dates for food products and beverages can be tricky affair in Russia. The vast majority of imported products have the expiration date stamped, printed or engraved on either the top or bottom of the container or can or on the lid. Some (for example, baby food) have both the production and expiration data. Some local producers have already switched to this system. However, you need to be aware of the fact that some Russian companies still print the production and not the expiration date on their products, which can cause confusion. In such cases you will find the production date printed and a message saying: "This product can be kept for 'x' months/years from the production date" somewhere on the can, container or packaging. This most often applies to eggs, Russian canned goods, Russian chocolate, some milk products and pre-packaged bread. Yet other products (for example, some Russian juices and milk products) may come with both the production and expiration data). As everywhere in the world, check the dates if you are suspicious
Peculiarities of Communication with Vendors
You may find that vendors become impatient when you are unable to explain to them what you want. Please don't be offended - this is not because they don't like you personally. Shop assistants are paid to serve the public, but not to be especially polite or charming to the customers - don't take their offhand attitude personally. In privately-run shops, or at kiosks being run by the owner service can sometimes be charming, especially if you become a "regular" - you may even begin to enjoy "privileges" such as them keeping-back the best fruit for you, or saving something for you in case you drop by.
Clothing and Accessories
Clothing, shoes and accessories can also be purchased everywhere, with the options ranging from everyday affordable to designer and haute couture. The most expensive outlets such as Chanel and Hermes are located on Tretyakovsky passage and Stoleshnikov lane; while the less expansive clothing lines, such as H&M, Zara etc. can be found in many Moscow shopping centers, e.g. Mega Mall, Stockmann, Metropolis. In the last 2-3 years a range of city-centre shopping malls have opened where you can find franchises of international chains like Fat Face, Benetton, Marks & Spencers, Uniqlo etc. The two largest malls are Evropeisky (adjacent to Kievsky station) and Atrium (adjacent to Kursky station) - these have substantially superceded the previous generation of malls, whose weary ranges are still on sale to those who haven't yet found the better places.
Among the great variety of shops, boutiques, fashion salons and galleries in modern Moscow there are those that enter the "must see" category. Along with Kremlin and the Red Square they head the list of the main tourist attractions. Among them are GUM, TsUM, and Okhotny Ryad.
GUM (Main Universal (Department) Store)
Known before the Revolution as Upper Trade Rows, GUM has been "a shopping center" of Moscow for ages. Its luxuriant edifice houses three arcades of shops under a glass roof. Recently renovated, it lost all the traces of Soviet stagnation and now houses some top Western trade chains along with speciality shops and boutiques. GUM's image has mutated considerably from soviet grot to opulent elegance - it's now a location for premium brands. Russians coming to Moscow from other cities still come to GUM to shop, but Muscovites have mostly moved-on from GUM's overpriced and somewhat snooty outlets. It is worth coming here to see the extraordinarily beautiful building itself, and perhaps have a coffee in one of the upper galleries - but there are better places for actual shopping these days.
TsUM (Central Universal (Department) Store)
Another large department store of Moscow, TsUM, traces its history since 1880s, when Scotsmen Archibald Merilees and Andrew Muir founded the branch of their trading company "Muir and Merilees" in Moscow. In 1892 "Muir and Merilees" department store welcomed the first customers in the new building on Petrovka street. The modern building was erected in 1908 after a project by Roman Klein; that time it was considered to be a technical breakthrough and an architectural masterpiece. Moscow tour guides usually classify it as "one of the last samples of European Gothic, slightly influenced by Art Nouveau". Completely reconstructed in 1997, TsUM now complies all international standards of service, though it's too expensive for most ordinary Muscovites. Muscovites in-the-know generally consider TsUM better than GUM as an upscale retailer of premium-priced branded goods - but no-one does their daily shopping at either.
Okhotny Ryad
Located right near Kremlin, this underground three-storeyed shopping palace serves also as one of the main tourist sights. Plenty of shops and boutiques, offering wide range of goods, are located in this shopping centre. World most famous brands, such as Mexx, Calvin Klein, Tissot, along with less famous but also less expensive, are represented in "Okhotny Ryad", satisfying taste and requirements of customers of different personal income. The noisy and hot, sticky atmosphere isn't appreciated by all, although a teenage public likes to hang out there. But most shoppers are increasingly attracted by the much wider range of shops, and nicer facilities and services, at Evropeisky or Atrium, or the out-of-town malls like Mega. |
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| 73. | Public Transport::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Public Transport
MOSCOW METRO
When it first opened in 1935, the system had just one line. Today, the Moscow metro contains 12 lines, mostly underground with a total of more than 175 stations. The metro is one of the deepest subway systems in the world. It is a great, fast, efficient, and cheap way to get around town, with stations close to most major places of interest in the city center. Trains run every couple of minutes from early morning to late at night. They can get very crowded during morning and evening rush hours. Stations that are always crowded are those adjacent to railway stations and bus terminals (for example, Kievskaya, Belorusskaya).
Many of Moscow's metro stations were designed and embellished by prominent Russian architects, artists and sculptors and are incredibly beautiful - especially those in the city center and the ones on the brown circle line, which connects seven of Moscow's nine railway stations to each other. When you start exploring Moscow on the metro, take some time to get off at each station to have a closer look. The metro runs from 05:35 to 01:00. Intervals between trains during the day are usually no more than a few minutes but can be longer in the early morning or late evening.
Brief History of the Moscow Metro
The story started in the beginning of the 20th century. The first and very unusual project of the underground was offered by engineer Peter Balinsky in 1902. According to his plan trains were supposed to pass across the Red Square over the heads of the astonished people in horse-carriages, but this project was rejected as well as many others. Only in 1931 the dream of many architects and progress adherents came true and the construction began. On May 15th 1935 the first line covering the distance from Sokolniki to Gorky Park was opened for public use. The lucky owner of the ticket No. 1 presented this precious piece of paper to the Museum of Moscow Metro.
Finding a Metro Station
Metro entrances are easy to find - they are indicated by big red letters "M", which are illuminated at night.
Metro Tickets
Fare: 26 Rbs per ticket (as of June 2010). Children under the age of seven travel free of charge.
The fee for 1 trip is fixed, i.e. it does not depend on the length of your journey, you can make as many line-changes as you wish, and stay down in the metro as long as you like - it is valid until you exit the metro system. Tickets are available for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 60, 70 rides and there is also a common ticket for 70 rides in all kinds of transport. You can also buy season tickets of different kinds: season tickets with limited number of rides for 5 days (1, 2 rides), season tickets with limited number of rides for 45 days (5, 10, 20, 60 rides), season tickets with limited number of rides for one calendar month (70 rides) and season tickets with unlimited number of rides: for 30 days, for 90 days and for 365 days.
Metro tickets can be obtained from the "kassas" (ticket booths) that are located inside each metro station. The tickets come in the form of smart cards. To enter the metro system, touch the yellow circle on the turnstile with your ticket. After you touch the yellow circle, the other circle a bit lower will show in green light how many rides are left (or illuminate in green if you have the season ticket). The red light on the ticket-barrier will go out briefly, and you can now enter through the turnstile.
If your ticket is not valid, the turnstile will make a buzz sound and the red circle will be still on. If you are sure that your ticket is valid, but the turnstile won't let you in, do not be desperate; just touch the yellow circle of the same turnstile one more time. Normally, if the ticket is valid, the turnstile will work. You don't need your ticket to exit the metro.
Moscow Metro Peculiarities
In one way the Moscow metro is definitely different from all other underground railways in the world: it was planned not only as a comfortable and easily accessible transport but also as powerful means of propaganda. The idea was to immortalize the greatness of socialism; as a result Moscow underground became one of the most grandiose phenomena of the Stalin era. Its pompous architecture and sumptuous designs allow Moscow metro to remain one of the most popular tourist attractions.
Each central station has its own unique style. For example Teatralnaya station is decorated with majolica bas-reliefs picturing folk dances. In the niches of Ploshchad Revolutsii there are 76 bronze statues imaging the creators of the communism. Kievskaya and Belorusskaya are adorned with national ornaments of Ukraine and Belarus.
Among other sumptuous metro stations Mayakovskaya is a true pearl of underground architecture. It is included in the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Silvery steel columns match beautifully with red and pink shades of rhodonite. The ceiling has 36 mosaic panels made of coloured glass created by very famous Soviet-era artist Alexander Deineka.
As money becoming tighter during the 1960s and 1970s the opulent designs of new stations were sacrificed in favour of better geographic coverage and investment into rail technology - the stations of this era look far more prosaic by comparison. However, in the Medvedev era funds are being found to build new stations - some of which are built in a "fake-Empire" style glorifying Russia's 19th-century past (e.g. Trubnaya), while yet others illustrate contemporary minimalist design styles (e.g. Vorobyovy Gory). Money is now finally being found to restore the first-generation stations (such as Mayakovskaya) to their original glory - and to invest in new rolling-stock and track.
Finding your Way around the Metro
It is not very difficult to find your way around on the metro. For convenience, each metro line has its own distinct colour. Information boards on the station walls show the stations that are served by the particular line you are on. They also indicate all possible transfers to other lines. Signs inside metro stations are in Russian only. Each train car has a metro map close to one or more of the doors. These maps are bilingual (Russian, English).
When you are on the train, the driver will make the following announcement "Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvautsya, sleduyuschaya ostanovka (for example) Smolenskaya". This means "Careful, the doors are closing. The next stop is Smolenskaya". You should be able to understand the station names. In case a station has transfers to two or more other lines, stay calm and try to find the information board indicating the needed station. If it doesn't work, ask someone for assistance.
Many stations have two or more exits leading onto different streets. The exit signs list nearby streets, places of interest, department stores, etc. It helps to find in advance whether you have to get off at the first or last metro car to get to your destination. When meeting someone inside the metro, make sure you are very clear about where exactly you will meet. Some stations are very big and can be very crowded, which can make finding someone a difficult task.
Light Metro
Since 2004, Muscovites are able to enjoy new means of city transportation - the light metro (monorail). The first line is in Butovo and can be accessed from metro Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo. The second line is in northern Moscow and runs between metros VDNKh and Timiryazevskaya. The tracks are an elevated structure with an average height of 7.5 m (25 ft). Each train can hold about 300 passengers. The average speed is 40 km (25 mi) per hour.
BUSES, TROLLEYBUSES, AND TRAMS
In view of the fact that metro stations outside the city centre are far apart in comparison to other cities - up to 4 km (2.5 mi) - an extensive bus network radiates from each station to the surrounding residential zones. Also, Moscow has a several bus terminals for long-range and intercity passenger buses, with a daily turnover of about 25000 passengers serving about 40% of long-range bus routes in Moscow.
Moscow has an extensive tram system, which first opened in 1899. Its daily usage by Muscovites is low (approximately 5%), although, it still remains vital in some districts, especially, in the centre for those who need to get to the nearby metro station. Increasingly tram-lines are the victims of road-widening schemes, and the tram-system's coverage is steadily decreasing. Buses and trolleybuses run from about 06:00 to 01:00, trams from about 05:30 to 01:00.
Public Transportation Ticket Options
One ticket covers one-way transportation on only one bus, trolleybus or tram (regardless the distance). If you transfer to another bus, trolleybus or tram, a new ticket will be required. Tickets for public transportation can be purchased from kiosks on the street. They are typically grey in colour and have a big sign saying "Proezdnyue Bilety" meaning "Public Transportation Tickets". These kiosks can be found outside many metro stations.
Bus, trolleybus, and tram tickets cost 24 Rbs for 1 ticket; 48 for 2 tickets, 90 for 5 tickets; 180 for 10 tickets, 369 Rbs for 20 tickets, 700 Rbs for 60 tickets (as of June 2010). The more tickets you buy, the cheaper the individual ticket gets. If you plan on frequently using public transportation, you may want to purchase a so-called "yediny" which costs 2140 Rbs. This pass is valid for one month and can be used for up to 70 rides on the metro and unlimited tram, bus, and trolleybus rides.
Another option is to purchase a so-called TAT or "proyezdnoi". The letters TAT stand for Tram, Autobus (bus), and Trolleybus. A TAT costs 830 Rbs (as of June 2010). As TAT tickets are not valid for the metro, you will have to purchase metro tickets separately.
You are strongly encouraged to obtain your bus/tram/trolley tickets before you travel. However, you can obtain a ticket on-board, in return for some practiced tutting and grumbling. If you buy a ticket directly from the tram, bus, or trolleybus driver, it will cost you 28 Rbs (as of June 2010). The drivers only sell the tickets during scheduled stops, and you should try to have the exact change on hand.
To enter the tram, bus or trolleybus you have to use a turnstile entrance within the vehicle, located past the driver's seat. All buses, trolleybuses and trams required you to enter through the front door and exit through the back door.
Microbuses
Hundreds of routes in Moscow are served by microbuses (small passenger vans). In Russian these are called "marshrutnoye taxi" or "marshrutka" for short. Their only similarity to a taxi is that they can - in theory - be hailed at the roadside without having to be at a stop, and they can drop you off anywhere along their (fixed) route that the driver considers safe. The routes normally start outside metro stations, and the drivers will stop anywhere along their route at passenger's requests. These small buses often go to places where there is no metro, such as many micro-neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Moscow. They often run long after the metro has closed - but with no guarantees, as the drivers are free agents, and can pack up and go home if it is a quiet evening with few clients.
While these small buses often are a quicker alternative to regular buses, their drivers are often overworked and/or drive recklessly. Accidents involving microbuses are frequent. Pricing on board is entirely up to the companies offering the route - usually they are posted on the buses' windows, along with information on the route and the micro bus number. A very large number of marshrutkas are offering a "private" alternative to specific public bus or tram route - and number themselves the same as the bus- or tram-number they are cloning. Since the public services are not-for-profit anyhow, they rarely complain about this competition - which relieves congestion on already-groaning main routes. Marshrutka offers travelers a slightly quicker journey, less crowding on board, and a guaranteed seat instead of having to stand (no standing is allowed in marshrutkas, for safety reasons). You have to tell (i.e. holler to) the driver in advance of where you'd like to stop.
COMMUTER AND LONG-DISTANCE TRAINS
Moscow has nine large train stations. All of them serve long-distance trains as well as short-distance commuter trains called "elektrichkas" that go to various suburbs of Moscow.
Commuter Trains ("Elektrichkas")
When visiting a location outside of Moscow, make sure you know which train station your elektrichka departs from. Not all elektrichkas travelling to the same destination will spot at all of the smaller stops in-between. Large boards on the main platform usually list the trains that are going to be leaving within the next couple of hours, and they normally mention whether the train will stop everywhere or not. If in doubt, ask! Suburban trains run relatively frequently and are usually on time.
If you plan on frequently travelling to the same destination by suburban train, you may want to purchase a timetable for that particular route; they are very cheap and available at the ticket counters. Generally there are more trains during morning and evening hours when people travel to and from work, and on summer weekends when entire families travel to and from their dachas. During summer the trains can get very crowded, and seating is limited. Note that most of these trains have no toilets; neither do the majority of the small station stops along the way.
Long-Distance Trains
Moscow's nine rail terminals (or vokzals) are:
Belorussky
Kazansky
Kievsky
Kursky
Leningradsky
Paveletsky
Rizhsky
Savyolovsky
Yaroslavsky
They are located close to the city centre, each, dealing with trains from different parts of Europe and Asia. Tickets in general are relatively cheap.
If you contemplate a long-distance or overnight train journey make sure you buy a first or a least second class ticket. Some short- and medium-distance trains till have a third class, called "obshchy vagon". This is a carriage without any compartments, and you might end up sleeping next, above or under a noisy party of travelers - or military recruits on their way home on leave.
There are also different categories of train: "skory" ("fast", an outdated title in most cases, as it is rarely the fastest option), "express", and "firmenny" ("flagship service" - the highest category). Tickets cost more on better trains. You cannot buy a ticket merely specifying the route you want - you have to specify the train and time you intend to use, and you will be given an assigned wagon and seat (or berth, if the train is a sleeper). All long-distance routes longer than 24 hours are "compulsory sleeper" services - there is no "couchette" option. Firmenny trains are not only faster - they have greatly increased levels of comfort on board, nicer restaurant-wagons, and clean toilets, usually modern "airline-type" toilets. A useful "rule of thumb" when choosing trains - if you only know their numbers - is that the lowest-numbered trains are usually the best ones (firmenny). Faced with a choice of train 9 or train 371 on the same route, you'd be best to pick train 9. Some routes (e.g. Moscow - St. Petersburg) have competing commercial train operators, offering you a wider choice of services and prices.
Toilet facilities on non-firmenny Russian trains are not great, and it is absolutely essential to bring your own toilet paper and small pre-packed moist towelettes (the kind you get on airplanes). You might also want to bring some food and drink, especially if you are going to on longer trip. Routes longer than 24 hours always have a dining car - these tend to be either "nice but prohibitively expensive" or "cheap but grim" - almost all of them are nowadays operated as franchised businesses. Russian standard cafe fare is usually the extent of the menu - vegetarians are likely to fare quite poorly, even on better trains.
When travelling overnight, make sure you lock your compartment door. Keep an eye on your belongings, especially your passport and your wallet - thefts on trains can and do occur.
Most expatriates prefer not to use trains for long-distance travel; it is much easier and faster to fly. Overnight train rides to St. Petersburg, however, are a great experience, especially if you travel on one of the luxury trains (there is a choice of 5-6 premium-end train operators).
TAXIS
Apart from using public transportation, official and private taxis are the safest way to get around town. There are two different kinds of taxis in Russia, all of which are commonly referred to as "taxi": official and private taxis, and gypsy cabs.
Official and Private Taxis
Taxis come in various shapes and colours. The main feature of an official taxi is the presence of a meter, together with an official taxi sign either on the roof and/or on the doors. Official taxi drivers are supposed to switch on their meter when they pick you up and should charge you according to a "per km" rate (with a certain minimum charge), but many prefer not to do so. You may, therefore, have to agree on the fare before getting in. The same applies to gypsy cab drivers.
Note that in contrast to many countries, you cannot just get into an official taxi in Moscow and expect the driver to take you where you want to go. He may not be interested in taking you, particularly if you are going somewhere far from the city center.
Official taxis can be difficult to catch on the street - there aren't that many. If you expect that you will need a taxi, order one ahead of time. Private taxis will normally only pick up passengers who have ordered a car by phone or over Internet. Many of these cars also have taxi sign, but they usually do not have a meter.
Private taxi companies usually have a fixed charge - usually per 20 minutes. The taxi company should inform you of the charge when you order a car. Unless your company has a contact with a particular taxi company, you must pay a driver in cash. Few companies accept credit cards. If you need an official receipt, ask whether one can be provided before placing you order - not all companies provide this.
Gypsy Cabs
In Russia, the difference between hailing a cab (taxi) and simply hitchhiking is vague. Generally,
wherever you are, at any time of day or night, you can get a "cab" in a matter of minutes or seconds by holding out your hand. Normally, you tell the driver where you are going and negotiate an amount, with you naming the first price. For many locations, giving the closest metro station is the best. Keep in mind though that very few drivers speak English. "Chastniki" (gypsy cab drivers) drive their own cars that do not have any taxi signs on them.
Taxi Rules
To flag down a taxi or a gypsy cab, stand on the curb of the street and hold out your hand.
When a car stops, make sure that there are no other passengers in it.
Tell the driver where you want to go (e.g. name the street and the closest metro station). You will then be asked how much you are willing to pay for the trip.
If the driver is happy with your offer, he will say "Sadites" or "Poyekhali" (meaning "Sit down" or "Let's go").
Gypsy cab drivers often don't need instructions on how to get to your destination.
Few taxi drivers speak English or other foreign languages, so if your Russian is limited, ask someone to write your destination down for you in Russian and mark on a map so that you an show it to the driver.
Cars
There are over 3 million cars in the city on a daily basis. Recent years have seen a significant growth in the number of cars, which has lead to traffic jams and unavailability of parking space. The MKAD (Moscow Circular Car Road), along with the Third Transport Ring and the future Fourth Transport Ring is one of only three freeways that run within Moscow city limits. However, as one can easily observe from a map of Moscow area, there are several other roadway systems that form concentric circles around the city. You might want to rent a car to explore Moscow as a driver. Try one of the following car rental companies.
RIVER TRANSPORT
Moscow has two passenger riverboat terminals (South River Terminal and North River Terminal or Rechnoi Vokzal), serving regular ship routes and cruises along Moskva and Oka Rivers. Due to winter ice, the rivers are navigable from early April to mid-October for passenger transport, and for cargo - a little longer. Cruise ships, connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg, Astrakhan, Rostov-on-Don and other cities of the Volga region depart from the North River Terminal (Severny Rechnoi Vokzal). From the South River Terminal ships depart to Ryazan & Konstantinovo, on the Oka River to Nizhny Novgorod; ships for the Volga River leave from Severny Rechnoi Vokzal. Additionally the suburban ships "Raketa", "Moskva" serve Severny Rechnoi Vokzal to the recreation area of the reservoirs of the Moskva Canal, and on one-hour excursions on the Khimki Reservoir. |
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| 74. | Driving in Moscow::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Driving in Moscow
General information
There are over 3 million cars in the city on a daily basis. Recent years have seen a significant growth in the number of cars, which has lead to traffic jams and unavailability of parking space. Driving in Moscow can be a daunting experience for the uninitiated. Traffic accidents (and resulting deaths) are more numerous that in North America and most European countries - despite the fact that there still are fewer cars). Russian drivers regularly ignore traffic lights, road signs and traffic regulations as well as pedestrians, so you have to be very careful and drive defensively at all the time. Random stop-n-checks by the Traffic Cops are regular, and you need not have committed any kind of irregularity to be (legally) pulled-over in this way.
Many Russian drivers have not obtained their driving license in an official way - it is, unfortunately still relatively easy to "buy" a driving license in Russia. For all of these reasons, many expatriates choose not to drive in Moscow. They often make use of a driver provided by their employee, hire a private driver, or use public transportation.
Moscow Road System
Road conditions in Moscow are not too bad but they get worse as you leave town. Generally little attention is paid to paving, maintenance and roadside facilities. Moscow has a complicated road system with three major ring roads: the MKAD or Moscow Ring Road, which goes all the way around Moscow; the Garden Ring which encircles the city center and the Third Ring in-between the MKAD and the Garden Ring. There is also a smaller half-ring road (half because it doesn't form a closed circle), which is called the Boulevard Ring and is located in the city center. The city center consists of a complicated network of smaller streets and lanes, many of which are one-way streets. The Fourth Transport Ring is to be built in the future.
Documents to Carry with You
Drivers must always carry the following documents with them:
Passport (foreigners must also have their original Russian visa and migration card)
Driving license
Registration certificate
Motor vehicle insurance
A Power of Attorney if the car does not belong to you. If you are driving on office are, the Power of Attorney will normally only be valid for several months at a time and must be renewed on a regular basis.
Technical inspection card
Things to Keep in Mind
Many street signs are in Russian only and finding as address can be tricky. It is better buying a good Moscow street atlas, preferably a larger one that shows all individual buildings. You can also now obtain reliable GPS devices covering Moscow and surroundings.
The whole streets can be closed off when the president or another important person is expected to drive by. Rubevo-Uspenskoye shosse, Kutuzovsy prospect and Novy Arbat are especially prone to these situations, as are the roads to international airports if a major dignitary or delegation is arriving or leaving.
You should take travel routes to and from work into account when looking for an apartment or house in Moscow.
GIBDD
The GIBDD (State Inspection for the Safety or Road Traffic) is the Russian traffic police. Formerly called GAI (State Automobile Inspection), they are still referred to as such by many. The GIBDD is a separate police entity and has nothing to do with the regular Russian police. A traffic police officer is commonly referred to as a "gaishnik". Despite the official difference between the GIBDD and the Militia, their emergency phone number is the same - 02.
Arbitrary checks by traffic police are frequent. They can stop you to check documents, make sure your technical inspection card has been renewed, etc. While fines for minor violations, such as not wearing a seatbelt, are extremely rare, other violations, such as crossing a solid white line are subject to hefty fines (by Russian standards). Technically, you can also be fined for not having a first-aid kit or a fire extinguisher in your car.
The GIBDD frequently stops drivers on weekend and Monday mornings for alcohol checks. If you fail the breathalyzer test, you will be required to give a blood sample for further analysis. In such instances you want to include one or more sterile syringes in your first-aid kit. Procedures for paying fines are subject to frequent change. Any GIBDD officer must introduce himself (there are almost no female GIBDD officers in Russia) with his title (e.g. sergeant) and his last name upon request, he must show his badge.
Driving Licence
To be on the safe side, you should obtain an International Driver's Permit (IDP) before coming to Russia. Foreigners staying in Russia for less than six months can use their national driving licence, but must have the licence translated into Russian. The translation must be notarized. Foreigners intending to stay in Russia for longer than six months must obtain a Russian driving licence.
Normally any foreigner wishing to apply for a Russian driving licence must provide the following documents:
His/her passport and valid Russian visa with the OVIR registration stamp
A medical certificate (available from any major health clinic)
His/her national driving licence, a notarized photocopy of the licence, and a notarized translation
If the original (national) driving licence is still valid, the applicant only has to take and pass a theoretical driving test. If the applicant's licence has expired, he/she must also pass a practical driving exam before a Russian licence can be issued. Exams must normally be taken in Russian.
If you do not have a driving licence, you can obtain one in Moscow. However, in order to do so, you must be fluent in Russian: the theoretical and practical instruction is conducted in Russian. Some schools may allow you to bring an interpreter, but this may be difficult. Before enrolling in a local driving school, make sure that the school is recognized by the GIBDD and will register the students for the state driving exam. Getting a driving licence in Moscow is still quite affordable when compared to the West.
Obtaining a first-time driving licence in Russia involves enrolling in a local driving school, passing a medical test, going through two months of theoretical and practical driving instruction, and taking (passing) state driving exams. The exam is the same for both Russian nationals and foreigners, but foreigners have to take the exam in a different place.
Accidents
If you are involved in an accident and there is serious damage to your or the other side vehicle(s) and/or people are injured, stay right where the accident took place - even if you are in the middle of a busy intersection - and wait for a GIBDD officer. You will either have to call the GIBDD yourself (possible only if you have mobile phone and you speak Russian) or ask somebody else (e.g. the other driver involved in the accident, your office, your friend to call them. Do not expect the GIBDD officers to speak English.
To report an accident, call the police at 02 and provide them with all details of the accident (location, number and kind of vehicles involved, injuries, etc.) If necessary, call an ambulance at 03. Remember that leaving the site of an accident in which someone was injured is a criminal offense.
If the damage is small, you may settle the dispute with the other involved party on the spot. Many people prefer doing so as filling a police report even for a traffic accident can be a major nuisance in terms of lost time and formalities. Bear in mind that repairing a foreign car in Moscow can be expensive. If the damage is extensive, you must wait for the GIBDD. If you leave the scene of the accident without a detailed, written report from traffic police, you will have no chance of recovering money for damages to your and other side vehicle from your insurance company.
If you decide to involve the GIBDD in an accident, they will draw up a detailed accident report that will include sketch of the scene. If you do not speak/read/understand Russian, call your office and ask for an interpreter to be sent to the site of the accident as soon as possible. You will be asked to sign the accident report, but you should not do so if you do not understand what it says; you will need it for your insurance company. It may be wise to very discreetly take down the officer's name and badge number.
Note that it can take a long time for the GIBDD to arrive at the scene of an accident - even if the accident is causing major traffic problems. Provided that no personal injuries were reported, the officers often don't seem to in a hurry. However, once they arrive, they are usually quite good at handling the situation. If you are hit by another car and that car drives off, do not chase it. Stay, call the police, and file the report. Disputes over accidents have to be settled in court.
Insurance
On July 1st, 2003, mandatory car insurance was introduced in Russia. According to this new law, every car owner must have an insurance policy certifying that he/she is insured against third-party liability. However, as this mandatory insurance policy only provides coverage up to certain mount and does not include coverage for car theft and vandalism, it is advisable to purchase additional (voluntary) insurance. Ideally, you should purchase both mandatory and voluntary insurance through the same company.
Licence Plates
Most cars in Moscow have white licence plates with black letters. Red licence plates with white numbers and letters are reserved for diplomatic cars. A "CD" on such a licence plate stands for "Chef de Mission Diplomatique", a "D" for diplomat, and a "T" for "Trade". Blue licence plates with white numbers and letters are reserved for Russian officials and the police.
Traffic Jams
Moscow heavily suffers from the traffic jams. Many people have even missed their flights because they didn't plan on getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. Major traffic jams occur regularly on all larger thoroughfares leading into and out Moscow, as well as on the ring road mentioned above. Traffic is particularly heavy going into town on weekday mornings and to the suburbs on weekday afternoons and evenings. The Garden Ring (Sadovoe Kol'tso) suffers from traffic jams all day long, although they are usually worse from about 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and then again from about 4.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. on weekdays.
Late spring to mid-autumn is dacha season in Russia. The outbound dacha traffic starts early Friday afternoon and can last well into Saturday morning, with the return traffic starting Sunday afternoon and often lasting into the late night. Monday mornings are also problematic during this season as many people go to work straight from their dachas, therefore, if you live on or along one of the large highways leading into/out of Moscow, expect to face this problem on a weekly basis for about five months every year.
Another problem related to the dacha season are the so-called "podsnezhniki". These are drivers who do not touch their cars all winter long. The word means "snow-covered" and stems from the fact that many drivers leave their cars outside covered by snow throughout the winter. These drivers and their cars can be a traffic hazard because the cars are old and because many of these people do not drive at least half the year and are out of practice come spring.
Parking
Parking is another consideration if you own a car. Since cars can be the target of break-ins in Moscow, it is important to have a secure parking space, which can be very difficult, particularly if you live in downtown Moscow. Many streets and lanes are very narrow, and you may not be able to park your car in front of or in the yard of your residential building, or - for that matter - your office. Things get worse in winter when snow piles up on the sides of the street.
Some apartment buildings have a small parking lot where parking spaces are allotted for tenants. If possible, negotiate the parking space at the same time you negotiate your apartment lease. Some of the newer buildings have underground garages; others have guarded yards. Residential complexes, such as Pokrovsky Hills and Rosinka, have private garages.
Buying a Car
Unless you are a fully accredited foreign diplomat, it is very difficult and expensive to import a car to Russia. In many cases your moving company will not be able to assist with the import customs clearance of your car, and you will have to pay very steep import duties.
If you can not live without a car, you can purchase one in Moscow. However, several difficulties are involved in this. If you have a foreign passport and want to buy a car, you can register the car in your name, but you will have to de-and re-register it each time you receive a new Russian visa. The other option is to register the car in a Russian friend or colleague's name and then have that person provide you with a general Power of Attorney allowing you to drive and sell your car.
You can either purchase a new car or a used vehicle. In either case make sure you purchase the car from a reputable car dealership. If you want to purchase a used car from a private individual, have it checked very thoroughly at a good car service station before buying it.
Also keep in mind that it will be difficult for you to re-export a car from Russia (unless you are a fully accredited foreign diplomat).
If the car is registered in another's person's name, you will first have to sign a sale contract with that person (so that you can prove that the car is actually ours). You must then re-register the car in your name and de-register it before it can be exported from Russia. You will also have to carefully check what the requirements for the import of motor vehicles in your destination country are.
Maintenance
Before winter arrives, have your car protected with extra undercoating and fitted with heavy-duty batteries, heavy-duty shock absorbers, and winter tires. Do not wait until the first snow - that's when most drivers remember and lines at service stations will be very long. Have your car checked on a regular basis. A number of good car maintenance services are available in Moscow. Many of them specialize in one or more vehicle brands (e.g., Volkswagen or BMW).
Petrol
A gas station is called a "avtozapravka" or "A Ze Es" for short. Gas stations are almost not-existent in the city center, particularly within the confines of the Garden Ring. Therefore, if you live in the city center, make sure you know where the closest gas stations are located. You should only fill up at reputable gas stations, such as BP (British Petroleum), TNK (Tyumen Oil Company), Yukos, or Lukoil.
The price for petrol in Russia is still significantly lower than in Western Europe and North America. Most Russian cars run on 92 or 95 petrol; foreign cars normally run on 95. Since there has been an increase of Russians driving foreign cars, this type of higher-octane petrol is readily available.
Technical Inspection
All cars on the road in Russia have to undergo a regular technical inspection, called a "tekhosmotr" in Russian. Currently, cars that are under five years old have to be inspected every two years; cars that are over five year old have to be examined once a year. The last number on your car's licence plate indicates the month in which your car must undergo the inspection. For example, if the last number is a 9, your technical inspection will be due in September.
The process is a bit complicated for people who do not speak Russian. Unless you know exactly what needs to be done, ask a driver of someone from your office to help you. If your car has passed all tests successfully, you will be issued a plastic technical inspection card, called a "talon tekhosmotra". Whoever is driving the car must carry this document with him/her at all times - along with all other necessary documents. Failure to undergo the technical inspection and/or not having the card may result in confiscation of your car or at least a heavy fine.
Towing
If you are caught driving while intoxicated; refuse to take an alcohol test; cannot produce your driving licence, your car registration papers, the documents confirming ownership of the car, or a valid Power Attorney; have illegally stopped or parked your car in a non-stopping and non-parking zone; or if your car has faulty brakes or a faulty steering system, traffic police can impound and tow your car. If your car is towed, you will have to pay a fine for the offence you have committed; pay for the towing costs; and pay an hourly fees for the time your car was impounded. These costs can amount to 10,000 Rbs or more very easily, and you will need cash to pay - no cards are accepted and there are no ATMs at the "Special Car Park". If you are not present when the car is towed, you may find it very difficult to retrieve/find it later.
Winter Driving
Driving in Moscow in winter can be a tricky and dangerous affair, especially if you are not used to such weather conditions. If you have never driven on snow, slush, ice, you may want to take a few driving lessons with an experienced driver before hitting the roads on your own. Due to huge piles of snow lining the sides of streets and yards, parking in winter is even more difficult than in summer months. Whereas a street may have two lanes, it may be reduced to one lane in winter, again because of the snow. Driving through small streets in the center can become very difficult, and cars going in opposite directions often get stuck because nobody is willing to back up.
Things to keep in your car during winter include a good heavy-duty snowbrush, a defroster for locks, and a roll of paper towels in case condensation builds up on the windows inside the car. You should also carry an extra canister of anti-freeze liquid in your trunk at all times.
Do's on the Roads
Do carry all required documents with you (along with your passport, visa, and migration card). Traffic police can make stop you anytime to check your documents. You are obliged to carry the original documents with you at all times - photocopies are not acceptable.
Do make sure that you have a first-aid-kit (including a sterile syringe, which is not mandatory), a fire extinguisher, and a sign for emergencies in your car. The traffic police can fine you if you fail to produce any of these during a roadside check.
Do drive on the right hand side of the road. This takes some getting used to when you are arriving from a country where driving is on the left.
Do drive defensively.
Do adhere to the speed limits of 60 km/h (37mph) in built-up areas and 90 km/h (55 mph) elsewhere.
Do fasten your seatbelts at all times. While regularly ignore buckling up is mandatory in Russia, you can be fined for not wearing a seatbelt. You can also be fined if your passengers are not wearing seatbelts.
Do turn your headlights when going through a tunnel.
Do look out for potholes - they can cause serious damage to your car. They may also cause drivers to weave dangerously in attempt to prevent damage to their cars.
Do stop when the GIBDD (traffic police) motions you to do so. (This can be a patrol car, but more usually a pedestrian officer at the roadside with a baton). They can stop you just to check your documents. Failure to stop can have very serious consequences, including being fired upon by the officers (who have the right to do so).
Do watch where you park in the center of town. Cars may be towed away or clamped.
Do be careful where you leave your car at night - break-ins do happen. Do not leave anything lying around the car. Put things that must stay in your car into the trunk.
Do make sure that your car is properly insured through a reputable insurance company. Carrying the Insurance Certificate with you at all times is a legal requirement.
Do remain flexible.
Do keep your license plate clean - you can be fined for a dirty/illegible license plate.
Do Not's on the Road
Don't drink and drive! Russia has a 0.3 pro mil in blood (0.15 with a breathalyzer test) alcohol policy for drivers and police are very strict about this. The GIBDD has the right to check your blood alcohol level on the spot. 0.3 pro mil of alcohol is about one bottle of light beer, but remember that alcohol effect different people in a different way. The more well-grown the person is, the faster alcohol digests. So, you never know if you have exceeded the norm or not. It is better not risk.
Don't turn left or do a u-turn unless this is clearly specified. You must drive until the next U-turn sign, no matter how far it is, to turn around, then come back and make the right turn.
Don't ever cross a solid double white line - you can have your driving license revoked for several years for doing so.
Don't turn right on a red light - this is illegal in Russia.
Do not allow children under the age of 12 to travel in the front seat.
When approaching circulatories ("roundabouts") incoming traffic has priority over cars already on the circulatory, who must give way to them. This is a considerable difference to many other countries, so take note. |
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| 75. | Visas :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Visas
One of the most immediate considerations a foreign national will face upon coming to Russia is compliance with Russia’s immigration system. This overview of the Russian immigration regulations sets out the procedures needed to be taken by a foreign individual, and his employer, to try to ensure that individual fulfils the requirements of the Russian legislation whilst he is visiting and/or working in Russia. However, the system is somewhat Byzantine in its complexity, and immigration regulations are evolving rapidly, both in technical terms and, more importantly, in how they are practically enacted. Hence, constant vigilance is required to keep abreast of the current status. There is significant risk in assuming that a process that has worked in the past will work again in the future, even where there are no formal technical changes to the regulations.
While it's become a lot easier to get a Russian visa, don't think your problems are over when you've received yours. If you make a false step while running the gauntlet of registration and (if necessary) getting a work permit, you face fines, hassles and maybe even arrest and deportation. This is why Expats who can afford to, take a more expensive, but far less stressful route: they use one of the many visa services. The agencies stay abreast of the changing rules and regulations and can cope with the bureaucracy, from start to finish.
Getting a Visa
First, plan ahead. It usually takes anywhere from four to six weeks to get a Russian visa, although it is technically possible to get one in as little as one day. To get a visa, you need first to get an invitation from a Russian organization. This can be a Russian firm, government organization, educational institution, or a representative office of a foreign firm. Some international hotels can also arrange a visa invitation. The invitation is issued through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Moscow, which in turn either sends a telex to the specified Russian consulate abroad instructing that a visa be issued or gives you a invitation which you can then take into a Russian Consulate. Visa service organizations are in the business of issuing these invitations for a fee (which includes the fee paid to the MFA for processing the invitation). Keep in mind that the Russian consulate abroad also charges a fee, which is in addition to the fee you pay to the visa service company.
Once you're notified that your telex has arrived at the consulate, bring your passport, a completed visa application form, and the required fee (it varies from consulate to consulate). If you're applying for a multiple entry visa, you are officially required to present the results of an HIV test conducted during the preceding three months. Most Medical Centers in Moscow offer this service. The truth is that not all consulates bother to ask for one, but in case you are asked, it's better to be safe than sorry. The fees you pay for the issuance of the invitation and for the visa itself vary, depending on how quickly you want to receive the document.
Tourist visas are usually issued for one month, while the others are issued for anywhere from three months to one year. The short-term visas are almost always single entry-exit visas, while the longer-term visas usually allow you to make three trips into and out of Russia. Multiple-entry visas allow you to enter and leave the country as many times as you wish.
In some countries the Russian Consulate may have franchised-out the job of issuing visas to a specialized agency or computer-centre. In this case you can no longer apply directly to the Consulate, but must take your documents to this agency instead. In theory this is supposed to streamline the application process, but in practice no real improvements have been noticed. There will usually be Consular Officers of the Russian Federation working at the centre, supervising the clerical work done by the staff and resolving any procedural queries.
There are four main areas of compliance required for most foreign nationals and parties linked with them when coming to (and leaving) Russia. These are:
Visa;
Immigration card;
Enrollment;
Work permits/Residency permits.
TYPES OF VISAS
Basically, the type of Russian visa is determined by the individual's purpose of visit; this, in turn, governs the scope of activities that an expatriate may be engaged while in Russia under the certain type of visa.
Transit Visa
If your travel plans take you through Moscow on a connecting flight (or train) to another country, you are entitled to obtain a three-day transit visa. This will enable you to get out into the city instead of remaining in the transit hotel. You will need to evidence your journey at the Consulate with the actual air ticket (original - photocopies, itineraries, or email confirmations are not accepted). You can only obtain a transit visa if you are going via Moscow to somewhere else - a straight return ticket to/from Moscow would not be sufficient. Again, a visa agency or hosting organization can arrange this for you in advance, and will have someone meet you when you step off the plane. It is technically possible to obtain a transit visa when arriving at major airports, although in practice this is not so easy.
Business Visas
A business visa is foreseen for foreign nationals coming to Russia for business purposes, including participation in negotiations, conferences and consultations, making contracts and professional improvement. A business visa does not empower foreign individuals to hold official positions in Russian legal entities, represent them, or perform work in Russia under the civil or employment agreements. Importantly, business visas also cover some persons coming on “montage” or “chef-montage” activity, where they are helping put imported machinery into production or servicing it for the foreign vendor. Generally, business visas are issued based on invitations from Russian hosts and issued via Russian consulates outside Russia. The validity period of a single or a dual business visas is three months.
Multiple-entry business visas, like work visas, are valid for 12 months. However, these are restricted, so they only allow the foreign national to be present in Russia for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. Once the visa expires, the foreign individual has to leave Russia, as business visas cannot be reissued in Russia. Russia has a number of immigration treaties, most notably with the EU (excluding the UK, Ireland and Denmark), which can extend the length of the validity of business visas up to five years.
Work Visas
A work visa is intended for foreign individuals coming in Russia to work or render services under an employment or a civil agreement respectively. By contrast with a business visa, a work visa allows an expatriate to occupy a position in the Russian company (or representative office or branch of a foreign company) indicated in the individual work permit and to act in an official capacity for this company. Initially, a single-entry work visa is issued by a consulate outside Russia for three months only based on the employer's invitation. The employer may further apply for an extended multiple-entry work visa upon expatriate’s arrival in Russia.
Foreign nationals are required to stay in Russia during the application process and issuance of the multiple entry work visa. The validity period of a work visa is linked to the validity period of the expatriate’s work permit (or accreditation card issued for accredited person working in a representative office or branch of a foreign company), but cannot exceed one year. If the employment agreement remains in force upon the visa's expiry, a new multiple-entry work visa can be obtained, provided that there is a new individual work permit.
Visa for "Inosotrudniki"
This is a special type of work visa issued for accredited expatriate employees of foreign companies operating in Russia through its representative offices or branches. In practice, this is an easier visa to obtain from an administrative perspective, as it separates the visa application from the work permit.
Family Visas
Spouses and children of relocating expatriates can apply for visas in the same way as the executive. An ‘Accompanying Spouse Visa’ and/or ‘Dependent’s Visa’ can be obtained at the same time as the expatriate applies for his/ her own visa. Talk with your HR department to make certain that this process is carried out at the same time as your visa application.
IMMIGRATION CARD
Upon arrival in Russia, each foreign national should complete and retain the stamped half of the immigration card. This card contains information about the arrival and departure of the individual in and from Russia, as well as the period of his or her stay in Russia. This document is delivered to each foreign citizen by the Russian border control authorities. The foreigner should keep the immigration card during his whole stay in Russia. If the immigration card is damaged or lost, the foreign national should notify the local immigration authorities within three days, and they may further issue a duplicate upon presenting the documents based on which the individual entered Russia (passport and visa, if applicable).
Upon departure from Russia, the foreign national should return the original immigration card at the Russian border control. Failure to return the immigration card is considered to be a violation and may lead to the formal deportation of a foreign individual from Russia. If deported, the individual will not be able to enter Russia for the next five years.
Registering your Immigration Card
The process for registering your immigration card will be exactly the same as it was for registering a visa. If you are staying in an apartment, you will need a notarized letter from your landlord
Once you've arrived in Russia, you are legally required to register within three working days (72 hours) with OVIR, the agency that registers foreigners in Russia. This is done a number of ways depending on where you will live while staying in Russia and whether your visa is multiple entry or not. If your visa is multiple-entry, you must register at the Central OVIR. Bring the original letter of invitation from your sponsoring organization, your migration card, passport, and a notarized letter from your landlord.
If you lived in a hotel during the first few days of your stay and then moved to a private residence, do not make the mistake of thinking you are registered. You still need to have your card registered at OVIR at your permanent address in Russia. And if that's not enough, you might need yet another letter if you've gotten your visa invitation from a foreign rep office. This will need to be a letter from the Russian organization that accredits the rep office.
For single and double entry visas, you can register simply by having your sponsoring organization stamp your migration card. You will need a Central OVIR registration as well, however, if you intend to marry in Russia or buy a car. If you are living only in a hotel during your stay, the hotel will register you. But count your stamps. Your card will be stamped once when you check in, and a second time when you check out. Some people think that the first stamp is sufficient. It is not. Most visa service companies will handle the OVIR registration process, saving you the wait in line.
What Happens if you Don't Register
You can be fined if you don't quite get your registration right and in some very rare cases can even be deported. And if you are found out at the airport, it can cost you several hundred dollars in fines not to mention the hassle of having to miss your flight and spend a couple of more days in Moscow to get an exit visa from Central OVIR.
ENROLMENT AND DE-ENROLMENT PROCEDURES
Enrolment is the process of notifying the immigration authorities of a foreign citizen’s whereabouts (international travel as well as internal trips within Russia). Upon arrival in Russia, each foreign national should be enrolled (registered) in the Russian migration system at his host location. Enrolment, as well as de-enrolment should be completed in respect of the foreign national by the hosting party: either by hotel, or by employer (visa sponsor), or landlord (whichever is applicable). In practice, most landlords are unwilling to perform this role.
This process is to be completed within 3 business days upon arrival, each time an individual arrives to the country or travels to another region within Russia for more than 3 business days. The de-enrolment process should be completed within 2 calendar days of the departure, every time a foreign national departs from Russia or leaves for another region within Russia for more than 3 business days. It is recommendable that the individual hold a copy of the enrolment/de-enrolment form while travelling in Russia or outside.
Further, as the fines for non-compliance with the enrolment requirement are rather high, each foreign employee will typically need to notify his or her employer on any trip within or out of the country, even if this is personal trip, so that the procedure can be carried out.
When your Visa Expires
Visas can be renewed for a week or two when they are expiring - long enough to allow you to finish what you're doing and leave the country. If your visa cannot be renewed you need to apply for a new one. This usually necessitates a trip out of the country, although some agencies do offer visas that don't require you to leave. As a rule the more established visa firms do not offer such services. Given the lead time to obtaining a new visa, allow at least one month between the time you apply for a new visa and the expiration of your current one. |
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| 76. | Moscow-at-a-Glance::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Moscow-at-a-Glance
Moscow is a city of contrasts, and its fascinating history offers its inhabitants and guests a variety of adventures - business, economical, cultural, recreational and much more. Moscow is the capital of the largest European country and is situated in the heart of what is known as European Russia. Consequently, this capital city, being the epicenter of life for people of different nations and parts of the world, takes the best of east and west. Moscow has seen foreign invaders come and go. It was the capital when Mongol Tatars overran the Russian lands. The Crimean Tatars destroyed the fledgling city in 1751, as did Poles in the 17th century. During the war with Napoleon, three-quarters of the city was burned in the wake of the French occupation - but as a result, a stately Empire-era city arose in its place, still studded with the remains of the city's medieval splendour. Two further upheavals have helped shape the city's extraordinary appearance - the wave of "suprematist" monumental architecture undertaken during the "boom" period of the Communist era, and the corresponding oil-funded "rebuilding boom" that followed the fall of Communism, and continues today.
The City's Name
Moscow was named after the Moskva River (in Russian the name of the city is pronounced as "Mosk-va"). The origin of the name itself is unknown, although several theories exist. One of the theories suggests that the name originates from the ancient Finnic language, in which it means "dark" or "turbid". Yet another theory tells that the name comes from the ancient Slav language and means simply "wet". Either way, the etymology of the word is related to water.
Geographic Area & Size
The size of the city is about 1100 sq.km (425 sq.mi), with the central part of the city - over 800 sq.km (309 sq.mi) situated inside the Moscow Outer Ring Road.
Location, Streetplan, and Arterial Road Scheme
Moscow is located directly at the centre of European Russia at the northwest segment of Russia's most densely developed and populated region. The Moskva River crosses through the middle of the city and is itself a tributary of the Volga River.
Like the cross-section of a tree with its yearly rings, Moscow has grown outward from the Kremlin since the 12th century. There are five concentric "rings" that shape the city's streetplan - the most central being the former moat of the Kremlin, Moscow's medieval citadel. Beyond the Kremlin, the oldest ring is the Boulevard Ring Road; closest to the center, it contains the Kremlin within it, and the oldest part of the city. The Boulevard Ring is not a complete ring, but more a horseshoe shape with both ends terminating at the Moskva River. A middle ring road, the Garden Ring (Sadovoe Kol'tso) forms a closed circle around the downtown areas - a massive 6/8-lane highway that carries the huge bulk of Moscow's traffic, and at rush-hours becomes a gigantic circular stationary gridlock of frustrated motorists.
The city's Outer Ring Road ("MKAD" - the Moscow Circular Car Road) diverts intra-national traffic away from the city centre and was intended as a "city boundary for the 21st century" - but the city keeps expanding and some new settlements that are located outside of the MKAD also count as Moscow. The MKAD is located about 28 km (7.4 mi) from the city center and is 100 km (62 mi) long. The newest ring is called the Third Ring Road, once again forming a circle, running between the MKAD and the Garden Ring, conveniently connecting some of the densely populated but not so central parts of Moscow. Most of the Third Ring Road is built as a flyover.
Population:
Moscow city: 10.5 million (as of July 01, 2009)
Moscow region: 6.7 million (as of January 01, 2010)
The official population of Moscow slightly exceeds 10 million, but as in so many other world cities, the actual number of the population is much bigger. The whole Moscow conurbation is probably home to nearer 15 million - the discrepancy is due to official "city limits" that fail to encompass the new housing estates on the outskirts; former suburban towns which have effectively been "swallowed" by city-creep; and a huge unrecorded transient population of visitors, short-term visitors, migrant and seasonal workers, "unofficials", semi-legals and illegal immigrants, on whom there are no official stats.
The vast majority of Muscovites are ethnically and culturally Russians - well over 80%. As the country's most affluent city (unofficial estimates claim that 80% of the country's wealth is in Moscow) it is a magnet for newcomers wanting to further their careers and get the high-paying jobs on offer - many of the Russians living in Moscow have moved here from elsewhere in the country, and "native Muscovites" have a certain pride about having been born in the city.
Moscow is home to many other nationalities, especially Armenians, Georgians, Asiatic Siberians, people from the Caucasus regions and many others whose families migrated to the capital during the Soviet era, when it was all just one large country. Their cultures and languages, and especially their cuisines are all part of the rich melting-pot of Moscow life. Native-born Muscovites often have a pronounced local accent which marks them out, and which is frequently the butt of jokes made about the capital's population throughout the rest of the country.
It ought to be mentioned that there is no great love for Moscow among many Russians from other cities - who habitually associate the city with the imagined misrule and economic inequalities they blame on Moscow and its rulers. In fact, this is a historical tendency - exactly the same was said of St. Petersburg when it was the capital in the 19th century.
Climate
Moscow has a humid continental climate. The average temperature of the year is 5.4 degrees Celsius (°C), with an average temperature of -9°C in January and +18°C in July. Moscow's climate really consists of two extreme seasons: winter and summer. Spring and fall are often negligibly short.
Average temperatures are based on 30 years observation period. Table values are in degrees Celsius (°C). T,°C
Monthly average
Variations Jan
-10
-10...-9 |
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| 77. | National Holidays & Celebrations::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Russian Holidays
January 1: New Year
January 7: Russian Orthodox Christmas
February 23: Defenders of the Fatherland Day
March 8: International Women's Day
May 1: Holiday of Spring and Labour
May 9: Victory Day
June 12: Day of Russia
November 4: National Unity Day
Non-Working Days in 2024
New Year and Christmas holidays: January 1-8, December 29-31
Defenders of the Fatherland Day: February 23-25
International Women's Day: March 8-10
Holiday of Spring and Labour: April 28 - May 1
Victory Day: May 9-12
Day of Russia: June 12
National Unity Day: November 3-4
Russians love to celebrate and take most of their national holidays very seriously. New Year is the most widely celebrated holiday, followed by Orthodox Easter (which is not an official holiday), and Orthodox Christmas. Remember, though, that over 100 ethnic groups live on the territory of the Russian Federation and that each of them has their own colourful holidays and celebrations. Western holiday and festivals, such as Valentine's Day and Halloween are also gaining popularity in Russia, although they are not marked by days off work. When National Holidays fall over weekend dates, one or more adjacent weekdays will usually be declared as Public Holiday(s) - but the decision on which days is often not announced until a month beforehand. Shops and supermarkets don't usually observe any National Holidays except New Year's Eve, however.
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
New Year
The biggest Russian holiday is New Year and is celebrated on the night of December 31st to January 1st. Many Russians have what foreigners usually call a "Christmas tree" for New Year (either a real tree or an artificial). The tree is called a "yolka" in Russian. You may buy trees outside of metro stations at a so-called Christmas tree bazaar, at IKEA (natural fur tree), the Detsky Mir shopping center and many other places across town. At midnight, the President's New Year speech is broadcast on all national TV channels, preceded by lot of musical shows and followed by show-biz variety programming until morning. Most Russians exchange gifts on New Year's Eve. This means that you will be purchasing New Year's gifts for your Russian friends - instead of Christmas gifts. Celebrations on the night of December 31st continue until the early morning of January 1st. January 3rd, 4th and 5th are public/bank holidays. In combination with January 1st and 2nd and January 7th, Russia enjoys an entire holiday week at the start of the New Year.
As this holiday is children's favourite, special shows for children called "yolki" are organized throughout town in the weeks around December 31st. On New Year's Eve, some parents hire a Grandfather Frost or "Ded Moroz" and his assistant Snow-Maiden or "Snegurochka" to visit their homes to deliver previously purchased gifts to the children. The way this usually works is that Snegurochka arrives first, preparing the children for the arrival of Ded Moroz. The children then call for Ded Moroz, who arrives with a bag full of gifts. The children only get their gifts after singing a song or reciting a poem for Ded Moroz or after solving one of his riddles. If you want to order such a service for your children, make sure to place your order in advance.
Normal service is suspended in most restaurants and cafes on the evening of 31st December, and you can only get a table that evening by pre-booking (often several weeks before) and by pre-buying a "ticket" for their New Year's Eve programme - which includes a multi-course meal (usually a set menu), drinks and live entertainment. The prices often bear no resemblance to the usual prices on any other day of the year, but there is intense demand nonetheless - book ahead or go hungry. Those not inclined to spend their New Year's Eve this way often choose to gather in the city's larger open public spaces - Red Square, Poklannaya Gora, etc. - and celebrate in impromptu street parties - these can often be packed too, and in recent years police have limited crowds in Red Square in the interests of public safety, so go early.
Russian Orthodox Christmas
January 7th is Russian Orthodox Christmas. After Easter this is the biggest Christian religious holiday. It is traditionally celebrated at home - families and friends will gather on the evening of 6th January, to mark the festival's arrival at midnight.
Defenders of the Fatherland Day
February 23rd is non-official Men's Day. This public holiday is officially called "Defenders of the Fatherland Day". All men in Russia are liable for call-up to military service, so they all consider themselves celebrities to a certain extent. On this day women usually give men small gifts.
International Women's Day
International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th. In 1910, German socialist Klara Zetkin proposed an International Women's Day. Instead of men treating women nicely, the women went on strike and marched through the streets. On March 8th 1917 Klara Zetkin and her Russian counterpart Alexandra Kollontai, held a women's strike "for bread and peace" in St. Petersburg. This was soon followed by a general strike that triggered the March Revolution which brought down Tsar Nikolai II. Today the holiday has lost its political significance and has become popular for other reasons. Men are supposed to give women gifts on March 8th. They are also supposed to do all the housework on this day - at least in theory. Gift-giving to female colleagues and co-workers is considered largely obligatory.
May Day - Holiday of Spring and Labour
May 1st is the Holiday of Spring and Labour. During Soviet times, huge demonstrations were staged on this day, and everyone was obliged to show their loyalty to the state. (It's widely, but wrongly, thought that May Day in Russia is the day with the big parades, but in fact these come on May 9th - see below).
Victory Day
May 9th is Victory Day. This is the day on which Nazi Germany capitulated in 1945 after the war with the Soviet Union and other countries. A minute of silence is announced on Central TV in memory of the deceased at 21:00 and fireworks are held thereafter. Large May Day parades are held each year, but, for most part, they are not open to the public - instead grandstand places are by VIP invitation. The public can then watch the Parade as it leads away through the city. Usually the entire city center in Moscow is closed to traffic. The best place for non-VIPs to view the Moscow Parade is the section of Tverskaya nearest to Red Square - go early to grab a place. The holiday continues all day with open-air music, street events, and culminates in an enormous firework display, usually at 22:00. (In the rest of Europe, this day is usually called "V-E Day"; "Victory in Europe Day" and is marked on May 8th. Russia celebrates on May 9th because due to the time-difference between Moscow and Berlin, the late-night announcement occurred in the early hours of May 9th by local time in Moscow. The USSR remained engaged in military conflict after May 9th 1945, playing a crucial role against Japan - but Russian military historians name the subsequent hostilities "The Eastern War", and consider that WW2 ended on May 9th for the Soviet Forces.) In contrast the sombre Ceremonies of Rememberance in Western Europe, Russia celebrates May 9th as a huge victory and celebration - this may come as a surprise to foreigners. The Parade crowd can usually be heard chanting "spa-see-bo!" ("thank you!") to the ranks of veterans as they pass.
"The May Holidays"
The fortunate proximity of the May 1st and May 9th holidays above - especially if they fall luckily over weekends - offers many Russians the chance to take an entire week off work whilst only using 1-2 of their days of annual holiday allowance - and over a week usually associated with nice spring weather. This prompts a huge burst of vacationing both in Russia and abroad, and travel prices over this week can be extortionately more expensive than in the adjacent weeks - flights to popular destinations will usually sell out long in advance. Getting any kind of paperwork processed in a Govt organisation over this period usually comes to a dismal standstill.
Day of Russia
June 12th is Day of Russia, also referred to as Independence Day. This became an official holiday in 1994. No particular traditions or festivals are associated with this day.
National Unity Day
November 4th is National Unity Day. This new holiday was introduced in 2005. It replaces the Day of Accord and Reconciliation formerly called the Day of the October Revolution, which was traditionally celebrated on November 7th.
CELEBRATIONS WHICH ARE NOT DAYS OFF
City Days
Every city in Russia has its own City Day, usually celebrated on a date associated with some happy occasion for the city in question - each city has the right to choose its own date. There is usually some kind of parade, open-air music and merry-making, and a firework display after dusk. Some cities have unusual or unique events linked to the date in question - Moscow, for example, has a recreation of the Battle of Borodino, a turning-point in the war against Napoleon, whilst St. Petersburg has a naval display.
"Catholic Christmas"
Although much of the rest of the world is celebrating Christmas on 25th December, the Russian Church calendar dates Christmas as 7th January (see above, "Orthodox Christmas"). Russians name 25th December as "Catholic Christmas" (even though other faiths are also celebrating too) but it is not a public holiday in Russia. Believers often go to their own church services, and these can be the centre of some expat social life too. Bear in mind that branch offices of non-Russian companies (including airlines) may close in any case on 25th -26th December, or operate an emergencies-only service. Since many Russians choose to go away for the New Year holiday, the 25th-26th December closure of foreign Consulates for Christmas adds to the difficulty of getting visas for the great New Year getaway for some. Some expats feel somewhat deflated that 99% of Russia doesn't even realize that 25th December is a major holiday elsewhere - you may want to make your own plans, and nightspots and restaurants catering to foreigners will often have parties anyhow. The good news is that getting a table and paying the regular prices are no problem at all on December 25th, which is "just another working day" in Russia.
Old New Year
The Old New Year is celebrated by many on January 13th. Before the revolution of February 1918, Russians used a different calendar. The difference between the Julian (European) calendar was 13 days. After the Soviet government adopted the Gregorian calendar, Russians started to celebrate many holidays twice: once according to the old style, but with many still choosing to celebrate on the day when the holiday would have fallen prior to the Calendar Reform... the "old" New Year.
Maslenitsa (Whitsun)
It is a traditional Russian spring celebration also referred to as "Pancake Week" or "Butter week". It comes right before the seven-week Orthodox Lent. The word "maslenitsa" refers to the Russian word "maslo" meaning "butter". It refers to the fact that numerous different foods, including butter, cream and other fats, had to be used-up before the start of the seven-week Orthodox Lenten Fast. Many Russians - not only believers - will observe this Fast, and eat an entirely vegan diet - most cafes will offer an alternative Lenten Menu. Originally a pagan holiday celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring, pancakes were baked as a form of worship of the life-giving sun. Today this colourful celebration is once again gaining popularity, and numerous celebrations are held during this week.
Easter
Right after Maslenitsa comes the seven-week Lent leading right up to Easter. Orthodox Russians who take this fasting period very seriously will not consume any milk, eggs, or meat, with fish being eaten only on special occasions. Believers attend a very long and elaborate midnight church service that starts on the evening before Easter Sunday. The traditional greeting, if translated from Russian, says "Christ had risen from the dead/is alive". The reply to this is always "He has truly risen from the dead/is truly alive." Special round-shaped sweet Easter cakes are baked. Around Easter these cakes (called "kulich") are on sale in nearly every bakery and supermarket bread section. Eggs are coloured, with a red egg being considered the symbol of Easter. The red colour is achieved boiling the eggs with beets. To colour eggs yellow, boil them in onion husks.
April Fool's Day
April 1st is Fool's Day, literally meaning Day of Laughter. This is a day of fun and laughter but not a public holiday. People tell jokes to each other and newspapers and TV publish/run funny stories and jokes. The motto of this day is "Don't trust anyone on April 1st". |
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| 78. | Charities::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Charities
Private charities were outlawed during the 70 years of communist power. When the Soviet Union began to collapse, and the social safety net unravelled, Russians found themselves scrambling to build an NGO culture from scratch. Expats have been involved in a big way - and many have specifically come to Russia to help out. Others who are already here see overwhelming needs every day that they cannot ignore. Here's how to get involved.
If language is a barrier, volunteer or fund raise through any of the myriad of community or religious organizations.
Russian speakers can go directly to a Russian charity or help an expat group find new projects to support.
Beware if you are moved to write checks at the site of photos of needy children staring helplessly from the front of a slick brochure. Sometimes the most effective Russian charities can't afford Madison Avenue and some of those who can may not be what they seem.
Some do's and don'ts
Do realize that the Russian tax law doesn't grant NGOs the kinds of benefits they enjoy in the West. Thus, instead of creating a project to fill a need, charities target needs that the law allows them to address.
Don't donate money without thoroughly checking out the recipient organization. NGOs that balk at transparency may not be what they seem.
Don't assume that because an NGO is based abroad it is more effective than a home grown Russian NGO. Often the opposite is true.
Do network.
Moscow is a home to a large number of charitable organizations that are always happy to welcome new volunteers. If you want to volunteer or if you have furniture, clothing, shoes, bedding, toys, kitchenware, appliances or items you no longer need, please contact one of the charitable organizations listed below. Many are always looking for in-kind donations for the projects they support. Some may be able to pick up your donations from your home or office.
AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW)
AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) is a Dutch, non-governmental, public health organization working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) to reduce the impact of HIV among vulnerable populations. AFEW has developed a system of replication, which adapts successful international HIV programmes, based on best practices to the local conditions in other countries across the region. Currently, AFEW carries out programmes in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Tel: 250-6377
E-mail: info@afew.org
Web: www.afew.org
AMUR - Working to Save Russian
Tigers and Leopards from Extinction
AMUR is an Anglo-Russian charity promoting the conservation of Amur (Siberian) tigers and leopards and was officially launched at the British Embassy by the former British Ambassador, Sir Roderic Lyne, in May 2001. The Amur tigers and leopards are extremely endangered with only about 450 adult tigers and 35 adult leopards living in the wild in the Russian Far East. AMUR works to raise money and awareness for conservation projects in the Russian Far East, where these two extremely rare big cats live. Amongst other things, AMUR is working to create new protected reserves, promote eco-tourism, carry out education projects and help with much needed research. Volunteers can get involved by joining the AMUR Committee, holding fund raising events (all money raised will go directly to projects in the field), helping organize events, making a donation, etc.
Address: Myasnitskaya ul., 35a, office 46
Metro: Chistie Prudy
Tel: 768-8065
E-mail: e.newman@amur.org.uk
Web: www.amur.org.uk
Action for Russia's Children (ARC)
Action for Russia's Children (ARC) is an all-volunteer charity dedicated to helping children - particularly the under-privileged, disabled and homeless - and supports Russian initiatives that offer an alternative to institutional care. ARC works with day centers, therapy centers, specialist schools, a foster family project and toy library to establish alternatives to the internat system and to support parents who have made the difficult decision to keep a special-needs child at home. ARC's volunteers give support to ten projects helping children and young people in Moscow who have all kinds of special needs: physically and mentally disabled children, orphans, the homeless, and those of mixed race who suffer from discrimination.
E-mail: actionarc@yahoo.co.uk
Web: www.actionarc.com
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
Charities Aid Foundation is a non-commercial organisation committed to efficient giving. It works to raise the profile of giving, lobby for tax breaks and provide an increasingly broad suite of services to charities and their supporters. The Russian office of the Foundation - CAF Russia - has been a successful charity in Russia since 1993. In close collaboration with the leading Russian and international companies and foundations, it realises around 40 programmes a year. Since the beginning of its work, CAF Russia realised over 300 initiatives aimed at the resolution of a considerable range of social problems, from aiding organisations for the disabled to developing local foundations in 26 regions of the country. Over 44 million dollars went to such ends. The total value of the projects supported by CAF exceeds 120 million dollars.
Address: Tverskaya ul., 24/2, str. 1, podiezd 3, floor 5
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 792-5929
E-mail: cafrussia@cafrussia.ru
Web: www.cafrussia.ru
Diema's Dream
Diema's Dream was founded in 1998 as a result of Mary Dudley's charitable work with orphanages in Moscow while she first lived here from 1994 to 1997. It was during this time that she met Diema, a charming little boy who had hydrocephalus and was paralyzed from the waist down. When Diema turned 5, he was sent to an Internat for children from the ages of 5 to 18. The founder had lost Diema in the system. Through her search to find Diema, Mary met Leonid Mogilevsky. Diema was one of the lucky children to have been saved by Mogilevsky from one of the worst internats in Moscow. Today Diema's Dream is a non-profit, all volunteer US and UK foundation providing financial medical and educational support for physically and mentally disabled children in Russia and the former Soviet Union states. The larger goal is to support changes in society and government in order to create social and medical support programs that will allow parents to raise their children at home instead of living in institutions. Diema's Dream has sponsored educational seminars for the staff and teachers of the Charity House Program.
Address: Borisovskiye Prudy ul., 16, korp. 4
Metro: Kashirskaya
Tel.: 340-0100
E-mail: info@ddfund.ru
Web: www.ddfund.ru
Downside Up
For decades Russian children with Down syndrome had no early intervention services, and their needs were ignored. In 1996 Downside Up, a Russian-British charity, began its daily free programs for Russian families that raise children with DS. Downside Up provides free educational and social services to several hundred Russian children with Down syndrome and their families. Volunteers are involved in charity fundraising events, such as an annual bike ride in Moscow and a Kilimanjaro Climb, and do volunteer work with the children at the center.
Address: 3rd Parkovaya ul., 14a
Metro: Izmailovskaya
Tel: 8 499 367-1000
E-mail: downskteup@downsideup.org
Web: www.downsideup.org
Greenpeace
Address: Leningradsky prosp., 26, korp. 1
Metro: Belorusskaya
Tel: 988-7460
E-mail: info@greenpeace.ru
Web: www.greenpeace.ru
Guide Dogs - Dogs as Assistants to Disabled People
Guide Dogs is an independent non-profit charity called "Dogs as Assistants to Disabled People" that provides a free humanitarian service to disabled Russians. The volunteer trainers train both guide dogs for the blind and help dogs for physically or mentally disabled people. Those who receive dogs get them for free. New dog owners also receive free instruction to learn how to work with their four-legged companions. The guide dog services are provided free of charge, but since Guide Dogs Dogs receives no governmental assistance the center relies on donations to continue its important work.
Tel: 8 499 145-2261
E-mail: guidedogs@guidedogs.ru
Web: www.guidedogs.ru
Hope Worldwide
Hope Worldwide supports orphans, disabled children and pensioners, veterans of World War II and the elderly. Volunteers are always welcome.
Address: Botanicheskaya ul., 33, korp. 5
Metro: Petrovsko-Razumovskaya
Tel: 977-7375
E-mail: info@hopeww.ru
Web: www.hopeww.ru
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
IFAW's mission is to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats and assisting animals in distress. IFAW seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the wellbeing of both animals and people. Today IFAW's programs include a campaign to save the critically endangered Western population of Gray whales at Sakhalin Island, the IFAW Mobile veterinary clinic that spays/neuters and treats stray dogs and cats, the IFAW Orphan Bear Cubs Project that rehabilitates bear cubs orphaned after the cruel winter den hunt.
Address: Smolenskaya pl., 3, Smolensky Passage
Metro: Smolenskaya
Tel: 937-8386
E-mail: info@ifaw.org
Web: www.ifaw.ru
International Women's Club (IWC) Charities
The International Women's Club of Moscow supports many different charitable projects with the assistance of a group of dedicated volunteers. These projects fall into different areas that include baby houses and internats (orphanages), children, the elderly, families and individuals, foster families, handicapped and hospitals, soup kitchens, street children, the homeless, women's issues and a donations office. Volunteers are always needed and very welcome! The IWC Charities Group holds regular general meetings at which you can find out more about the work of the group and the many projects the IWC supports.
E-mail: iwcmoscow@yahoo.com
Web: www.iwcmoscow.ru
Kidsave International
Kidsave believes that every child needs a family. Consistent with its mission to end the harmful institutionalization of children, Kidsave has been working since 1999 to help move orphaned and abandoned children into permanent families. Volunteers are always welcome to help.
E-mail: Tatiana@kidsave.org
Web: www.kidsave.org
Kitezh Children's Community
Kitezh was established to place children from Russian orphanages into loving adoptive families living in an idyllic village some 300 km southwest of Moscow in the Kaluga Region. This therapeutic community is recognized nationally and internationally for the outstanding work that it does in healing traumatized children. Ten years ago, Kitezh was virgin forest. Slowly, a village of log cabin homes and a school came into being. The school is fully recognized by the government, and there are classes in computing, English, art and icon painting, personal development, as well as Russian, math, history and geography. The children learn traditional Russian dances and perform musicals such as "My Fair Lady" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" in the original English. Some of the first children to come to Kitezh from orphanages ten years ago are now university students - an outstanding testament to the loving success of this community.
Tel: 8 916 9751603
E-mail: kitezh@kaluga.ru
Web: www.kitezh.org
Maria's Children
The Maria's Children studio was established in 1993 when director Maria Yeliseeva began her volunteer work with orphans. Kids from different orphanages in Moscow attend the art studio to team art and life skills. They create murals, paintings and other artwork that has been exhibited in Russia and abroad, and their teachers practice art therapy and musical therapy with children challenged by disabilities. The studio also has a psychologist who works with the children. Maria's Children provides an atmosphere where children learn trust, love and friendship. They learn to paint and in doing so, are empowered to change their lives. Every year, Maria's Children sells adorable postcards and wall calendars. Volunteers who are interested in doing artwork with children are always welcome.
Address: Dmitrovsky per., 2/10
Metro: Okhotny Ryad
Tel: 692-4870
E-mail: mariaschildren@yandex.ru
Web: www.mariaschildren.ru
METIS Inter-Racial Children's Charity Fund
The mission of METIS is to improve the lives of mixed-race children through humanitarian assistance, education and training programs, and other avenues of social advocacy and support. It is the only organization of its kind in Russia. Current METIS programs and projects include computer classes; English and French language classes; donations of food packages to needy families; financial support to individual families; monthly ethnic gatherings for children and families excursions to theatres, museums, and other cultural venues; distribution of a semi-annual newsletter; holiday celebrations for children and families; donations of clothing, toys, and household items, summer camp sponsorship etc. Volunteers are always needed for the above programs and projects.
Tel: 343-0813
E-mail: metis2001@mail.ru
Web: www.fundmetis.narod.ru
MiraMed Independent Living and Social Adaptation Center (MILSAC)
Since 1991 MiraMed has been assisting displaced and orphaned children in Russia, helping them make the transition from state-run institutions to society. The organization's social protection programs for Russian orphans include humanitarian aid, education and training at MiraMed Centers for Social Adaptation in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Uglich that help orphans re-enter society with the skills they need to live a safe and meaningful life. MiraMed's short and long term volunteer programs give adults from around the world the opportunity to live and work in Russia and make a personal difference. MiraMed founded the Angel Coalition, the first and now the largest, most successful anti-trafficking coalition in Russia whose members provide public education and training and support for the rescue, return and rehabilitation of trafficking survivors. There are opportunities to work with pregnant single young mothers, single moms with young children, teenagers, and young adults, or with a professional staff of teachers and psychologists.
Address: Kotelnicheskaya nab., 1/15, korp. B, office 52
Metro: Kitai-Gorod
Tel: 915-4614
E-mail: erics@miramed.org
Web: www.miramedinstitute.org
Moscow Animals
Homeless dogs and cats are a big problem in Moscow. There are still no Western-style SPCAs in Moscow. The aims of Moscow Animals are to provide in-kind and financial support to a number of private and semi-private dog and cat shelters in Moscow and to assist the shelters and private individuals that rescue animals off the street in finding new homes for their furry friends. Volunteering at animal shelters in Moscow is possible, though operating conditions will usually be nowhere near those in Western countries. If you would like to adopt a dog or cat, please visit the dog and cat pages on the Moscow Animal website.
Tel: 763-0012
E-mail: info@moscowanimals.org
Web: www.moscowanimals.org
Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (MPC)
The Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy funds and operates soup kitchens that serve hot lunches to hundreds of Moscow's elderly each weekday in a number of locations around Moscow. In addition to running soup kitchens, the MPC distributes groceries to African refugees and underprivileged foreign students and prepares food packages for families from METIS, an inter-racial children's charity fund. Volunteers are always welcome.
Tel: 8 499 143-5748
E-mail: mpchaplaincy@gmail.com
Web: www.mpcrussia.org
Nastenka Foundation
Nastenka Foundation is based at the Institute of Pediatric Oncology and helps children suffering from cancer by providing their families with medical, financial and psychological assistance. Nastenka tries to help by providing the families with financial assistance; raising and providing funds for the purchase of medications, prostheses and medical equipment; providing funds for the treatment of individual children; providing the children with additional nutrition; providing the children with clothing and toys as well as educational supplies; arranging parties and entertainment at the hospital and excursions for the long-term resident parents; and involving volunteers in all aspects of the Foundation's work. Nastenka is always looking for volunteers to assist with fundraising, distribution of donations and raising awareness about their cause.
Tel: 585-4101
E-mail: mail@nastenka.ru
Web: www.nastenka.ru
"NAN" - No to Alcoholism and Drugs
Founded in 1987 by a group of psychiatrists who specialize in drug related problems, NAN now has more than 40 different chapters across Russia. The fund concentrates on developing, testing and approving various spiritually oriented methods of preventing alcoholism and drug-use, venereal diseases and AIDS. It works with abandoned "street" children. NAN has been a leader in NGO development in Russia and played an active role in preparing various federal and Moscow city laws regulating charities. NAN is a recipient of the Euro-American Award for Democracy and a Civil Society.
Address: Shvernika ul., 10a
Metro: Akademicheskaya
Tel: 8 499 126-3475
E-Mail: nan@nan.ru
Web: www.nan.ru
Operation Smile
Operation Smile is a leading international charitable medical organization which provides free, high quality, reconstructive facial surgery to children around the world born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. Founded in the United States in 1982 by plastic surgeon Or. William Magee and his wife, Operation Smile has since operated on almost 80,000 children in 22 mission countries free of charge. Operation Smile donates medical equipment and supplies to in-country host hospitals. All Operation Smile doctors are volunteers, donating their time and services. Operation Smile has been recognized by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as the largest organization of volunteers in the world. Nominated by former US Ambassador to Russia Thomas Pickering, Operation Smile was awarded the first Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 1996.
Address: Smolenskaya pl., 3, Smolensky Passage, office 708
Metro: Smolenskaya
Tel. 933-8377
E-mail: irina.tulyakova@operationsmile.org
Web: www.operationsmile.org.ru
Russian Children's Welfare Association (RCWS)
The Russian Children's Welfare Society is dedicated to assisting disadvantaged Russian Children improve their lives. Our organization was formed in 1926 to assist Russian children and families who emigrated to the West. Today the RCWS focuses on helping to improve the lives of children at risk in Russia. During the 2007-2008, the Society disbursed approximately 2 million dollars in direct aid to children in Russia by supporting orphanages, homeless shelters, hospitals, rehabilitation centers for disabled children and schools. More than 20,000 children have been helped by the Society, and over 600 grants have been made to children's organizations.
Address: Bakuninskaya ul., 81/55, str. 1
Metro: Elektrozavodskaya
Tel: 8 499 261-1868
E-mail: rcwsmoscow@gmail.com
Web: www.rcws.org
Russian Orphan Opportunity Fund (ROOF)
ROOF is a pioneer in providing high-quality education for children and young adults from Russian orphanages with programs aiming to eradicate traditional prejudices against this group by integrating them into society and enabling them to take care of themselves. ROOF needs volunteers to help with fundraising, translating materials, raising awareness about the problems faced by orphans in Russia, etc.
Address: Voznesensky per., 8
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 629-5100
E-mail: roof@roofnet.org
Web: www.roofnet.org
Taganka Children's Fund (TCF)
Taganka Children's Fund supports over 1,200 of the most disadvantaged children and single parents in Moscow to prevent children from entering institutionalized care or ending up alone on the city streets. Taganka Children's Fund is always looking for volunteers to assist with fundraising, PR grant writing and development projects. Much of the work can be done in English.
Address: Bolshoi Rogozhsky per., 10, korp. 2
Metro: Marksistskaya
Tel: 911-7449
E-mail: tcf@comtv.ru
Web: www.charity-tcf.ru
Therapeutic Riding Society
Therapeutic riding is a physical and a social activity that helps cure or ease many diseases and problems and that brings together the healthy and the handicapped. Equestrian therapy lessons include creative games and sports and contribute to a sense of well-being and self-reliance. The society is a non-profit charitable organization that aims at giving comprehensive help to disabled people. The program of rehabilitation and social adaptation provides riding sessions; rehabilitation exercises; lessons in clay modelling; embroidery; drawing; singing; pottery; ceramics; woodcarving; as well as playing sessions, lessons in basic horse grooming, stable keeping and horse tending. Members of the club regularly take part in national and international riding competitions. As the assistance the society provides to the disabled is free of charge, it relies on donations and grants from national and international organizations and private individuals.
Tel: 781-4668
E-mail: rboomkki@mail.ru
Web: www.hippotherapy.ru
United Way Moscow
United Way Moscow is a community-based, non-profit organization dedicated to improving people's lives in Moscow and eventually in Russia. The United Way marshals volunteer monetary resources to make a positive impact on the lives of children, teens and seniors. It also lobbies for government policies in Moscow and throughout Russia and promotes the concepts of philanthropic giving in Russia.
Address: Nizhnaya ul., 14, str. 1
Metro: Belorusskaya
Tel: 780-9717
E-mail: info@unitedway.ru
Web: www.unitedway.ru
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia
Founded in 1961, WWF is one of the biggest non-governmental conservation organizations in the world. WWF's mission is to stop the accelerating degradation of Earth's natural environment and to help its human inhabitants live in greater harmony with nature. Established in Russia in 1994, the main programs that WWF Russia is working on include forests, climate change, rare species, nature protected areas, ecological legislation development, education, and toxins. The WWF needs volunteer help in their office.
Address: Nikoloyamskaya ul., 19, str. 3
Metro: Taganskaya
Tel: 727-0939
E-mail: russia@wwf.ru
Web: www.wwf.ru
Although we believe all of the charities listed above to be reputable organisations, please bear in mind that a listing does not guarantee the bona fides of the organisation concerned. |
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| 79. | Russian Alphabet & Pronunciation :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Russian Alphabet & Pronunciation
The Russian language is a member of the Slavic group of the Indo-European family of languages. Other languages belonging to this group are Belarussian, Bulgarian, Czech, Macedonian, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian.
The principal language of administration in the former Soviet Union, Russian is spoken by about 170 million people as a first language. It is used by an estimated additional 100 million as a second language in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent State and of European Europe. Because of its large number of speakers and its leading position in the former Soviet Union, Russian is one of the chief languages of the world. Used officially by the United Nations, it is important in scientific writing as well. The great literature works written in Russian also have made the language culturally significant.
The Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet has augmented from Greek uncial script, using the older Glagolitic alphabet for sounds not available in the Greek language. Cyrillic and Glagolitic were invented by Greek brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius. It was considered that while Cyril may have enhanced Glagolitic, his students, possibly from the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire (Preslav Literary School), developed Cyrillic from Greek during the 890s as a more suitable script for church books.
Historical Development of Russian
The historical development of Russian is not easy to trace because until the 17th century the religious and cultural language of the Russian people was not Russian but Church Slavic. However, within Russia the latter language became sufficiently altered by the vocabulary and pronunciation of spoken Russian to be transformed into a Russian form of Church Slavic adapted to Russian needs. The earliest existing document containing Russian elements is and Old Church Slavonic text from the 11th century.
When Peter the Great undertook to westernize Russian in the early 18th century, the Russian language was subjected to Western influences and absorbed a number of foreign words. Peter was the first to reform and simplify the Cyrillic alphabet used for Russian.
In the late 18th and 19th century, partly as a result of the work of the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, the Russians succeeded in throwing off the dominance of Church Slavic and developing their own tongue into a literary language, which was, nevertheless, influenced and even enriched by the Church Slavic legacy.
Literary Russian is based on the dialect used in and round the city of Moscow, which became the leading cultural center. Extensive reforms, aimed at simplifying and standardizing Russian writing and grammar, took place after the Revolution of 1917.
Cyrillic Alphabet
The Cyrillic alphabet became increasingly widespread over the 12th century. During the next ten centuries the Cyrillic alphabet was adapted because of changes with spoken language developing regional variations. You can find languages across Eastern Europe and Asia written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, 11 vowels, 20 consonants and 2 letters which do not have a sound (instead they make the word harder or softer). It is not that easy to master Russian pronunciation because the accent is free, i.e., it can be placed on any syllable. Thus, there are no set rules for stress. The accent of each word has to be learned separately. In fact, the position of the accent on a given word may vary as the word's case and number change when it is inflected. Some words that are spelled alike are distinguished only by a different stress. In addition, no significant differentiation is made between long and short vowels.
Grammatically, Russian is highly inflected. The noun has six cases with an occasional seventh case, the vocative. There are three declensional schemes and three genders. Although the verb has only three tenses, it is enabled by a feature called aspect to express numerous subtle shades of meaning, some of which cannot be rendered in other languages. In addition, The Russian verb has five moods and four voices.
Slang
Russian is a very rich language with a very large number of slang words and expressions. New words and expressions appear on a constant basis with many being derived from the English language.
Teenagers have their very own slang, as do members of various professions. If you are going to work in an office environment, you will hear a lot of words that sound English but aren't. If you want to understand more of what people and teenagers talk about, ask your Russian teacher for help.
Many teachers are reluctant to teach slang (not to mention swear words), but you can always turn to your Russian colleagues and friends for explanations and translations of words and expressions. When learning and using slang, remember that there are many shades of politeness, not-so-politeness and rudeness. |
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| 80. | Parks & Estates:: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Parks & Estates
There are ninety-six parks and eighteen gardens in Moscow, including four botanical gardens. There are also 450 sq.km (174 sq.mi) of green zones besides 100 sq.km (39 sq.mi) of forests. Moscow is a very green city if compared to other cities of comparable size in Western Europe and America. There are on average twenty seven square meters (290 sq.ft) of parks per person in Moscow compared with 6 for Paris, 7.5 in London and 8.6 in New York.
Moscow has many large and pleasant parks. Some are plain parks, others have ponds or beaches and yet others contain old palaces/estates or other places of interest. Some are great for hiking, cycling, rollerblading and/or cross-country skiing. Most parks are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Note that most neighborhoods also have smaller local parks, some of which have playgrounds.
PARKS
Aleksandrovsky Sad (Garden)
The capital's most central park runs along the Kremlin's western walls. Aleksandrovsky Sad is directly accessible from the metro station bearing the same name. Picturesque gardens with shady trees and broad lanes were designed and set up in 1821 by O. Bove, one of the chief architects of Moscow, who reconstructed the city after the Great Fire of 1812. First called the Kremlin Gardens, they changed the name in 1856 after the crowning of Alexander II. On the central square of the gardens you can see the "Ruines" grotto, a peculiar memorial of the revival of Moscow after the devastation in 1812. It contains the Grave of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame, where you can watch the hourly changing of the guards. To get to the garden, take the metro to the station Aleksandrovsky Sad; it is also just a 3 minute walk from the metros Teatralnaya, Okhotny Ryad, Ploshchad Revolutsii, and a 5 minute walk from Borovitskaya.
Metro: Aleksandrovsky Sad
All-Russia Exhibition Center (VVTs - formerly called VDNKh)
This huge exhibition center and park containing samples of monumental Soviet architecture and oversized statues was established in 1937. There are over 80 pavilions that used to display communism's latest achievements in science, agriculture, industry, and technology. Most pavilions have been turned into miniature shopping centers, but some still function as exhibits, for example the "Sadovodstvo" (Gardening) pavilion. Do not miss the impressive Fountain of People's Friendship (Fontan Druzhby Narodov) right in the center of the park. It consists of 15 gold-covered statues representing all 15 republics of the former Soviet Union. There is also a Museum of Astronautics; that is definitely what Soviet Union had reasons to be proud of. There are many legendary objects on display including first ever astronauts - stuffed dogs Belka and Strelka. The museum is located in the monument to the Explorers of Space. And, of course, recently restored Vera Mukhina's 24.5 meter (80 ft.) "Worker and Kolkhoznitsa" monument is a must-see sculpture. The VVTs features Russia's biggest Ferris wheel and many other attractions. When you get tired of wandering around this seemingly endless territory, you can sit down to enjoy a shashlik or plov at one of the many outdoor and indoor cafes. To get to the exhibition center, just take the metro to the station VDNKh - VVTs is a 3 minute walk from the metro.
Open: 08:00 - 22:00 (summer); 09:00 - 19:00 (winter)
Metro: VDNKh
Tel: +7 495 544-3400
Web: www.vvcentre.ru
Aptekarsky Ogorod (Apothecary's Garden)
This is Moscow State University's (MGU's) oldest botanical garden (founded in 1706 by a decree from Peter the Great). You can also visit the greenhouse and laboratory. To get to the garden, take the metro to the station Prospekt Mira, take a short walk along Prospekt Mira and turn to Grokholsky pereulok, the entrance to the garden is just a 1 minute walk after the turn. The entry price of 300 RUR. For children under school age the entry is free.
Open: 10:00 - 18:00 (winter); 10:00 - 21:00 (summer)
Address: Prospekt Mira, 26
Metro: Prospekt Mira
Tel: +7 495 680-6765 / 7222 / 5880
Excursions: +7 967 2089878 (10:00 - 18:00, 11:00 - 16:00)
Web: www.hortus.ru
Bitsevsky Les
This is a large park and silver birch forest in the south of Moscow. It has two ponds with beaches, and although swimming is not recommended, you can still enjoy the beach atmosphere. The park also features volleyball, basketball, and badminton courts; and you can hire a rowboat, paddleboat, or bike. Further into the forest there is an equestrian center. Great for sledding in winter. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Novoyasenevskaya (the park is just next to the station); the park is also accessible from the metro station Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya - once out of the metro, walk along Akademika Yangelya ulitsa for about 1 mile or take bus 680, 118 or minibus 566M to the station "Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya", then take a 3-4 minute walk to the park.
Address: Novoyasenevskiy tupik, 1
Metro: Novoyasenevskaya, Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya
Tel: +7 495 426-0022, +7 499 739-2705/07/08
Web: www.gpbuuc.ru
Botanichesky Sad (Botanical Garden)
Rose garden, arboretum with exotic trees and bushes, greenhouse with orchids, lilies and lotuses, Japanese Garden. Founded in 1945. To get to the garden, take the metro to the station Vladykino, once out of the metro, walk for about 200 meters (0.12 mi) to the main entrance. The garden is also accessible from the metro VDNKh - take trolleybus 73, 36 to the station "Botanicheskaya ulitsa 33", or minibus 324M to the station "Glavny Vkhod Botanicheskogo Sada".
Open: 10:00 - 20:00 (garden summer only, except Mon, Thu); 10:00 - 16:00 (hothouse except Thu, Sat, Sun)
Address: Botanicheskaya ul., 4
Metro: Vladykino
Tel: +7 499 977-9145
Web: www.gbsad.ru
Bulvarnoe Koltso (Boulevard Ring)
Bulvarnoe Koltso is comprised of the following streets: Gogolevsky Bulvar, Tverskoy Bulvar, Strastnoy Bulvar, Petrovsky Bulvar, Rozhdestvensky Bulvar, and Sretensky Bulvar. It forms a semi-circle around the center of Moscow and is ideal for leisurely strolls. A walk along the boulevard ring's park-like areas is a great way to explore the city center, undisturbed by traffic. The park strip is situated in the middle of the road, in-between traffic lanes. Scores of beautiful old buildings are located along this route (and down the side streets leading off Bulvarnoe Koltso), and there are plenty of benches to sit and relax on along the way. It is also well worth venturing into some of the side streets branching off from the ring - you will find lots of pretty lanes with interesting buildings there.
Metros: Kropotkinskaya, Chistye Prudy, Turgenevskaya, Tsvetnoy Bulvar, Pushkinskaya
Ekaterininskiy Park
Pond with ducks and boat rentals, tennis courts, the House of Culture, the Museum of the Soviet army with planes and military equipment and much more. Nearby there is a health center for veterans. Playgrounds are concentrated in the side. Amongst playgrounds there is a large-scale concreted area for bicycles, scooters and roller skates.
Open: 06:00 - 23:00 (summer), 09:00 - 17:00 (winter)
Address: Bolshaya Ekaterininskaya ul., 27
Metro: Prospekt Mira
Tel: +7 495 600-6460 / 6391
Web: www.ek-park.ru
Fili
Great park for walking, hiking, and cycling. The famous Gorbushka shopping center is located right outside metro Bagrationovskaya. Centrally-located Filyovsky Park runs along the banks of Moscow River and covers 266.6 hectares with 90% of it being perfectly green area. Once it was the estate of Naryshkiny noble family that owned the estate for 175 year. The restored palace of the 18th century is a beautiful reminder of those days. Filyovsky Park is a great place for both quiet contemplation of nature and active recreation. Different parts of the park are accessible from 4 metro stations: your options are to take the metro to the station Bagrationovskaya, once out of the metro walk for about 450 meters (0.3 mi) to the park along Barklaya ulitsa, or to choose the metro station Filyovsky park and a 0.3 mile walk along Minskaya ulitsa, or you can take the metro to the station Pionerskaya and walk for about 250 meters (0.16 mi) along Polosukhina ulitsa, and finally you can come to the metro station Kuntsevskaya and walk for about 600 meters (0.4 mi) along Rublevskoe shosse (duplicate).
Adress: Bolshaya Filevskaya ul., 22
Metro: Bagrationovskaya, Filyovsky Park, Pionerskaya, Kuntsevskaya
Tel: +7 499 145-5155 / 0000
Web: www.parkfili.com
Goncharovskiy Park
There are four playgrounds, fitness and dance floor, a stage for the holidays. The central object which attracts visitors here, is the place for squirrels. A renewed outdoor furniture and free wi-fi make this park convenient not only for recreation but also work.
Address: Rustaveli ul.
Metros: Timiryazevskaya, Dmitrovskaya
Open: 07:00 - 23:00
Tel: +7 499 908-3500
Web:www.liapark.ru
Gorky Park
Moscow's most famous park runs along the banks of the Moscow River. Gorky Park is truly one of the most popular places for families to spend their week-end. Numerous fairground attractions such as the Big Wheel, switchback (for unknown reason known in Russia as American Hills), swirling see-saw make children's heads go round of joy while their parents are screaming of fear. There are also horses, boats to hire and caf?s. An ice-skating rink operates in winter. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Park Kultury and cross the bridge over the Moscow River, or take the metro to the station Oktyabrskaya and walk for about 400 meters (0.2 mi) along Krymsky Val ulitsa.
Open: 24/7
Address: Krymsky Val ul., 9
Metro: Oktyabrskaya, Park Kultury
Tel: +7 495 995-0020 # 6
Web: www.park-gorkogo.com/en/
Hermitage Garden
Three theatres are located inside this very centrally located park - the Hermitage Theatre, the Novaya Opera, and the Sfera. Outdoor dancing hall and several open-air cafes. Lots of flowers and benches, alleys and the fountain create a special atmosphere of peace and quiet. To get to the garden, take the metro to the stations Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya, or Pushkinskaya and then walk along Malaya Dmitrovka ulitsa and turn right to Uspensky pereulok.
Open: 24/7
Address: Karetny Ryad ul., 3, str. 7
Metro: Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya, Pushkinskaya
Tel: +7 495 699-0849 / 0432
Web: www.mosgorsad.ru
Izmailovsky Park
Izmallovsky Park consists of a vast area of parkland (over 1500 hectares) and a large forest consisting of pine trees, birch woods, and ponds. It is 6 times larger then the central park in New York. This is where the Russian tsars once had their summer estates and hunting grounds. Other attractions include a large skating rink in winter. The park is great for family picnics in summer. It is located adjacent to Izmailovsky Vernisazh - Moscow's famous outdoor souvenir market. The park also features a wide variety of attractions for children. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Partizanskaya (the park is just next to the station) or take the metro to the station Shosse Entuziastov, once out of the metro, take a 3 minute walk along Elektrodny proezd.
Address: Alleya bolshogo kruga, 7/A
Metro: Partizanskaya, Shosse Entuziastov
Tel: +7 499 166-6119
Web: www.izmailovsky-park.ru
Khamovniki Park
Khamovniki is one of the greenest and most picturesque areas of Moscow. Here is park named Mandelstam, another name is the Estate of the Trubetskoy family in Khamovniki - well-kept green area with a playground, pond, tennis courts and an aviary for protein. Park "Novodevichy ponds" is nearby, the sport and recreation complex "Luzhniki" and the famous Neskuchny Sad (Garden) are along the bordering area of the Moskva River.
Open: 09:00 - 21:00
Address: Usacheba ul., 1A
Metro: Frunzenskaya
Tel: +7 495 637-0048
Web: www.okdit.mskobr.ru
Krasnaya Presnya Park
Open: 09:00 – 22:00
Address: Mantulinskaya ul., 5
Metro: 1905 Goda, Vustavochnaya
Web: p-kp.ru
Krylatskie Hills
Located in the West of Moscow in one of the capital's few ecologically clean areas, this park has grassy slopes that are great for cross-country skiing and sledding in winter. Good hiking trails and a challenging cycling track are ideal for summer sports. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Krylatskoye and take a 5 minute walk from the metro to the park.
Metro: Krylatskoye
Kuzminki – Lyublino
The park is located in Kuzminki Estate which traces its history from 1702. Muscovites call Kuzminki Estate "the Russian Versal"; this wonderful architectural ensemble was created by celebrated architects Matvey Kozakov, Vasily Bazhenov and the Gilyardi family. Church of the Vlakhernskaya Virgin is an outstanding architectural masterpiece. In winter you can ride a dog team here or take part in the traditional Russian amusements; in summer you can make a bike-excursion about the estate or sail over the Kuzminki ponds and watch splendid flowerbeds planted for the flower festival. You can also rent the picnic area or picnic point.
Address: Kuzminskaya ul., 10
Metro: Kuzminki
Tel: +7 495 258-4560, +7 495 377-3593
Web: www.kuzpark.ru
Losiny Ostrov
Russia's first national park used to be the nobility's favorite hunting ground. Some wild animals including moose, wild boar, and beavers still live here. There are three ponds with different kinds of fish. The park is also great for hiking. "Los" in Russian means "elk", and there are many elks in the park indeed. The visitors may watch them in their natural habitat. Excursions in English are available. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Shchelkovskaya, once out of the metro take trolleybus 23, or minibus 583, or bus 257 to the station "Uralskaya ulitsa 19", and then take a short walk to reach the park.
Address: Poperechniy prosek, 1G
Metro: Shchelkovskaya
Tel: +7 499 268-6045
Excursions: +7 903 7445855
Web: www.elkisland.ru
Milutinskiy Park (Garden)
Cozy courtyard is like old pictures. Roundabouts, sandboxes, playgrounds and wooden houses. The Center of aesthetic education is located in the houses where there are dozens of different clubs for children from 5 to 18 years.
Open: 07:00 - 21:30
Address: Pokrovskiy bulvar, 10, entrance from Khokhlovsky pereulok
Metro: Chistye Prudy
Tel: +7 495 917-9013
Moskovsky Park Iskusstv "Museon" (Moscow Park of Arts)
Founded in 1993, this open-air sculpture museum has a collection of over 700 sculptures. Here you will find many Soviet-era monuments that were removed from their pedestals in Moscow's squares and parks after 1991, including the controversial statute of the Soviet Union's first KGB chief Felix Dzerzhinsky that used to stand right in the middle of Lubyanskaya Ploshchad in the city center. The park is located next to the Central House of Artists, across the road from Gorky Park. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Park Kultury and cross the bridge over the Moscow River, or take the metro to the station Oktyabrskaya and walk for about 400 meters (0.2 mi) along Krymsky Val ulitsa.
Open: 24/7
Address: Krymsky Val, 10
Metro: Oktyabrskaya, Park Kultury
Tel: +7 495 995-0020 # 6
Web: www.park-gorkogo.com
Neskuchny Sad (Garden)
This garden consists of terraces sloping down to the Moscow River and provides scenic hiking trails. It houses a wooden playground, an open-air theater, and plenty of benches. The name of the park translates as "Never Boring Garden." Once a noble estate, it is one of the oldest parks in Moscow. In the 18th century there were three mansions which belonged to Prince Trubetskoy. All that is left is part of the park and a "Hunters' house". In the middle of the 19th century a new owner, Prokofy Demidov, built a palace here. Originally it was designed in Baroque Style, rebuilt in the time of Classicism and its interiors are typical for the Empire Style. Here on the bank of the Moscow-river one of the largest in Europe Botanic gardens appeared; among its trees several historical objects are found today: the house of Count Orlov (1796), a vaulted bridge, and the house with rotunda. You can get to this park either through Gorky Park or take the metro to the station Leninsky Prospekt and take a 2 minute walk to reach the park.
Metro: Leninsky Prospekt, Oktyabrskaya, Park Kultury
Tel: +7 495 995-0020 # 6
Web: www.park-gorkogo.com
Park of the 50th Anniversary of October
This densely wooded and impressive size park is the ideal place for picnics. Playgrounds are basic. No attractions. The cafe "Central Park" with friendly staff and tasty sandwiches works at the entrance to the park.
Adress: Udaltsova ul., 22A
Metro: Prospekt Vernadskogo
Park Pobedy (Victory Park)
This huge park, also referred to as Poklonnaya Gora was established in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union's World Two victory over Nazi Germany. Once it was a hill where all important guests of the capital were met with a bow ("poklon" means a bow). It contains the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, an art gallery, the Cathedral of the Great Martyr Georg, a mosque and a synagogue erected in memory of those Muslims and Jews who have perished in the horror of the war. Moscow famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has placed here one of his most monumental masterpieces: the statue of St. Georg spearing the dragon. Another thing that attracts visitors is the chain of fountains illuminated in bloody red in the evening; this symbolizes the floods of blood shed by Soviet soldiers. Skateboarders love to use perfectly smooth marble surface for their exercises. On May 9th (Victory Day), Muscovites gather here to celebrate the triumph over Nazi Germany. The park is great for walking, rollerblading, skateboarding, or reading a book. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Park Pobedy, the park is just next to the station.
Open: 10:00 - 18:00 (museum Tue-Sun)
Address: Bratiev Fonchenko ul., 7, Poklonnaya Gora
Metro: Park Pobedy
Tel: +7 499 148-8300
Web: www. poklonnaya-gora.ru
Perovskiy Park
Address: Lazo ul., 7
Metro: Perovo
Tel: +7 495 309-5342
Fax: +7 495 309-5163
Web: www.perovskiy-park.ru
Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo Park
Pokrovsky-Streshnevo is the former family estate near Moscow with an adjacent park.
Address: Ac. Kurchatova ul.
Metro: Shchukinskaya
Presnenskiy Park
The park with modern playgrounds, chess town, a sports complex and flowerbeds. The unique fairy-tale characters will not leave anyone indifferent!
Open: 07:00 - 22:00
Address: Druzhinnikovskaya ul., 9, str. 2
Metros Krasnopresnenskaya, Barrikadnaya
Serebryanny Bor (Silver Pine Forest)
This is a huge forest and park area that contains Moscow's most popular beaches. It features changing rooms, clean sand, beach volleyball areas, and boat, scooter and paddleboat rental. There are plenty of outdoor cafes and ice-cream stands. Note that the water may not be 100% safe for swimming. Serebryanny Bor is also great for cross-country skiing in winter. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Polezhaevskaya and take trolley bus 20, 21, 65 or minibus 65 to the stop "Serebryanny Bor", or you can take the metro to the station Oktyabrskoe Pole and then take minibus 15M to the station "4aya Liniya".
Open: 09:00 - 21:00 (beach)
Address: 4aya Liniya Khoroshevskogo Serebryannogo Bora
Metro: Polezhaevskaya, Oktyabrskoe Pole
Tel.: +7 495 789-2570, +7 929 9990415
Web: www.s-bor.ru
Severnoe Tushino Park
Table tennis, dance floor, video arcade and children playground with attractions. Bicycles, roller skates and rackets on hire.
Address: Svobodi ul., 56
Metro: Planernaya
Tel: +7 495 640-7355
Excursions: +7 926 5221596
Fax: +7 495 640-7354
Web: www.mosparks.ru
Sokolniki Park
This 600-hectare park surrounded by a forest is where the tsars used to bring their falcons (a falcon is called a "sokol" in Russian) to hunt foxes and other small animals. The first path was cut through the forest on the initiative of Peter the Great and since that all paths have the name "proseka" (cuttings). Today there are seven cuttings: Birch Cutting, Maple, Elm and others; they all form radial structure of the park. More than 500 kinds of plants and 70 kinds of animals inhabit this thicket. The international exhibition center in this park often holds large trade fairs. The spacious green areas with ponds, pavilions and playgrounds allow for nice walks. Fun fair, horseback riding, restaurant. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Sokolniki, and take a short walk along the alley.
Address: Sokolnicheskiy Val, 1, str. 1
Metro: Sokolniki
Tel: +7 499 393-9222
Web: www.park.sokolniki.com
Taganskiy Park
Park of clture and leisure "Taganskiy", a comfortable and eco-friendly island of fresh air, is located in the center of Moscow, in the heart of Taganskiy district. For the past years, the park is cultural, recreational and sports center of the district.
Open: 07:00 - 23:00
Address: Taganskaya ul., 40/42
Metro: Taganskaya
Tel: +7 495 912-2717
Web: www.parktaganskiy.ru
Troparyovo Park
A green oasis in the South of Moscow, this park has a beach, changing rooms, refreshment stands, a chess club, open-air stage, and ping pong tables. Canoes and paddleboats are available for rent. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Tyoply Stan, then walk for about 400 meters (0.2 mi) to reach the park.
Metro: Tyoply Stan
Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills)
Located adjacent to Moscow State University (MGU), this area is great for walking and rollerblading in the summer with a magnificent view of the city on a smog-free day from the platform across from the University. Birds have nothing to do with the name: in the 15th century one noble lady bought a village here from a priest called Vorobey. Vorobey's name has outlived the glory of the Great Soviet leader Lenin, whose name this hill wore in the Soviet times. In front of the facade of MSU facing the Moscow-river there is a big square and a lovely alley decorated with busts of famous Russian scientists. The alley leads to the best observation point of the city. Many newlyweds will visit this famous place after their official wedding ceremony. In winter you can also observe snow-boarders and alpine skiers on the hill underneath. On weekend nights, the roads between the platform and Moscow State University are the scenes for impromptu car races. Souvenir vendors are always on the platform. To get to the park, take the metro to the station Vorobyovy Gory, then walk up the hill to the observation point.
Metro: Vorobyovy Gory
Vorontsovskiy Park
The park is located on the territory of the former Vorontsovo Estate. Vorontsovo is the landscaped park with linden alleys, benches, woodpeckers, squirrels, and cascading ponds - the rare thing for a Moscow park design.
Open: 09:00 - 23:00 (summer), 10:00 - 22:00 (winter)
Address: Vorontsovsky park, 3
Metro: Novye Cheryomushki
Tel: +7 495 580-2678
Web: www.usadba-vorontsovo.ru
ESTATES
Abramtsevo
Abramtsevo was mentioned in official documents for the first time in the 17th century. In 1843 Abramtsevo became property of a famous Russian writer Sergey Aksakov and after Aksakov's death it was bought by a successful manufacturer and patron of arts Savva Mamontov. At this estate you can see a collection of ceramics made by Vrubel and exhibitions dedicated to the estate's famous visitors (Turgenev, Repin, Vrubel, and others). Today Abramtsevo occupies about 50 hectares (0.2 sq. mi) along with a park and picturesque outskirts of the Vorya River and comprises architectural monuments created in the 18-19th centuries. The museum's collection features more than 25,000 items: pictures, drawings, sculptures, arts and crafts, photographs and archives of previous owners. To get to the estate, drive along Yaroslavskoe shosse from the city center, reach the 60th km of Yaroslavskoe shosse, watch for Khotkovo direction sign and turn left or you can take electric train (elektrichka) from Yaroslavsky railway station to the station "Abramtsevo".
Open: 10:00 - 21:00 (park), expositions: 10:00 – 18:00, Sat until 20:00
Tel: +7 495 993-0033, +7 496 543-0278
Excursions: +7 916 2784542, +7 496 543-2470
Web: www.abramtsevo.net/eng
Arkhangelskoye Museum Estate
Arkhangelskoye is referred to as the Versailles of the Moscow region. At the beginning of the 18th century, the estate belonged to Prince D.M. Golitsyn. After his death, it was purchased by Prince N.B. Yusupov (1751-1831), one of Russia's richest noblemen. Prince Yusupov was a well-known art lover and collector and moved his art collection to Arkhangelskoye. It included over 500 paintings by European masters from the 17th to the 19th centuries, many of which are still on display at the estate today. The collection also includes rare books from the 16th to the 19th centuries, as well as sculptures, bronzes, clocks, furniture, porcelain, etc. The Church of Mikhail Archangel built in the 17th century stands on a high bank of the Moscow-river. There is also a theatre with decorations by famous artist P. Gonzaga, and, of course, The Colonnade. To get to the estate, go along Rublyovo-Uspenskoye shosse and turn right at the first traffic light after the village of Zhukovka onto llinskoye Shosse, drive 5 more km, or take the metro to the station Tushinskaya, then take bus 549, 541 or microbus 151 to the stop "Sanatory".
Open: 10:00-20:00 (Wed-Sun)
Metro: Tushinskaya
Tel: +7 (495) 363-1375
Web: www.arkhangelskoe.ru
Izmailovo Country Estate
Country residence of Russian tsars in the 17th and 18th centuries. The estate is located on the unique man-made island that was created at the behest of the tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, the father of Peter the Great. In 17th-18th centuries it was a summer residence of the tsar family where in 1666 Aleksey Mikhailovich organised an agricultural paradise with arable farming, bee- and poultry-keeping and other rural pleasures. Tsar's famous gardens became the prototype for future botanic gardens in Russia. The museum "Izmailovo and Russian Tsars" holds historical and dramatized excursions. The Mostovaya (Bridge) Tower, built in 1670, served as the main entrance to the Izmailovo estate and was part of an arched stone bridge across the Serebryany (Silver) Pond. The Tower's composition is typical of the middle-age architectural style of the second half of the 17th century and similar to some of the Moscow Kremlin towers. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Partizanskaya, then take trolleybus 22 to the stop "Glavnaya Alleya".
Open: Exhibitions: Apr-Sep: Tue–Fri, Sun: 10:00 - 08:00, Sat: 11:00 - 19:00; Oct-Mar: Tue–Sun: 10:00 - 18:00. Mon – day off.
Address: Gorodok imeni Baumana, 1a
Metro: Partizanskaya
Tel.: +7 499 165-1236 / 0972, +7 499 782-8917/21
Web: www.mgomz.com
Kolomenskoye Open-Air Art Museum and Nature Preserve
The Kolomenskoye estate was once the royal summer residence of the Grand Princes of Moscow Vasili III and Ivan IV, and was turned into a museum and nature preserve in 1923. While the wooden summer palace was pulled down under Catherine II after it fell into disrepair, some of the churches built in the 16th and 17th centuries remain intact and serve as monuments to important stages in development of Russian church architecture. Among them are the Church of the Ascension (1532) and the Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan (1644-1670). Several examples of Russian wooden architecture have been moved to Kolomenskoye and are also displayed in the park, including the wooden house of Peter the Great dating back to 1702. The 390-hectare park is also famed for its alley of ancient oaks and linden trees - some purportedly more than 200 years old. It is ideal for family outings and picnics. Kolomenskoe, a small calm green island in the boiling ocean of the big city, has a very long history. The first known reference to Kolomenskoe village was found in the will-chart Moscow Grand Prince Ivan Kalita, dated 1339. But, according to archaeological evidence, the first settlement here was founded already 2.5 thousand years ago: it was so-called "Dyakovo Gorodische", the oldest settlement found on the territory of modern Moscow. Nowadays Kolomenskoe is included in the UNESCO List of World's Cultural and Natural Heritage. Among the other historical monuments in Kolomenskoe are the bell-tower of St. George (16th century), the Falcon Tower (1627) and Peter the Great's cabin (1702), brought here from Arkhangelsk. Some of the architectural monuments house the museum's expositions, changed from time to time. Various musical performances and festivals are arranged for numerous guests of Kolomenskoe. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Kolomenskaya, then take a 10 minute walk along Prospekt Andropova.
Open: 24/7
Exhibitions: Apr-Sep: Tue–Fri, Sun: 10:00 - 08:00, Sat: 11:00 - 19:00; Oct-Mar: Tue–Sun: 10:00 - 18:00. Mon – day off.
Address: Prospekt Andropova, 39
Metro: Kolomenskaya
Tel: +7 499 782-8917/21
Excursions: +7 499 615-2768/71
Web: www.mgomz.com
Kuskovo Estate and Ceramics Museum
Entering the Kuskovo estate gates, you find yourself in a different dimension. It feels like you have come into the 18th century by a time machine. Kuskovo occupies the territory of about 32 hectares. Towards the 1750s, following new trends in lifestyle, Count Petr Sheremetev, an important member of nobility at the Russian Imperial Court, turned his family estate (dating from the 16th century) into a residence, or "chateau de plaisir", which amazed his contemporaries by its splendour. Up to 25,000 guests would flock here to lavish celebrations. Yet, Count Sheremetev had the mansion built as a recreational summer residence, as well as a focus for different art forms appreciated by connoisseurs. Exhibits displayed here form a large part of his vast collection of fine and applied art. Nowadays the museum stock counts some 34,000 items, including a huge collection of ceramics and glass from different countries, from antiquity up to the present day. Architectural composition of the estate unites the Palace itself, three pleasure pavilions in the shapes of a Dutch house, an Italian villa, a Chinese pagoda and some other buildings. Baroque gardens and park landscape are geometrically laid out in the English style near the Large Pond. The Neo-Classical style Palace is one of the best parts of the estate preserved till now. The dancing hall is the largest and most beautiful parlor in the palace. The whole interior looks very festive due to the white and gild decorations of the walls, mosaic parquet and crystal chandeliers. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Ryazansky Prospekt, then take bus 133, 208 or minibus 157 to the stop "Muzei Kuskovo".
Open: 10:00 - 20:00
Exhibitions: 10:00 - 18:00
Address: Yunosti ul., 2
Metro: Ryazansky Prospekt
Tel: +7 (495) 370-0160, 375-3131
Web: www.kuskovo.ru
Kuzminki-Vlakhernskoye
This estate traces its history from 1702, when Peter the Great presented this land to his favourite Grigory Stroganov. Muscovites call Kuzminki Estate "the Russian Versal"; this wonderful architectural ensemble was created by celebrated architects Matvey Kozakov, Vasily Bazhenov and the Gilyardi family. Church of the Vlakhernskaya Virgin is an outstanding architectural masterpiece. Famous Peter Klodt and Ivan Vitali decorated the estate with their sculptures. In late 18th - early 19th centuries some landscape modifications took place: a "Star" park, English garden and a Chinese pond were laid out. The museum's exposition shows us life of the Russian nobility of the 19th century. In winter you can ride a dog team here or take part in the traditional Russian amusements; in summer you can make a bike-excursion about the estate or sail over the Kuzminki ponds and watch splendid flowerbeds planted for the flower festival. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Kuzminki, once out of the metro take a 7-8 minute walk to reach the estate.
Open: 24/7, museum: 10:00 - 18:00
Address: Topolevaya alleya, 6
Metro: Kuzminki
Tel: +7 495 377-9457, +7 495 372-6066, +7 495 657-6585
Web: www.kuzminki-msk.ru
Lefortovo
Lefortovo park is connected with the history of a separate district in Moscow counting some 300 years. At first this area in the outskirts of Moscow on the bank of the Yauza River was called Nemetskaya Sloboda (German settlement). This district was created by Ivan the Terrible especially for foreigners standing on Russian service, so that they could keep their habits of living. Time went by; New Sloboda appeared in this area under Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich, father of Peter the Great. Later on, this district beyond the Yauza River was named in the memory of Franz Lefort, a Swiss of French origin, close friend and fellow-champion of Peter the Great. The history of Lefortovo is also connected with the name of Yakov Bruce, the first Freemason in Russia and (as the legend tells) the offspring of Druids. In the 18th century Lefortovo was the residence of Russian Emperors and Empresses. Later Lefortovo became the base of some elite troops of the Russian army and a military school; military hospital was also built in this district. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Baumanskaya, then take tram 37, 50 to the stop "Lefortovsky Most".
Open: 24/7
Exhibitions: Apr-Sep: Tue–Fri, Sun: 10:00 - 08:00, Sat: 11:00 - 19:00; Oct-Mar: Tue–Sun: 10:00 - 18:00. Monday – day off.
Address: Krasnokazarmennaya ul., 3
Metro: Baumanskaya
Lublino Estate and Park
This lovely park and palace are mysteriously little-known by even native-born Muscovites. In the 17th century the lands had been a hunting park owned by the infamous Godunov family. By the end of the 18th century ownership had passed through the Razumovskys to the Durasovs, who built the present palace in the first decade of the 19th century. You can take a picnic and walk about the banks of the extensive Lublino Lake which forms the centre of the semi-landscaped park. Although Lublino's territory is adjacent to Kuzminki, it's a different estate with a different history, and is most easily accessed from a different metro station: Volzhkskaya. There is an extensive series of light classical concerts on weekend afternoons in summer, and even (free) outdoor performances of complete operas. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Volzhskaya, once out of the metro, take a 5 minute walk to reach the estate.
Open: 09:00-18:00 (park); 10:00-17:00 (palace)
Metro: Volzhskaya
Tel: +7 495 350-1553, +7 499 722-7189, +7 499 614-2083
Web: www.mgomz.ru
Ostankino Estate Museum and Park (closed for restoration)
Ostankino was mentioned for the first time in the 16th century, but the oldest preserved building, the Church of Trinity, is dated 17th century. This beautiful palace belonged to Count Sheremetyev and is located on the shore of a lake right near the Botanical Garden and the VVTs Exhibition center. In the estate one of the first theatres in Russia was organised; all the actors here were serfs. This theatre still has one of the best acoustics in Moscow; moreover, it is the only preserved theatre of the 18th century. A considerable part of the Ostankinsky Park is occupied by the main Botanic Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences with more than 2000 kinds of roses, 400 kinds of lilac, plenty of exotic plants, a 300-year-old linden alley and three ponds. The palace is not always open to visitors and is usually closed in winter months. Concerts in summer months. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station VDNKh, then take tram 17, 11 to the stop "Ostankino" or trolleybus 37 to the stop "Ulitsa Akademika Koroleva".
Open: 11:00 - 19:00 (museum in summer)
Address: 1aya Ostankinskaya ul., 5
Metro: VDNKh
Tel: + 7 495 602-1852
Web: www.ostankino-museum.ru/eng.php
Tsaritsyno Museum and Nature Preserve
The name of this estate and park comes from the Russian word "tsar" and is home to the romantic ruins of the unfinished palace that Ekaterina II (Catherine the Great) ordered in 1775. The architect fell out of grace with Ekaterina and the incomplete project slowly fell apart. Its trees overlook the waters of the Upper Tsaritsyno pond, which together with the Shipilovsky and Borisovsky ponds form the largest cascade of ponds in Moscow. Tsaritsyno is the largest museum-reserve and historical and cultural monument of the federal level in Moscow, occupying over 700 hectares. A tremendously rich complex of architectural objects is gathered here - the historic village sites, plowed fields, barrows dated from the VI thousand years B.C. to the beginning of the XII century. To get to the estate, take the metro to the station Tsarityno, once out of the metro take a 5 minute walk to reach the estate.
Open: 06:00-24:00
Museum: Tue–Fri: 09:30-18:00, Sat: 09:30-20:00, Sun: 09:30-19:00. Mon - day off. The entrance from 10:00.
Address: Dolskaya ul., 1
Metro: Tsarityno
Tel: +7 495 322-4433
Excursions: +7 495 322-4433 # 1142
Web: www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru |
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| 81. | The Russian Mind-Set::Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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The Russian Mind-Set
For most Russians, transitioning into new democracy with its associated freedoms has not been an easy task, and for many particularly members of the older generations, the change was not a welcome one. The failure of communism brought with it freedom that many were not prepared to exercise. Not all have welcomed the substantial restructuring of the social order that followed the implosion of the USSR - for mainly apolitical reasons (worsening of conditions for pensioners, state health care patients, educational institutions, cultural organizations, etc).
Russian Personality
Because the Russian personality has so many faces, it is difficult to define. Defeated by harsh weather, a tumultuous history and the general malaise that ensued, Russians seem to value the status quo and are reluctant to change. Security, stability, and conservatism were always held in high regard; but at the same time you will see new phenomena such as the absence of concern about the future, free spending and easy and quick adaptation of foreign practices in the younger generations in larger cities. Many foreigners find the Russian people an enigma - surprisingly nostalgic about their past yet cautiously optimistic about the future - patient but curious about the possibilities of freedom.
As some things in Russia are almost impossible to explain, there is a very good saying that you will hear over and over again as first response to your questions: "Rossiyu umom ne ponyat" which can be translated as "Russia cannot be understood with your mind" (a quotation from the poet Tyutchev).
Russians are strong people, able to endure hardship and extreme climate with submission and patience. Generally, Russians are very well educated and have a sound knowledge of literature, history and politics. The majority of the country's population lives in European Russia (the part of Russia lying west of the border with Siberia) with the largest population centers being Moscow and St. Petersburg. Most families have no more than one or two children, who are the center of the family focus.
The Russian people have traditionally been molded and directed from cradle to grave, creating individuals who assumed little responsibility for themselves. They are slowly learning how to take charge of their own lives, but the chasm between the rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick and the skilled and the unskilled continues to widen.
Traditional Russian values and core beliefs include: love of children, respect for the old, sense of humour, strong people-orientation, importance of friendship, generosity, pride, patriotism, love of literature and arts, nostalgia, self-sacrifice, apathy, conservatism, aversion to change, caution, collectivism, pessimism and cynicism.
There is widely accepted notion in Russia that there is a "soul" that makes Russians different - a sort of sadness born of oppression that demands a different social order. Whether or not this proud melancholia is fact or fiction is arguable, but the belief is almost universally held with great pride. Acres of print have been devoted to the topic, with no very firm conclusions.
Russians love and value going to the theatre, opera, ballet and concerts. The arts are avidly devoured by all sections of society - the idea that plays or classical music could be "difficult" or unpopular is rarely encountered. They also enjoy attending readings of literature and poetry. Russians love reading everything from classical literature to translations of contemporary foreign authors. They read on the metro, while they wait, and at home. You will find that your Russian friends can easily recite entire poems or passages from their favourite books. They generally have a very good knowledge of world history, geography and the arts, and this is true regardless of the person's education or occupation.
Behaviours You May Find Puzzling
There are some behaviour patterns you may find very different from those you are used to. Some things may shock you initially, but they can usually be explained through Russia's history and your Russian friends will make efforts to help you understand why things are done the way they are. Always remember that what you consider normal behaviour may seem strange to your Russian friends.
Two things that newly arrived expatriates often find particularly troubling are the fact that Russians can seem very rude and that they rarely smile in public. Rudeness in public situations is still common. You may encounter it at supermarkets, at the post office, in public transport. Please do not let this discourage you and always remember that this is nothing personal.
Smiling at strangers is a rarity in Russia. 70 years of history taught people not to trust anybody and to guard their own territory. Just recall the famous Soviet poster "Ne Boltai" (Do not Chatter) and you will understand the roots of not smiling at unfamiliar persons. There is also an inherited notion from "village Russia" that people who smile for no reason must be simpletons. However, while people tend to be introvert or aggressive on the outside, you will find that they are extremely kind and helpful if you get beyond their first suspicion. Keep going to the same supermarket, the same bank and the same dry cleaners over and over again, keep smiling and do say "hello" and "goodbye" every time you arrive and leave - people will eventually start remembering you and most will start smile back. They are often not used to people being polite and nice to them and your efforts will be appreciated. It may just take some time, so don't give up.
Russians seem to have very different concept of what it means to stand in a line. They tend to be pushy while getting on public transport and in the metro you will find that people try to get on while others are still trying to get off. The same applies to lines at meat and cheese counters in supermarkets, where it can be difficult to figure out where the line starts and who is there first. When you go to pay utility bills at a Russian bank, you may find that when it is almost your turn one or two people show up who had "reserved" a place in the line and then took care of something else at another counter or just sit down while waiting for their turn. It is common practice to reserve a place in a line simply by telling the person in front of you "you are behind them" ("ya budu za vami"). This practice dated back to Soviet times when lines for just about everything were so long that it was impossible to get something done if you just occupied one single line.
Houses entrances, rest rooms and some other public areas may not be well cared for. You may, for example, see a beautiful apartment in a building with a dilapidated entrance and filthy staircase. In Soviet times, this was not the case: the streets and public areas were clean and littering was basically unheard of. Today people do not seem to care for anything that happens outside of the limits of their apartments. However, things are slowly starting to improve.
Drivers in Moscow are generally very aggressive, and you may find this pretty daunting if you come from a country where drivers are polite and abide by the rules. There seems a comprehensive spirit involved in driving - everybody wants to be the first one to take off from a red light.
Russians love to comment and give advice. Don't be surprised to get unsolicited advice on how to dress your children in winter or on the necessity of wearing a hat in cold winter.
People - both men and women - still drink beer in pubic. While this is not publicly frowned upon, the government is trying to change this habit, but so far the efforts have not led to any noticeable results. Restriction of shopping hours for alcohol was never previously known in Russia, but sterner measures have been introduced from 2009 onwards, mostly by individual cities - the results vary from strict (St. Petersburg, 23:00 total ban) via haphazard (Moscow region) to utterly invisible (most of the rest of the country).
While Russians devote considerable time and cost to their own personal wardrobe and grooming, they are relatively unjudgemental about others - figuring that a person' soul is the most important, and taking a very liberal line on allowing for differing customs elsewhere. An odd Soviet throwback, however, is a private habit of awarding unmentioned merit-marks to the quality and shine of the shoes other people wear. You can make a good first impression with very little effort in this field. Sports footwear is poorly regarded in general, and is often cited (by doormen) as fair reason to deny entrance to fashionable clubs or restaurants.
While Russians can be secretive when dealing with foreigners, they can also be very curious. You may find yourself in situations when people just met ask you how much money you make. In the vast majority of cases there is absolutely no criminal interest behind these questions, but you may still not want to divulge too much personal information about your family and yourself unless you know your conversation partner very well. Very often such questions arise from "fellow professionals" who are keen to know how their profession might be valued abroad.
When you come to a Russian home you will most certainly be offered tea or coffee along with something to eat. If you arrive around lunch and dinner time, you may be invited to join the family for the meal. When inviting Russian friends over your house for drinks make sure you have some good food to offer - drinks accompanied by cheese and grapes just don't do.
Concepts of Space and Personal Space
On the one hand, Russians live in the world's largest country and think big in many ways. They tend to make big plans, even if they know that they will never be able to implement them. At the same time, they usually stand very close to each other in conversation or when standing in line. This may be a remnant from the Soviet past when people had to be very careful about what they said and always made sure that no one else was listening. Standing close to each other allows you to speak more quietly and to feel that others aren't able to hear what you are talking about. When someone has something very important to tell you and you are speaking to that person over the phone, you may still hear them say that "this is not a phone conversation", meaning that they prefer to tell you in person because they are still afraid of someone else may be listening. The reason why people stand close to each other in lines is more difficult to explain. It might have something to do with a feeling of getting to the front of the line sooner as there is less distance to the "target". Touching, hugging, and kissing friends and close acquaintance is common. You may find this uncomfortable if you come from a no- or little- contact culture.
As people still pay very little money for electricity and hot water, these resources are literally wasted. Russians will do the dishes under running hot water instead of letting them soak in the sink. Nobody will complain if you take a hot shower for half an hour or a hot bath twice a day. At the same time that electricity is still very cheap, Russians seem to prefer dim lighting. You will notice this in the metro, on the streets, in staircase, and even in people's homes where the lighting could often be a lot brighter. Street lights are not very bright, and often entire yards have no lighting for weeks on end.
These days light bulbs in public areas of apartment buildings usually have to be replaced by residents, who are often hesitant about replacing something that is not for their own use exclusively. If you want the housing department or your neighbours to replace the broken light bulbs, you may be in for a very long (and dark) wait. If you encounter such a problem in your apartment building, just buy some light bulbs and replace the broken ones - Russia has no laws (yet) on expensive energy-saving bulbs, and regular clear-glass bulbs cost just pennies. You may win the friendship or respect of your neighbours if you occasionally mop the landing area between the lift and your door.
FAVOURITE RUSSIAN PASTIMES
Dacha
Dacha is a term that refers to a summerhouse and can stand for pretty much everything from a small wooden shack without running water, gas or electricity to a lavish multi-story house in the countryside. While not everyone has a dacha, most people have relatives, neighbours or friends who do, and everyone who can normally jump at the opportunity to leave the city on weekends and escape to cleaner air and nature. Dachas are usually big projects that require the involvement of the entire family. Most dachas are not used in winter, but as soon as the last snow has gone people set out to repair and prepare their dachas for the coming summer. The majority of people who have even a small plot of land still plant vegetables and herbs at their dacha and many also have apple trees and berries. These of course require constant maintenance all the way to late autumn when the plots and trees have to be prepared for the coming winter. In short, a dacha is often not a place to relax and lie in the sun but rather a second full-time job.
Shashlyki
Shashlyki (barbecues) are a very popular activity on summer weekends when Russians often invite friends to their dacha for a barbecue.
Banya
Over the centuries, the Russian banya (bath house) has served people not only as a place where they could clean themselves, but also as a place for restoring health. It is believed that by visiting the banya many health problems can be cured. Among other positive effects, the steam in the banya helps expel fat from the body, restores the tonus of blood vessels and clean pores.
The difference between the Russian banya and the Finnish sauna lies in the kind of steam. The steam in the Russian banya is humid, and in order to reach the best effect, hot water is poured onto hot stones. The temperature inside a Russian banya can reach 60°C (140°F). The steam in a Finnish sauna, on the other hand, is dry, and the temperature can reach up to 100°C (212°F). After having spent some time in the steam room, banya visitors will jump into a pool with gold water as a kind of contrast treatment.
A very important banya attribute is the "venik" (a kind of broom made from dried birch, oak or fir branches and leaves), which banya visitors beach each other with. Apart from a positive effect on health, the banya also is a place where friends get together to relax. While at the banya, Russians like to drink beer, which is often accompanied by "vobla" - a kind of dried fish. Sometimes people have too much fun at the banya - a great example of this is provided in the very funny and highly recommended Soviet comedy "The Irony of Fate".
Mushroom Collecting
It is a tradition dating back to ancient times. Russia has a lot of forest areas where different kinds of mushrooms grow in abundance. While mushrooms have always been an important component of the national diet, they have also become a substitute for meat during the Orthodox Christian Lent. Over 200 kinds of edible mushrooms grow in Russia. Apart from protein and fats, mushrooms also contain a number of minerals such as iron, calcium, and zinc. However, there are also about 25 poisonous types of mushrooms in Russia, so unless you are very experienced you should never collect and consume mushrooms without consulting with an expert in this field. You can tell that mushroom season has arrived when you see them being sold outside metro stations. While you should never collect and consume mushrooms that grow in Moscow or within a 30 km radius of the city, the Moscow region is considered relatively safe.
A mushroom collecting trip usually involves a long car or train ride to ecologically clean area outside Moscow. If you want to get there before others do, you have to leave home in the wee hours of morning. Remember that forest areas are very popular with mosquitoes so make sure you bring sufficient amounts of mosquito repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts. The most common kind of edible mushrooms are chanterelle, oyster mushrooms, porcini and yellow boletus. A mushroom-hunting trip is often an excuse for a fun trip to the country, and if you fail to find any you can always quietly buy some from sellers at the roadside, and claim you found them yourself. Be ready to cook them into dishes or freeze them when you get home - they won't keep more than a day without spoiling. The same trip can also be a good chance to pick some forest wild berries - blackberries, redcurrants, and many others flourish within just an hour of the city limits.
Cross-Country Skiing
It is a very popular winter activity that often the whole family participates in. Children learn this sport at school from an early age. You can engage in cross-country skiing in any of Moscow's larger parks.
Fishing
While you will see people fishing in the Moskva River, fishing is not recommended in Moscow due to highly polluted rivers and ponds. You can however go fishing at any of the larger water reservoirs river parts outside of town.
Grandchildren
Grandchildren are a very popular activity for any grandmother (and grandfather). It is very common in Russia for grandparents to take care of their grandchildren while their parents are at work. They will take the children for walks, take them to the playground, to/from kindergarten or school, will cook them lunch, and often even supervise their homework assignments. Many grandchildren spend the entire summer at their grandparents' dacha, giving the parents some time for themselves. While this may seem very convenient, it sometimes results in problems as parents and grandparents often have very different ideas on how to best raise a child. Russians traditionally lived in extended families in one big house until very recently, and many of the grandparents involved will have been raised in that way.
Ice Swimming
It is a less common, but nevertheless very interesting pastime. An extreme way of keeping fit, the ice swimmers (called "morzhi" - walruses in Russian) are very proud of their "sport" and consider it a way of life. Even babies and toddlers are subjected to short immersion in ice cold water to make them strong, and may people in their 70s and 80s still regularly engage in this invigorating activity on a regular basis. The roots of ice swimming date back to pre-revolutionary times and have links to the Russian Orthodox Church as a way of cleaning sin. Every winter during religious festivals, worshippers would submerge themselves in icy waters to erase all sins from their bodies. For contemporary "morzhi", however, ice swimming is part of everyday life rather than a religious practice. When ice forms on lakes and rivers, these enthusiastic sportsmen will cut swimming holes in the ice that are carefully maintained so that bathing is possible throughout the winter. Each session is very short but a challenging experience for the uninitiated. If you want to try ice swimming, please consult with your doctor before jumping into the icy water. While this is a stimulating and energizing activity, it can easily send your body into spasms and causes severe joint ache.
New Russians: Who are They?
As a result of the changes this country has undergone since the early 1990s, a class of so-called "new Russians" has developed. These people acquired a lot of wealth very quickly (whether legally or not is another question) and have become somewhat conspicuous consumers. Very western in their dress and manner, these new captains of Russian commerce are demanding and getting the attention of others who are not in the same position. People who do not belong to this circle of the chosen few usually (and understandably) do not approve of their flamboyance.
These are very influential people purchasing prime property in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, France, and many other countries along with soccer clubs and other sports teams. If they don't own an airplane, they will fly first class. They go on dream vacations while their children attend top European private schools and universities. The best customers of Moscow's five-star hotels are Russians - not foreign businessmen.
While many wealthy people abroad try not to show off their wealth in public, rich Russians still like to show what they have and can afford - a habit that isn't always advantageous for them. You will see an amazing number of very expensive foreign cars in Moscow's streets and you may be stunned at the suburban houses these people build - complete with swimming pools, tennis courts, bodyguards and housing for staff. While the gap between rich and poor in Russia is getting wider all the time, recent years have seen the development of a small middle class. Its members are characterized by a good education, relatively well-paying jobs and entrepreneurial spirit.
With all it luxurious new VIP residential buildings, expensive stores and restaurants, you may be under the impression that people in Moscow are quite well off. In reality this is not the case. While the country's elite tends to settle in Moscow and there are a lot of rich people living here, the majority of Muscovites (and those in the rest of Russia) are struggling very hard just to feed and clothe themselves and their families. And just as New York isn't the USA, Moscow isn't Russia. If you want to see what the real Russia is like, you have to travel to the provinces and villages outside of Moscow, in Siberia and the Far East - although these regions have their own "new rich" too.
ATTITUDES
General Attitudes
The mindset of the younger Russian generation is not as much pro-anything, as it is anti-communist. Difficult times and general uncertainty are accompanied by the feeling that democracy is better. This does not mean that Russians are not complaining. While they are critical of the slow pace reform and of the new leaders, they are nonetheless loyal and optimistic about the future of their country.
Making the transition from a society completely dependent upon the state to one in which the individual shares responsibility has been a very difficult and traumatic process for Russia and her people, and the Russians don't yet seem to have a clear picture of their selves. The demise of communism has hugely affected life in Russia, and the sometimes-halting democracy that has taken its place is still developing. Under communist rule, the State was responsible for everything - even for piffling things. Today people must make decisions and take responsibility for them - not an easy task for those who have been raised to follow, not to lead.
Attitudes in the Workplace
The older generation of Russians - although for the most part well-educated, hard-working and disciplined - is a product of the communist system in which workers were not rewarded for personal incentives nor punished for being non-productive. Not having been raised to "get ahead" and to amass personal fortunes, they may respect these traits in foreigners but generally abhor them in their Russian colleagues. You may hear the phrase "initiative is punishable" from members of the older generations and it can be difficult to convince them that personal initiative and doing your own thinking is not only welcomed, but is a necessity in the new Russia.
The attitudes of the younger generations are for most part, very different. Achievements in the workplace are highly regarded. You will find many highly trained young Russians who, on top of having an excellent education, speak fluent English and/or other foreign languages. Many choose to further their education and qualifications voluntarily at evening classes at their own expense.
Attitudes toward Foreigners
Russians generally respect and admire the business expertise and technology skills and tools of European, North American and Asian companies and are interested in doing business with them.
In some quarters Russians tend to blame Western influence for the hard times brought about by reform. The economic disparity between foreigners and themselves may also raise the hurdle of understanding. Russians have historically feared and distrusted foreigners, but today's foreign community in Moscow lives in relative harmony with the locals. Some Russians may respect their presence, but most appreciate the efforts of foreigners to modernize the local economy.
While Russians are well aware of the fact that things in Russia aren't perfect, they do not appreciate it when foreigners criticize their country, or boast excessively about the alleged superiority of their homelands. Very often questions about how things are managed overseas will actually be a delicate appeal for some positive comments about how things are by comparison in Russia - a tactful reply, without toadying, will be appreciated. It is useful to have some pre-prepared compliments about some neutral topics - the affordability and frequency of public transport, the low cost of public amenities, etc.
Attitudes towards Women
The communists maintained the equal status of men and women in the classless society, and many women had (and still have) the dual responsibility of adding to family income through a full-time job and of caring (shopping, cooking, cleaning) for the family. In the workplace opportunities for women have been slow to surface. While women in Russia have always had the opportunity to pursue higher education and many have at least one degree, they do not typically fill leadership positions yet.
Foreigners working in Russia often find that Russian women who have reached managerial positions are more serious, harder working and more creative than their male counterparts. However, radical changes must occur for the Russian mentality to accept women in positions superior to men. The male network in business is unwilling to allow women to progress.
Foreign businesswomen might encounter some resistance. Conservative dress and demeanour and a serious attitude will be helpful in dealing with Russian men, keeping a certain distance rather than being too friendly is advisable. It is also best to ignore the inequality between the sexes that exists in Russia, instead behaving as if business were transacted in the west.
Men are still the "dominant" gender in Russia and many Russians are uncomfortable with very strong women. A woman who stays aloof will be respected, whereas overly friendly behaviour may be misinterpreted.
Attitudes towards Human Rights
Although the 1993 Constitution guarantees basic human rights, the progress toward internationally-recognized human rights for all citizens is by far not yet complete. Large gains have been made on the domestic side, but abuses have been reported within the military and police forces. Conditions in Russia detention facilities are far below acceptable standards. While reforms are ongoing, the process is slow.
Attitudes toward the Disabled
Moscow and Russia on the whole is not a great place for physically disabled or mentally challenged children and adults. If you have a child with a severe physical or mental disability, you should think twice before moving to Moscow.
Generally attitudes toward disabled people in Russia aren't very good. As there aren't many opportunities for the disabled, they usually stay at home. You will, therefore, hardly ever encounter disabled people on the streets. It is not uncommon to encounter disabled people begging on public transport - particularly military veterans. You may want to prioritise generosity over any feelings of "patronizing" them - they get little other help in their lives.
State assistance to people with disabled family members is very limited. Consequently, a large proportion of women who give birth to a disabled child decide to give it up right after the child is born. These children are then condemned to a sad existence in state-run orphanages and will receive little to no physical or mental development support.
Educational opportunities for disabled children and adults are extremely limited. Even the private foreign schools in Moscow will only accept children with very minor disabilities. It is almost impossible to get around Moscow physically in a wheelchair as building entrances; sidewalks and public transportation are mostly not wheelchair-friendly.
Russian Names and Titles
Russian names have three parts: a first name (forename), a so-called "patronymic" middle name, and a surname. The "patronymic" derives from the father's name followed by the suffixes. These are "evich" or "ovich" for a son (meaning son of) or "evna" or "ovna" for a daughter (meaning daughter of). Example: A woman's full name might be Tatiana Ivanovna Smirnova. This means that her father's first name was Ivan. Her brothers' name could be Sergey Ivanovich Smirnov. Patronymics refer strictly to the child's biological father, and would not change on the mother's remarriage, on adoption, etc. (In the old Russian villages, where perhaps just 2-3 families and their descendants made up the whole village (the law forbade peasants to leave their owner's employ or land - so people didn't travel) a person's surname was almost immaterial - it was more useful to say you were "Pavel, Ivan's son", or "Irina, Ilya's daughter" by way of introduction.)
An "a" is added to the end of most (but not all) surnames of Russian females.
It is common and considered polite to address people you do not know very well and/or that are older than you by their first name and patronymic. Russians rarely refer to each other by their first and last names, although some - especially the younger generation - will call each other by their last names. You might hear children shout something like "Hey Smirnova" or "Hey Smirnov". If you are trying to find someone and only know that person's first and last name, you can ask for "Gospozha Tatiana Smirnova" (Mrs. Tatiana Smirnova) or "Gospodin Sergey Smirnov" (Mr. Sergey Smirnov).
A Russian woman usually adopts her husband's last name after marriage, but there are exceptions.
Common female names are Anna (Anya), Ekaterina (Katya), Elena (Lena), Irina (Ira), Yulia (Yulya), Maria (Masha), Natalia (Natasha), Olga (Olya), Svetlana (Sveta), Tatiana (Tanya), etc. Names of females are often altered even further, especially in terms of endearment between close friends. Thus Masha can turn into Mashenka, Lena into Lenochka, and Anya into Anyuta. Lyuba can become Lyubochka, and Yulia is often called Yulka or Yulechka. Coining these "pet-name" versions is an art in itself, and the mutual freedom to use them is considered part of the friendship bonding process. You may find your own (foreign) name converted to a nickname version - don't be offended, it is a sign of warm friendship.
Common male names are Alexander (Sasha, Shura, Sanya), Dmitry (Dima), Eugeny (Zhenya), Ivan (Vanya), Mikhail (Misha), Nikolai (Kolya), Sergey (Seryozha), Victor (Vitya), Vladimir (Volodya, Vova), etc. Often the names in parentheses are shortened even further, Seryozha can turn into Seryozh or Seryoga, Mikhail into Mish or Misha.
A modern friendly jokey way of referring to friends (rather than merely "colleagues") at work (but not superiors!) is to employ 19th century habit of using a shortened version of their patronymic - the way 19th century employers would talk to their servants. Thus Nikolai Ivanovich might be "Ivanych" to his work chums, and "Elena Ivanovna" might be "Ivanovna". Wait until you are proficient in Russian before using this in practice. If you can pull it off in practice, it will win you friends. Obviously it has to be done with a sense of fun - or it would cause offence.
The shortened names given in parentheses are commonly used, but you should never use them without asking permission. Not every Elizaveta wants to be called Lisa and not every Vladimir likes being addressed as Vova - it would be considered as "excessive familiarity". Beware of using them to people "lower in the pecking order" than yourself - you might end up patronizing people instead of befriending them as you hoped.
The shortened names Sasha and Zhenya are used for both females and males.
Another important thing to remember is that the Russian language - much like French and German - has two separate pronouns for the second person singular, differing in degrees of politeness. Technically, there are two words for the second person singular: "ty", which is used in the same sense as the French "tu" and the German "du"; and "Vy". Note that this word starts with a capital letter, which is similar to the French "Vous" and the German "Sie". Except for children you should never address anybody with the personal "ty" without asking for their permission. The word for the second person plural pronoun is also "vy" but it is spelled with a small letter.
The best way to avoid unpleasant situation is to ask individuals how they would like to be addressed. If you would like to address someone as "ty" instead of "Vy", you should ask "Mozhno na ty?" ("Can I call you "you"?")
The most common form of address in today's international office environment is first names in combination with the formal "Vy"; colleagues occupying the same rank may also use the personal "ty".
Russian Customs, Etiquette, and Popular Superstitions
Even if you are not planning to be in Russia for long, you should make every effort to learn at least a few basic words and phrases in Russian. You colleagues, neighbours, friends, and others will be impressed and the gesture will be highly appreciated. Russians generally consider their language to be a very difficult one for foreigners to learn. With the exception of your Russian teacher, they will not expect you to become fluent in Russian, but they will be amazed if you are able to carry on a simple conversation a few months after your arrival.
Even if you fail to learn much Russian, learning the alphabet (there are only 31 letters plus two silent symbols) will make a quantum improvement in your ability to move around independently. Russian is laden with imported words from other languages - once you can decode the letters, these words ("bar", "restoran", "stadion", "musey") appear to you, as if by magic.
Never shake hands with or kiss someone over the threshold of the doorstep or you will quarrel with this person (an old superstition).
Take off your gloves when shaking hands.
Returning home if you forgot something brings back luck. If it happens that you must return for something, looking in a mirror before leaving again dispels the "bad luck".
Before leaving the house on a trip, it is customary to sit down on one's suitcase for a minute or so to reflect on the trip (silently, for 4-5 seconds) and to recall whether you have forgotten anything.
It you are not married, never sit down at the corner of a square table. If you do, you will not get married for seven years.
Spitting three times over your left shoulder prevents bad luck. (You my hear Russians say "tfu-tfu-tfu" - a "spitting" incantation against bad luck.) So does knocking on wood.
Do not put your hands in your pockets.
Do not sit with your legs wide apart.
Do not cross your legs with the ankle on the knee or put your feet on the table. It is considered impolite to show others the soles of your shoes.
Whistling is regarded as a sure way to guarantee that you will soon part with all your money.
Never light a cigarette from a candle. This is also said to bring bad luck.
Never pour wine backhanded. It is impolite and also signifies that you will "pour" your money away.
If you spit salt on the table, you will be plagued by bad luck unless you throw three pinches of salt over your left shoulder immediately.
Always bring a gift for the hostess if invited into a Russian home. A box of candy and/or flowers are traditional gifts for the hostess, as is a bottle of good wine, cognac or vodka for the host. Arriving "with empty hands" is considered the poorest manners.
Never give an even number of flowers to someone - even numbers are for funerals only!
When entering a Russian home, offer to take off your shoes. In most cases your host will provide you with slippers (called "tapochki" in Russian).
Be prepared to accept smoking.
Be prepared to accept all food and alcohol when visiting friends. Refusing a drink or toast is a serious breach of etiquette. An open bottle often has to be finished. However, Russians will understand if you do not drink at all (e.g. for health reasons or because of religious beliefs, or because you have to drive later).
Be prepared to give toasts at dinners and presentations. Do not say "Na Zdoroviye" ("To your health" - this is actually a toast only in Poland) - the correct form is "Vashe Zdoroviye" ("Your health"). Russian toasts can be very long and elaborate. For birthdays, weddings and other important events, friends and colleagues often write poems for the person they wish to congratulate. You don't have to do that of course, but it helps to be prepared to at least say a few sentences. While the toast is being sad, do not continue eating or drinking. You are expected to listen, regardless of the length of the speech. An easy and amusing toast a foreigner can make is that the host's fame has spread abroad, and they are now known in your country too. Chinking glasses with everyone else (or as far as you can reach) is considered usual.
At birthday parties, by tradition, all the toasts are to some aspect of the birthday boy/girl - try to think of some witty compliments. There may often be a toast to their parents, "who gave him/her to us" - even if they aren't present. If one or other of the parents is no longer alive, you don't chink glasses for this toast.
If you plan on visiting a Russian Orthodox Church, dress conservatively (no shirt skirts or shorts). Women must cover their hair before entering the church, so bring a headscarf. Men, on the other hand, must remove headwear (hats, caps). Some extremely severe monasteries may insist on women donning a wraparound long skirt - if so, these will be provided on free loan at the gateway entrance, and using them is obligatory. Better to wait outside if you don't wish to respect their dress code requirements.
On public transportation, younger men and women should give up their seat to mothers with small children, pregnant women and elderly people. Certain seats may be marked for the use of these categories of people anyhow.
Men should offer to carry parcels and heavy bags for women they accompanying. This is local custom, regardless of what you may be used to or believe in at home.
That conveniently free seat on the jam-packed tram or bus is for the conductor - you are not allowed to sit there!
When going to the theatre or a concert, you are expected to check your coat and any larger bags at the coat check. When squeezing past others into your seat, take care to face them as you pass - doing it "the way you are used to" is regarded as "shoving your ass in their face" in Russia, and is a social no-no.
Always emphasize the good and the beautiful things you like in Moscow and Russia, try not to criticize and compare. Russians know that there are a lot of problems in this country, but they are also very proud of their history and culture. They will highly appreciate it if you show them that you like it here - or at least like some of it!
Small gifts are much appreciated. Keep a list of people who have been nice and helpful to you, such as your concierge, parking lot attendant, your favourite vendor at the supermarket, a friendly neighbour, etc. Give them a small gift such as a box of chocolate or candy or a small souvenir from your home country for major holidays, such as New Year's. Only women are given gifts on March 8th and flowers will be much appreciated, along with a nice card. Pretty calendars and company gifts such as coffee mugs and pens are also good. And, of course, don't forget about your driver, nanny, housekeeper and other friendly helpers. Along with a "real" gift, they will also appreciate a cash bonus.
Along with your baggage, bring a good amount of patience, sympathy, tolerance, and your sense of humour. These should get you through most difficulties. Russians are used to long centuries of foreigners bringing their eccentric habits and peculiarities with them to Russia - and they will tolerate almost any accidental indiscretions if you can manage a friendly grin as you commit them.
Based on the materials from the book "Living in Moscow" by Barbara Spier. |
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| 82. | Work Permits :: Moscow's virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
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Work Permits
Work Permit Quota Application
Companies wishing to employ foreign nationals in Russia must submit information regarding foreign labor needs forecast (quota applications) to the employment authorities by 1 May of the previous year. Such applications should be broken down by position and by nationality. So, companies have to go through a rather difficult exercise and predict far in advance whom they plan to employ during the next year, and in what role. The authorities would only allow those positions and nationalities that are indicated in the application and are officially allocated to this particular company as quota. This means that a company will be unlikely to be able to change its mind and, for example, seek to hire a French rather than an Italian manager, in the event that the quota application was for an Italian.
The local employment authorities responsible for reviewing these quota applications must, initially, advise failed applicants by mid July, and successful applicants prior to August. Each region then passes its consolidated approvals up to a Federal level, and the national quota is meant to be set (in a database listing each successful company, by location, by position and by nationality) by the end of October for the following year. Approvals made in August can be superseded by this consolidation process. Unfortunately, for the two years in which this practice has been operational, the procedure has not been followed exactly by the authorities. For 2009, the database was not published in the autumn of 2008, and the exact mechanisms for quota allocation were indeed not clear until well into the spring of 2009 itself. For 2010, most regions of Russia completed the summer 2009 rejection and approval notifications, with Moscow being a notable exception.
In early December 2009 the final database setting out the quota for 2010 had not yet been published. 2009 also saw some cuts to the quota during the course of the year, somewhat to the surprise of those companies affected. Companies that experience errors in their quota, or who are newly formed or have registered new divisions in new locations in Russia, or where there is a need to add or change the quota can apply to the Interdepartmental Commission on Migration matters for the region in question. A reserve level of additional quota is kept back at a Federal level to facilitate this, but good arguments do need to be made to the Commission if additional quota is to be granted, or the perceived error corrected.
Experience shows that cases are generally reviewed upon their merits, but the process can still take time, even where successful. The Law governing work permits also allows the authorities annually to publish a list of positions which are exempt from quota. These have in past years covered senior executive positions and one or two technical IT roles. However, this list does need to be annually renewed, and it is not always operational at the start of the year, but is rather disseminated at some point in spring. However, this can be a useful means of adding flexibility for persons whose roles are covered.
Draft Law 2010
The Draft Law concerning highly qualified specialists was approved by the Federation Council on May 13th, 2010 and has been sent to the RF President for signing. The Draft Law will come into force on July 1st, 2010. The Federal Law amending the Law on the legal status of a foreigner in the Russian Federation and Budgetary and Tax Codes has brought a lot changes to the existing system of working conditions of foreigners in the RF.
Work permits and permissions to employ foreign workers - based on the new system, highly qualified foreign workers shall be exempt from the quota application procedure. The new system would just require an employer to submit an application to the respective state body for such highly qualified workers. Such an application must be considered within 14 days. High qualification shall be determined based on the salary threshold (starting from 2 mln. RUR per year) and documents proving it (diploma, reference letters, etc.). It should be especially noted that the 2 mln. RUR should be received from Russian sources only.
The duration of the work permits is extended to 3 years for the highly qualified workers, in accordance with the period of the labor agreement's duration.
The registration procedure has been substantially simplified. An employer no longer has to notify the migration service every time its foreign worker leaves the city he is working in.
The list of professions (positions) that are exempt from the quota system will not be subject to change.
Highly qualified workers will have the right to obtain residence permits for themselves and their family members for the period of labor agreement's duration.
Work visas for the highly qualified worker will be issued for 1 year, with a possibility of an extension of up to 3 years.
One Window Approach
For members of certain business associations, the authorities have sometimes expedited regimes; whereby, applications fro work permits and visas can be submitted at some place and time with the Federal Migration Service, making the processing time significantly quicker than usual.
Non-CIS Citizens
Under the current provisions of the Russian immigration legislation, each employer engaging foreign nationals from countries for which visas are necessary to enter Russia, is obliged to obtain Russian individual work permits for them. The starting point is for the employer to register with the employment authorities and submit an initial report on job vacancies. In order to apply for work permits, the company must fulfil the following obligations in the following order:
1) Update information on job vacancies with employment authorities; wait one month;
2) Apply to the Federal Migration Service fora corporate permit for the engagement of foreign labor; the Federal Migration Service will then confirm with the employment authorities that the positions for which permission to hire foreigners is sought have been listed as vacant for one month, and that no appropriate Russian candidates have been found; one month later the corporate permit will be issued;
3) Apply to the Federal Migration Service for an individual work permit; one month later the individual permit will be issued.
At the third stage, the application will tend to need to include, for executive and technical positions, some sort of certification of the foreigner's competence to hold the position. This will be a professional qualification or a certificate of higher education, which will need to be apostilled in the home country and submitted with a Russian notarized translation. The foreign national will also need to submit certification of his health, including confirmation from a medical facility that he is free from an extensive list of conditions and diseases.
From start to finish, therefore, assuming quota exists, obtaining a work permit should take no less than three months, but in reality the process can be significantly slower, especially if all documents are not in exactly the right order that the authorities require. The precise details of what is required are also subject to change, which can make the process highly frustrating.
Any individual work permit (regardless of the citizenship of its holder) is valid only for the region within Russia where that foreign employee is going to work. It is also possible to apply for a multi-regional work permit. In this case, the company needs to register with the local employment authorities in each region for which the work permit is needed. However, each stage of the application then needs to be completed by each region concerned; this can cause delays.
Once the individual work permit is obtained and an employment agreement with foreign national is concluded, the employer is obliged to inform the following state authorities about fact of employment of a foreigner:
Tax authorities (within 10 business days);
Employment authorities (within 1 month);
State Labor Inspection (within 1 month).
The individuals themselves do not have such notification obligations.
CIS Citizens
As concerns most CIS countries for citizens of which visas are not necessary to enter Russia, the individuals themselves are obliged to apply for their individual work permits prior to applying for a job with any employer. The employer should not apply for a corporate permit for the engagement of foreign labor in respect of CIS nationals.
There are three possible options for CIS citizens to apply for an individual work permit:
apply in person;
apply through an organization officially authorized to assist foreign nationals with employment;
authorize a third party, to be a representative of the individual in applying for his/her work permit.
There are also notification requirements with regards to non-visa expatriates; whereby, companies should notify various state bodies, including:
Immigration authorities (within 3 days);
Tax authorities (within 3 days);
Employment authorities (within 3 days).
Exemption from Work Permit
Work permits are not needed for the following categories of individuals:
Citizens of Belarus;
Permanent residents of Russia (those who hold permanent residency permit);
Employees of diplomatic missions, consulates and international organizations;
Employees of foreign companies (manufacturers or suppliers) engaged in the installation, installation supervision, servicing, war ranty servicing and after-guarantee repairs of installed equipment (montage and chefmontage);
Journalists accredited in Russia.
RESIDENCE PERMITS
Temporary Residence Permit
Temporary residents reside in Russia on the basis of temporary residence permits. Such permits are issued for three years and empower foreign nationals to temporarily reside in Russia prior to obtaining the permanent residency permit. Temporary residence permits are issued subject to an annual quota established by the Russian Government. Some categories of foreign nationals, most notably those married to Russian nationals, are exempt from this quota.
There is a different registration requirement applicable to temporary residents; whereby, they should be registered at the address of their residence. Temporary residents must register on an annual basis. There is special type of visa based on which a temporary resident may enter the country. It is issued at the time of his or her registration as a temporary resident in Russia. Under this registration, they can obtain only a single-entry visa, issued for 4 months, which can then be prolonged for the period of validity of the temporary residency permit. However, the most important complication related to this visa, is that each time the individual leaves and re-enters Russia, he must apply for an exit-entry visa.
Temporary residents cannot change the place of their residence and work away from the region of Russia for which the temporary residence permit is granted. Temporary residence permits are valid for up to three years, but there is no procedure for their extension. The inherent assumption is that a temporary resident would progress on to becoming a permanent resident. The same procedures for work permit applications applies to temporary residents.
In summary, therefore, becoming a temporary resident confers no material advantage compared with persons who are temporarily located in Russia on work visas and work permits. Work permits are still required, and the visa regime is more restrictive rather than less so. The main advantage of a temporary residence permit is therefore that it enables the holder to apply for a permanent residence permit.
Permanent Residence Permit
A temporary resident can apply for the permanent residence permit, provided he resided in Russia for at least one year on the basis of a temporary residence permit. Permanent residents are allowed to travel in and out of Russia without any restrictions, as no Russian visa is required in this case. No work permits are needed for permanent residents, and they may therefore be employed by any employer within the region concerned without restriction.
Permanent residence permits are issued for five years and may be re-issued for a similar period an unlimited number of times. As with temporary residents, permanent residents are subject to annual re-registration in Russia.
Sanctions for Non-Compliance
Even for minor violations in the immigration area, the authorities have full rights to the draconian penalty regime set out in the Administrative Code. The obvious intention of the above is to reinforce the responsibility of the foreign nationals visiting and working in Russia, as well as their employers for staying compliant with the Russian immigration and labour laws. In practice, these fine levels are not always imposed, with lesser (though still substantial) levels often being used, but this is entirely at the discretion of the authority concerned.
Sanctions are imposed separately for each violation in respect of each foreign employee engaged unlawfully and include:
Sanctions for engagement by employers of foreign citizens without work permits (up to 5,000 Rbs for the individual, 50,000 Rbs for the executives, 250,000-800,000 Rbs for the company or suspension of activities of the company for up to 90 days);
Sanctions for engagement by employers of foreign citizens without a corporate permit to engage foreign labour (similar as above);
Sanctions for not notifying immigration/employment/labour/tax authorities on engaging a foreign citizen, or upon the early termination of a foreign national (up to 5,000 Rbs for the employing individual, 50,000 Rbs for the responsible executives, 400,000-800,000 Rbs for the companies);
Sanctions for violation of immigration related enrolment rules (up to 5,000 Rbs for the hosting individual, 50,000 Rbs for the responsible executives, 400,000-500,000 Rbs for the company).
Common Pitfalls
Immigration compliance in Russia remains a complex and frustrating area. The current situation at any time should not be assumed as a permanent one. The Russian immigration authorities tend to change the procedure and requirements of any application in the course of the application process, which, with tight time deadlines, can force companies to restart the procedures from the very beginning. Even if companies follow all requirements of the Russian employment and immigration authorities, this can never guarantee successful results.
2010 is likely to see an even worse environment, with a reduced overall quota approved, late publication of the detail, and increased scrutiny of the authorities in relation to work permit applications, supporting documents, notifications in respect of hiring and termination of foreign individuals, registration requirements, and an increased level of immigration audits. More and more foreign citizens are now looking for possibilities to apply for Russian temporary and then permanent residence permits to avoid the number of immigration related requirements and procedures.
Organizations should be prepared; the process will be time and resource consuming, sometimes undefined and varied, but should also remember that by now, most companies ma nage to achieve the required results, or a practically acceptable workaround. Individuals, in turn, should also be prepared for some unexpected additional requirements with regard to immigration documents, medical tests, their arrivals and departures to, within and from Russia.
The most common incorrect assumptions and practical problems include:
"Working" in Russia on a business visa is acceptable;
Persons obtaining an "Inosotrudniki" visa do not need a work permit;
It does not matter if you forget to complete the enrolment and de-enrolment procedures each time the expatriate enters and exist Russia;
Provided you have one work permit then you can fulfil multiple roles or work for multiple different group entities or locations;
Work permits can always be expedited provided you have the right contacts;
It is always the fault of HR/Admin/External Immigration Service Provider if something goes wrong. |
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| 83. | German Scholl Moscow
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German Scholl Moscow
The German School Moscow "Friedrich-Joseph Haass" is a German-language private school in Moscow. The Foreign Office and the Central Administration of German Schools Abroad support the school. |
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| 84. | Reka
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Reka
Restaurant and Club "Reka" is a unique place in Moscow. It is a Club that introduces outstanding musicians and Djs from New York, London, Berlin and all over the world to Moscow public. The place has an elegant and cozy Restaurant Hall for 130 persons and a terrace with a spectacular view over Moscow. |
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| 95. | Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
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Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Church - Lutheran Cathedral in Moscow, which is the main cathedral of the regional Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia with the Department episkopaDitriha Borisovich Brauer as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The cathedral is one of the two existing official Lutheran churches in Moscow, along with the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in the Vedeno cemetery. The parish church of Saints Peter and Paul in Moscow - one of the oldest Lutheran congregation in Russia. |
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| 96. | Radisson Collection Hotel
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Radisson Collection Hotel
A gem among hotels in Russia, the Radisson Collection Hotel, Moscow boasts landmark status in the heart of the capital city. This elegant Moscow hotel was built between 1953 and 1957 as part of Stalin's Seven Sisters project and showcases Soviet Neo-classicism architecture. Soaring at 206 metres high, it was the largest European hotel of its day. |
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| 104. | Embassy of Iceland
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Embassy of Iceland
Web: www.government.is/diplomatic-missions/embassy-of-iceland-in-moscow |
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| 130. | Belye Palaty
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Belye Palaty
An exhibition and cultural center situated in a historical building of XVII century in the very heart of Moscow. |
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| 131. | Night Flight
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Night Flight
Web: www.nightflight.ru
Launched in 1991 it hasn’t closed its doors once out of total 4787 working days. Night Flight still insists on having a team of professional Swedish managers on key positions including not only its chefs and restaurant managers but also security and the DJ. The club set a goal to host expats and foreign business visitors of Moscow seeking safe and respectable place for their evening and night leisure. Happily enough, this goal was achieved. Since then tens of Moscow night clubs came and vanished from the city’s night life, while Night Flight, like a green lighthouse, still attracts numerous spectators. This long lasting advance resulted in the emergence of the brand – Night Flight became a name for stability and success. The club keeps its doors opened daily from 20:00 till 05:00. |
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| 134. | Museum of Moscow History
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Museum of Moscow History
Web: www.mosmuseum.ru
Open: Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun 10:00-18:00,
Wed, Fri 11:00-19:00.
Closed: Mon and the last Fri of each month. |
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| 137. | Moscow Museum of Modern Art
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Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Web: www.mmoma.ru
Open: 12:00-20:00, Thu 13:00-21:00.
Box office: 12:00-19:15.
Closed: the last Mon of each month. |
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| 138. | Moscow Zoo
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Moscow Zoo
Web: www.moscowzoo.ru
Open: (summer) 10:00-20:00; (winter) 10:00-17:00.
Closed: Monday.
Tickets: 150 Rbs. |
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| 140. | Archaeological Museum of Moscow
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Archaeological Museum of Moscow
Web: www.mosmuseum.ru
Open: Tue, Thu, Sat 10:00-18:00.
Wed, Fri 11:00-19:00.
Closed: Mon and the last Friday of each month. |
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| 155. | Public Museum of Moscow Metro
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Public Museum of Moscow Metro
Web: www.engl.mosmetro.ru
Excursions by advance appointment.
Open: Mon 11:00-18:00, Tue-Fri 09:00-16:00. |
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| 159. | Moscow Conservatory Great Hall
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Moscow Conservatory Great Hall
Web: www.mosconsv.ru
Box office No. 3 - 11:00-19:00 (with a break 15:00-16:00)
Box office No. 4 - 12:00-20:00 (with a break 16:00-17:00) |
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| 160. | Moskva Concert Cinema Hall
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Moskva Concert Cinema Hall
Concert Cinema Hall "Moskva" is a modern multi-functional venue, situated in the very heart of Moscow. |
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| 161. | Moscow Conservatoire Rachmaninov Zal
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Moscow Conservatoire Rachmaninov Zal
Web: www.mosconsv.ru
Box office No. 3 - 11:00-19:00 (with a break 15:00-16:00)
Box office No. 4 - 12:00-20:00 (with a break 16:00-17:00) |
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| 162. | Moscow Conservatoire Maly Zal
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Moscow Conservatoire Maly Zal
Web: www.mosconsv.ru
Box office No. 3 - 11:00-19:00 (with a break 15:00-16:00)
Box office No. 4 - 12:00-20:00 (with a break 16:00-17:00) |
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| 163. | Moscow Conservatoire Myaskovsky Zal
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Moscow Conservatoire Myaskovsky Zal
Web: www.mosconsv.ru
Box office No. 3 - 11:00-19:00 (with a break 15:00-16:00)
Box office No. 4 - 12:00-20:00 (with a break 16:00-17:00) |
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| 164. | Museum of Water
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Museum of Water
Web: www.mosvodokanal.ru/museum
History of the Moscow water supply system.
Open: Mon-Fro 10:00-17:00.
Free admission. |
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| 165. | Fakel
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Fakel
"Moskino" company regularly screens original language films with subtitles in their cinemas. At the moment they are being shown in "Fakel" cinema. All films are displayed with Russian subtitles. Ticket prices in «Moskino» cinemas are the lowest in Moscow – from 150 to 250 RUR each. |
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| 166. | State Kremlin Palace
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State Kremlin Palace
The State Kremlin Palace, formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, is a large modern building inside the Moscow Kremlin. |
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| 167. | Moscow Kremlin Museums
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Moscow Kremlin Museums
Web: www.kreml.ru
Kremlin Museums: the Armoury Chamber, the Assumption Cathedral, the Archangel’s Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral, Ivan the Great Bell-Tower complex, the Church of Laying Our Lady’s Holy Robe, the Patriarch’s Palace and the Twelve Apostles’ Church.
Open: 10:00-17:00.
Closed: Thu. |
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| 168. | English International School (EIS)
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English International School (EIS)
British owned, managed and staffed. For children from 3 up to 17 years old. Based on British National curriculum adapted for international classes. EIS Moscow East for children aged 3-17, EIS Moscow West (age 3-12), EIS Moscow South-West (age 3-11). |
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| 169. | Brookes Moscow & Brookes Saint Petersburg
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Brookes Moscow & Brookes Saint Petersburg
Brookes Moscow & Brookes Saint Petersburg are next-generation international educational establishments in the heart of Russia. Members of the Brookes Education Group (BEG), a global family of IB schools with seven campuses around the world, including major ones in Cambridge (founded in 1982), Vancouver and Seoul. The 800-pupil capacity Brookes Moscow site and its sister site of 250 capacity in Saint Petersburg welcome local and international students from age 2 to 18 to its campuses and offer the chance to study for the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. Students also have access to BEG’s family of schools and the opportunity to study abroad. |
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| 176. | Moscow Planetarium
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Moscow Planetarium
Open: Mo, Wed-Fri 10:00–21:00, Sat-Sun 10:00–22:00 |
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| 183. | Moscow Zoo
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Moscow Zoo
Open: (winter) 10:00-17:00,
(summer) 10:00-20:00.
Closed: Mon. |
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| 185. | Moscow Museum of Modern Art
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Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Open: 12:00-20:00, Thu 13:00-21:00.
Box office: 12:00-19:15.
Closed: the last Mon of each month. |
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| 187. | True Moscow Skating Rink
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True Moscow Skating Rink
Outdoor. Open: Mon-Fri 17:00-24:00,
Sat-Sun 12:00-24:00.
Entrance fee: 200 Rbs. Rental: 120 Rbs. |
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| 189. | Moscow American Center
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Moscow American Center
Library, reference services, cultural and educational programs. |
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| 190. | Simply Angelic
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Simply Angelic
Full time, live-in English-speaking nannies, governesses to families overseas including Moscow. |
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| 191. | Tigerlily Childcare
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Tigerlily Childcare
Providing English speaking nannies, governesses, housekeepers and maternity nurses to Expat and International families in Moscow. |
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| 192. | Moscow School No. 45
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Moscow School No. 45
International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme. English language from the first grade. |
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| 194. | International School of Moscow
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International School of Moscow
English National Curriculum. Open for 2-12 year olds. Native English speaking teachers. French, Russian. |
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| 195. | Feya (Fairy)
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Feya (Fairy)
Old Russian agency offers multi-language: nannies & governesses, housekeepers & drivers, gardeners etc. Trained domestic staff in Moscow since 2003. Speak English. |
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| 196. | Montessori School of Moscow
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Montessori School of Moscow
Upper Elementary, Elementary, Casa dei Bambini, Toddler and Parent Infant programs, English and Russian Speaking AMI standard teachers. |
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| 197. | Moscow International Preschool
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Moscow International Preschool
Open for 2-6 year olds. Up to ten children per group. Art, music, dance, birthday parties. Native-speaking and Russian teachers, psychologist, speech therapist, extra-activities. |
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| 198. | Stary Angliisky Dvor (Old English Court)
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Stary Angliisky Dvor (Old English Court)
Constructed in 15th century. Used to be a
residency of the English Moscow Trading
Company and later of the British Embassy.
Medieval interiors.
Open: 10:00-18:00.
Closed: Mon, the last Fri of each month. |
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| 199. | Museum "Moscow Lights"
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Museum "Moscow Lights"
All kinds of lamps, street lamps, lanterns.
Excursions in English are available.
Open: (excursions) 09:00-19:00,
(individual visitors) 11:00-17:00. |
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| 200. | Moscow Swing Dance Society
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Moscow Swing Dance Society
Swing dance school. Russian. Regular workshops with foreign teachers. Multiple locations. |
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| 201. | Tchik Tchik
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Tchik Tchik
The first American style children's hair salon in Moscow. Patient, child-friendly hairdressers. Specialized children's chairs. Cartoons (in French, English, Russian) and video games. Open: 10:00-19:00. By appointment only. |
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| 202. | Public Museum of Moscow Metro
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Public Museum of Moscow Metro
Web: engl.mosmetro.ru
Excursions by advance appointment.
Open: Mon 11:00-18:00, Tue-Fri 09:00-16:00. |
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| 204. | Saturday Kids Club
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Saturday Kids Club
Now Ptit Cref – the trilingual children's centre in the center of Moscow – is open for kids on weekends! Leave your child for half a day or for the whole day – and he or she will spend the whole time playing cheerful games with contemporaries and professional animators! The club is opened from 10:00 till 17:00 on Saturdays.
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| 205. | Saturday Kids Club
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Saturday Kids Club
Now Ptit Cref – the trilingual children's centre in the center of Moscow – is open for kids on weekends! Leave your child for half a day or for the whole day – and he or she will spend the whole time playing cheerful games with contemporaries and professional animators! The club is opened from 10:00 till 17:00 on Saturdays.
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| 206. | Saturday Kids Club
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Saturday Kids Club
Now Ptit Cref – the trilingual children's centre in the center of Moscow – is open for kids on weekends! Leave your child for half a day or for the whole day – and he or she will spend the whole time playing cheerful games with contemporaries and professional animators! The club is opened from 10:00 till 17:00 on Saturdays.
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| 207. | Cooperation School
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Cooperation School
English immersion nursery and kindergarten for children 2,5 – 7 years old. New Preschool in the centre of Moscow. Native English-speaking teachers and British national curriculum ( EYFS, KS1). Newly-constructed building with spacious classrooms, swimming pool and observatory. Russian lessons on request. No entrance fee! |
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| 208. | Fred Astaire International
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Fred Astaire International
World-known dance school. Slow waltz, Viennese waltz, tango, Argentinean tango, quick foxtrot, samba, jive, swing, blues, house, rock'n'roll and other kinds of dance. Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 209. | Fakel
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Fakel
"Moskino" company regularly screens original language films with subtitles in their cinemas. At the moment they are being shown in "Fakel" cinema. All films are displayed with Russian subtitles. Ticket prices in «Moskino» cinemas are the lowest in Moscow – from 150 to 250 RUR each. |
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| 210. | Fakel
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Fakel
"Moskino" company regularly screens original language films with subtitles in their cinemas. At the moment they are being shown in "Fakel" cinema. All films are displayed with Russian subtitles. Ticket prices in «Moskino» cinemas are the lowest in Moscow – from 150 to 250 RUR each. |
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| 211. | The British International School
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The British International School
The British International School has successfully worked in the field of educational services in Russia for the past 27 years, providing a first-class education in the best traditions of British schools. It is accredited by the Council of British International Schools. At present the BIS consists of 6 schools located in different areas of Moscow: in the North (Voikovskaya Metro Station) and in the South (Profsoyuznaya and Novoyasenevskaya Metro Stations). The programme in 5 BIS schools is based upon the English National Curriculum. These schools are staffed by highly qualified specialists from the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Children of 65 nationalities, aged from 3 to 18 years study there. The British International School has been offering the International Baccalaureate and A-level programmes. |
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| 214. | DC Travel Club
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DC Travel Club
Accommodation in hotels in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and other cities of Russia, CIS and Baltic States, airtickets, VIP services, railways tickets, gGuided sightseeing tours in Moscow, S.-Petersburg and other cities, entrance tickets to all kinds of entertainments, visa support for inbound Diners Club Card members, arranging conferences at the best business halls in Moscow and St. Petersburg, transfers and rent-a-car in Moscow and St.Petersburg. |
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| 215. | Parallel 60
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Parallel 60
Travel company founded in 2006. Officially authorised to provide travel services for incoming foreign travellers in St.Petersburg, Moscow and all over Russia. Offices in St.Petersburg and Moscow. Travel services: Tours and excursions in St.Petersburg and Moscow; Shore excursions in St.Petersburg for cruise passengers (visa-free); River cruises St.Petersburg - Moscow (and backwards), Valaam, Kizhi, Solovki, etc.; Organizing meetings, incentive programs, conferences and exhibitions. |
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| 216. | Angel Taxi
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Angel Taxi
English-speaking operators and drivers in Moscow's premier taxi dispatching per-km service with over 1000 drivers in Moscow and over 200 drivers in St. Pete. Individual tours in English around Moscow, Sergiev Posad, Golden Ring. "Standard", "Comfort", "Business". Intercity trips from Moscow and St. Pete across Russia. Corporate events, cost-efficient and cost-manageable corporate taxi. |
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| 218. | The English International School
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The English International School
British owned, managed and staffed. For children from 3 up to 17 years old. Based on British National curriculum adapted for international classes. 3 campuses available: EIS Moscow East for children aged 3-17, EIS Moscow West (age 3-12), EIS Moscow South-West (age 3-11). |
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| 219. | Tour of Moscow
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Tour of Moscow
Private guides, tours for expats in Moscow and surroundings. |
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| 220. | Bank of Moscow
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Bank of Moscow
Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
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| 221. | Tour de Moscow
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Tour de Moscow
Hotel reservations, transportation service, city tours of Moscow, translation services. |
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| 222. | Armstrong Europa Gmbh – Moscow
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Armstrong Europa Gmbh – Moscow
International company. Floor coverings, false ceilings. Several official distributors in Moscow. |
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| 224. | Le Meridien Moscow Country Club
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Le Meridien Moscow Country Club
Following along Volokolamskoe highway, cross the Moscow Ring Road. After 4 km turn to the right at the GAI station. Drive through Krasnogorsk and Novo-Nikolskoe village (10 km), turn to the right at the filling station under Le Meridien Moscow Country Club (2,6 km) sign. |
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| 226. | Attida Consulting
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Attida Consulting
Invitations to Russia (commercial, business, tourist visa support). Work permit in Moscow. Registration in Moscow. Guarantee to get allotment for your company. |
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| 229. | California Cleaners
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California Cleaners
Door to door dry cleaning. Laundry. 25 collection points in Moscow and Moscow area. |
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| 230. | Brookes Moscow
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Brookes Moscow
Brookes Moscow is an independent day school welcoming 800 local and international students. The school offers pre-nursery through year 13. Brookes Moscow is a member of the Brookes Education Group, a global family of schools with seven campuses around the world. To learn more about the International Baccalaureate, the Brookes Education Group and the wider Brookes family, please visit www.brookes.org. |
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| 232. | A. LoveJoy Moving
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A. LoveJoy Moving
International moving services, door-to-door delivery, customs formalities, office and flat removals in Moscow and Moscow region. |
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| 233. | My Moscow Taxi
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My Moscow Taxi
English-speaking taxi service in Moscow. |
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| 236. | Detsky Mir (Children's World)
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Detsky Mir (Children's World)
Renowned shop network with a long history. Numerous locations in Moscow and the Moscow neighbourhood. Children's items for all ages. Toys, footwear, clothes, books, accessories. Multiple locations. |
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| 237. | Moscow Private Tours
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Moscow Private Tours
Private tours in Moscow and Golden Rings. Licensed guides, exclusive tours, flexible timings. |
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| 238. | Lytkarino
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Lytkarino
At Metro Kuzminki take bus 348 to the "Karier" stop. Although it is considered to be a Moscow beach, Lytkarino is 15 km outside the Moscow Ring Road (MKAD). The beach is famous for its white sand, clean water and pine forest. The shore is partly rocky. Cafe and parking (free and paid) are available. |
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| 239. | Troika
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Troika
Full service incoming tour operator (DMC Russia). Travel services for expatriate families in Russia: guided tours in Moscow and its suburbs, ideas for family holidays around Moscow, snowmobile tours in Karelia, adventure tours to Lake Baikal and Kamchatka. |
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| 240. | Absolut Bank
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Absolut Bank
Absolut Bank was established in 1993 and since 2007 is a member of a major international financial group KBC (Top-5 in Central and Eastern Europe). The Bank offers a wide range of banking services including deposits, VIP banking, free consulting on personal finance management etc. English-speaking managers are available. Absolut Bank has an extensive network in Moscow, the Moscow Region and 23 other regions of Russian. ATM network exceeds 2000 machines in Moscow and other cities of Russia conveniently placed (including the metro stations). Please find the appropriate location on the: web site. |
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| 241. | Contrast Cleaners
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Contrast Cleaners
High quality dry cleaning and laundry services and fur and leather specialists. Additional services include carpet cleaning, shoe repair and atelier. Collection points throughout Moscow. Express dry cleaners in key Moscow shopping centres including Evropeisky. |
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| 243. | Moscow Service For Psychological Help
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Moscow Service For Psychological Help
Personal and Family psychotherapy for English/Russian speaking people by psychologist working for the Moscow Service For Psychological Help. Individual, couple and family appointments. Supervised by European Family Therapy Association specialists. |
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| 244. | Go to Russia
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Go to Russia
Russia's full service travel management company (offices in Atlanta, San Francisco and Moscow). Visa support and full visa processing, registration, own network of managed short stay apartments, hotel accommodation, Moscow sightseeing tours. English-speaking managers. |
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| 245. | The Vip Moscow Taxi
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The Vip Moscow Taxi
Reliable, low-cost, English speaking taxi/transfer service. All Moscow airports including Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo at any time of day at no extra charge. English-, Turkish- French, Russian -speaking operators. Online order. English version of the website. |
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| 246. | ITE LLC Moscow
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ITE LLC Moscow
International trade and exhibitions. Member of the International Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF), the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the Moscow International Business Association (MIBA) and Association of European Businesses (AEB). |
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| 248. | Go To Russia Travel
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Go To Russia Travel
Russia's full service travel management company (offices in Atlanta, San Francisco and Moscow). Visa support and full visa processing, registration, own network of managed short stay apartments, hotel accommodation, Moscow sightseeing tours. English-speaking managers. |
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| 249. | Great British Nannies
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Great British Nannies
Great British Nannies is a British Nanny, Governess and Tutor agency located in London and Moscow. They specialize in placing experienced, highly skilled, native English speaking childcare educators in to high profile Russian families in London, Moscow and other worldwide destinations. |
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| 250. | Moscow Personal Concierge
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Moscow Personal Concierge
Hotel booking, air and rail tickets booking, taxi and limousine reservation, creative idea for a present – to buy & to deliver, appointments, arrangements and logistics, SPA reservations, best tables at the restaurants, advice and consulting on the best entertainment in Moscow, s,hopping consulting, catering order, flowers delivery, co-ordinate removal and relocation, doctors’ appointments, information centre. |
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| 252. | Anglo-American School
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Anglo-American School
The Anglo-American School of Moscow, founded in 1949, is an independent, coeducational day school, which offers an educational program from Pre-Kindergarten (4-year-olds) through grade 12. The Anglo-American School is chartered by the American, British, and Canadian Embassies in Moscow under the aegis of a School Board. |
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| 255. | Seven Hills Property
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Seven Hills Property
Real Estate services since 1999: apartments in Moscow for short and long rent; apartments for sale; cottages in Moscow district for sale and rent; offices for rent; property maintenance; consultations on real estate. |
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| 258. | The International School of Moscow (ISM)
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The International School of Moscow (ISM)
The International School of Moscow (ISM) offers a contemporary English international education to students aged from 2 to 18, from Early Years through to Sixth Form. The School has a student body of over 1000 and boasts more than 60 nationalities. The programme is based on the English National Curriculum (ENC), which offers the highly respected GCSE and A Level qualifications for older students. The school is a member of Nord Anglia Education, a growing network of 69 schools established across the globe. |
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| 283. | All Good
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All Good
Multiple locations all over Moscow. |
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| 284. | Luxcompany
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Luxcompany
Short let apartments in Moscow. |
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| 285. | Rigla
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Rigla
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 289. | 36,6
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36,6
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. Internet store. |
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| 293. | HotelRoom24
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HotelRoom24
Apartments for days in the center of Moscow . |
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| 299. | Samson Pharma
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Samson Pharma
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 304. | Perekryostok
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Perekryostok
Retail chain. Multiple locations all over Moscow. |
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| 308. | Cats & Dogs
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Cats & Dogs
Pet shops. Multiple locations all over Moscow. |
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| 309. | Flowers Today
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Flowers Today
Flower delivery services in Moscow. |
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| 313. | ExDo
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ExDo
Mail delivery services (Moscow, Russia, CIS). |
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| 315. | Dog School Moscow
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Dog School Moscow
English-speaking dog trainer teaches you and your dog how to communicate. |
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| 316. | Avis rent-a-car
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Avis rent-a-car
Avis Russia is the official licensee of European Avis branch Avis Europe Plc. Avis Russia currently renders transport services in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Kaluga, Kazan, Samara, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Khabarovsk. Being a member of worldwide Avis Rent a Car, we offer safe cars, high quality service, advantageous conditions of booking, and we support various discount and bonus programs for our regular customers. Addresses in Moscow: Downtown location: 4th Dobryninsky Pereulok 8, ground floor; International Airport Sheremetyevo II arriving hall Terminal D; Domodedovo Domestic Airport; Vnukovo Airport, Terminal A, Arrival Hall, Counter number 34. |
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| 317. | True Moscow Skating Rink
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True Moscow Skating Rink
Outdoor. Open: Mon-Fri 17:00-24:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-24:00. Entrance fee: 200 Rbs. Rental: 120 Rbs. |
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| 318. | M. Video
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M. Video
Household electrical appliances. Multiple locations all over Moscow. Open: 24/7. |
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| 319. | Tekhnosila
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Tekhnosila
Household electrical appliances. Multiple locations all over Moscow. Open: 09:00-23:00. |
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| 320. | Alye Parusa
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Alye Parusa
Retail chain. Locations all over Moscow. Food delivery. |
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| 321. | Moscow Roma
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Moscow Roma
Italian furniture. Interior design. Delivery and assembly. Consultations. |
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| 323. | Moscow-DGH
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Moscow-DGH
Owner operator. English-speaking driver, guide and hospitality manager. |
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| 324. | City Realty
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City Realty
Serviced Moscow apartments. Centrally located, fully equipped. |
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| 325. | Ice Complex "Moscow"
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Ice Complex "Moscow"
Indoor. Open: 10:00-23:00. Night skating sessions - 23:30-06:00 (Fri, Sat). Entrance fee: 250 Rbs. Rental: 200 Rbs. |
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| 326. | ExpatCPA
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ExpatCPA
Personal tax services, Russian and US tax returns (CPA). Serving Moscow expatriate community since 1994. |
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| 327. | MBRD
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MBRD
Moscow Bank for Reconstruction and Development offers payroll projects within corporate banking. |
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| 330. | Moscow Linguistic Center
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Moscow Linguistic Center
Russian Language Courses. Evening classes for the expats. European languages. |
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|
|
|
| 332. | Welcome-to-Russia
|
Welcome-to-Russia
Quality apartments in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Additional services - transfer, visa support and translation. |
|
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|
| 333. | Moscow Assistant
|
Moscow Assistant
Airport/city transfers, travel arrangements, event planning, errand services. |
|
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|
| 334. | Moscow Swinger Club NUans
|
Moscow Swinger Club NUans
Face control. Eglish and French speaking personnel.
Open: 22:00-06:00. |
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| 335. | Quintessential Moscow
|
Quintessential Moscow
Concierge, bodyguards, chauffeurs, venues, events, social & business networking, lifestyle management. |
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| 336. | Credit Europe Bank
|
Credit Europe Bank
Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
|
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|
|
| 337. | Production Paradise
|
Production Paradise
International online resource of photo, film and creative industry. Moscow agent - Svetlana Zoricheva. |
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|
|
| 338. | Alfa-Bank
|
Alfa-Bank
Founded in 1990, Alfa Banking Group offers a wide range of products and operates in all sectors of the financial market, including corporate and retail lending, deposits, payment and account services, foreign exchange operations, cash handling services, custody services, investment banking and other ancillary services to corporate and retail customers. Alfa Banking Group is headquartered in Moscow, Russia, with branch network consisting of 617offices across Russia and abroad, includes a subsidiary bank in the Netherlands and financial subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom and Cyprus, and employs approximately 25,093 people. Alfa Banking Group is ultimately owned by 6 shareholders through ABH Holdings S.A. Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
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|
| 339. | Simply Angelic
|
Simply Angelic
Full time, live-in English-speaking nannies and governesses to families overseas including Moscow, St-Petersburg. |
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| 340. | Moscow House of Artist
|
Moscow House of Artist
About 30 gift departments. Souvenirs and gifts from England, Italy, Spain, India, Africa, eastern countries. |
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|
| 342. | Dessa, S-3373
|
Dessa, S-3373
PADI, CMAS, TDI, SDI courses. Tourism. Diving equipment. Swimming with dolphins in the Moscow dolphinarium. Gift certificates. |
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|
| 343. | DHL
|
DHL
The global leader in express, freight and logistics. Numerous locations across Moscow. Extensive coverage across Russia & CIS. Integrated network in over 220 countries. |
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| 344. | Usadba
|
Usadba
Renting and selling top-quality properties in Moscow and its closest suburbs. Investment consulting services on Russian real estate market. |
|
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|
| 345. | Dom Knigi (Book House)
|
Dom Knigi (Book House)
Foreign literature department. Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site.
Open from 9:00 until 21:00 daily, from 10:00 on Sat, from 10:00 until 20:00 on Sun. |
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| 346. | Monomax Congresses & Incentives
|
Monomax Congresses & Incentives
Professional Conference Organizer and Destination Management Company for Saint Petersburg, North-Western Russia, Moscow and Sochi. |
|
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|
| 347. | Rent Car in Moscow
|
Rent Car in Moscow
Car rental. Cars, minivans and minibuses rent-services with a driver. |
|
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|
| 348. | Safe Box
|
Safe Box
Safe Box is the biggest and most central Self Storage Facility in Moscow. Moving & Packing services. |
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|
| 349. | Radisson Royal Moscow
|
Radisson Royal Moscow
5 star hotel. Under reconstruction. Opening mid 2010. Former Ukraine hotel. |
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|
| 350. | Raiffeisen Bank Austria
|
Raiffeisen Bank Austria
Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
|
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|
| 351. | Citibank
|
Citibank
Many locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
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| 355. | Ethiopia
|
Ethiopia
The Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Moscow. |
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|
|
| 357. | Raftur
|
Raftur
Rafting in Moscow region, Caucasus, Novgorodskaya region, Karelia. For beginners. All the equipment is provided. Call from 09:00 until 22:00. |
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|
|
| 358. | Zmey.ru
|
Zmey.ru
Kitesurfing club and school. Specialized shop. Several locations in Moscow region. The shop and office are open from 11:00 until 22:00. |
|
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|
| 359. | ITEC Language School
|
ITEC Language School
Russian Language Courses in the historic center of Moscow. Special offer for the expats! |
|
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|
| 361. | Moscow University Touro
|
Moscow University Touro
Independent, non-profit institution of higher education working under the contract with Touro College, New York. |
|
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| 363. | Apartment Reservation Network
|
Apartment Reservation Network
Serviced apartments in Moscow. Apartments for rent - centrally located and renovated to Western standards. |
|
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|
| 365. | Brazil
|
Brazil
The Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Moscow. |
|
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|
| 366. | China
|
China
The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Moscow. |
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|
|
| 368. | Bangladesh
|
Bangladesh
The Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 369. | Uruguay
|
Uruguay
The Embassy of the Eastern Republic in Uruguay in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 370. | Airport Transfers
|
Airport Transfers
Reliable, low-cost, English speaking taxi/transfer service. All Moscow airports including Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo at any time of day at no extra charge. |
|
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|
| 371. | IPT
|
IPT
Luxury nightclubs concierge service in Moscow. Safe and private. Best night clubs, luxury cars, English-speaking guides. |
|
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|
| 372. | Moscow Economic School
|
Moscow Economic School
A bilingual school (Russian/English) with one foreign language (German, Spanish or French). Under the International Baccalaureate curriculum. |
|
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|
|
| 373. | City Group Services Ltd.
|
City Group Services Ltd.
Offshore financial Advise offered to Expatriates world-wide. Based here in Moscow. Contacts: Michael Vincent 8 926 6662678, James Shepherd 8 906 0662136. |
|
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|
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| 374. | Knight Frank
|
Knight Frank
International Real Estate (residential, office, industrial, retail, land) consultancy, valuation, strategic planning, research and investment services in Moscow since 1996. |
|
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|
| 375. | You are Welcome
|
You are Welcome
Moscow Airport transfer and taxi service. English-speaking operators and drivers. Cash, credit cards, bank transfer - any payment method. |
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|
|
| 377. | Angola
|
Angola
The Embassy of the Republic of Angola in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 378. | Madagascar
|
Madagascar
The Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 379. | Hungary
|
Hungary
The Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 381. | Ghana
|
Ghana
The Embassy of the Republic of Ghana in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 382. | Mongolia
|
Mongolia
The Embassy of the Republic of Mongolia in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 383. | Slovenia
|
Slovenia
The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
|
| 385. | Côte d'Ivoire
|
Côte d'Ivoire
The Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 386. | Benin
|
Benin
The Embassy of the Republic of Benin in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 387. | Chad
|
Chad
The Embassy of the Republic of Chad in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 388. | Bulgaria
|
Bulgaria
The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 389. | Cameroon
|
Cameroon
The Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 390. | Indonesia
|
Indonesia
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 391. | Burundi
|
Burundi
The Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 392. | Cambodia
|
Cambodia
The Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
| 394. | Cyprus
|
Cyprus
The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Moscow. |
|
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|
|
| 395. | Bolivia
|
Bolivia
The Embassy of the Republic of Bolivia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 396. | Sultan's Delights
|
Sultan's Delights
Catering of Turkish Food in Moscow. Wide range of products varying from fingerfood to complete buffets, carefully prepared by a Turkish lady. |
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|
|
| 397. | Otrada
|
Otrada
World class ridding club. Drive 1,6 km along Pyatnitskoe shosse from Mitino to Moscow region, watch for "KSK Otrada" direction sign and turn left. |
|
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|
|
| 398. | Polyglot Family
|
Polyglot Family
Recruiting agency engaged in the professional selection of native speaking nannies, governesses and tutors. They provide staff for high profile families and individuals in Moscow, Russia and worldwide. |
|
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|
|
| 399. | Moscow City Golf Club
|
Moscow City Golf Club
9-hole course, 23 bunkers. Was founded by its founder and Honorary Club President - Sven Tumba, the well-known Swedish sportsmen.Total playing distance - 2.343 m. |
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|
| 400. | Transport Link Service
|
Transport Link Service
Bus company with western management, delivers high quality transportation service to schools, companies, embassies, organizations and private persons in Moscow. |
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|
| 401. | London-Moscow
|
London-Moscow
Translation of fiction and periodicals, translation of web-pages and news reports, layout and pagination of translated documents (formatting and prepress processing), editing of texts, proof-reading. |
|
|
|
|
| 402. | RuskoTaxi
|
RuskoTaxi
24hr airport transfer, taxi service with English-speaking licensed drivers and private tours in Moscow and St. Petersburg. All cars are constantly checked. Competitive and fixed fares, online order, PayPal. |
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|
|
| 403. | Zmeinoe Logovo Kitesurfing Club
|
Zmeinoe Logovo Kitesurfing Club
Kitesurfing pioneer in Russia. Training, selling, rent. The shop is open from 11:00 until 20:00. Kitesurfing school - 7 8 916 855-1787, trainings in Moscow region. |
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|
|
| 404. | Savelovsky Trade Complex
|
Savelovsky Trade Complex
The largest computer trade complex in Moscow. Computers, laptops, software, hardware, music. |
|
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|
|
| 405. | Four Squares Serviced Apartments
|
Four Squares Serviced Apartments
Serviced apartments in central Moscow. Free Wi-Fi and satellite-TV, 24/7 English language emergency helpline. |
|
|
|
|
| 406. | Diana
|
Diana
About 500 collection points. The largest Moscow dry cleaner's network. Full-services dry cleaner's. Door to door dry cleaning. Laundry. |
|
|
|
|
| 407. | Limousine Service
|
Limousine Service
Well established chauffeur-driven car rentals company. Highest quality transportation service in Moscow, transfrers to airports, railway stations, and major cities: St Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod. |
|
|
|
|
| 408. | Colombia
|
Colombia
The Embassy of Colombia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 409. | Chile
|
Chile
The Embassy of Chile in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 410. | Kuwait
|
Kuwait
The Embassy of Kuwait in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 411. | Argentina
|
Argentina
The Embassy of Argentina in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 412. | Kyrgyzstan
|
Kyrgyzstan
The Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 413. | Netherlands
|
Netherlands
The Embassy of the Netherlands in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 414. | Canada
|
Canada
The Embassy of Canada in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 415. | Laos
|
Laos
The Embassy of Laos in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 416. | Kazakhstan
|
Kazakhstan
The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 417. | Libya
|
Libya
The Embassy of Libya in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 418. | Luxembourg
|
Luxembourg
The Embassy of Luxembourg in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 419. | Lebanon
|
Lebanon
The Embassy of Lebanon in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 420. | Montenegro
|
Montenegro
The Embassy of Montenegro in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 421. | Macedonia
|
Macedonia
The Embassy of Macedonia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 422. | Lithuania
|
Lithuania
The Embassy of Lithuania in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 423. | Kenya
|
Kenya
The Embassy of Kenya in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 424. | Japan
|
Japan
The Embassy of Japan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 425. | Georgia
|
Georgia
The Embassy of Georgia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 426. | Australia
|
Australia
The Embassy of Australia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 427. | France
|
France
The Embassy of France in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 428. | Finland
|
Finland
The Embassy of Finland in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 429. | Bahrain
|
Bahrain
The Embassy of Bahrain in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 430. | Estonia
|
Estonia
The Embassy of Estonia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 431. | Cuba
|
Cuba
The Embassy of Cuba in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 432. | Denmark
|
Denmark
The Embassy of Denmark in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 433. | Egypt
|
Egypt
The Embassy of Egypt in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 434. | Ecuador
|
Ecuador
The Embassy of Ecuador in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 435. | Germany
|
Germany
The Embassy of Germany in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 436. | Gabon
|
Gabon
The Embassy of Gabon in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 437. | Greece
|
Greece
The Embassy of Greece in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 438. | Italy
|
Italy
The Embassy of Italy in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 439. | Israel
|
Israel
The Embassy of Israel in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 440. | Ireland
|
Ireland
The Embassy of Ireland in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 441. | Iraq
|
Iraq
The Embassy of Iraq in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 442. | Iran
|
Iran
Embassy of Iran in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 443. | India
|
India
The Embassy of India in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 444. | Iceland
|
Iceland
The Embassy of Iceland in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 445. | Belgium
|
Belgium
The Embassy of Belgium in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 446. | Armenia
|
Armenia
The Embassy of Armenia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 447. | Guatemala
|
Guatemala
The Embassy of Guatemala in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 448. | Austria
|
Austria
The Embassy of Austria in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 449. | Spain
|
Spain
The Embassy of Spain in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 450. | Poland
|
Poland
The Embassy of Poland in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 451. | Philippines
|
Philippines
The Embassy of Philippines in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 452. | Panama
|
Panama
The Embassy of Panama in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 453. | Palestine
|
Palestine
The Embassy of Palestine in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 454. | Pakistan
|
Pakistan
The Embassy of Pakistan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 455. | Turkey
|
Turkey
The Embassy of Turkey in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 456. | Turkmenistan
|
Turkmenistan
The Embassy of Turkmenistan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 457. | Belarus
|
Belarus
The Embassy of Belarus in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 458. | Oman
|
Oman
The Embassy of Oman in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 459. | Norway
|
Norway
The Embassy of Norway in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 460. | Nigeria
|
Nigeria
The Embassy of Nigeria in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 461. | Latvia
|
Latvia
The Embassy of Latvia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 462. | Portugal
|
Portugal
The Embassy of Portugal in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 463. | Sri Lanka
|
Sri Lanka
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 464. | Sweden
|
Sweden
The Embassy of Sweden in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 465. | Albania
|
Albania
The Embassy of Albania in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 466. | Algeria
|
Algeria
The Embassy of Algeria in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 467. | Syria
|
Syria
The Embassy of Syria in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 468. | Singapore
|
Singapore
The Embassy of Singapore in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 469. | Tajikistan
|
Tajikistan
The Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 470. | Thailand
|
Thailand
The Embassy of Thailand in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 471. | Afghanistan
|
Afghanistan
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 472. | Romania
|
Romania
The Embassy of Romania in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 473. | Tunisia
|
Tunisia
The Embassy of Tunisia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 474. | New Zealand
|
New Zealand
The Embassy of New Zealand in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 475. | Uzbekistan
|
Uzbekistan
The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 476. | Nicaragua
|
Nicaragua
The Embassy of Nicaragua in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 477. | Mexico
|
Mexico
The Embassy of Mexico in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 478. | Mauritania
|
Mauritania
The Embassy of Mauritania in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 479. | Zambia
|
Zambia
The Embassy of Zambia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 480. | Zimbabwe
|
Zimbabwe
The Embassy of Zimbabwe in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 481. | Switzerland
|
Switzerland
The Embassy of Switzerland in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 482. | Malta
|
Malta
The Embassy of Malta in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 483. | Mali
|
Mali
The Embassy of Mali in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 484. | Uganda
|
Uganda
The Embassy of Uganda in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 485. | Malaysia
|
Malaysia
The Embassy of Malaysia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 486. | Serbia
|
Serbia
The Embassy of Serbia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 487. | Moldova
|
Moldova
The Embassy of Moldova in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 488. | Mozambique
|
Mozambique
The Embassy of Mozambique in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 489. | Venezuela
|
Venezuela
The Embassy of Venezuela in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 490. | Vietnam
|
Vietnam
The Embassy of Vietnam in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 491. | Morocco
|
Morocco
The Embassy of Morocco in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 492. | Nepal
|
Nepal
The Embassy of Nepal in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 493. | Yemen
|
Yemen
The Embassy of Yemen in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 494. | Moscow Center of Modern Dance
|
Moscow Center of Modern Dance
Latin, strip-dance, Argentinian tango, waltz, foxtrot, rock'n'roll, twist, swing, belly dance, flamenco, "Nation's Dances" course. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 496. | AB-Russia with Love
|
AB-Russia with Love
Tours and travels in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Golden Ring cities (Sergiev Posad, Vladimir, Suzdal). Private tours with experienced and not boring guides. Many languages are available. Business interpreters services. |
|
|
|
|
| 497. | Playschool Moscow
|
Playschool Moscow
Accredited Preschool and Kindergarten programmes for children ages 2.5 to 6.5 y.o. with native English speaking teachers. Afternoon English club, baby club, afterschool activities. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 499. | Respublica
|
Respublica
Books in English and other languages. Audio books. Art venue, style of the American Barns & Nobles. Multiple locations throughout Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
|
|
|
|
| 500. | Svetlana Poletskaya
|
Svetlana Poletskaya
I am certified in client-centered counselling psychology and I provide psychology counselling, support and assistance regarding various personal adults’ issues. I can meet you in person in the centre of Moscow or online. |
|
|
|
|
| 501. | Strogino
|
Strogino
Go to Metro Shchukinskaya, then take bus 231, 238, 687 or 277. Very clean and beautiful sand beach with many trees and bushes nearby. Cars are not permitted near the beach, so the air is cleaner than at any other Moscow beach. The place is quiet and divided into three separate beaches: regular, nudist, and gay. |
|
|
|
|
| 502. | Peace Travel Service
|
Peace Travel Service
Full service visa processing for individuals and also groups, assisting with travel to the CIS Nations, hotel accommodations, plane and train tickets, transfers between airports and hotels in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 503. | Le Meridien Moscow Country Club
|
Le Meridien Moscow Country Club
18-hole world-class golf course, outdoor and indoor driving ranges, pro-shop with a wide variety of professional sports equipment and axillaries, mini-golf, computerized golf simulator. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 506. | Montessori School of Moscow
|
Montessori School of Moscow
Open to children aged birth to 6+ years old and offers three programs: Parent Infant Class, Toddler Community and Casa dei Bambini. Teachers and staff are fluent in English and/or Russian, have international work experience and/or education and speak other languages. |
|
|
|
|
| 507. | Clipmaker. Film & Photography
|
Clipmaker. Film & Photography
Film productions company. Full-post company. Photography. Music video. Commercial. Feature films. Office in Amsterdam and Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 508. | Druzhba Universal Gym
|
Druzhba Universal Gym
The largest Moscow tennis center.
33 outdoor courts (baspograss, polygrass, ground) + 4 indoor courts (hard), mini gym, sauna.
Children tennis school.
Locker rooms, sport shop, cafe, restaurant. |
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 513. | South Africa
|
South Africa
The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
| 514. | Saudi Arabia
|
Saudi Arabia
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Moscow. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 516. | Moscow Insurance Company
|
Moscow Insurance Company
Aircraft insurance, car insurance, accident insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, cargo insurance, liability insurance, property insurance, reinsurance. |
|
|
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| 517. | Travel to Russia
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Travel to Russia
US travel agency based in New York and with specialists in Moscow and St-Petersburg. Full-service visa processing. Contacts: Toll-free anywhere in US and Canada: tel: 1-800-884-1721, fax: 1-888-607-4442; Toll-free anywhere in UK: tel: 0800-242-5155. |
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| 519. | The Moscow Federation of Yoshinkan Aikido
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The Moscow Federation of Yoshinkan Aikido
Part of International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (IYAF). Aikido classes on the basis of the Japanese masters’ methods plus individual approach. |
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| 521. | SV-Tuning
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SV-Tuning
Auto-repairs, maintenance, car evacuation, tire-shop, tuning-shop. Broad range of services for a foreigner in order to save time and money when dealing with any problems associated with broken cars or driving in Moscow. Can evacuate and help you with any trouble on the road. Speak english. |
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| 522. | Anastasia Int.
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Anastasia Int.
The largest full-time staff in the industry - more than 80 full-time professionals in US and Moscow offices. Flower and gifts delivery to hundreds of cities and towns across all 11 time zones. Top-professionals to help you find your love. |
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| 524. | Dobrota.ru
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Dobrota.ru
Medical equipment retail network (16 points of sale), wheelchair hire in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, delivery, mobility aids, patient care facilities, wheelchair maintenance, special taxi for handicapped people, home-nursing. English-speaking operators. Multiple locations. |
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| 525. | Arco Consulting
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Arco Consulting
Full service visa processing: invitations, tourist vouchers, visa support, visa registration in Russia and CIS. Hotel accommodations, sightseeing tours, theater tickets, air and rail tickets, river cruises. Offices in Moscow, New York, Toronto. |
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| 526. | Galkin Law
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Galkin Law
Private and business legal assistance for expats and international entrepreneurs in Moscow, Russia. Migration services; employment law & unfair dismissal; legal support of real estate transactions; business incorporation; corporate & commercial law advice; dispute resolution; legal representation. |
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| 527. | Visit Russia
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Visit Russia
Full Russia visa services for US tourists, visa support for all tourists. Offices in Moscow, St-Petersburg and New York. Contacts: Toll Free within the USA: 1-800-755-3080; 1-718-841-7505 - New York. |
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| 528. | Baker & McKenzie
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Baker & McKenzie
In Moscow since 1989. Antitrust & competition, banking & finance, bankruptcy/financial restructuring, dispute resolution, employment, energy, chemicals, mining & infrastructure, environment, insurance, intellectual property, IT/communications, mergers & acquisitions, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, private equity, real estate, securities, tax, trade & commerce. |
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| 529. | Sportventure Moscow
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Sportventure Moscow
5 indoor courts, 1 outdoor court (artificial grass).Court rental: outdoor - 1400 Rbs/hour,indoor - 1500-2100 Rbs/hour. |
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| 530. | Bukhta Radosty
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Bukhta Radosty
This beach is a bit of a hike from the city, but is well worth the trip. Located on the Klyazminskoye Reservoir, this beach is exceptionally clean and beautiful. Pack a picnic lunch and head out for the entire day. To get there, go to Rechnoi Vokzal and take a boat up the Moscow Canal. Boats leave every hour starting at noon, though you might want to call ahead and ask for an up-to-date schedule. |
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| 532. | Specialist Language Services York
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Specialist Language Services York
Moscow-based representatives of Specialist Language Services York UK Ltd. Specialises in executive one-on-one Business English courses. |
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| 534. | M&TM Freight
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M&TM Freight
Founded in 1995, with offices in Moscow, St Petersburg, Hamburg and London, offers Relocation, Storage, Export/Import formalities and certificates, Insurance, Removal services from anywhere in Russia to anywhere in the world and back. Deals with direct and consolidated shipments of commercial and household goods, art work, pets, vehicles and plants by water, air, road and rail. |
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| 536. | Czech Republic
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Czech Republic
The Embassy of Czech Republic in Moscow. |
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| 537. | Slovak Republic
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Slovak Republic
The Embassy of Slovak Republic in Moscow. |
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| 538. | Costa Rica
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Costa Rica
The Embassy of Costa Rica in Moscow. |
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| 539. | Ranet
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Ranet
Based in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other regions of the Russian Federation. Maintenance and cleaning of premises. Carpet cleaning and crystallization of marble floors, granite, stone, terracotta. Rehabilitation after work and cleaning property. Cleaning offices, specific cleaning shops, medical offices and beauty salons. |
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| 540. | Andy Fiord Production
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Andy Fiord Production
European photo&film production company providing complete shooting solutions. Branch offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, Milan and Reykjavik. Handles projects of different scale, type and budget: commercial and editorial photography; documentary, music and corporate video; aerial shooting, etc. |
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| 541. | Sorochany
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Sorochany
54th km of Dmitrovskoe sh., watch for Sofino and Yaroslavl direction sing and turn right, drive across the bridge (the Moscow Canal) and turn left, drive 10 km and at T-junction in Ilyinskoe turn left to Kurovo, drive 2 km more.
Difference in altitude - 90 m; longest run - 850 m; slopes - 10; total - 5,3 km. |
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| 543. | EverestMusic
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EverestMusic
Audio production services in Moscow: sound post-production and music for films, TV series, commercials and corporate videos, incl. foley laying and recording, sound editing, dubbing and voice-over, musical score, as well as production of songs, arrangements, vocal recording and tuning. |
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| 544. | Counseling Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Coach
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Counseling Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Coach
Counseling psychologist, client-centered psychotherapist and co-active coach. 10 years of experience. Offer counseling, psychotherapy and coaching both in Russian and in English. Work via skype and in-person (in Moscow). Kirill Kryuchkov |
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| 545. | Fred Astaire Social Dance Studios
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Fred Astaire Social Dance Studios
World-known dance school. Slow waltz, Viennese waltz, tango, Argentinean tango, quick foxtrot, samba, jive, swing, blues, house, rock'n'roll and other kinds of dances. Multiple locations throughout Moscow. Expat.ru users get 10% discount. |
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| 546. | Flightman & Priest
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Flightman & Priest
Moscow-based boutique law firm with a strong focus on supporting foreigners in Russia. Offers exceptional legal expertise coupled with thorough understanding of the Russian and international business and political environment. Can assist you on a vast majority of legal issues in the field of labor, tax, corporate, real estate law, as well as wealth planning and dispute resolution. |
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| 548. | Dental Land
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Dental Land
Dental Land, headed by Dr V.F. Prikuls, Honoured Doctor of the Russia, affiliate member of American Dental Association (ADA) is a dental centre of Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry. Treatment and restoration of teeth, dental surgery, prosthetics, tooth bleaching, periodontal diseases, bite correction. |
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| 553. | Elite Educational Development
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Elite Educational Development
Elite Educational Development specialises in the placement of VIP nanny and governesses in Moscow, Russia and worldwide. They work with only the most qualified and experienced English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Chinese nanny, governess and governor candidates. This agency will find the perfect fit for you and your family. |
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| 554. | Ace International Moving
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Ace International Moving
Household goods and personal effects. Worldwide international moving services. Export & import customs formalities. Personal effects export packing. Local removals in Moscow. Storage. Free survey. |
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| 555. | Vesta-Fortune
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Vesta-Fortune
Our marriage agency exists for more than 9 years already. We have a big photo-collection (the best in Moscow), which includes files of about 2000 women. Our clients-women have high level of culture, well-educated, the majority speaks foreign languages. Only we can offer you all range of services, from individual match making introductions to organizing socials, where hundreds of men and women can find a life-partner. |
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| 558. | Moscow Yacht Port Club
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Moscow Yacht Port Club
Drive along Dmitrovskoe shosse, reach MKAD and drive 7 km more, watch for Moskva channel and turn right before it, watch for Vodnik direction sign, pass Vodnik and drive across the bridge. Full-service yacht club. Open: 09:00-21:00. |
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| 560. | IMS International Moving Services
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IMS International Moving Services
International Moving Services is a full-service moving and transport company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Professional western-European management and friendly local service make IMS the perfect choice for commercial, governmental and residential moves to, from or within Russia. |
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| 561. | Expat Salon
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Expat Salon
A full service beauty salon created for Moscow’s Expat community. We offer services in haircare, nailcare, cosmetology and massage with professional English speaking staff. Popular American and European beauty products are also sold at the place. Money back guarantee on all products and services! |
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| 562. | Interdean Interconex Moscow
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Interdean Interconex Moscow
Interdean is one of world’s ten biggest moving and relocation companies with 45 years experience in this market providing moving services for household goods and personal effects. Members of FIDI-FAIM, HHGFAA, work in accordance with ISO 9001:2000 standards. Has 56 offices in 40 countries, more than 800 employers, 500 agents all around the world to perform your move. Contact Victor Gordievich. |
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| 564. | Advocate Maxim A. Polyakov
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Advocate Maxim A. Polyakov
Moscow City Bar Association. Legal services to foreign nationals, expats and international businesses. Family disputes, divorce, property division, alimony, paternity, parental rights, inheritance, heirs’ rights and shares, will, labour disputes, unfaithful dismissal, real estate ownership. Consultation, paper work, representation, litigation, criminal defense. |
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| 565. | Independence Group
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Independence Group
Audi, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Mazda, Ford and Peugeot dealership. Multiple locations.Web: www.indep.ruE-mail: info@indep.ruAudi Center Moscow |
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| 568. | Shoreline
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Shoreline
Shoreline consults on international medical insurance, life insurance, international bank accounts and currency exchange. Besides these basic protection products they also consult on how to secure an international pension, accumulate sufficient funds for international education of children and portfolio managment. Shoreline's expat management is Moscow based and has over a decade of experience servicing clients worldwide. |
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| 569. | East West Tours
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East West Tours
Travel to Russia with East West Tours. We offer a selection of tours to Russia and the Ukraine, including Moscow travel, St Petersburg tours, and Volga river cruises. |
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| 572. | MyPoppet
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MyPoppet
Meet beautiful Russian women interested in marriage and romance. Find your Love in Russia. Beautiful women are waiting for you. Russian dating and marriage agency is offering romance calls to Russia, introduction and translation services. Talk with your Lady from Moscow and any other russian cities. |
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| 573. | Moscow Golf Club in Krylatskoe
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Moscow Golf Club in Krylatskoe
18-hole course, a driving range with 12 platforms, children's 9-hole course, 9-hole patting-green, mini-golf course, patting-green, children’s course, bunkers, golf-simulator. |
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| 574. | Dr. Charles Register BA, DC
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Dr. Charles Register BA, DC
Dr. Charles Register is a doctor of chiropractic practicing in Moscow since 1993. Graduate of Life College of Chiropractic (Marietta, Georgia) 1992. Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, TN) 1988 BA Biology/ BA Chemistry. Member of International Chiropractic Association and World Chiropractic Alliance. Dr. Charles speaks Russian, Arabic and his native language English. |
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| 575. | Enex Movers
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Enex Movers
Russian moving company located in Moscow. International moving services and shipping of personal effects. Full door-to-door moving services: Professional packing and custom crating; disassembly and re-assembly of furniture; land, air, sea shipping. Full and part loads; custom cleareance at origin and destination. |
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| 576. | LingoTaxi
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LingoTaxi
Expat-run taxi and transfer service for tourists, business people and everybody in Moscow and St. Petersburg. From city rides to airport transfers, city tours and chauffeur service. The complete service - from dispatching/booking till drivers - is compelety in English. All drivers speak at least fluent English, but there are drivers speaking Spanish, German, French and Romanian - for free, already included in mostly fixed fares. |
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| 577. | Shiny
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Shiny
Shiny is an innovative booking platform for connecting individuals looking for household services with English-speaking top-quality, fully vetted and trained professional cleaners. With a seamless 60-second booking process, and secure payment, Shiny is the easiest, most convenient way to book home services in Moscow. Shiny Customer Service is available in Russian, English, German, Italian and French. Get 30% off the first clean with a promo code "Expat.ru". |
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| 579. | Moscow Translation Agency
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Moscow Translation Agency
Consecutive interpretation (special and general business negotiations and meetings, guidance of foreign partners, translation support for exhibitions and presentations, guest guidance, personal guidance in business trips and cruises); simultaneous interpreting; telephone negotiations with foreign partners; interpretation of theatrical performances and movies. |
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| 580. | Pokrovsky Bereg
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Pokrovsky Bereg
Arguably one of the best Moscow beaches located on the territory of "Pokrovskoe-Glebovo". High entrance fee guarantees perfect peace and quiet. English lawns and flowerbeds. Sea sand is safe and good for kids as well as children's play area with trampolines and other entertainments. For rent: barbecue, kayaks, balls and rackets for badminton. Sports: golf, tennis, volleyball, mini football. Sheltered marquees with pillows and rugs can be leased. From metro Sokol take marshrutka 12M to the terminal station. |
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| 585. | Visa to Russia
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Visa to Russia
Complete Russian visa support: expert Russian / CIS visa processing, single, double and multiple-entry business visas, same-day tourist Russian visa invitations, registration upon arrival in Moscow and St-Petersburg, worldwide consular services: express courier service in Washington, New York, San-Francisco, Seattle, London, Edinburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Bonn, Munich, Hamburg, Rome, Prague, Tokio, Seoul, visas to all CIS countries via direct arrangements with local authorities. |
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| 587. | US Dental Care
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US Dental Care
US Dental Care has been providing professional dental services in Moscow since 1994. The American Board-certified dentists and hygienists provide all forms of general, specialty, and children's dentistry, including cosmetic procedures, orthodontic care, implant surgery and restorations, oral surgery, periodontics, hygiene, and emergency care. US Dental Care maintains only the highest standards of sterilization in a family-friendly environment. Direct billing with many worldwide and Russian insurance companies, corporate membership, and individual health plans are also available. |
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| 589. | Business Services Moscow
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Business Services Moscow
Only high-class rental services of cars with professional drivers. Park contains only latest models of light vehicles Mercedes Benz of E-class (business), S-class (luxury) and minibuses. Cars are fully equipped and stay in a perfect technical conditions. They are driven only by English-speaking professionals with accident-free experience of driving. Dispatchers and managers work 24/7 and are ready to organize any kind of transport services for you at any time you want. Ways of payment: cash, cards (AmEx, VISA, MasterCard), invoice. |
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| 590. | Senezh Lake
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Senezh Lake
Senezh Lake is one of the cleanest and quietest places in Moscow region - you are forbidden to use motorboats on its territory. On the beach there's everything needed: from an ice-cream to boat hiring, and even kite-serf-club "Senezh" (www.ozero-senej.ru). Here you may take a lesson of kitting. Fishers are welcomed to hire outfit and catch a pike or just buy it from some lucky. To attend this beautiful place, go to Podsolnechnaya train station (from Leningradsky railway station), then by bus 25 or 30; or drive to Solnechnogorsk, then turn to Timyanonvo at the police post - your destination is a 65th km of Leningradskoye sh. |
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| 591. | SM-Clinic
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SM-Clinic
Multidisciplinary clinic with more than 4500 specialists, including: 25 professors, 72 Doctors of Medical Sciences, 432 PhD. 15 clinics in Moscow providing following services for adults and children: Outpatient medical care; Medical services as part of inpatient care; Dentistry; Doctor home visit. Specialized medical services for adults: Oncology treatment; Plastic surgery; Infertility treatment; Cosmetology. Since 2019 assist foreigners in English and Chinese: Online consultation about services; Appointments; Visit assistance; Organization of medical case conferences; Medical translation; Personal coordinator. |
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| 592. | The British International School
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The British International School
The British International School has successfully worked in the field of educational services in Russia for the past 27 years, providing a first-class education in the best traditions of British schools. It is accredited by the Council of British International Schools. At present the BIS consists of 6 schools located in different areas of Moscow: in the North (Voikovskaya Metro Station) and in the South (Profsoyuznaya and Novoyasenevskaya Metro Stations). The programme in 5 BIS schools is based upon the English National Curriculum. These schools are staffed by highly qualified specialists from the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Children of 65 nationalities, aged from 3 to 18 years study there. The British International School has been offering the International Baccalaureate and A-level programmes. |
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| 593. | Bank of Cyprus
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Bank of Cyprus
On October 31, 2008 the Bank of Cyprus Group acquired an 80 percent stake in Uniastrum Bank for $567 mn. Established in 1899, the Group is a major international holding commanding leadership positions in the banking and financial services sector in Cyprus and Greece and over 30% of the domestic banking market. As a result of the transaction, Uniastrum’s charter capital increased by $50 mn. The Group’s purchase of an 80% interest in the Bank remains the biggest investment in the Russian banking sector by a Cypriot or Greek financial institution. The transaction was finalized once permission was granted by the central banks of Cyprus and Russia, as well as by Russia’s Antimonopoly Service. On November 19, 2008, against the backdrop of official talks between the Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, and the President of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, Uniastrum Bank and the Bank of Cyprus Group signed a Memorandum to implement a joint three-year (2009-2011) SME lending program in Russia worth 15 billion rubles. Many branches in Moscow. Find the appropriate on the web site. |
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| 594. | C.D.L. (Restaurant of the Central House of Writers)
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C.D.L. (Restaurant of the Central House of Writers)
The restaurant of the Central House of Writers (C.D.L.) is a famous writer's house in the historical center of Moscow. It is a well-known meeting place for Muscovites and foreign visitors for half a century (from the 1890s to present). The restaurant is situated in a mansion built in 1887 by order of Prince Boris Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. Visiting of C.D.L. restaurant is the only opportunity to feel inside the historical space of the earl chambers in Moscow. The impressive history of the building and its unique architecture, colorful interior and, of course, gastronomy with recipes by the best chefs in XIX-XX centuries. |
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| 595. | Frendy's
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Frendy's
Boast a summer patio which, has over 200 planted trees creating a nice and cozy atmosphere. Guests can dine on classic american fare, among lush greenery - a rarity in the center of Moscow. Authentic American diner food in the heart of Moscow. Classic home-made breakfasts, thick and juicy burgers, and exciting desserts are just a small part of the large menu which caters to every taste and mood. Plus the cozy, youthful atmosphere, pretty waitresses, and a guarantee that you won't leave on an empty stomach will make you feel like you're back home. All major credit cards are accepted. |
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| 596. | Moo Moo
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Moo Moo
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 597. | Tanuki
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Tanuki
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 598. | Kishmish
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Kishmish
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 599. | Elki-Palki
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Elki-Palki
Numerous locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 600. | Taras Bulba
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Taras Bulba
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 601. | Shesh-Besh
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Shesh-Besh
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 602. | Yaposha
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Yaposha
Multiple locations throughout Moscow. Find out details on the web site. |
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| 603. | Coffee House
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Coffee House
Vast Moscow coffeehouse chain with more than 200 restaurants. |
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| 604. | Khizhina (Hut)
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Khizhina (Hut)
European and authentic Georgian cuisines. Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 605. | Shagal
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Shagal
Certificated by glat kosher certificate by Moscow rabbinical court. |
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| 607. | City Space
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City Space
Splendid view of Moscow from the 34th floor of Swissotel Red Hills. |
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| 608. | The River
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The River
The place has an elegant and cozy Restaurant Hall for 130 persons and a terrace with a spectacular view over Moscow. |
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| 609. | Gastronome
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Gastronome
Restaurant under the glass dome on the roof of the trading center. Splendid view on Moscow-river, embankment and Novy Arbat. |
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| 610. | Shokoladnitsa
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Shokoladnitsa
Well-known Moscow chain with multiple locations around the city. Its name is translated as "a pot of hot chocolate." The chocolate items on the menu are probably your best bet here. |
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| 613. | Panorama
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Panorama
The interior of the Panorama Restaurant is fitted out with simple classic style. The tables are set out in such a way that every guest has a captivating view on the city of Moscow from the height of 80 metres. Live pop- and classical music from 20:00 until 23:00. |
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| 614. | Sumosan
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Sumosan
Offering a tranquil Japanese atmosphere, Sumosan serves some of the best in Japanese cuisine and sushi in Moscow. |
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| 615. | Mumiy Troll Music Bar
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Mumiy Troll Music Bar
A music bar right in the heart of Moscow, within walking distance from the Kremlin. Open 24 hours. The Mumiy Troll Music Bar in Moscow is part of Ilya Lagutenko's (frontman of Mumiy Troll band) project for an international chain of live music bars. The first of these has been successfully running in Vladivostok since 2011. It's a great place for meeting friends and having a good time.The house specialty is Pacific cuisine, including Pacific whelk, sea cucumber, laminaria, fernbrake sautéed with meat and veggies pacific style and other delicacies. The international bar offers a unique selection of Asian drinks such as Korean beer and soju, Chinese lagers and Japanese whisky. Meals are available 24/7, including early breakfasts. Free wi-fi. Menu in Russian and English. Get taxi service. Live performances by Russian and foreign bands every night. DJ programs. Superb live sound and a broad selection of performers from the Asia-Pacific region and Russia's Far East. How to get here: Metro "Okhotny Ryad", "Teatralnaya", follow the direction to hotels The Ritz-Carlton and National, Ermolova Theatre, Central Telegraph. Just 1 min walk. |
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| 616. | Apple Bar
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Apple Bar
Apple Bar is the perfect setting for drinks, conversation and people-watching in the centre of Moscow. With its comfortable and stylish setting, Apple Bar is a chic and intimate lounge serving classical and original innovative cocktails made by mixing seasonal fruits, berries and herbs. |
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| 617. | Prime Star
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Prime Star
"Fast casual / Fast service". Healthy, tasty, home-made food, client-friendly packaging. Multiple locations throughout Moscow. Check other locations on Prime Star's web-site. |
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| 618. | Bar Italy
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Bar Italy
On the corner of Trubnaya street and Bolshoy Sukharevsky lane there is an Italian bar with original cuisine, wide wine choice and cocktail lounge. Original dough recipe from South Italy, New-York and Moscow. Exceptional pizza, bruschetta (360 RUR for 3), burrata with fresh tomatoes, topping by pesto sauce (540 RUR) and ribs burger (440 RUR). Breakfast until 16:00. |
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| 619. | Golden Apple
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Golden Apple
The Restaurant is the best kept dining secret in the centre of Moscow. It offers a selection of simple and tasty European dishes with an emphasis on fresh and high quality products served in the contemporary atmosphere of harmony and fashion. The lunch and dinner menus change with seasons and feature a choice of truly gourmet specialties complemented by the impressive and carefully chosen wine list. |
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| 620. | Wok Street Cafe
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Wok Street Cafe
Noodles in boxes. Large assortment of Asian homemade noodles with a variety of flavors. For only 300 RUR you can have a quick snack or take away delicious noodles with vegetables, meat, poultry or seafood. Besides, the menu includes Pan-Asian cuisine dishes - tom yam, spring rolls, fried rice, etc. Wide selection of Asian beers. Place serves alcohol too. Delivery all over Moscow. |
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| 621. | Addis Abeba Cafe
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Addis Abeba Cafe
Possibly the only place to get Ethiopian food in Moscow. So if you have a hankering for heavily spiced slow cooked Ethiopian “stews” and spongy injera to swath it all up with then this is where to get it. The oddly Southwestern interior takes on a more authentic vibe on the weekends from 2-4 p.m. when they perform a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony where bulbous ceramic pots of spiced coffee are slowly brewed over live coals. |
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| 622. | Il Patio
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Il Patio
IL Patio are family restaurants, which means parents and children are frequent visitors. We have an entertaining children's menu for our young guests: pizza in the form of a turtle or Chipollino,"Chocolate picture" dessert, frosty milk shakes and tropical juices that are good for your child's health. While our chefs are preparing your order, keep the kids busy with drawing: we have special coloring menus and crayons for all! Multiple locations throughout Moscow. |
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| 623. | Chelsea
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Chelsea
Gastropub is a mix of gastronomy and a classical pub. Businessmen, politicians, expats and other Moscow dandies will feel comfortable in the interior of an English club. 50 sorts of whisky, the wide wine list and fresh beer will be the worthy complement to the dishes of the chief cook. Our cuisine is English and international, it has absorbed all the variety of the gastronomical traditions of former British colonies. We are going to organize the tours of famous chef cooks to our restaurant. And now, let’s taste the menu, watch football and have a nice time! |
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| 624. | Shinok
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Shinok
Since its opening in 1997, Shinok is rightfully considered to be the «most Ukrainian restaurant in Moscow». Previously designed as a cozy farm with charming authentic interior, which is admired by Catherine Deneuve, Mylene Farmer, Gerard Depardieu, James Cameron and many others, it has been recently recreated in a completely new style. From now on, Shinok is not only a place where one can try a mix of modern and traditional Ukrainian home food, but also relax and enjoy the brand-new loft interior concept of the restaurant. |
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| 625. | Chemodan (Suitcase)
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Chemodan (Suitcase)
Chemodan Restaurant, a culinary theatre of a new Siberian cuisine, offering rare dishes cooked to C19th recipes from the Yenisei region. The restaurant boasts its own deliveries of Siberian ingredients of controlled origin: Altai game (boar, roe deer, elk, bear), North Yenisei fish (muksun, broad whitefish, Siberian White salmon, tugun, grayling). Chemodan is the only place in Moscow where you can taste genuine Erofeich and Ratafia liquors. |
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| 626. | Vinoteca Dissident
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Vinoteca Dissident
Restaurant in the very center of Moscow. Panoramic view from the 5th floor. Extraordinary holiday gifts for your nearest and dearest – Unique Wine Accessories from the best French and Italian producers. Find catalogue and prices on the website. Special offer – "Sparkling Weekend" – weekend Breakfast with champagne. Over 200 sorts of wine by the glass, Italian and French cheese, home-made spreads and wine cuisine. Rare digestives. Live piano music from 19:00 on Thursdays and Fridays. |
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| 627. | Gadget Studio
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Gadget Studio
Gadget Studio is the world first gadget pub made by a famous Russian tech lover and journalist for people who love technologies. We have special gadget menu where you can order for free powerbank, headphones, selfie stick and many more gadget accesoires. It's three venues in one: restaurant, small cinema and lounge, with lots of TV screens. Broadcasting all major hitech events and football games: Gadget Studio is official restaurant of Russian football champion Lokomotive Moscow. |
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| 628. | Red and White (Holiday Inn Moscow Lesnaya)
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Red and White (Holiday Inn Moscow Lesnaya)
Every Sunday from 13:00 until 18:00. Adults - 2600 Rbs, children under 6 - free, 6-12 years old - 1300 Rbs. Gourmet brunch featuring the usual brunch favorites like smoked salmon, marinated tiger shrimp, Milanese salami, Chorizo, smoked duck breast and roast beef. Drinks on offer include sparkling wine, vodka, wines, beer and soft drinks. Every weekend brings a different theme and special seasonal offerings. Live music for the grown-ups and clowns to keep the kids entertained.
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| 629. | Avenue
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Avenue
The second and probably the last Ephiopian cafe in Moscow. The menu mainly offers "beyayanetu" dishes including injera with various fillings. If you are searching for an unforgettable experience you should definitely try hot "senig" pepper, filled by vegetables cut into small pieces. A tiny piece of such pepper makes one feel like his tongue has been set on fire and each pore of his skin seems to open up as wide as possible. Those who are not eager to experiment can enjoy classic Ethiopian coffee or honey drink "tej", various exotic cream soups, salads and hot dishes. Besides Ephiopian cuisine the cafe offers West African menu as well. |
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| 630. | Scandinavia
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Scandinavia
Excellent Swedish owned restaurant in the center of Moscow serving international cuisine with an emphasis on grilled meats, cured fish, and the tantalizing flavors of Southeast Asia. The food, service, and atmosphere are impeccable without being pretentious. Prices are high but the quality of the experience makes the cost of having lunch or dinner at Scandinavia seem like pocket change. The Tapid smoked salmon with nutmeg potato, spinach purri and dill burre blanc is divine and the "study in sorbet" is a study in homemade delectability. Also check out Scandinavia's famous outdoor summer cafe. |
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| 631. | Coffeemania
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Coffeemania
Coffeemania is a popular brand of Moscow City coffee-shops chain. The best possible choice of coffee-drinks based on elite Italian espresso blend specially roasted by Musetti family. Coffeemania's coffee-drinks menu includes about 30 espresso-based recipes and a large variety of exclusive cakes & pastries made at our own confectionary work-shop. Coffeemania also suggests a choice of popular food & snacks like soups, salads, sandwiches, omlettes etc. Coffeemania is a free-smoking zone. Family friendly place. Cash in roubles only. Smoking free zone. |
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| 632. | 16 Tons
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Upstairs / Downstairs. But How To Dress?
Founded on 31st October back in 1997, 16 Tons is already an established expat hangout, and indeed I ran into a couple of friends there who were amazed that this was my first visit, citing the place as a "Landmark of Moscow". In fact this was my first visit to any pub here - and my, what a culture shock. It was really, really English, with its home brewed ale and dark green ceiling and inexplicable fake dead fish hanging on the walls.
Our waitress had clearly been briefed that we were coming, and she was immaculate, attentive, helpful and smiley. I spent some time peering round the stained glass which separated the table booths, trying to spy on other tables to see if they were receiving less attention, but no, it seemed they were also enjoying a similar level of service.
The menu offered a wide enough choice, without being too intimidating for the indecisive. For starter I opted for the Cream of Mushroom Soup (120 rbl) which came complete with its own little pot of croutons. Croutons always seem to make soup taste better. Natasha started with the Salad with Artichoke (250 rbl), described as a comforting yet fresh and healthy successful combination of ingredients. It was also the first artichoke salad spotted in Moscow, to date.
I have to say, being in a pub, I had a real craving for scampi & chips, but alas, this was not on the menu so I settled on a beautifully presented and very filling Fillet of Chicken, served under Ground Nuts Sauce with Cuscus and Vegetables (285 rbl). Natasha chose Pork Ribs on Birch Coal (330 rbl) which (stop reading vegetarians) was about the size of half a pig. Actually, it proved to be a little difficult to eat, but because by this stage we'd probably drunk too many glasses of French house red wine (130 rbl/glass) this didn't really seem to matter any more.
We finished our downstairs experience with coffee (50 rbl) and then mentally changed gear from English Pub to Moscow Underground Culture as we ventured upstairs past the glowering face control.
16 Tons, as well as being a pub and restaurant, prides itself as being an award winning live music venue. They have music upstairs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and sometimes also on Wednesdays and Sundays. They have a very strict music policy with rock, rather than pop, played at weekends, and more experimental music, such as electronic, playing on Thursdays. Indeed, when we were there, the legendary Russian artist and urban philosopher Evgeny Grishkovets was playing his latest things.
Despite the fact that 16 Tons is hardly a new kid on the block, it is still keen to further links with the expat community and I can see why. If you opt for an evening there, I recommend you do the whole experience. Go for some wholesome pub nosh downstairs before some alternative indi-bopping upstairs. Your only problem will be deciding what to wear. |
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| 633. | Lebedinoe Ozero (Swan Lake)
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Rain, Rain Go Away…
This has been one of the rainiest summers I can remember in Moscow. I am not used to carrying around umbrellas in the summer, and unfortunately have a habit of constantly forgetting them when I do – already on my fourth one. Thankfully we finally now seem to be seeing real summer weather, providing this often grey city and its inhabitants the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and its many outdoor cafes that sprout up in summer like mushrooms after a, er, hard rain.
Lebedinoe Ozero, “Swan Lake,” is one such cafe worth a visit – even if the skies are cloudy. Nestled in a corner of Neskuchny Sad behind Gorky Park, on the bank of the Golitsyn Pond, Lebedinoe Ozero provides a quaint sanctuary from Moscow’s bustle, and a quiet, more civilized spot away from some of Gorky Park’s carnival atmosphere establishments and crowds. The fact that Lebedinoe Ozero is not easy to find is in fact one of its highlights.
Created by the same folks who brought this city Solyanka (see my past review) and the successful project club Kak na Kanarax of last summer that was moored a stones-throw away nearby on the Moscow River, Lebedinoe Ozero is a unique fusion mix of food and interior. Outfitted with rustic wooden furniture from Thailand, a tiki torch lighted walkway, sheet metal roof, bright fabrics and pillows, and even a small swimming pool, Lebedinoe Ozero recreates a summer vacation atmosphere of a small, hidden beachside hut you would retire to after a day of swimming in the surf, or – as we did – spending a relaxing rainy afternoon waiting for grey clouds to pass.
With summer sandals on our feet, my dinner companion – one of Moscow’s PR professionals (what’s with all the PR people in Moscow these days?) - and I enjoyed a recent cloudy Sunday afternoon under Lebedinoe Ozero’s tin roof contemplating our summer vacation plans. Although quite easily accessible by the pedestrian bridge connecting Neskuchny Sad with Frunzenskaya Naberezhnaya, we arrived via car (convertible in fact, courtesy of my PR companion, to add to the inner vacation experience) through a hidden driveway of off Leninskiy Prospekt and parked under said bridge (courtesy of a 100 ruble note to a park security guard who suddenly appeared).
The open-air restaurant is sheltered by a small thicket of trees, and appears as if a clearing in a small “jungle a la Russe.” We settled in at a slab wooden table overlooking the pond, an idyllic scene completed with weeping willows whispering in the breeze, a mother duck and her chirping ducklings, and the namesake swans gliding about on the water’s surface. The menu, not too surprisingly, resembled that of Solyanka’s, a mix of Asian, European, Russian-Caucasian (lyula kebab, 360 RUR, and Osetinskiy Pirog, 320 RUR), and Lebanese. As if an answer to my scorn for pseudo-Japanese cuisine in this city, there was – thankfully – no sign of Philadelphia rolls and other forms of ever-present Moscow sushi.
After ordering a pina colada (310 RUR) and a pot of tea (260 RUR) from their extensive cocktail & drinks menu (fresh juices – 280-390 RUR), we perused the eclectic selection of appetizers (160-640 RUR) including toast tips and salmon (240 RUR), tongue salad (360 RUR) and agreed on the hummus and pita bread (220 RUR) to encourage our appetites. The portion of hummus itself was in fact not enough for two, leaving us to cross swords of rather oily and chewy pita bread for every bit of the yummy bean paste goodness that, while tasty, was not quite at the standard of other hummus dishes around town.
I seemed to have lost that battle, but was soon consoled by what was perhaps some of the best okroshka (without meat – 250 RUR) – a perfect soup for summer (Russia at least does have soup right) - that I have had in Moscow. My dinner companion skipped ahead right to the main course of steamed salmon (420 RUR), a big succulent filet of pink fish flesh that received good PR at the table. Although the other main courses (290-470 RUR) of fish, chicken, and meat, were tempting, I gave into the appeal of a salad with sliced tuna (470 RUR) – another dish befitting summer.
The light summer meal made for an ideal way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, and for a few moments I felt as if indeed I was thousands of kilometers away in waterside cafe in southeast Asia waiting for the rain to pass and the sun to appear – and in fact it soon did, but not warming us enough to take a dip in the pool by the bar. However, the on-site Thai massage service – administered by, what I was told, true Thai professionals – was an attractive post-meal option that we did, alas, forgo this time.
Now that the sun and weather do seem to be giving us a real summer, I intend to make a return trip – perhaps as a pre-club spot for a long weekend night. Lebedinoe Ozero offers a good menu of some tasty dishes, but its true appeal is its relaxing, casual atmosphere for an evening with friends or an afternoon of summer dreaming. Alas, in Moscow, summer goes by much too fast. Enjoy it while you can. |
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| 634. | B2 Summer Terrace
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Too hot to cook at home? In Uzbekistan they know about hot, so letting them do the cooking seemed like a good idea. Although many Moscow restaurants serve their regular menu outdoors in summer, B2 have gone one stage further, and set-up an Uzbek outdoor caff in their courtyard - for the authentic outdoor sizzle. This is not trying to compete with the ritzy upscale Uzbek eateries in Moscow - this is honest, Uzbek street-cafe food, priced to persuade you against cooking at home this evening. There is no hokum Uzbek decor - decent and respectable beer-garden patio furniture, and- all the tables are under cover, to save you and your supper from a sudden drenching in the Moscow monsoon season (aka "summer"). You can slob-out shamelessly here and no one will mind - shorts, t-shirts, trainers, whatever you feel comfortable in, bring the kids, it's the perfect antidote to posy dining.
The menu's strong, although not long, on Uzbek standards, and it's all cooked fresh by the guys over there behind the rotisseries. Think of it as a bar with a substantial food menu, and you've got the right approach. The portion-sizes are ideal for snacking, so you can follow central-asian custom and order yourself a selection. There is, however, no pressure on you to order any food at all - if you like you can just drink, so if you just fancy a "beer with a little something", you're in the right place.
We pitched straight in with some pastry appetisers with our drinks - Samsas are like small individual naan-breads, cooked in the tandoor oven, with a little spicy lamb, and go for a mere 20Rbs (you'll want to order at least a couple of these). If an attack of the munchies whilst waiting on some grim station has led to a lifetime's hatred of Cheburek, think again - the cheese ones (60Rbs) here are delicious and light, and not at all greasy.
Plov (pilaff) is the traditional Uzbek staple, and Uzbeksky Plov (150Rbs) didn't disappoint - a generous helping of nice lamb mixed into the tasty rice & veg mix. To provide a little backbone to the meal, we ordered some shashliks - which are priced here per skewerful. It's more fun to mix-and-match, but you ought to reckon on 2+ skewers per person if you're thinking in terms of a main course. The Lamb (90Rbs) was suitably juicy, although the Salmon (90Rbs) was cold when it arrived. The Vegetable shashlik (80Rbs) really needed marinating, the vegetables were quite dry. There are some nice sauces to have on the side - although it's a Georgian interloper on an Uzbek menu, the tkemahli sauce (sour plum) is the perfect partner to the lamb. A plate of rather dull salad and some green herbs made up a rather half-hearted vitamin element to the meal.
There's a good selection of fresh juices (around 140Rbs), although the equally-tempting cocktails don't quite hit the spot - we had a disappointing Mohito (210Rbs) and a very sour Capirinha (150Rbs), and wished we'd stuck to beer or classic drinks.
This is real Uzbek food as served down any alley in Bokhara - tasty, simple, substantial, unpretentious and cheap - and ideal on any occasion when that's what you're after. The (piped) Uzbek music is quiet enough to talk easily, and the service is fast. English-language menus are promised this week too. |
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| 635. | Syostry Grimm (Sisters Grimm)
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Syostry Grimm (Sisters Grimm)
Do not let the name turn you off – there is nothing grim about Sisters Grimm (SG). While not out of a fairy tale like the Brothers Grimm, SG is a great place to peacefully spend an hour or two in the chaos of downtown Moscow. I will not hide it – I liked SG a lot, and if really good food and a relaxed atmosphere are your culinary opiate, you can stop reading now. Call SG, get a table, and you will walk away happy.
Going into this review, I did not quite know what to expect. My last review was an encounter with the worst, expensive burger that I have ever had, anywhere, so when SG prominently touts its burgers on its website, I thought, “Oh, great, more 500-600 ruble dung in a bun.”
Location for SG is tricky, and not tricky at the same time. From a map, you can understand where it is located, but the street view is different. We took the metro and enjoyed the short walk. On our next visit to SG a few days, we drove – and finding parking can be a minor headache, so diner bewares.
Walking down Stoleshnikov, the pedestrian arch to SG is on the opposite side of Simachev Bar, about mid-way down the cobblestone lane. Looking through the arch, you will see Gogol Café – walk towards Gogol Café, go around it to the right, and the bright pastel colors and latinesque music mean SG is near.
The interior – or rather, exterior – of the summer veranda is a refreshing break from many stuffy or crowded Moscow summer seating areas. Over the course of the meal, we commented to each other that, “This just does not feel like downtown Moscow.” I said it feels like a seaside alley in Croatia or Venice; my dining partner agreed, but said it seemed more like a pleaantly secluded summer spot you are apt to find in Saint Petersburg.
Inside SG the motif is rather carefree with specials written on the wall and ample seating. I venture that SG is also very pleasant in the non-summer months. A window seat on a nice snowy day with flakes coming down like Pacino in Scarface comes to mind.
From the minute we approached SG, we were greeted by a friendly hostess who not only made sure we found a table just right for us, but actually explained the specials for the day and other menu offerings. This is in stark contrast to the “hostess sits you down and flees, and waiter comes 5-10 minutes later (and is clueless)” at many Moscow restaurants as of late.
I asked her what she recommended, and she told me all 4 sangrias are good. Moreover, she told me why, and I settled on the cherry sangria (180 RUB) for the opening salvo. My dining partner went with a mouth-watering strawberry smoothie (250 RUB).
In general, I can tolerate – although not happily – really bad service if the food at a restaurant is even better. SG, thankfully, offers both attentive staff and food that is off the chart. And, honestly, what really matters at a restaurant when the check arrives is whether the food was good or not.
SG offers a diverse menu with hot and cold appetizers, salads made to order, and soups. I chose a salad with beef (340 RUB) and my dining partner went with a beet and cheese salad (320 RUB). While the names are remotely appealing, at best, in English, the salads were exquisite. I commented that mine was a perfect mix of tangy and sweet. The beet salad had two awesome cheeses – I believe goat cheese and a sharp parmesan type – and my fork was deftly fended off several times during repeated incursions.
We also ordered a quiche with eggplant (180 RUB) since the description begged us to try it. While the quiche met expectations and was good on its own, I would suggest instead getting a different salad from the menu to share – the salads truly are refreshingly good. A complimentary basket of fresh bread was served the salads and quiche also.
At that point in the meal, I was already raving about how “I really like that place” and already texting friends that we should meet up at SG later in the week, as none of them had heard of it either.
For entrées, we went with the aforementioned duck, duck, lamb – my dining partner chose the leg of duck (455 RUB) with grilled vegetables (180 RUB), and I went a bit out of my comfort zone and chose the Dagestani burger with lamb (495 RUB). And, thus the Lamburger Revolution began – with an innocent, “I think I will try this…”
The lamburger was the best burger I have ever had in the past 30-plus years of gorging myself on nearly every kind – or so I thought – of burger in North America, Europe, or Russia. If it is red meat or airborne, I was under the impression that I had eaten it before SG, and I was wrong.
The lamburger tramples all Moscow places offering expensive burgers. Chicago Prime, Frendy’s, and Starlite – all very good burgers. However, the lamburger at SG puts them all to shame from the first bite. To top it off, it is served with enough ketchup to make my heart smile since neither rationing for my fries AND burger nor paying an additional side charge was required. Call it the ketchup soapbox upon which all burger joints in Moscow are judged – and Starlite’s bottle of ketchup on your table reigns king – but I am tired of paying what amounts to $3-4 for ketchup on a burger that is already costing me about $15.
The duck received very high marks too – and I ate a good portion of the grilled vegetables. Duck is not in my culinary starting line-up, but my lady loves it. To wit, last time we had duck as paying customers, she said it tasted like one of the ducks that eat garbage in a drainage pond, so she said never again. However, SG was given the chance to save, or not save, all the ducks in Moscow, and SG delivered admirably.
I followed with a white wine sangria (180 RUB) and carrot cake (210 RUB) for dessert; my dining partner went with a fresh lemonade (180 RUB) and blueberry crème pie (195 RUB). While at this point already satiated, the drinks and dessert were superb.
In closing, total bill was 3165 RUB. For the quality of food and refreshingly non-Moscow atmosphere, it would have been well worth it even if we were paying customers. To this extent, we were back two days later with friends, and I relished the opportunity to give SG more hard-earned money because SG both values the business and delivers a mouth-watering, good memory-forming dining experience, and the second time was just as good as the first. |
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| 636. | Jolly Dog Pub
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In Search of a Jolly Dog in Moscow
Rarely do I venture further past two metro stations past the ring line in Moscow, unless I am going to an airport or on a train out of town. Call me lazy, but it is just the routine I have settled into. I don’t drive in Moscow anymore, don’t like paying more than 200 Rbs to get anywhere (because you pay the same amount or more back), and am either suffocated or frankly just depressed these days by the Moscow metro (especially after LA Times correspondent Megan Stack’s op-ed in The Moscow Times a few weeks back about stray dogs in the metro). So it took a little coaxing to venture to the VDNKh region to sample what I was informed to be an English Pub, the Jolly Dog.
A quick aside as I am always pre-occupied with names of establishments (“What’s in a name?”)… I am not a Brit, so may be missing some literary or pub culture reference every good Englishman knows, but Jolly Dog? On my way there I could not get out of my head the commercial jingle for “Lucky Dog” dog food as a kid in the US, and then - thinking about my daily rides in the metro – about how no dogs in this town are very jolly in the least (again, the op-ed mentioned above comes to mind). However, this pre-occupation with the pub’s name subsided to my pre-occupation with actually finding the Jolly Dog….
Jolly Dog is located in the north of Moscow, quite peculiarly located in the basement of a Ssang Yong car dealership – which is equally peculiarly located on a large meridian traffic island of an arterial interchange – just north of the RamStore off of Sheremyetevskaya Ulitsa (there is definitely a story behind the odd location that I still need to find out). Knowing all of this will actually help you find it with GPS accuracy, but getting there for the first time was a challenge that even Google maps on my iPhone could not help with. I took the metro to Timiryazevskaya with the intent of flagging a car, but ended up taking a marshrutka (an adventure my date of course just loved) as no gypsy cabs were in sight. Getting dropped off at the lonely cross street near the Jolly Dog was almost like an existential experience – comparing the address written on your crumpled piece of paper and the addresses on the surrounding buildings, I looked around and knew it should be there, but it was not. I felt cold and alone, and that my trip north had no meaning, but a friendly voice answering my call for guidance told me to head for Ssang Yong, who gave me hope.…
….and food, and a good beer. Descending into the Jolly Dog made me feel I was back in central Moscow again, and by some stretch of the imagination perhaps in a London pub. Lots of leather booths, varnished wood, and paintings adorning the walls quickly warmed my soul. Opening the Russian language menu (no English menu offered just yet), complete with the listings of exact metric proportions of each dish, I quickly found the drinks section and ordered a pint of Bowman’s (220 Rbs), while my Polish date ordered a Finnish Lapin Kulta (140 Rbs). Overall the menu could be considered an inspiration to Anglo-Russo relations, a harmonious compromise between the two where each seem to share a common cultural space. Not fully English, and not fully Russian.
Cold starters ranged from 140 Rbs (herring) to 350 Rbs (fish plate), with salmon carpaccio (260 Rbs) and cheese plate (350 Rbs) in between. We skipped the cold starters, though, as soon as we spotted a wide selection of yummy, greasy bar food – fried cheese (150 Rbs), nachos (180 Rbs), onion rings (150 Rbs), fried calamari (180 Rbs) as well as more higher-end bar food such as warm mussels (490 Rbs). We opted for the fried calamari rings, but regretfully did not try the sampler plate. The calamari came out within minutes, hot and greasy, albeit a bit over fried – but no matter as I was hungry; existentialism be damned – I felt alive with each greasy, fishy bite!
Salads were not your garden variety – literally. Most of the salads in the selection were made from some type of meat (I recall a tongue salad for 290). However, the salads that we did try – those that had some greens – were excellent and some of the best salads I have frankly had in Moscow. Really. My Polish date for the evening had the chicken heart salad (250 Rbs), and commented it was one of the best salads she has had since coming to . I had the Scottish salad, a delicious salad of greens, ruccola, goat cheese, and toast tips (290 Rbs) and was also quite impressed. The ruccola was fresh-picked fresh.
Already feeling quite warmed by the surroundings and excellent service, we skipped the selection of soups were (160-180 Rbs, standard fare of mushroom, chicken, pea, etc.) and moved on directly to the main courses which covered at least four pages ranging from basic club sandwiches (240 Rbs), homemade sausages (220-460 Rbs), seabass (950 Rbs), and pheasant stuffed with walnuts and red whortberries (brusnika) at 440 Rbs which was my first choice, but alas they were out of pheasant and unwilling to improvise with other poultry meats at my suggestion. The menu had a whole page dedicated to beef, including T-Bone steak (850 Rbs) and “21st Day Veal” (950 Rbs), a dish whose name I really don’t want to understand.
Like the good Polyachka she is, my date ordered the homemade sausages and said they were the best she has had east of Warsaw (again, neither of us are English, so London not our first point of reference). I felt a suddenly strange onset of Russophilia in the English surroundings, and opted for the chicken tabaka (250 Rbs). The whole chicken was succulent, moist, and most incredible of all – boneless! A whole, flat baked chicken before me, with barely a wingbone to gnaw on. My compliments indeed to the culinary talents of the chef.
I’ve read other recent reviews of new and tasty neighborhood restaurants opening up outside the ring that are worth a visit, and the Jolly Dog is indeed one of them. I still marvel at its most unique location, but once there you do indeed forget about how you got there (and how to get back). The food was extremely fresh, and the service very prompt and polite. The Jolly Dog maintains a bit of its Russian character, but is quite a jolly good place to go. Call ahead for reservations as they tend to book up days in advance on the weekends, and go ahead and book a taxi too. |
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| 637. | Temple Bar
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A bit of Ireland - next to the Kremlin
Temple Bar touts itself as having an Irish flavor. It is, after all, named after an area of Dublin. However, despite their best efforts - waitress in Irish-style serving uniforms and convincing interior decor, for example, plus the magnificent view of the Kremlin (Temple Bar is located right by the monument to the Unknown Soldier) - it's a perpetual reminder that you are in Russia, not on the Emerald Isle.
After turning into Temple Bar from out of the still-chilly Moscow evening air, my dining partner and I checked our coats and took a seat. This was more difficult than we had anticipated... Temple Bar, though opened only a month ago, already draws a large crowd, no doubt because of both its location in the city's tourist Ground Zero, and positive word of mouth.
As starters, I ordered a Caesar salad (230 rubles) and my partner opted for Mozzarella and tomatoes topped with Parmesan (170 rubles). (Temple Bar may be an Irish venue in name, but the menu is far more eclectic.) Perhaps the word "starter" is a misnomer? My Caesar salad was - not to mince words - huge. And delicious, especially due to the addition of bacon alongside the traditional ingredient, chicken. The Mozzarella was also top-notch.
For main courses, we went with rabbit with vegetables under sauce (340) and shrimp, tomatoes and onion drenched in white wine sauce (550 rubles). The rabbit was satisfying - that is, what little of it I could get down my throat after the enormous salad - but the shrimp superb, though my dining partner, a person of no mean manual dexterity, did have problems extracting the shrimp from their shells. But, as they say, effort just makes things sweeter in the end. The complimentary basket of bread, obligatory in Russia, was an order of magnitude better than the typical fare.
For drinks - no teetotalers we - ordered martinis with pineapple juice (80 rubles) and the classic Sex on the Beach (120 rubles). As one can see, prices at Temple Bar, while not low, are not at all wallet-busting.
All in all, a satisfying evening out, and I will definitely be back. A mild complaint, however - volume. The live music, at least on the night we were there - slow jazz with an added be-bob flavor - was good, but it was far too loud. One does not come to a restaurant primarily for the music. One comes for the food, atmosphere and conversation, and the music should be just that - background.
But that's a minor quibble. All in all, Temple Bar has good food (and good service), a great atmosphere and a spectacular location. And, all food - including the bread - is produced on site. It is a great new addition to Moscow's spots to dine out. |
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| 638. | The Apartment
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The Apartment, a restaurant-slash-bar along Savvinskaya embankment nearish Kievsky Vokzal, claims to be the first New York loft-style restaurant. Unlike many Moscow dining establishments vying for a title of “first in Moscow,” or “only in Moscow,” I believe this place actually lives up to its claims. I have yet to see any establishment comparable in design, service and lack of pretension. In fact, it already seems to be a big hit and it hasn’t even officially opened to the public yet. (Hint: taking the metro? Then I recommend catching a gypsy cab after crossing the fancy bridge - this is not a pleasant wintertime stroll.)
The owners based their concept on New York’s Campbell Apartment bar, but expanded it both in terms of space and what’s on offer. The space is huge, open, and divided into different 'rooms’; there are no walls, of course, in keeping true to the definition of 'loft.' Each 'room' has a slightly different feel about it, and the careful attention to detail in designing each space is something you just can’t help but notice (check out the bathroom!!). Some areas are more private, while others will place their guests in the center of attention - if they want; you can also opt to have the floor-to-ceiling curtains pulled closed. Some of the areas also boast a view of the Moscow River.
As the|apartment is not yet officially open to the public, the final version of the menu is not quite ready. Instead of making our own selections this evening, the chef, who is Russian but recently returned after 15 years of living and garnering culinary experience in France, came out to speak with us and let us know what was available that night. The cuisine style, we were told, is classical French with a twist. Now since the menus aren’t quite ready yet, there will be one important detail missing from this review: exact prices. When I spoke with Katya, the owner, she explained that the restaurant is aiming at mid-range prices, with dinner (without drinks) running at approximately $60-70.
We chose a table in the 'breakfast area.' I ordered a vodka tonic (served with Beluga vodka) and Mr. Polly started with fizzy water, and ended with a dry red. We were served a small appetizer of kalamata olives marinated in garlic, which was quite garlicky (I love garlic, though) and mixed well with the rich flavor of the olives. Next came our salads - a carefully presented pedestal of shrimp and mushrooms topped with mixed greens in light vinaigrette, crowned with four butterflied jumbo shrimp in a flavorful but light, Asian style sauce. This plate had the potential for many things to go wrong - the sauce, with its traces of teriyaki, could easily have been overpowering; the shrimp, as so often happens in Moscow, could have been overcooked after being defrosted, resulting in a mushy, smooshy mess. But the textures were perfect, the flavors intermingled just the way you'd want them too, and nothing was smooshy or mushy.
Next was a small trout salad treat. Now, ordinarily I’m not a big fan of fish, but I do make an effort to try new things. Well, sometimes anyway. We were presented with little cylinders of smoked trout bits carefully wrapped around broccoli florets. I can honestly say I was very pleasantly surprised with the gentle, non-fishy flavor of the trout, which is probably the most fish I’ve eaten in a very long time.
Next we were served our main entrees: French cut veal chops in a mild mushroom sauce garnished minimally with tiny potatoes and tiny stewed cherry tomatoes. While we probably would have appreciated a slightly more substantial side dish, everything was very nicely presented and packed with yumminess. The veal was definitely one of the most tender veal experiences I have ever had; the meat practically melted in our mouths, was juicy and went wonderfully well with the accompanying mushroom sauce.
After dinner, Mr. Polly asked for some black tea and a dessert: a delicate slice of parfait in 'fruit soup,' which featured fresh strawberries and rose petals. The serving size was just right - not too big - and the sweetness factor was just right, not overdone.
During our evening there, the staff was attentive and helpful, always keeping an eye on you in case you need anything. No hovering, no hounding - any questions we had were answered knowledgably and quickly, and we really didn’t have to wait very long at all for anything. For a place that hasn't even officially opened yet, the|apartment seems to have things up and running without any hitches. Frankly, I wasn't expecting the night to go so smoothly.
Other plans for this new Moscow experience include a fully decked-out wine boutique near the entrance downstairs. This space will feature 2500 wines - now that's an extensive wine list. Not only will the boutique feature wine tasting events, it will also offer many wines by the glass, so you won't have to splurge on whole bottles - unless you want to.
Music and entertainment is another important factor for The Apartment’s ambiance and style. Michael Adam of Buddha Bar fame has been brought onboard as music director, and he will perform at least once a month. There will also be live music (one of the first things to catch your eye as you walk in is the white baby grand on a raised platform near the welcome bar). Musical entertainment will predominantly be jazz, cabaret, and background-type music - nothing that’ll make you have to scream across the table in order to have a conversation.
And of course there’s this week’s special pre-opening Thanksgiving Day feast, thanks to the owners, who have spent several years in the States and know what it's all about. They learned to love our special autumn holiday and are now offering to share it with Moscow expats and their families. Note: I have been assured that Thanksgiving Day at the|apartment will be family friendly (i.e. kids welcome!). If you haven’t made your T-Day plans yet, definitely consider booking a table for this Thursday (23 November 2006).
In all, we both loved the way everything looked, the style, the unpretentiousness (a real rarity in this town!), and especially the enthusiasm of the staff and owners. This is one place we'd definitely like to go back to once the doors are open to all. |
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| 639. | Dome
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I am not sure how to start in reviewing Dome and have been struggling to find “the good” in last night’s experience. As another reviewer on Expat.ru wrote about another place – “I wanted to like it, really I did.” That is how I feel about Dome precisely and my utter indifference grows with each minute.
To wit, this was not a vividly unforgettable experience or horribly forgettable experience. It was, quite simply, a comparative waste of time. Dome is indifferent to me and its customers; I too then am indifferent to Dome. If I were a paying customer, it would have been a very difficult situation since I would have felt good paying about a quarter of what the bill came to.
Dome has a tricky location for the casual diner, expat or Russian. I scoured the website that is really a blog – funky, trendy, edgy, cool, but still a blog. No narrative about “how to find us” – just a link to Google Maps. For those who have been to the Strelka neighborhood of Moscow, you then know that there are many dining establishments. For those of you who have not been to Strelka, it is on the island in the Moscow River on the grounds of a former and gargantuan Soviet chocolate factory.
Funky, trendy, edgy, cool neighborhood. However, I challenge anybody to find a restaurant whose signage is not good, no website narrative, and has one of the horrifying “/” addresses all too common in Moscow. Add a “stroenie” plus another “drob” to the address, plus icy Moscow streets, cold wind, and darkness, and you will probably be as charmed as we were in looking for it.
Note: If you do go there, look for Dome’s competitor, Zarya - the huge of red sign with your back to the Kremlin/Cathedral that you cannot miss. As you get closer, look for the – again - huge sign for the former chocolate factory - the small, unlit sign for Dome is below. You are near.
After finally finding Dome, I still had an open mind. Walked in, liked the lighting, smiled that there was a fireplace, and quickly were shown seats at a corner table with padded bench seating. So far, so good – I liked this place. Enchanting first impression of a warm oasis of high-ceilings and soft light in the middle of the Moscow winter with fast Wi-Fi.
Menus arrived with no explanation or even an attempt at one. Not a big deal – I thought that a laissez -faire approach could be expected in what a person, from the website/blog, would understand as an artsy restaurant.
For drinks, we went with raspberry and feihuoa lemonade (450 RUR) and a bottle of cold Corona for me (330 RUR). We chose a mix of appetizers – hummus with fire-grilled chicken (230 RUR), Spanish bread “krostini” with smoked tomato (170 RUR), mixed salad with smoked duck breast (390 RUR), and mixed salad with warm roast beef (390 RUR). I also ordered a bowl of a beef stew (440 RUR).
I love hummus and it pains me that good hummus is difficult to find in Moscow. I am not talking about five star, tell your friends how much you pissed away on smashed chick peas – just good hummus. Dome’s hummus was, and is, not good – I put salt in it to give the chunks some sort of taste; the result was salty chunks of blandness. Krostini were good. Smoked duck breast was good. My mixed salad with roast beef was very tasty. The beef stew was an unusual flavor, but it was unusual in an appealing way.
The flies, however, that appeared en masse with the food, were not good.
Entrees were skinless Murmansk cod fillets with mashed potatoes (420 RUB) for my girlfriend and a beef steak with french fries (1100 RUB) for me.
My girlfriend loves fish, seafood, and all other dining fare associated with water. She took 2 bites of her cod. I asked her, “How is it?!” since I was still finishing up my soup. She put her fork down and said, “Honestly, it’s horrible. Maybe some salt will give it some flavor.” Like my hummus, adding salt just gave birth to a salty plank of blandness. Better to leave it for the flies, and that is what she did, and that says a lot for somebody who loves fish and seafood.
My steak arrived shortly thereafter. In fairness, it was a nice cut of meat and good. I cannot say that I would not recommend it ceteris paribus. However, a restaurant needs to understand presentation – a small steak, regardless of how good it may taste, on a big plate at 1000 rubles makes the buyer think he or she is getting, well, a raw deal.
Dinner was followed with dessert. For me, 50 grams of vanilla ice cream (140 RUB) and a piece of orange pie (250 RUB) for my dinner date. The ice cream was literally 50 grams, no more. Two spoonfuls – and, voila, finis. My girlfriend took one bite of the orange pie and said, “I’m full. Do you want to try it?” After my two spoonfuls of ice cream, yes, I did want to try it. After trying the pie, I would have preferred to eat either my red napkin with the remnants of my ice cream or a nerf football with powdered sugar since the pie was only marginally better than those options.
Final bill was 4440 rubles. If I would have been a paying customer, in short, I would have given a damn and really not wanted to pay.
When you sit and are eating your steak and watching 10, 11, 12 flies Mississippi crawl over your date’s uneaten food, repeatedly, it turns you off as an active diner, let alone providing fertile ground wondering, “If there are this many flies here, where/how the hell has my raw cut of meat been prepared?”
Therein is the danger for any restaurant with flies – the behind the velvet kitchen curtain unsanitary impression that flies create. I do not go to restaurants, regardless of how funky, trendy, edgy, cool, or close proximity to Rai, to wonder about what awaits me when I get home or wake up in the morning. To wit, no vomiting or prolonged restroom sessions today – apparently the flies were harmless.
At the end of the meal, I wanted to talk to the manager, in a nice way, not “I am going to scream and stomp my feet way”. She said that, yes, she was aware that I was doing a review and aware that there was a problem with flies in that corner. Then…why the hell did they seat us there? And…why then was your wait staff non-existent?
Again, with management and wait staff indifferent to me, I can only be the same – indifferent to Dome and regretful that we wasted an evening there, in addition to the time taken to write this review. |
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| 640. | Osteria della Piazza Bianca
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For me, as the Moscow evening weather cools and the days abruptly become shorter in October, the indoor restaurant season springs to life. This magical Moscow crossroads between long summer days and heavy winter coats rekindles a galaxy of warm memories of past cozy dinners. Thus, Osteria Bianca (Bianca) appeared on my radar with perfect timing for a dinner date during a favorite time of year in Moscow.
Bianca has an extremely convenient location if one is arriving by metro. It is crucial, however, to take one’s time to be sure to exit the Belorusskaya metro labyrinth correctly. Follow the exit signs towards Lesnaya ulitsa – ring line or radius line – and you will exit into a pedestrian only square. Looking straight ahead, Coffemania is to your right, Torro Grill and Starbucks are to your middle, and Bianca is to your left. As well, Bianca is very close to the Holiday Inn Lesnaya if you happen to be in Moscow and staying at this popular hotel.
Dinner was set for 7PM, and I arrived a few minutes early. Bianca was bustling with activity, and I could tell immediately that I was going to like spending time in this restaurant.
The dinner crowd was varied – couples on romantic dates, larger parties of friends meeting up, and several people sitting alone behind a laptop with dinner and coffee. In short, Bianca provides an atmosphere where nearly anybody feels comfortable immediately.
Throughout the evening, I was extremely impressed by the extent to which the head chef, Salvatore Barbara , interacted with all the tables seated. I have not had an experience in Moscow where I have felt that a chef has cared as much about making a customer feel comfortable and taken care of in a restaurant – kudos!
Before going to Bianca, I reviewed its website to understand the cuisine offered. I was not sure if I was to expect a Boston style oyster house as the name Osteria implies or a traditional European seafood restaurant. To this extent, while Bianca does offer Fresh Oysters (180 RUR each), Bianca’s menu is balanced and varied around a surf and turf theme. The menu also offers an array of pasta and pizza if you are looking for a faster turnaround or are short on time.
The dining atmosphere at Bianca balances informal and formal – that is, a person could be as comfortable having a light dinner and drinks with friends after work or formally entertaining guests. I found Bianca to have the perfect touch of lighting for a crisp autumn evening – a mix of “bright enough” lighting melded into a well thought-out interior color scheme, and not the horrible dull lighting as I have found the case in many higher end restaurants in Moscow.
While waiting for my dinner date to arrive, I ordered an Unfiltered Pauleainer Beer (330 RUR, 500ml) and Blue-finned Tuna Tartar with Goat Cheese (580 RUR). The tuna tartar was exquisite, with the fresh taste of the tuna complimented superbly by the toasted bread with goat cheese.
To be sure to have a hot dish on the table when my dinner date arrived, I placed a delayed order for Mussel in Mediterranea Style and Garlic Bread (350 RUR). This is a hearty dish of steamed mussels in a tangy sauce, garnered with cherry tomatoes and greens, and it arrived piping hot and with perfect timing.
To sample the menu and further delve into appetizers, upon Salvatore’s recommendation, we also ordered Salmon Taratara with Potatoes Salad and Sauce (390 RUR), Tomatoes Soup with Ricotta Cheese (250 RUR), and Broccoli Soup with Gorgonzola Cheese (390 RUR).
To wit, between the cold/hot appetizers and soups, Bianca has 37 offerings – so there is a great chance that you will find several items to your liking.
The salmon tartar was presented with caper mushrooms that complimented one of the best potato salads that I have ever tried in my life. To say that I was pleasantly surprised that a dish featuring potato salad could be so good would be an understatement. Both soups, as well, featured the perfect cheese for both – the tomato soup was a balance of hearty and tangy, and the broccoli was a rich cream soup thick on taste and texture.
We ordered main entrees upon Salvatore’s recommendation and wine upon the recommendation of the sommelier to complement. I ordered Duck, Veal, and Lamb Chop Grill Served with Grilled Vegetable and Mushroom Sauce (1100 RUR) and a glass of Argiano Red Wine (550 RUR, 125 ml) from Tuscany. My dinner date ordered Grilled Seafood,Ssalmon, Sea Bass and Tiger Prawns with Green Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes (1500 RUR) and a glass of Catena Chardonnay (480 RUR, 125 ml).
This was the first time that I have had duck in Moscow that proved to be a positive memorable experience – in the past, duck has been a disappointment, but Salvatore assured me that I would not be disappointed. To wit, the duck was fabulous – simply divine – and both the veal and lamb chops were excellent. The mushroom sauce went perfectly with the recommended wine as well.
The seafood entree had huge tiger prawn shrimp that were accompanied by succulent filets of salmon and sea bass. The chardonnay was the absolute correct light wine choice for the composition.
The portions for both main dishes were large and presented appealing value for the price. You would be hard pressed to find the same level of quality ingredients, flavor, and presentation at a similar price point in other Moscow restaurants today. Also, be sure to slow down and enjoy the entree offerings, as the desert menu offers very appealing choices.
For dessert, we had a difficult time deciding what to order – and were happy to take our time after large main dishes - so we chose the tact that variety is the spice of life with a troika of desserts. Tiramisu with Marsala Wine and Orange Zeste (350 RUR), Meringue Rolled Cake with Raspberry (390 RUR), and Sorbet Trio (200 RUR).
We garnered the desserts with Americano Coffee (170 RUR) and Japanese Linden with Chamomile and Lime Oil Tea (220 RUR).
The tiramisu was excellent – the right taste, texture, and sweetness. The meringue rolled cake, however, was one of the most memorable desserts that we have had at any restaurant in Moscow, ever. I forgot to inquire about the secret recipe, but – first and foremost – the next time that I am in the area, I will be sure to stop at Bianca to partake in a cup of hot coffee and meringue rolled cake. The sorbets were well matched to our coffee and tea and would be a nice, quick desert on a summer day.
The final bill was 7510 RUR, not including gratuity, and I consider that at that price level, Bianca offers a solid value proposition of somewhat informal dining with top shelf selection and execution. If we had not been doing a review, the final bill would have been closer to 4000 RUR, and that is an appealing cost for a dinner night out in Moscow.
With that being said, I recommend Osteria Bianca without hesitation and will return to this lovely restaurant, I am sure, many times in the future.
PS: I almost forgot to mention…be sure to try the degustive drink orangecello or limoncello to cap off your evening with a smile! We tried both, and they took the edge off the cool Moscow evening on the walk home. Highly recommended, and I do not believe that they are readily offered on the menu – you need to ask! |
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| 641. | Chugunny Most
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Chugunny Most, a stylish gastro-pub on Pyatnitskaya, found a neat way of grabbing some publicity late last year. After PM Dmitry Medvedev publically lamented that it was difficult for him and his fellow bureaucrats were on the look-out for a suitable place to celebrate their New Year’s party, the owners immediately invited him to drop in and check out what they could offer. After all, with the state seemingly eager to support Russian business in these straightened times, it should have been a good deal for all.
Sadly Dmitry Anatolevich and his eminent companions didn’t manage to get a festive booking together in time; those who do get it together for a visit can expect a fine feeding from the latest venture of the people behind the well-regarded ‘Krylashki and Nogki’ venues that brought the whole gastro-pub concept to Moscow a couple of years back.
That story was shared over a serving of a classic ‘herring-and-potato’ salad that goes a long way towards explaining what Chugunny Most is all about. The food is – for the most part – simple and unpretentious, the kind of thing your babushka would make. But it’s presented with the quality and imagination that lifts it above the mundane stodge of so much everyday Russian food, and the menu demonstrates a sharp awareness that contemporary Russian cuisine doesn’t need to restrict itself purely to Russian food traditions and can draw on ideas from around the world without sacrificing its identity.
Chugunny Most – which means ‘cast-iron bridge’ takes its name from the bridge that carries Pyatnitskaya over the water toward Balchug and the city center. Today, admittedly, the bridge itself is a 1960s concrete affair and Pyatnitskaya is no longer the commercial heart of Old Moscow, but as the region reinvents itself as a more recreational district with a largely pedestrianized area around the metro stations the cafe is well placed to attract discerning diners.
The menu is extensive and imaginative, offering a wide range of snacks for sharing over a glass of wine as well as bunch of heartier dishes if you’re looking for a full-on feed. The accent is eclectic, with an emphasis on subtly reworking some old classics or presenting new flavor combinations. In keeping with the whole gastro-ethos, close attention is paid to sourcing good, fresh ingredients and serving them in an affordable format. It’s another welcome addition to the range of middle-ground restaurants in Moscow that are steadily bridging the gap between ‘pafosny’ overpriced nonsense and alarmingly basic canteens.
What does that mean in practice? Well, it means soups like the ‘mushroom cappuccino’, pitched somewhere between a mousse and a souffle and rich in warm, earthy flavors of fungus. It’s a million miles away from traditional Russian soups, or even the tins of Heinz cream of mushroom that popped up in my childhood … and it’s much better than either. It means exploring what can be done with the Mimosa salad when you ditch the sorry, stale ingredients left over at the back of the fridge, replace the sad, dried, unidentifiable fish with ocean-fresh crab and think through the presentation to ensure that an old familiar cannot be taken for granted.
Elsewhere on the menu, it’s hard to beat a simple starter of tomato and quinoa – just for the explosion of fresh flavors that accompanies every mouthful. Even a committed meat-eater with a deep-seated suspicion of anything that smacks of a salad should find something to enjoy here.
The urge to highlight how ordinary food can be enhanced with some culinary TLC also transforms the golubtsy. These parcels of meat cooked in cabbage leaves can so easily come out as a formless mess, so it’s reassuring to see it arrive on the plate with foliage that still packs a bit of crunch when you bite into it. Swimming in a rich, creamy sauce also makes this one a winner.
One of the most popular dishes from Dmitry Zotov’s kitchens at ‘Krylashki I Nogki’ has made the trip over the river to Zamoskvarechiye – the turkey falafel is on the menu here and matches up to its colleague. This has become one of the foodie favorites around Moscow and is a welcome addition here.
Not everything was a hit, of course – the bruschetta on offer were solid rather than spectacular, and the same criticism might be applied to some of the desserts. But even if a Chugunny Most disappoints slightly, that is more a reflection of the high overall standards here.
While we were guided through the menu by our host, and got to sample a fair selection of what was on offer, there’s still plenty on the list to encourage future visits. The Moroccan soup and the baked goat that were on offer when we visited certainly caught the eye, while there’s a frequent rotation of dishes to ensure that there’s always something new to nibble on. |
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| 642. | Simple Pleasures
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Close your eyes, imagine walking into a Restaurant that still has work going on at the main entrance, an awful start you may think, well that is what I thought it would be when I was invited to a new place on Sretenka, here we go again says I, battle my way through a building site, fight off sleepy workers who don't seem to know what day it is, well to my pleasurable surprise, it wasn't what I dreaded.
We were met at the door by smiling staff, yes they smiled, they spoke English, and they were pleasant to us, even helpful, unbelievable huh?
The phrase "Simple Pleasures" may have a multitude of meanings to different people, to me it has always meant "no stress, no hassle and enjoyable", well, after myself and Polly went to Jerry Ruditser's new restaurant on Sretenka Street, "Simple Pleasures" took on a new meaning for me.
A little background first should help, Jerry is the founder and owner of the first Western Style coffee shops in Moscow which appeared in the middle 90's, "The Coffee Bean" is well known by most people in Moscow and provides a great way of grabbing a coffee and relaxing with your pals or to meet informally with a client. Jerry has brought chef Tony Baran to Moscow, this guy is not only a great chef, but has a presence that is both comfortable and likeable immediately, much to my disgust he chatted to Polly in fluent Spanish and seems to be picking up the Rusky lingo as well, makes me sick these people who are talented. .
There seemed to be a gap for a quality and reasonably priced Restaurant that provides food with a different twist, Tony the Head chef at "Simple Pleasures" calls it his "West Coast American Twist". To be honest I really didn't have any pre-conceptions, apart from the chance to rip this place apart with my arrogant style and loud mouthed behavior, I thought I could really give it a bad write up, it started from the moment we walked in downstairs, there was still work being carried out downstairs, this meant the place would be like a building site right? The entrance was a bit messy so I looked forward to viewing a mass of remonted and unfinished works.
Well I hate to admit it but I was wrong again, once climbing the stairs into the main area on the first floor, the simple and clean decor, the huge ceiling to floor windows that looked onto the then traffic jammed Sretenka, had an instant relaxing charm, there is a back room that has great potential, an open fire place and again large windows, ideal for a company function.
We were shown to a table by the window which gave me the opportunity to look down at the mass of traffic on this busy street. A little note on that, in all seriousness, if you have to drive on Sretinka, it is worth stopping for an hour or so for a coffee or bite to eat, the traffic cleared up after about an hour or so.
The meal, sounds like a start of an epic film huh? Well it was, a bottle of water was brought as well as some delicious bread and roasted Garlic, you can have traditional or almost a tappas style starter of various small dishes of hot and cold platters, we had Grilled Egg Plant with North African Hummus (180Rb), Whole Baby Fried Chicken (288Rb) usually more than enough for 2 but Polly ate half of it, which, of course didn't make me very happy, Spicy Korean Style Shrimp (180Rb), Grilled Lamb Sausage (210Rb) with a little Tony the chef Spice, Sesame Seared Tuna with amazingly prepared cucumber and peppers (380Rb) and Italian Salami served with roasted apples (210Rb). Well after that little lot I was feeling ready for my desert; I thought it was the starter and main course, Readle wrong again.
Main course, Grilled Pork Chop on a bed of delicious mashed potatoes (448Rb), Smoked Tenderloin Beef with spinach and mashed potatoes (864 Rb), and Cured MR Muscovy Duck (288Rb). I forgot to mention, the house wine is delicious, served in half liter carafe and priced at only 200Rb, normally reasonably priced Restaurants charge a fortune for even mediocre wine, this was light and very tasty, and the price, well getting tipsy here isn't difficult.
For desert, we had a Caramelized Apple with ice cream dish and a Sponge Cake covered with delicious chocolate. Both dishes had wild berries and strawberries which complimented the whole meal.
OK, that is the official stuff out of the way, some people like to see what was eaten and how much, me, well it was really an experience that I am happy I tried, it wasn't just the food, thanks Jerry you have a very special talent that is lacking in many a Restaurant in Moscow, it wasn't just the decor or the smiling friendly and efficient staff, it was the whole ambiance that created a dining experience that was simply pleasurable, no pun intended.
So to summarize, the works going on gave it an unfinished ambiance, the back room upstairs wasn't ready but has great potential, the overall impression was in my mind very good bordering on excellent, the food and presentation was an experience that many restaurant owners in town could do well to view and emulate. |
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| 643. | Verona
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I went into my local apteka the other day, and before I'd even been served - the place had been converted into a new restaurant. Actually that isn't true, but if the pace of restaurant-openings continues, you'll be able to get coquilles Saint-Jacques on every street corner, but not a loaf of bread. Who on earth goes to all these places? Surely there aren't enough diners in Moscow to keep them all in business? A huge number of them fail, of course - some because they can't attract and keep a regular clientele, others because the business-plan was worked out on a calculator with a key missing, but many because the owner-originated concept was rubbish to start with. The brief longevity of Moscow eateries is rapidly approaching parity with those in NYC - "still open after two years" is something of an achievement.
Can restaurants really buck this "wo-year lifespan" trend? With this in mind we set off this week to Verona, one of Moscow's most long-standing Italian eateries, whose genial padrone Enrico Caramelli has already clocked-up ten years of putting the cuisine of his native Veneto on the plates of Muscovites. Verona's location is as modest as its prices - tucked down an otherwise featureless street that most will know only as part of the Taganskaya one-way traffic system. And here was the first surprise on a midweek summer evening when you could have swung a cat in your choice of central Moscow's finest, Verona was packed? If we'd not booked a table, the only choice would have been the summer-dining area outside - and even brooding black clouds and thunder-rumbles in the sky found the tables outside pretty full too. A special occasion? "No, it's always like this, the regular customers come all the time - Russians, Italians, people who live locally, it's that kind of place" explains the charmingly shy owner. There's another factor that can't be coincidental, though - this is some of the best-value eating in town. Many of the (huge) pizzas go for under 200Rbs, and it was clear that a lot of the clientele weren't celebrating or entertaining - they were just getting supper on the way home from work. Verona is in the great tradition of Italian local family restaurants - it's not grand or pompous, the interior won't wow your new girlfriend, and the service is far from fawning you come here per mangiare - to eat.
The retro 50's Italian music was a little loud for a conversation, so we opted to risk the rain and sit outside anyhow. A salad Caprese (209Rbs) quick followed us outside - this is a place where people arrive hungry, and although the service lacks charm, it's ruthlessly efficient. Caprese is a salad that's almost invariably served indifferently - because there's almost "nothing to it" (slices of tomatoes and mozzarella), everything depends on the freshness of the ingredients, and this was sumptuousness itself, with some tangy basil and the lightest of dressings. If the piazzas are the glory of the city of Verona, then this Verona's glory is its pizzas. Enrico Caramelli has flown the flag for traditional thin'n'crispy pizza for over a decade, and his special pizza ovens are still in splendid condition if our Pizza Margherita With Rucola (189Rbs) was anything to go by? Yes, it's exactly that - a regular margherita pizza, with some rucola thrown into the still-melting cheese as it's brought to the table. If "margherita" means "the dullest cheap pizza on the menu" to you, then this is a revelation - there's a piquancy to the tomato sauce, the cheese is luscious, and the base is eminently munchable. We shared one - and there was still heaps. At which point the sky thundered more loudly - and we fled indoors whilst there was still a free table there to migrate to. Rather nicer, in my view, than the dining room at ground level is the basement area, which has been newly fitted-out. Phone early if you want to get one of the smart large low-level seating areas (of which there are only two). Don't be deterred by an unmarked staircase and an apparently secret door to this area - step inside, and it's charming, with no Godfather-style hoodlums whatsoever! These were all taken though - so we got stuck into our main courses upstairs.
The menu at Verona runs for pages - there are three pages of fish dishes alone, and even more for the meat entrees. After much indecision my dining associate plucked the Beef Medallions (299Rbs) from the meat courses. This turned out to be a wise choice, because the enormous pizza left us needing very little in the way of main courses (and you could cheerfully have done without). The verdict was "could be a little more tender, but they're delicious anyhow". I took a Swordfish Steak - one of the pricier items on the menu at 489Rbs, but worth every last kopek. Lightly pan-fried with the tiniest suntan of gold, some lemon juice was the only accompaniment it needed.
Heading towards midnight, the place was thinning out as we looked at the desserts - you have to be fairly tolerant of the staff dragging the veranda flowerpots indoors towards closing time. I was already comfortably well-fed at this point, but the corner I nibbled (purely for reviewing purposes, you understand) of my colleagues Tiramisu (120Rbs) proved it to be the real article indeed - a good strong coffee-shot and not stingy on the liqueur content amidst the cream and sponge. I'd intended to bring the curtain down with a double espresso, and I did - but at Enrico's urging, I was tempted to an iced liqueur shot of Limoncello. I was instantly hooked, and I'm already hunting a source for this wonderful stuff, simply the lemoniest alcoholic drink you ever tasted.
It's not grand, it's not imposing. Bring your business clients here - if you want to get a reputation as a cheapskate, that is. But the food is fab, and if you look at the price on the frozen disc of cheese-topped cardboard in your supermarket, it's no wonder they're packing-out Verona to have the real thing for little more (and no washing up either). If Woody Allen lived in Moscow - he'd eat at Verona. |
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| 644. | Food Embassy
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Celebrity chefs are steadily taking over the world’s eating habits – and Russia is no exception. But it’s not all about high profile openings from international brands, like Jamie Oliver’s recent arrival in Moscow. There’s also a strong batch of local contenders, with celebrated actress Julia Vysotskaya leading the way.
Vysotskaya comes from the ‘yummy mummy’ school of cookery, one of those domestic goddesses who manages to whip up delicious looking food on long-running TV shows while still looking effortlessly gorgeous in the process. The brand, which has long encompassed cook books, culinary tourism and signature kitchenware, also powers the Food Embassy restaurant – one of the flagships of Moscow’s post-pafosny food revolution.
The Vystoskaya brand seeks to promote an idealised yet attainable life – and that principle is obvious from the approach to the restaurant. It fits well into the switch in focus in the city’s dining scene, where an exaggerated homely vibe is steadily – and thankfully – replacing the overdressed to impress venues of recent years. As such Food Embassy, with its plain wooden interior and artfully arranged ‘babushka’s dacha’ knick-knacks cleverly plays on the illusions of what life might be like for Moscow’s middle class if it wasn’t stuck in cramped apartments in a sprawling metropolis. Even the weekend entertainment for kids is aspirational – clowns and balloons replaced by classes in Oshibana, a Japanese art of making pictures from pressed flowers, leaves and seeds. Large windows, lots of natural light and views of a botanical garden from the upper levels complete the effect – it’s not an unattainable Rublyovka mansion, it’s just a slightly nicer version of the family ‘cottedzh’ you might be able to afford yourself.
That’s very much the charm of the place. The menu, which has echoes of a gastro-pub that perhaps reflect the legacy of the English chef who helped set up the kitchen here, offers dishes that are interesting, and more complicated than you could be bothered to cook for yourself, but that nonetheless don’t leave you feeling lack a slack-jawed yokel in the presence of great sophisticates. And, after all, if you enjoy your dinner you can always buy the book, keep it in your kitchen and never quite around to recreating the feast for yourself.
Most importantly, though, the food is excellent. Whether the image strikes you as sublime or ‘Stepford Wives’, there’s no arguing about what arrives on the plate. The Rabbit in the Woods looked terrific, with a green foam of pureed fennel and clusters of berries creating a sylvan backdrop for the meat. And what meat! Tenderly cooked to perfection, sliding off the bone at the first touch of a fork and melting in the mouth. The recipe books, no doubt, suggest that this is straightforward; experience shows that serving any meat like this demands a chef on top of his game.
That dish alone would be worth returning for and its quality suggests that the rest of the menu deserves greater attention. However, the supporting acts also justified their place on the cast list. Warming, nourishing soups for the winter months – the Creamed Pea and Smoked Ham Soup was a rare treat, especially for someone who isn’t a big soup lover. A diverse range of salads that combines local favourites – herring, beetroot and potato could hardly be more stolidly Russian without being slathered in mayo – and international hits. That doesn’t just mean yet another Caesar; the list also includes Food Embassy’s take on the flagship Cobb Salad inspired by the famed 192 Notting Hill restaurant in London.
The drinks selection is also worth browsing – and this is a place that takes care to offer a good range of non-alcoholic drinks as well. My wife was intrigued and impressed with a halva-flavoured coffee, setting aside her common grumble that coffee should taste of coffee (and, by implication, halva of halva) for this unusual but effective combination. The ginger lemonade, a fairly common feature on Moscow menus, was also one of the best examples I’ve tried: a refreshing lemony kick to start with and a slow, warming tang of ginger in the after-taste rather than the oversweetened, under-flavoured offerings found elsewhere. For a lunch meeting or a designated driver, the soft drinks menu is a winner; for those on the booze, the cocktails come with a good reputation.
There’s an extensive terrace and, as mentioned above, it’s next to the botanical gardens on Prospect Mira. With our long-awaited spring finally looking like it might be here to stay, Food Embassy is coming into its own as a place for good food in the open air and is definitely worth checking out for a lazy weekend lunch or a convivial catch-up dinner with a group of friends. |
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| 645. | Scandinavia
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Sweden has long been synonymous with quality and reliability but the words Swedish and high-class cuisine are rarely heard together. However the Scandinavia restaurant has for the past eight years been serving up Swedish influenced food that can match anything Moscow's finest eateries can offer.
First impressions are all important and Scandinavia is a winner before you even enter the building. The restaurant, conveniently located on a quiet lane off Tverskaya, draws diners in with its winter garden softly lit with hues of lilac and green and a surreal ice bar complete with skating waitress.
Once inside the metal and wooden interior is both ultra-stylish and homely. The lighting is modern yet reassuringly soft focus and the soothing background music does not intrude.
The a la carte menu is simple with chef, Per Palmquist, preferring to concentrate on a few well prepared, and beautifully presented dishes. The ingredients are brought especially from Sweden but the chef himself describes the cuisine as international.
On this occasion we decided to forgo the starter however we were offered a complimentary game pate with a cranberry coulis. This was gratefully accepted and was accompanied by a wonderfully soft, aromatic brown loaf that was more reminiscent of a rich fruitcake than bread.
For the main course I opted for the Tuna steak with Kamchatka crab served with cinnamon risotto and lobster vinaigrette (880Rb). It came medium rare but despite my initial fear bore little relation to sushi. It had a reassuringly firm texture and dissolved deliciously in the mouth. The risotto had an unusual consistency but the strange combination of sweet and savoury was unexpectedly pleasant.
My dining partner chose the Atlantic cod with bacon mashed potato (990Rb). Again the fish was cooked to perfection. The subtle flavour of the cod was well suited to the smokiness of the potatoes. We washed down the main course with a nicely chilled bottle of Argentinian Pinot Gris (1080Rb). The wine list is so extensive that our commendable choice was more down to serendipity than a detailed knowledge of fine wines.
For the pudding we both felt that a light desert was the order of the day. The blueberry sorbet must go down as the bargain of the century at 60 Rb for an incredibly generous portion. It was bursting with fruitiness and had a wonderfully smooth texture.
At the end of the meal we retired to the bar area overlooking the winter garden. There I finished with a single shot of Russky Standart Vodka while my companion enjoyed a riotously flavoursome Julie cocktail.
Scandinavia's style seems at odds with Moscow's vulgar and ostentatious get-rich-quick ethos. Everything about Scandinavia is unpretentious and low key. The food is superb yet simple. The interior is stylish but welcoming and the staff are polite, knowledgeable and thankfully unobtrusive.
If you understand class and quality but don't feel the need to shout about it then Scandinavia is the place for you. |
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| 646. | Chicago Prime
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I have seen the advertisements for Chicago Prime during recent forays to Starlite Diner, and Chicago Prime has been on my list of restaurants to check out. As it turns out, and not due to a miracle in cross-advertising, Chicago Prime and Starlite Diner are part of the same operating company. I have been a loyal fan of the Starlite Diner since 1998, so I welcomed the opportunity to review Chicago Prime.
Chicago Prime’s location is near Pushkinskaya metro station and not difficult to access by metro (especially) or automobile, but traffic can be heavy and slow on the boulevard ring. Chicago Prime is also open until 0500, so if you want late night steak, traffic is a relative non-issue. Parking is available behind a shlagbaum – even though we knew before arriving that parking was available, it was not readily available at 2000 on a Monday night.
The metro station is close to the restaurant and less of a headache. Rather, a more minor headache since Pushkinskaya is composed of three stops/stations with many exits. Follow the Strastnoi Bulvar exit signs, and you should come out of the right exit.
Access to headache-free WiFi has become a condition for my repeat business at restaurants and cafes in Moscow, especially expensive restaurants that cater to the expat community. Chicago Prime has headache-free WiFi, and it is convenient to keep up to speed on emails or just search the net.
The interior and atmosphere of Chicago Prime are appealing - that is, you can readily have a conversation over a normal sized table and the dining areas are big enough that you do not have to hear about how important the guy in the next table is, ex-pat or Russian.
Also, the music was, at least for me, a “make you smile” mix of Jimmy Buffet, Van Morrison, some Police, U2, and other songs that I knew. They also did not repeat and were not over thematic – i.e. crooning, loud Italian at a pasta place, annoyingly soft, artsy pafos music, or mega-repeat unknown, gibberish English language by unknown artists you run into at a lot of places in Moscow.
Chicago Prime also has a bar section that overlooks the boulevard with comfortable seating and offers food service as well. They have Happy Hour specials on weekdays from 1700 to 2000 – the current special is two for one drinks and 20% off the bar food menu.
Upon first glance, the menu at Chicago Prime itself may appear limited, but it is not. By this I mean that the main items are on one page – and each point of a great steak and seafood menu are well covered. You will not be at a loss for choices – like me, more than one entree will make your mouth water. Same for the garnishes crafted to complement your main entree.
However, as a warning – and actually a big plus for a Moscow restaurant – the portions at Chicago Prime are hearty, so plan accordingly when you order!
We started the night with a recommended currant-limonad (325 RUR for .5L pitcher, freshly made) that my dinner date absolutely had to try. I contemplated beer, but with an early flight out of Moscow the next morning, I really ventured outside of the culinary comfort zone with a freshly opened bottle of Coca Cola (120 RUR).
The English translation is Cowberry Lemonade, not the most romantic name, but do not be fooled. It was a stellar mix of fresh ingredients served on ice, and I highly recommend it. The other fruit drinks listed are also likely as appealing and flavorful, and 325 RUR for .5L of freshly-made juice is a good price.
Appetizers were a shrimp cocktail (690 RUR) over a vinaigrette type salad with a big Kamchatka crab claw, as well as Kamchatka crab cakes (750 RUR). The shrimp cocktail came with fried parmesan cheese slabs that were, quite frankly, awesome. Appetizers were flavorful, promptly arrived after ordering, and went well with the bread basket and flavored butter.
I was a bit tortured by which entree to choose since I wanted to go with a non-typical cut for me; I chose the Porterhouse Steak (3290 RUR). My dinner date had Maine Lobster (350 RUR per 100g / 2450 RUR total). For garnishes, we went with sauteed, caramelized onions (100 RUR), steamed asparagus with butter (490 RUR), french fries with truffles (290 RUR), and potatoes au gratin (390 RUR).
Steak was excellent and cooked exactly how I wanted it to be. The Porterhouse is what is termed “USDA CAB Aged Beef” – an involved curing process that locks in the flavors in a multi-step process over 45 days. The difference in taste was certainly noticeable. The potatoes au gratin were spectacular – to such an extent that the french fries were largely ignored as dinner progressed.
Maine lobster was excellent without reservations. The process was interesting since you are allowed to choose your own live lobster from the tank. A fleeting moment of playing God; I was not allowed to do the same for the bovine from whence my Porterhouse originated, however.
At this point we were satiated and dessert was out of the question, although the menu was beckoning. The waiter said that he would have the bartender mix up a non-alcoholic fresh fruit drink for us (500 RUR for two) that we would like. Think of it as liquid dessert – and it was off the chart excellent! The barman came over and relayed what was in it – ask for it if you are at Chicago Prime, with or without alcohol. I would characterize it as a strawberry cousin to a Pina Colada.
We took an order of cheesecake home that was the centerpiece of breakfast this morning. There was also a nice card in the bag thanking us for our patronage and wishing us to return soon – nice touch, and not seen often in Moscow, it seems.
Our final bill pushed 11,000 rubles without gratuity. Keep in mind that we did not drink alcohol – after all, it was a Monday – so your bill can climb quickly. At the same time, we had a few dishes upon the recommendation of our waiter that we would not have had otherwise, as well as our super after-dinner cocktail times two made by the Erik the Barman.
In short, I have only good things to say about our dining experience at Chicago Prime. Location is accessible, pricing as expected, food exquisite and superb service. I highly recommend Chicago Prime for business dinners, relatives in town that need to be wooed, or a nice experience for a couple. |
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| 647. | Chemodan (Suitcase)
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By the mid-C19th, central Siberia was booming. Settlers rights, unlimited free land, freedom for runaway serfs, and tolerance for religious minorities banned in European Russia were just some of the reasons...a gold rush, diamond mines, the post-road to Moscow, and rumours of untold and untapped riches had even stronger appeal. In place of shady taverns and shoddy flophouses, fine eateries and respectable hotels sprang up to cater to Siberia's new bourgeoisie - mine-owners, factory magnates, railway tycoons and families like the Demidovs, whose commercial interests ran far and wide.
“Chemodan” isn't just a Russian-cuisine restaurant – it's specifically a Siberian restaurant, with a menu featuring the freshest river-fish from Siberia's vast rivers and lakes, game dishes from the riches of the taiga forests, pickles and preserves featuring mushrooms and berries that barely even have dictionary names in English. In fact “Chemodan” in Moscow is a branch of the same restaurant in Krasnoyarsk. Well-known actor Oleg Menshikov visited the restaurant there and went in for supper – and loved it so much, that he decided to open another in Moscow. Very frequently movie-actor-owned restaurants are great ideas that fail to work in reality – but in this case, the established know-how and local Siberian expertise that made Chemodan a success in Siberia has transplanted superbly to Moscow.
The individual triumph of Chemodan offering delicious cuisine at medium-high prices (certainly not cheap - but you could easily spend double on dross in Moscow) and without the vacuous ostentation of its rivals. If you want to treat your visiting relatives or business colleagues to fine traditional Russian food, then this is the new pretender to the throne. No waiters in fake C19th livery, no hokum chandeliers, and no twaddle with calling clients “Milord” - this is honest, excellent cooking, on attractive plain white porcelain, with charming and personable multilingual staff in plain black shirts. The dining-room echoes upright provincial excellence of the mid-C19th – no nonsense, but very charming and atmospheric, and a welcome relief from the Theme Park interiors elsewhere. The food is served with quiet, confident pride and expertise – some of the staff are Siberians themselves. The table staff can tell you which rivers the fish come from, and what gives each recipe its special flourish. Restaurants further round the Boulevard Ring will be looking to their laurels – Chemodan will keep them on their toes.
On our waiter's recommendation, we took some house specialities as appetisers – but be warned, some of these dishes come in Siberian-sized portions, and a single appetiser would easily feed two. Emilia instantly warmed to the tenderness of the Venison Carpaccio (490 RUB), while I dived into a truly Siberian experience – stroganina, cold cuts of naturally-frozen fish. I'd had it before in Siberia with friends, but the Chir – translated on the menu as Blue-Back Salmon Stroganina, 590 RUB – exceeded all expectations. With an accompanying dipping sauce and seasoning, this was truly delectable eating – fat-free, carb-free, and guilt-free. In fact lightness, delicacies are hallmarks of Chemodan's menu, in sharp contrast to what you may have expected.
Although there's an extensive wine-list, I strongly recommend you to leave it unopened – the correct accompaniments to Siberian food are plain or flavoured vodkas, or the fruit-flavoured alcoholic tipples found in Siberian homes of the nineteenth century. The menu not only lists them, but gives an insightful account, in endearingly wonky English, of how they are made, and the lore and traditions surrounding them. Even long-term expat stalwarts are unlikely ever to have tried Erofeich – but these potent liqueurs were the staple of the Siberian table from the C17th onwards... and pack a powerful 56-percent-proof punch. A superlative accompaniment to my stroganina, in every sense! However, with ladies present we restricted our other drinking to the fruitier tipples with marginally lower alcohol content – Emilia's Honeysuckle Nalivka(196 RUB) – 26-percent-proof and coming in at a mere was pleasantly tart, while my own Blueberry Nalivka (180 RUB) was attractively and authentically sweet.
Salads aren't part of the Siberian scene, and probably we should have gone with the delicious-sounding soups on offer instead. Emilia had a Salad with slightly salted Whitefish, Avocado and Sweet Pepper (490 RUB) – nice enough if you wanted it, but rather out-of-place amid the Siberian specialities. This dish wasn't really too different from what you might make yourself at home. We had a few reservations about the limp green lettuce-leaves, however. They also topped my Warm Salad with Tiger Prawns, Mussels, Mushrooms under Garlic-Soy Sauce (690 RUB), but were only there for decoration, and I didn't bother with them. Once again, we'd blundered into ordering food that isn't Siberian – unless prawns now live there?
But things were firmly back on an even keel with our waiter-recommended main courses. Steamed Siberian Whitefish (890 RUB) is one of the most delicate things I've tasted in many a year. In fact it's been smoked before steaming, and was both succulently tender and sophisticated in taste - I could happily eat this every day. And once again – easy on the waistline, served with mouthwatering mushrooms. Emilia found her Grilled Cutlets of Siberian Stag (890 RUB) a trifle too pink in the middle – but you may find them to your taste, or might request them more well-done? Delicious aromatic black bread came on the side.
For dessert we shared a Walnut Soufflé, especially as the recipe came from “Exemplary Cuisine of Krasnoyarsk, 1892” - the source of quite a few other house specialities. To go with it while we had very pleasant espresso, and a pot of Guan Yin Iron Bodhisattva Tea (390 RUB).
Fine food, fine service, and a warm, relaxed atmosphere – what's not to like? All the ingredients of a memorable meal in Moscow are here – the only thing missing is you. Word is already out about Chemodan, and the place was packed when we went midweek - so be sure to book in the evenings. Or pop along for their 450 RUB Business Lunch (12pm–17pm) instead? |
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| 648. | Kavkazskaya Plennitsa
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In a city where restaurants come and go with alarming speed, only a few stay in business for long enough to deserve the title of “Moscow institution”. But, with 14 years of toil over a hot stove, Kavkazskaya Plennitsa (The Prisoner of the Caucasus) has proved its staying power, long before the recent crop of Georgian cafes began to pop up all over the city. The name is taken from a popular Soviet-era film (known in English as “Kidnapping, Caucasian style”), a 1967 comedy based loosely on a Pushkin poem, which trades heavily on the exotic charms of the frontiers of the former USSR. Rustic scenes and references to the movie inform much of the décor of the restaurant.
No prizes for guessing that Georgian cuisine dominates the menu here. Head chef Olga Gulieva grew up in Sukhumi, the principle city of Abkhazia, and the flavors of her homeland are deeply engrained in her kitchen. Georgian food is best sampled via a large assortment of dishes, ideally shared around the table – shashlyk and khachapuri are essential, but it’s also worth experimenting with a few starters. Here the Chicken Satsivi (430 RUR), a kind of cold, creamy chicken soup with a piquant, nutty flavor, was hugely impressive. The meat was done to perfection, with none of the slightly unnerving sense that it might be underdone which often undermines this dish. Other eminently snackable starters include lobio – green and red varieties here – delicate balls of aromatic, fresh-flavored goodness built around beans (the type of bean determines the color, although the flavors come as much from the herbs as anything else), and fresh fruits and veg (eggplant, prune and more) stuffed with ground walnuts and similar treats.
No Georgian meal would be complete without a Khachapuri, and the Adjarian version (570 RUR), topped with an egg frying merrily on the piping hot cheese is the king of this staple of trans-Caucasian cuisine. Once again the Kavkazskaya Plennitsa version was impressive – and apparently became Steven Seagal’s favorite dish when he visited Moscow and dined here. Clearly he chooses his dinners better than his scripts.
And, just as it’s impossible to avoid khachapuri, so Shashlyk – the much-loved flavor of fresh-grilled meat – is also an integral part of the Caucasian dining experience (and one rapidly adopted by the rest of the Imperial Russia). Again, this isn’t something you’d struggle to find on a menu elsewhere in Moscow, so quality is the key, and the staff recommended the lamb. And again, the freshness of the ingredients makes the New Zealand Lamb Chops (1400 RUR) a juicy, finger-licking joy (yes, fingers. Nobody should attempt this with a knife and fork). The Lamb’s Tongue (1050 RUR) was a surprising treat. Not having had tongue since childhood (when it made the short journey from tin to sandwich to infant disapproval), I was impressed with the tenderness of the meat when served in a more natural state.
In a crowded market, Gulieva’s dishes stand out for their quality: a cut above many of the Georgian cafes which have opened around town over the past 18 months or so and on a par with the best I’ve tried in this city.
With several rooms, ranging from a cozy nook for private parties to a large dining hall complete with a stage and a live band (a band which taps directly into the nostalgic feel with a repertoire of slightly saccharine songs which clearly mean a lot to locals but are largely unknown to expats) there’s something for everyone. And the summer terrace, sharing a leafy border with the neighboring park, feels a world away from the bustle of Prospekt Mira. The restaurant is proud of sourcing fresh, organic meat, but the chickens cooped in one corner are not on the menu – only their fresh-laid eggs do find their way to the kitchen. Although the overall theme is taken from the movie, complete with a model donkey and even a discarded shoe preserved in memory of a crucial plot twist, its appeal is not limited to movie buffs. Instead it manages the neat trick of combining a hint of the exotic with a strong waft of nostalgia, meaning for foreign guests it is both adventurous and reassuring at the same time.
Even on a chilly Tuesday, the place was busy with a mixture of besuited businessmen draining the company expense account and family groups who look like regular clients. The crowd is far from the cutting edge, hipster types who flock to the self-conscious venues around Krasny Oktyabr or ironical haunt the slightly arch retro-chic of the Kamchatka beer bar (like Kavkazskaya Plennitsa, operated by the Novikov group).
Verdict: Kavkazskaya Plennitsa is a great place to try Georgian food – or come back for some old favorites. Prices might be a bit higher than some of the competition, but in general you get what you pay for and the food is good enough to justify the mark-up. This place feels like somewhere which would be a success with visitors to Moscow – much like GlavPivTorg it is foreign enough to be intriguing, without becoming intimidating for the uninitiated. And with some of the highest quality Georgian cuisine in town, it’s worth coming back more than once. |
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| 649. | Maharaja
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Spice Girl - Alice Experiments with Indian
Maharaja was faced with a challenge: to impress two busy girls-about-town who weren't in the mood for a curry, both attempting that Lent Thing, that Weight Thing and that Wild Friday Night in Moscow Thing.
Once at our table, Natasha and I welcomed a few minutes to take stock of our surroundings. The atmosphere was civilised, friendly and surprisingly calm. With the exception of the unattractive (yet unobtrusive) chairs, the decor was unremarkable at first. After closer inspection however, I noticed some truly beautiful Indian items of furniture: chests, screens, pictures and frames, all intricately decorated. Maharaja has the potential to be truly classy. Admittedly it is still ever so slightly reminiscent of a local curry house, but such quirkiness is endearing, and it clearly doesn't deter the new-Russian clientele who were evidently enjoying the place; despite the fact that the restaurant was full; I could only spot one Indian patron.
Feeling so comfortable in our surroundings, we both immediately forgot about the Lent Thing and ordered an Indian Kingfisher Beer (125 rbl) and spent some time studying the extensive menu. (There were no less than 18 items listed under the "Vegetarian" heading, for example). Following a slight personal exposure to proper Indian cuisine, I was determined not to be satisfied with korma and a naan. So with the assistance of Rawat, the ever present and ever helpful manager, we were able to choose a varied selection of generally mouth-watering dishes.
I must say, there are few moments during the Moscow winter when, if you shut your eyes, you can imagine yourself wearing a bikini lying under a palm tree. Surprisingly, sipping the soft orange House Mango Shake (160 rbl) was one of them. A very good start. We then tried the tandoori prawns (660 rbl) and the machli tikka (450 rbl) which is a fish tandoor so tender you can slice your knife through it, no problem. The flavours were fresh and enticing yet the taste wasn't imposing. We also tried the samosa pirozhki (60 rbl) which were ever so slightly dry and floury.
For our main course, we opted for a base of plain pilau rice and peshwari naan, and accompanied these with three dishes. Palan paneer (320 rbl) which can best be described as lumps of white cheese in spinach (sounds revolting but I promise is addictive) and mung palan (450 rbl) which is chicken in the same spinach based sauce. We also sampled Baigan Bharsa (320 rbl), a weighty charcoal roasted aubergine dish which had a surprising amount of kick to it.
We had both asked for our food to be "a bit fiery but not too much". This request had clearly been taken on board because I didn't at any point feel challenged by the spiciness of the food, merely by the quantity (conveniently forgetting about the Weight Thing). Suffice to say we left happily stuffed and therefore incapable of furthering any plans to go dancing, thus Maharaja also succeeded in destroying our Wild Friday Night Thing.
Not that we were disappointed at all, on the contrary, Maharaja was a pleasant surprise. Any visit with a willingness to experiment against ordering the norm should ensure not only an education of the taste buds but also a change in curry house habits. Maharaja rose to the challenge admirably. |
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| 650. | Viet Cafe
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I believe that honesty is the best policy, I’m just a prat like that. I don’t understand why people lie when it would be just as easy to suck it up and take the consequences; Lord knows I’ve never done it. So, from the very start I have to mention that the people at Viet Cafe are liars: the 170 Rbs Business Lunch that they advertise next to their front door is a figment of someone’s overactive imagination and does not exist in any way. They do have a business lunch – in fact they have two: a European variant for 200 Rbs and a Vietnamese for 300 Rbs – but the door price seems to have been picked out of a hat, and smacked of perfidious solicitation. Okay, having got the truth telling and slander out of the way I have to say that while the proprietors of Viet Cafe may be somewhat challenged in the virtue category, they make a mean Kom Rang Chai, and isn’t that what’s important anyway?
Located on Gazetny – just down the way from FAQ cafe which, by the way, offers a Business Lunch that really costs the 159 Rbs they say it does – through a set of rather imposing wooden doors and down a flight of stairs – this is Moscow after all – Viet Cafe offers a tasty, if not particularly authentic, take on Vietnamese fare. Just watch your head on the way downstairs, because we nearly killed ourselves on the suddenly low ceiling. The decor is certainly more Moscow than Mekong, with an elegant ebony bar lining the first half of the left wall, and the requisite enormous fish tank just beyond. The businessmen – who made up at least 75% of the clientele on the Tuesday afternoon that my intrepid partner and I were there – offered no end of amusement as they stared gapingly into the tank as its colourful denizens darted to and fro; I got the same disturbing feeling as when you see a child staring longingly into a television set, actually.
Overall the restaurant has a semi-elegant but not too imposing demeanour, making it comfortable for anyone to enjoy without feeling overly anxious about attire or terrified about sanitary conditions. We sat, like everyone else except the tank worshippers – at a well apportioned black table covered with a bamboo place mat that only made me spill on myself about fourteen times as it slid back and forth with the slightest touch. The square white plates were standard for this day and age, as we seem to have witnessed the death of the standard circular model some years back now. After hitting us with some steaming hot towels our waitress was quickly with us to take our order, and that’s when the fun started.
I don’t eat meat. I don’t eat fish or chicken or shrimp. That’s what being a vegetarian means. While at most Moscow restaurants that makes ordering a treacherous affair, for fear of being told when your tofu arrives smothered in shredded pork or finding a piece of chicken floating in your vegetable soup that: “everything comes with meat. It’s vegetarian,” the menu at Viet Cafe actually warned me that the vegetable soup was made with chicken stock! And while the menu didn’t have a separate vegetarian section – there was a section called “Meat and Bird” – there were plenty of veggie friendly dishes in the “Rice and Noodle,” and “Hot and Cold Appetizer” sections to stuff myself with. Now I don’t want you to worry that, having got this far in the review it’s going to skew towards the grass and roots only tastes of the dirty hippy writing it; for the heavy lifting I brought along my side-kick Marusya, who sampled the meaty fare after which she submitted to a thorough brain and taste-bud picking.
Let’s begin at the beginning. From among the plentiful “Cold Appetizers” menu I chose the Go Chua (120 Rbs), a small dish of pickled vegetables, not unlike your usual zakuski in so many ways but one: it was spicy. Really spicy. For me that was a great start. The vegetables were crispy and firm, and the sauce wasn’t too vinegary or overpowering. Next came our appetizers, Marusya choosing the Gao Kuan Tam Txit (210 Rbs) – rice paper rolls with shrimp, tongue, egg and more – while I went the crunchy roll route with the Nem Chau (150 Rbs). Marusya assured me that her rolls were fresh and not too fishy, although she had to rip off a piece of the rice paper to have me test the firmness (it was just right). My rolls were tasty if not particularly inspired, but I’m a real snob when it comes to rolls. Having said that, they are definitely the best rolls I’ve yet had in Moscow, not the least of which is due to the delicious Nuak Mat sauce that came with both sets. The sauce was so good in fact – a salty and garlicky treat – that we kept it to eat with our main dishes.
Marusya really went the extra mile for you here kids: she braved the sure-to-come stomach ache and ordered two main courses, one a bowl of the traditional Pho noodle soup that is the staple of Vietnamese cuisine, and the other a juicy stir fried chicken filet in oyster sauce. The Pho Doga (185 Rbs) was probably the low point of her meal, which says a lot considering that she actually liked it. Her gripes were that all its contingent parts seemed to have been prepared separately, which didn’t allow for the flavors to mix well, and that it was a just a bit too salty for her tastes. She was much more taken with the stir-fry, which just about had her collapsed on the table at the first bite. The Ga Cao Khat Geu (210 Rbs) consisted of the aforementioned chicken and sauce, fried with assorted mushrooms, cashews and spring onions. From what I could tell as her eyes rolled ecstatically back in her head, the meat was in fact juicy and tender as they advertised, with the delicate sauce highlighting the flavors, not overpowering them.
My main course was less of a hit, but it was also less of a main course. I had the vegetable fried rice (140 Rbs), which, in the one instance of Moscow culinary confusion I experienced that afternoon, came with eggs even though they weren’t on the menu. The main problem with the dish was that the vegetables seemed to have come straight from the freezer, burn and all. The rice was fine, it just seemed like it would have been more at home in a shopping-mall food court than at a relatively fancy restaurant inside the circle. Oh well, you can’t win them all.
At this point I expected Marusya to bow out, leaving me to cover the varied and enticing deserts section myself, but she soldiered up and ordered the fried banana (130 Rbs), an interesting and traditional take on the staple desert. I followed suit by ordering the fried pear (180 Rbs), which although glazed with some type of wine-sauce, was not too sweet at all, but a great light finisher.
All in all, including the great pot of Jasmine tea we washed down our meals with, the whole thing only set us back $50. Marusya was less impressed with the service than I was, but she certainly didn’t think it was bad enough to preclude recommendation. If you can put up with the misleadingly-advertised price for Business Lunch – seriously guys, take that crap down – Viet Cafe is a great place to stop in for a lunch or dinner that won’t break the bank, and will leave you feeling satisfied and very, very full. |
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| 651. | Laffa Laffa
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Having a Laffa
Moscow’s cafe culture has been transformed over the years: after years of over-priced ‘see and be seen’ affairs or mediocre fast-food chains a welcome range of new openings in the past 18 months or so has taken us back to basics. Finally the city is embracing a kind of street food culture that values quality cooking and fresh ingredients ahead of pafosny posturing.
Laffa Laffa is the latest in this wave. It has two sites – one on Malaya Bronaya, the other on Neglinaya – and specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine. That means plenty of hummus and falafel, two dishes that have recently become fashionable across Moscow, but the star of the show, undoubtedly, is the shawurma.
Whatever experiences you might have had with shawurma before, rest assured that this is far removed from the old-school kiosk food that has largely disappeared from the city as mayor Sergei Sobyanin cut his swathe through the dubious vendors thronging every metro station.
Here the emphasis is absolutely on quality: meat and veg are freshly sourced each day and the ‘laffa’ flatbread that gives the cafes their name is baked to order at blistering speed. It all takes a bit longer than a minute to put the dish together – not quite the fastest food in town, but a more than fair compromise between time and quality.
Although Middle Eastern in aim, the concept was inspired more by the 15 years the owner of the business spent living between Moscow and London. Like many people familiar with both cities, she noticed that one had a vibrant, multi-national culinary scene and the other had, well, dodgy kiosks next to metro stations or ultra-pafosny posing palaces with next to nothing in between. Laffa Laffa aims to fill that gap.
Key staff were recruited from Lebanon and Syria to ensure authentic recipes – head chef Ali Al-Tikriti comes from Lebanon with several years’ experience of restaurant in his native Beirut and in Dubai; many of his colleagues arrived from Syria. Zen has come up with a menu that is both simple enough not to risk running astray but sufficiently varied to ensure that either of the two cafes would bear regular visits from nearby workers heading out on lunch breaks. The signature shawurma can be served with lamb or chicken, or falafel for vegetarians. There’s also a choice of sauces, from traditional hummus to a seldom seen (in Moscow, at least) amba sauce, a fruity confection based on mangoes that goes especially well with the chicken. Although advertised as spicy, Western palates may feel it’s a Russian take on spice, but that arguably helps the flavour come out and complement the meat rather than overpowering it beneath a big hit of chili.
It’s also worth exploring the dips: aside from hummus, there’s a good selection of rich, smoky vegetable mixes that just cry out to be scooped up on a hunk of laffa bread and wolfed down. The mukhamara, with a nutty after-taste, is certainly worth closer inspection. Once again, it’s a menu with plenty of choice for vegetarians – another selling point in a city where meat-free dishes are not always very easy to find. At present menus are only available in Russian, and the staff’s English is somewhat nervous, but the choices are straightforward enough to suggest that a fairly elementary grasp of Russian will be sufficient to place your order.
Neither cafe is large, and the tend to have a busy, lively atmosphere – especially at lunchtimes. The décor, informed by the street food concept, has a pop-art, graffiti-like vibe that fits in nicely with the ‘urban-trendy’ audience. It’s some distance from the pastiche Middle East of Sindibad, the long-serving restaurant from that region; it’s a bit edgier and cooler than that, and there’s no sign of rugs, curtains or shisha pipes anyway to be seen. That’s not to say it’s exclusively a hipsters’ paradise: both branches have become popular with some locals, particularly the Malaya Bronnaya site, which is even building an audience among the privileged pensioners around Patriarshiye.
Will it be a success? It deserves to be. Prices are reasonable for city-centre eats; a shawurma snack is 310-390 roubles depending on filling, dips and sambusiki (small parcels of stuffed savoury pastry) are 250 a serving and the whole thing, complete with a coffee and maybe a nibble of pakhlava compares favourably with a trip to Starbucks, making it a competitive city centre option. Laffa Laffa is also starting out at a good time, capitalising on the popularity of the hummus and falafel stalls that did a roaring trade in city parks and food festivals during the summer and offering them a more permanent home.
Admittedly, we’ve seen a few food fashions come and go – the brief Tex-mex craze that flickered and then died on a pyre of rising rents and falling sales springs to mind – but this project has a more enduring feel about it. First, the commitment to high quality food augurs well. Second, it seems apt to expand an existing market rather than trade purely on novelty. And third, as the rapid rise in sushi bars has proved in the past and the rise of cheap-and-cheerful Georgian joints is currently demonstrating, it is possible to pitch for that middle ground gap here, even with foods traditionally associated with a full-on restaurant experience or an expensive foreign holiday. |
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| 652. | Cheapside
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Russians who learned their English with the help of Jane Austen (or more likely the smouldering Colin Firth as Mr Darcy) probably know Cheapside best as a London location sneerily dismissed amid the snobbish banter of the Bennett sisters. The issue was its connection with ‘trade’, a lowly pursuit inappropriate for persons of true wealth and breeding, even though they had no scruple about buying goods in what was once London’s most fashionable shopping street.
Today, of course, trade has fewer negative connotations outside of the blue-blooded aristocracy, and the commercial hub in Belaya Ploshchad is one of Moscow’s more conspicuously busy business districts.
As a result it’s also picked up a cluster of bars and cafes – including a few representatives of Moscow’s burgeoning gourmet fast food trend – to feed the Stakhanovite shock troops of the new economic era in between vigorous sessions on tablet and Mac.
Cheapside Josper Bistro, the latest addition to the Coffee Mania portfolio, fits this branding well. The decor, described in one Russian magazine as ‘restaurants for successful men’ is loft-inspired: the kitchen, like at the owners’ Italian restaurant Barmalini, is open, although staff slaving over a hot grill make for a less exciting show than the dough-juggling pizza chefs at the partner venue. Elsewhere its bare brickwork, a retro fan and a large communal table dominating the room with a scattering of side tables for slightly more privacy. The restaurant seats 52, but there’s an expectation that people will hunker down together rather than isolate themselves on individual tables.
The menu is similarly unpretentious: meat and fish, cooked over an open flame. Pride of place goes to the burgers, with a wide assortment of diverse approaches to the old beef-in-a-bun formula. We went for the Mexican (700 RUR), which was a surprisingly unspicy affair, even allowing for Russia’s general wariness of hot food. However, this wasn’t really the aim: instead of powering up the chili and letting rip, the chefs aimed to create a more subtle combination of flavours with a hint of fresh lime giving an unexpected lightness to the palate. Not quite as expected, but pleasant. The meat was good, among the best I’ve tried in Moscow and certainly tasty enough to encourage repeat visits to explore the other burgers on offer. Prices might be uppish compared with the old favorites at Starlite Diner or Beverly Hills, but there’s more imagination in how the burgers are put together and – on this evidence, at least – the service is a bit more attentive than can sometimes be the case as the longer established chains.
Unlike most burger joints in town, sides are ordered separately; there’s no standard burger set slapped down whether you like it or not. So, if you want fries, make sure to order them for an extra 150 RUR. Coleslaw (250 RUR) is one of the options and it also opened up one of the great mysteries of Russian kitchens. Cabbage and carrot are key features of local food. Few Russian salads are complete with a generous slathering of mayo. So why is it that coleslaw, that stable of carrot, cabbage and mayo, always comes out very different here? This one was an impressively healthy, low fat option with just a hint of mayo to keep it together. Once again, not bad, but not quite as expected.
There’s also a small grill menu offering meat and fish. The salmon (800 RUR) here was a success, the duck (800 RUR), sadly, was unavailable. Vegetarians who don’t eat fish might struggle to find much on the menu to attract them, however. There’s no veggie burger and meat-free options are limited to a few salads and starters. This is a kitchen that knows what it wants to cook and is happy to focus strongly on that alone.
That straightforward ‘I know what I like’ approach is part of what makes Cheapside work. Rather than try to cover too many bases, it focuses on a small group of dishes that it can do well and chases a clientele that will go for it. Ultimately Cheapside Josper Bistro is a very masculine place to eat. Maybe it’s the plate-glass surroundings of Belaya Ploshchad, redolent of the thrusting world of smart-suited business conquistadores. Maybe it’s the meat-heavy menu. Maybe it’s the TV sport quietly playing in the background.
Whatever, this isn’t really the kind of place you’d pick for a girlie cocktail night even if there are three basic cocktails listed on the menu. Indeed it’s probably not the place you’d pick for a night out anyway. This has the feel of a lunchtime haunt; a cut above fast food or the dubious merits of the bizniz lanch, without burdening itself with the pretentions of a full-blown restaurant experience. That’s where it performs most strongly, and is likely to be the root of its future success in this location. |
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| 653. | Mr. Lee
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Mr. Lee occupies an enviable social-climbing location – on the square behind TsUM, looking across to the Bolshoi Theatre, and upstairs from social-scene-essential place-to-be-seen Vogue Caf?. The Reception Desk area would put many a snooty hotel to shame, and the presence of so many black-suited heavies as you enter the establishment is not, perhaps, the welcome the owners originally intended. It is, however, exactly the atmosphere that seems to appear to the exclusively male corporate clientele.
Our drinks were brought quite quickly, and my Singapore Sling (450 RUR) was a zesty mix and well-made. Not so Emilia’s Mai-Tai (also 450 RUR), however – which we sent back. It returned refreshed and with a more obvious taste of rum and lime – although in my book, it’s a cocktail properly served in a highball glass – not a whisky-tumbler, ehem.
The interiors are an unusual - although not unpleasant - amalgam of the usual Novikov obsessions (bookcases with fake old books in them, wine-racks with old bottles) with bits of oriental bric-a-brac allegedly fetched from Singapore by the owner in person. A series of large oriental chandeliers are among the more fortuitous elements – some rather nasty hardwood carvings left the impression of “what can we stick in this empty space?”. You get the impression that he opened the restaurant because his wife wouldn’t let him keep all this stuff at home. (Hardwood logging for this kind of tat wrecks rainforests – sad to find no-one cares about this). The emphasis is on costly luxury – or at least its exterior trappings. A second dining-room adjacent has attractive windows where you might enjoy the daylight, or views onto Moscow revellers outside by night.
Conspicuous consumption and wallet-waving are what Mr. Lee is all about. There are dishes placed strategically on the menu to permit extravagant glad-handing and corporate entertaining one-upmanship – such as Shark’s Fin Soup, which comes in at around twice the price of a nice supper in other establishments at an extraordinary 2300 roubles. Emilia was overwhelmed by indifference after trying it, but that’s not the point – the point is that it’s cost a stack. I was not only morally shamed into taking the cheapest soup on the menu in response (although hardly a snip at 400 RUR), but also mesmerised – what was Gazpacho with Avocado doing on a “pan-asiatic” menu at all? Sadly it seemed that any non-european food qualified as “pan-asiatic”, although it wasn’t a bad gazpacho in itself. We’d preceded the soups with some hot starters Crab & Prawn Spring Rolls (an eye-watering 900 RUR), and Fried Crab Wontons (950 RUR). In fact the crab wontons weren’t fried, but they were delicious anyhow, and served on a succulent reduction of seafood pan-juices that had Emilia begging for more – the star item of the evening, in fact. When you pay $33 for a portion of Spring Rolls, then frankly you expect something pretty spectacular. These aren’t – a great deal of pastry and half a prawn, all disappointingly flabby and dry. Ladling-on the accompanying mango sauce helped them along – but you shouldn’t have to.
Like many self-styled “Asiatic” restaurants in Moscow, Mr. Lee carries a sushi side-menu – something which tells you more about the clientele than the intentions of the management. We took a single 4-piece portion of Dynamite Spicy Rolls (450 RUR – less than 100 roubles per roll!) to share, to check them out. Rolls they may be – spicy they’re not.
Finally to the main courses – wok dishes, as befits a Singapore-inspired (if not actually, err, Singaporean) eaterie. Here we had both the best and the worst. The Tom-Yam Prawns (800 RUR) came recommended by the chef, and they’re scrumptious things indeed – served in a sticky-sweet sauce with a tinge of spice (I’d have preferred rather more spice), and topped with crispy fried noodles. This was, indeed, the kind of food we’d hoped to find at Mr. Lee. Regrettably Emilia’s choice was a failure. Scallops in Pepper Sauce (750 RUR) were a way of taking a delicious fresh and delicate ingredient like scallops – and smothering their taste entirely with a gluey and overpowering sauce. Once again the Novikov obsession with taking great world cuisine and making show-off bling-food out of it pulled the carpet from under a potentially winning dish.
Mr. Lee belongs to the era before the Financial Crisis – the days when money flowed like water. The prices are unjustifiable for this kind of food – especially when it can be enjoyed in equally-nice restaurants elsewhere in Moscow for far less. Frankly it would be cheaper to fly to Singapore in person than eat at Mr. Lee. (There is, we should mention, a Business Lunch menu at 500 RUR on weekdays from 12:00 until 17:00). But Mr. Lee isn’t really about eating at all – but playing “who’s got the biggest expense-account credit card”. I didn’t feel comfortable in this environment, and frankly when Emilia suggested we get coffee and dessert elsewhere, I leapt at the chance to leave. |
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| 654. | Golden Apple
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The great empires of antiquity clashed over a Golden Apple - the incident in which King Priams son Paris gave one to the Goddess Aphrodite prompted the Trojan Wars. And it was way back when Ajax and Agamemnon were still in short pants that if you wanted supper in Moscow, you went to a hotel to eat.
Positioning itself as Moscow???s entrant in the Hip Hotel stakes, the Golden Apple is a shrine of funky chic, tucked delicately off Pushkin Square on Malaya Dmitrovka. Could the Apple Bar & Restaurant flout the Road Warriors credo that the dullest supper in town is in your own hotel?
In a city already crammed with stuffy hotels modeled on Elvis Presley's bathroom the unrepentant modernism and contemporary lines of Golden Apple makes a welcome change. Strange then that the decor for the restaurant is an odd backdrop of silhouetted woodland at dusk? After the sleek modern minimalism of the lobby, this creates a more informal and restful dining area for those dining for pleasure.
The bar area (same menu available in both) reflects a more urgent and metropolitan mojo, and since all the tables there were taken we opted to dine in the woods. There are around twenty tables overall with a ratio of wait-staff to diners that is admirably generous.
And what staff they are, too...extensive knowledge of the nuances of the entire menu and seasonal specials with enviable command of stylistic English - a perfect balance between enthusiasm and helpfulness. Nor was there any cajoling towards the high-end dishes or wines, or to over-order. Whilst we pored over the menu a complimentary gazpacho cocktail appeared ??? piquant and very pleasant.
Apple Bar features a permanent menu of international dishes alongside a Specials menu that changes monthly. July???s theme was summer fruits so I pitched in with a Fruity-Cool cocktail (350 Rbs) that slipped down so easily that I had another before really noticing how potent the blend of vodka, banana liqueur, and fruit brandy was. Equally powerful was my friend Olga???s Cosmopolitan (280 Rbs) - but its concentrated intensity didn???t hit the mood, and it languished unfinished.
The prompt and cheerful service quickly rustled-up two contrasting salads alongside some delicious home-baked bread. Olga munched happily on a Crispy Frisee Salad with Deepfried Seafood on a Rasberry Coulis (360 Rbs), pausing only to lament the fate of the junior octopuses therein. My own salad was a shameless splurge, but worth every kopek of 750 Rbs for the self-righteous glow achieved from near-fatless Lobster-Mango Salad. A Classic Mojito came along (for 390 Rbs) to replace the unappreciated Cosmo, and this prompted the order of wine for the main courses. As usual our ideas on choosing red or white differed - but Apple Bar has a good selection of wines by the glass. With a beef entree in view Olga went for a luscious Concha y Toro Trio for just 240 Rbs. My white was 2005 Tavel Prestige des Lauzeraies with elegant crispness as a counterpoint to fish, but since I was already three sheets to the wind after the deadly Fruity-Cools - and moreover because the wine was 380 Rbs per succulent glassful - I limited myself to just one, with healthy gulps of Evian alongside.
We moved on to the entrees, and Olga followed the waitress's strong recommendation for the Entrecote (800 Rbs), which came magnificent presented with coriander and black pepper, with a gratin of potato and mushroom If you prefer your steak well-done then remember to ask them - the default order is lightly seared only. My misgivings that Salmon + Cod Baked in Filo Pastry (680 Rbs) might be dry were unfounded some nice Hollandaise kept things agreeably moist, and all light and delicate enough to leave space for dessert.
Following her more classical theme Olga chose a Classic Baked Cheesecake - a dish that is often dehydrated tvorog on toast in Moscow, but this one was spot-on for 250 Rbs. The same asking-price brought some very good marinated figs and the curtain came down on some Margentau loose leaf tea (160 Rbs) and my habitual Double Espresso (210 Rbs).
Clearly the menu-pricing is aimed at Business Travelers - and these were clearly 90% of our fellow diners. However the contemporary decor - and welcome absence of blaring Russian pop - earmark Apple Bar as an ideal place for continuing business discussions over an elegant supper. When entertaining clients the last thing you need is wrangles with the waiters, and the super service here makes it a strong recommendation on that score. |
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| 655. | Nedalny Vostok (Not Far East)
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Nedalny Vostok – suave & sophisticated asian-fusion dining
If Moscow is a city of playboys, then Nedalny Vostok is where they go to play. It’s another in the eaterie empire of Moscow’s most ubiquitous and successful restaurateur, Arkady Novikov. Novikov-spotters will already know that he never repeats himself, and the formula for each of his projects is always something entirely innovative and unique. But the guiding hallmarks of uncompromised quality and excellence unite these hugely disparate dining-places – any surprises you get in them will only be happy ones.
Nedalny is still headed-up by Executive Chef Glen Ballis, who first opened the restaurant several years ago. It’s a welcome contrast to the quality nosedive swiftly taken after opening by most other new restaurants in Moscow – the warmth of the welcome at Nedalny, and the piquancy of the menu haven’t flagged in the intervening years… if anything, they’ve even picked-up. It’s something they are acutely aware of at Nedalny Vostok – “You’re only as good as the last meal you served!” comes the self-reproving cry – and at these prices, the customers have a right to expect perfection every time. Ballis’s wide experience cooking throughout SE Asia serves to enliven an Australian approach to cuisine that’s already refreshingly unfettered by convention. But innovative combinations of simple ingredients only work if those ingredients are astoundingly, enviably fresh, and of unimpeachably top quality. It’s a winning combination for those whose credit-cards will stretch to the experience – and that’s quite a stretch.
If other Novikov restaurants are about showing-off, or sealing the deal, then Nedalny is more a place you’d come with your friends. The low ceilings and delicate lighting add an intimacy to what might otherwise be an intimidating space – and placed at the very centre are the chefs themselves, doing their stuff right in front of your very eyes. This warm and social atmosphere is encouraged by the menu – the Asian roots of many of the dishes make them ideal for sharing. The interiors are achieved with stylish contemporary Japanese elegance, and everything is calculated to put you at your ease – there’s no stiffness or standing upon ceremony here. The presentation has a graceful oriental simplicity that makes lingering over dishes a pleasure – this is food for enjoying and savouring, and not for showing-off about fish-knives or crab-crackers.
Offered a choice from the cocktail menu, Marusya’s eyes shot swiftly to the Chef’s Specialities – something I’ve learned from experience to avoid. Barmen worldwide haven’t come up with classic cocktails just by chance, and pretenders to the throne have to try extra-hard. A Seka (870 RUR) promised lush fruity tastes, but turned-out to be unduly sweet – my choice of a Mai-Tai (770 RUR) turned out to be wiser, and it was a real classic of the genre, deliciously made.
We ate lightly at lunchtime, and all the dishes were ideal for sharing – so we did. If a tomato carpaccio sounds rather unexciting – especially at 790 RUR – in fact it was my favourite dish of the entire meal, due to superlatively succulent beef-tomatoes and a coriander-miso dressing that turned them into a gourmet treat. Another of Glen Ballis’s dishes with a secret magic ingredient was the Crunchy Beef Carpaccio (640 RUR) – which turns-up slightly arranged on delicate crisps with an appealing aroma of truffle oil and a grated parmesan topping, and it all disappeared very easily indeed. Hearing of my veggie inclinations, the chefs rustled up a Tofu with SE Asian Spices & Edamame Beans, with a delicately light texture – not on the menu, but available anyhow for 590 RUR. Another item which we took on the restaurant’s recommendation was Tiger Prawns with miso mayonnaise (490 RUR). These came with a scattering of very strongly-flavoured ham shreds, which divided opinions – personally I felt they wrecked the delicate taste of the prawns. Marusya felt less strongly about this – well, she finished the plateful, so clearly she enjoyed them.
In the hands of an Australian chef in Russia, I couldn’t resist trying his own special take on a dessert created for the ballerina Pavlova’s gala performance in Sydney – Pavlova (590 RUR). And it delivered its very own pas-de-deux, brought to life with coconut meringues replacing the traditional ones, raspberry coulis, and pistachio ice-cream at the centre. But Nedalny’s Confectionery Chef is a star in his own right, Kobayashi Katsuhiko, and Marusya was more tempted by his Violet, which was a panna cotta with raspberry mousse - modest and dainty at a mere 490 RUR.
The brasserie style of the menu makes Nedalny Vostok an ideal location for anything from an elegant light snack with a friend through to an engaging multi-course meal with your business guests. The lighthearted decor favours a more social context for your meal, and in the evening there are DJs from 9pm onwards. For a very upscale dining experience, it’s up there among the world’s top eateries. |
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| 656. | Bookafe
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Looking to dazzle your friends as a cultured hipster - without breaking the bank? Bookafe is basically "Museum" - but for less than half the price. The strongest thing in its favour is the "statement" you make by naming it as your rendezvous - this is so cool it's almost off the thermometer. The three rooms are all set-up with the same furniture and physical decor - but each is colour-designed to set a different mood. The yellow room is light, bright and awash with positive aura; the red room is perfect for dark deeds and illicit liaisons; and on the basis of "blue for a boy", the blue room is more suited to a lad's night out. And the books? Well, they line the walls, covers facing outwards, establishing fashion that's both cerebral and visual. You are welcome to take down a book and flick through whilst you dine, if you wish? There are art books, deep philosophy, or artistic erotica amongst the many on view - but primarily they are there to establish an ambience. The project's been designed by architectural bureau 69 - also responsible for the interiors at vogue eateries like "Zhioltoye More" and "Goa".
The menu leans heavily towards the Italian Mediterranean, and indeed they've just introduced a new range of pizzas (250-450Rb) with inventive toppings (10% discount on take-out). The menu's innovative if not extensive, and it required a Mochito (180Rb) and a Cosmopolitan (195Rb) from their cocktail-list to concentrate our thoughts whilst choosing the main action of the evening. The Mochito was suitably subtle and had most of a market-garden of mint piled into the glass for good measure - whilst the Cosmopolitan was utterly delicious. The more health-concious might have headed for the fresh-pressed fruit and vegetable cocktails on offer (all in the 300Rb bracket) - bristling with vitamins to reinforce you against the dual onslaughts of crappy weather and heavy partying that mark the Year End in Moscow.
A very munchable bread-basket appeared, and immediately behind it came our appetiser courses. The Mesclan Salad (350Rb) is pretty simple- in fact, it's basically a green salad, but there's a nice assortment of leaves, including a bit of ruccola and endive. Interactivity's encouraged at Bookafe, and not only with the books. Many of the dishes arrive with the final stage to be completed by the diner - salads arrive with dressing served separately, squeezable lemons come in elegant net coverings. It all adds an element of theatre, and fills up the table with exotica. But where was the goat's cheese? Aha, there it was - in camouflage uniform, rolled in herbs - although the quantity was a bit sparse even so. By contrast, Mussels with Wine & Lemon (660Rb) were a huge portion, enough for a supper by itself. Good, big mussels in prime condition, with a piquant bouillon that divided opinion - my co-reviewer found it one of the best in Moscow though a bit salty.
The lull between courses offered another chance to glance around the premises. The design is quite "edgy" - so minimalist that it might even look a little poverty-stricken? This isn't a place to bring your newly-arrived friend from Novy Urengoy - who might wonder if this isn't an intense case of the Emperor's New Clothes? However, the trendy intellectual set who gather at Bookafe aren't at all deterred by this - and they are a diverse breed, including several older diners unphased by the contemporary decor.
Moving on to the mains, my dining companion was only moderately happy here. The Swordfish with risotto (550Rb) was chewier than expected, although attractively charred on the plate. The risotto was more liberally buttered than might have been ideal - although within the boundaries of acceptability. My veggie-oriented Buckwheat crepe with mushrooms (190Rb) arrived stuffed with a massive amount of molten cheese (not alluded to in the menu) that made it a bit indigestible, and swamped the delicate mushroom flavour.
All the Desserts weigh-in in the 250-350Rb vicinity. Figs with rosemary were pleasantly tart - although served on a not-entirely-successful biscuit-creme base, whilst the Cream with Forest Fruits was too cloying to enjoy, and went back largely untouched. The coffee , though, was the best we'd had in a Moscow restaurant in a long time.
Bookafe advertises itself as a "conceptual cafe", and as a venue to meet your cooler friends, it's ideal. The welcome is warm, and they have undoubtedly the most charming door staff in the city (please take note, other venues! Extras from "Brat II" don't make good door staff!). If you have a product to launch, or a reception to organise, it's a stylish location that is well worth checking out. |
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| 657. | Khacha Puri
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Poorly-run and over-priced Georgian Cafe
The idea ought to be a winner - delicious Georgian cuisine, in a warm friendly atmosphere, with a great location a few minutes off Pushkin Square. Unfortunately, very little of the promise is delivered. I ought to say that on the evening of our visit, a large table of “VIP” guests was commanding the attention of the restaurant staff, and we struggled to get the attention of waiters. I’d gone with a Russian friend - the waitress conversed entirely in Russian with her, and ignored me completely - even having my friend “translate” for me (although my Russian is up to TV-interview standard). I found this extremely rude.
“Khacha Puri” (named after the famous Georgian cheese breads) is an informal cafe arranged on two floors, with a minimalist steel-and-glass design that avoids the usual cliches of Georgian cafes. Seating is cramped and hardly relaxing - the whole cafe is very smoky. There is some naff live piano music that conjures up the atmosphere of a funeral. The menu comprises a shortlist of Georgian classic dishes - rather shorter than you will find in most other Georgian restaurants in Moscow, in fact. Mostly these dishes are adequately prepared - but there is nothing at all special to justify prices that are averagely 30-40% higher than in other Georgian cafes.
We began with house-speciality cocktails - a Pomegranate Mohito (290 RUR) that was refreshingly tangy (although not really much like a Mohito), and a rather horrible Grape Mohito (260 RUR) which went undrunk after a few sips. We ordered a khachapuri each, and decided to share the rest of the dishes, in usual Georgian fashion. The Red Lobio (bean salad, 270 RUR) was dry and lacked flavouring - the usual tart-plum sauce was missing. The same was true of the Eggplant Pkhali (320 RUR) - obviously prepared by a garlic-hating puritan who was being parsimonious with the olive-oil. Considering that you can pick-up a portion of delicious pkhali from a Georgian deli for half this price, I was feeling very short-changed at this point.
The food took an age to come. In fact everything took an age, and we’d been sitting in the restaurant for forty minutes before even the first items (home-made lemonade 90 RUR, home-made Tarkhun soft-drink 120 RUR) arrived. There’s no evidence of any management in the restaurant. The Grilled Vegetables (200 RUR) were very nicely prepared and presented - although they lacked some kind of sauce (of which Georgian cuisine has dozens) to accompany them. The Lamb Chops (490 RUR) were excellent, and juicily delicious. We also tried a Salmon Khinkhali (one piece = 90 RUR) - passable if unremarkable.
Finally the khachapuri cheese breads arrived - we took an Imeretian khachapuri (one of the simpler kinds, for 190 RUR), and an Adzharian khachapuri (240) with the traditional egg topping. Since these are the house speciality, there was every reasonable expectation that they ought to be good - and indeed they are, if a bit on the small side.
The service isn’t just slow - it’s shoddy. I had popped into “Khacha Puri” on a previous occasion (when they were nearly empty, at 10pm on a Sunday night) and had found the service brusque. This second visit was by way of giving them a second chance, but frankly it was no better.
If you’ve lived in Moscow for any time, you’ll almost certainly already have a favourite Georgian cafe or restaurant. I lived opposite one for eight years, and every visit was always a pleasure - smiling waiters, genial hospitality, great food, and a warm atmosphere. If those are your criteria for a Georgian meal, you’ll be sadly disappointed by Khacha Puri. I struggled to be more positive about this restaurant, but couldn’t find much to praise. After a long wait for indifferent food, we couldn’t be bothered to wait still longer for desserts or coffees, and left to have a coffee along Tverskaya instead. |
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| 658. | Gavroche
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Going into this review, with a name like Gavroche, I was intrigued, to say the least. I did some quick research on location since finding places in Moscow is usually hit, miss, and frustration.
Arriving to Gavroche by car is a bit tricky. Building 11 is a Soviet monolith that occupies nearly the entire block. We parked on the street at an available spot, and we were at the wrong end of the street, as luck would have it. However, Gavroche has a parking lot “in the back” that actually had available spots, so call ahead.
Metro stop is Park Kultury, and it is not a difficult walk to Gavroche – investigate prior and you will arrive without problem. Note, though, that the entrance is well-marked, but across from building 26.
For me, an increasing portion of the buying decision is simple – free WiFi, yes or no? I am madly loyal to Coffee House (I am here now) because they have free WiFi. I avoid Shokoladnitza and Starbucks precisely because they do not have free WiFi. It’s not a question of money – the free portion – it is a question of make it convenient for me, and I will give you my business and tell others to do the same.
Gavroche, I am happy to say – and as a pleasant surprise – has free WiFi announced by a sign that jumps out on the front door, and WiFi that works good. I had my iPad with me, so it was really a super addition. Small example – I did not know what “Gavroche” is or meant. Two seconds later, Victor Hugo and Les Miserables. Kudos to Gavroche for being, well, smart and recognizing its clientele.
I am a born cynic and that is how I went into Gavroche. I, however, do not have expectations that are not reasonable. On every count, Gavroche met my expectations – and, in all fairness, exceeded them as well.
With regard to interior, Gavroche is sleek and tastefully done. Nice and quiet. You can have a conversation easily across the table without having to huddle or yell. That was a huge plus, in addition to the fact that you are not crowded into a puny table. In short, you can relax, and you quickly do. Not the pretentious kind of relax, but actually feel at ease.
There is a seasonal terrace outside with sofa seating with blankets and space heaters available upon request. Inside, you do not feel cigarette smoke since it is whisked out almost immediately the central air system.
With regard to service, Gavroche does extremely well. Our waitress, Julia, was very attentive, but not over- attentive. Maybe I am alone in being annoyed when I finish my last bite – or not even finish it – and the plate is already off the table, seized by the hawk-eyed waiter or waitress who makes me feel like I am somehow not eating fast or efficiently enough.
This is not the case at Gavroche – again, you can relax here. Enjoy your seat, surf the net a bit, and eat at your own pace.
Gavroche is a wine bar with a sommelier that is happy to guide you through choices to meet your mood or entree. About 140 different wines are listed, with the most expensive approximately 17500 RUR, but with very nice bottles in the 2500 to 3500 RUR range.
Menus are in English and Russian, in separate covers, and, very importantly, they match each other. Where this is nice is if you are with somebody who does not speak English, he/she can suggest something, show it to you on his/her menu, and it will match up the English menu for you to poke at for your waitress. A small criticism is that portion sizes are not noted.
We started the meal with wine (Gentil Hugel Alsace, 270 RUR glass and Givry, 390 glass) that was recommended by the sommelier, as well as two appetizers – an artichoke, onions, and pickles assortment (290 RUR) and a cured meat platter assortment (470 RUR). The wine was excellent and the dishes came quickly, as well as a nice bowl of baguette style bread with soft butter. Both dishes were a super start to the dining experience, and there is a wide array of appetizers from which you can choose to suit your taste.
Again, with WiFi and an iPad on-hand, we enjoyed the quiet – but not empty – atmosphere and the good wine with appetizers. There was no rush to order, and we did not feel rushed.
I was not sure what I wanted to order for my entree, so I told Julia to surprise me. No fish, no pasta, but everything else was, as you can say, on the menu. We did, however, order two other entrees to have a basis of comparison – duck breast with cranberry sauce (590 RUR) and steamed/grilled cod with vegetables and rice (470 RUR).
The cod was very well prepared and flavorful. Duck is also something that I tend to stay away from because any time that I have ordered it in Moscow, I have been painfully disappointed – too dry, overcooked, and really just not up to par. However, the duck was excellent. In fact, it was as perfect as really possible – and for a person like me who is not a big fan of this meat, that says a lot about Gavroche’s cook and recipes.
Honestly, when I said “surprise me”, I wanted the ribeye steak (950 RUR), medium done. Julia must have saw it in my eyes because that is exactly what she brought me, accompanied by a nice bowl of fresh greens and round/cube cut French fries that came with a bottle of Heinz ketchup too. No bowl of 50g – for the first time anywhere not Starlite Diner was I presented with my own bottle of ketchup.
The ribeye was super. Just super. The sauce that accompanied brought out the inherent flavor of the cut of meat. It was cooked to perfection, and exceeded my expectations in every way. A nice steak in Moscow at a reasonable price is hard to find since the price-good steak or not gamut is always a shot in the dark. If simply for another steak and big beer, I will be back to Gavroche.
I forgot to mention – before enjoying the entrees, we were able to consult with the sommelier again about wines that would go well with the dishes. He suggested Chablis Grand Regnard (590 RUR glass) and Pouilly Fuisse Faiveley Le Marconnais (470 RUR glass). The Chablis was good, but the first white wine got the green light our party for the best combination with a nice fish dish. The Pouilly was a perfect match for the duck entree. For my exquisite ribeye – nothing beats a big .5L Kronenburg draft (210 RUR), even if you are in a wine bar with a selection as deep as Gavroche’s.
Dinner complete and extremely satisfied. We chatted amongst ourselves for 20 minutes or so before considering dessert. Looked up a few more random things using WiFi, made some phone calls with Skype, and was pulled in for dessert.
My huge conundrum is cheesecake in Moscow since, generally, good cheesecake is even harder to find than your own bottle of ketchup. The best cheesecake in the world is made by my Uncle Bruce in the US. He knows this, and the world knows this.
However, Uncle Bruce, you have a worthy competitor in the cheesecake with strawberry sauce (320 RUR) offered at Gavroche. I have had cheesecake at inexpensive and expensive places in Moscow – and few have scored memorable – but my quote when wolfing mine down with my Americano (190 RUR) and Sambuca Molinari (290 RUR) was, “(t)his is the best damn cheesecake in Moscow!”, and it is.
We tried two other deserts as well – a Sotern with Thai Orchid (380 RUR) and chocolate fudge mindal cake (310 RUR) with a cappuccino (130 RUR) for my dining partner. I came out of my cheesecake bliss to try both of them, and both were very nice. Sotern was a new dish for me, and it was a nice, light composition. The chocolate fudge mindal, I postulate, was as much a round piece of heaven for chocolate lovers as my round piece of heaven cheesecake.
The appealing and relaxing atmosphere at Gavroche lasts the entire meal. I have had hard time thinking about “how” to express the atmosphere in words. Instead, I prefer to use examples.
For instance, Gavroche is a restaurant that would be perfect if you had friends or family visiting and you want a place that you can sit down to catch up. For those in a party like this, WiFi allows the just arrived to get caught up on things like email, places he/she would like to see in Moscow, and the like. The menu is diverse enough to satisfy most dining preferences, and, moreover, the wine list is impeccable in selection and pricing.
If not a friends and family type gathering, Gavroche is perfect for entertaining business clients, professional colleagues, or co-workers. Location is central, parking lot close, terrace available, excess seating upon request can be reserved, and it is a quite place for uninterrupted conversations.
In closing, I give Gavroche a ringing Purdy Five-Star Endorsement on all accounts. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend Gavroche to anybody in the Expat.ru community looking for a new place to try or a familiar place to return to you on your second, third, fourth, et al visits! |
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| 659. | Syr (Cheese)
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Relaxed and grown-up Italian restaurant where the food is the centre of attention.
Arkady Novikov has eateries where it’s all about you (Vogue Cafe). And he has eateries where it’s all about him (Galleria). But before either of those came Syr, where it’s all about the food - and still is. Almost everyone knows where CHEESE (“Syr”) is – you can’t miss it as your taxi trundles past on the Garden Ring, it’s the place with the model of a chunk of cheese on its roof. (They really should consider taking that thing down now). But yesterday’s young cheese is today’s vintage classic, and Syr has not just moved on with the times, but led from the front. The recently remodelled interiors are joined by an elegant staircase – cheese-themed on the ground floor, the last word in subdued post-modern elegance and contemporary chic upstairs.
As the urbane General Director, Albert Danielyan, puts it succinctly – “at Syr, everything is harnessed to presenting fabulous food. The choice of ingredients, the range of the menus, the decor, the furnishings… nothing takes away from the food, and the delicate harmony in each of the dishes. It’s unusual, almost unique, for a contemporary Moscow restaurant – we eschew glamour in favour of gastronomy, and we don’t apologise for that.” He isn’t joking. Every millimetre of glam and glitz has been carefully excluded in favour of subdued and understated contemporary design. Syr is a modern theatre, where the food is the spotlight, and the diners are the audience.
But neither is Syr an ascetic foodie temple either – a subtle and sophisticated welcome awaits. I stumbled through its doors on the hottest day of the year, with the mercury showing +37C and my face the colour of gazpacho. I was also my habitual seven minutes late – for a dinner-date who doesn’t appreciate being kept waiting. Some iced water and some towels appeared without beckoning, along with the suggestion of sitting upstairs – “M’sieur will find it rather cooler”, they smiled. Marusya, fortunately, was held-up in traffic, and by the time she arrived I was the very picture of calm composure. This all afforded the chance to visit the swanky loos, and cast an initial eye over the menu – with the Summer Special Menu delicately mentioned by the waiter.
The aperitifs appeared considerably before the story of the delayed arrival was done, and we settled comfortably into a corner table, with air-conditioning set sensibly to “pleasant ambient” rather than “Ice Station Zebra”. The Forest Berry Crush (380 RUR) had an almost miraculous mood-restoring effect on Marusya, whilst my rather staid choice of a Classic Mojito (440 RUR) was a mixologist’s manna, and hit the spot most neatly. A selection of breads (wheat rolls, sumptuous rye-bread and some lavash) came in a stylish paper cone, with hot toasts and dips to savour. With carbs and oils declared persona non grata by Marusya, the perfect appetiser came from the Summer Menu – Scallop Tartare with melon, asparagus and limoncello (1200 RUR), and the mouth-wateringly fresh flavours proved a perfect balance. I was having none of that, and tucked in to Avocado & Artichoke Salad (860 RUR for a gigantic portion – which went very extremely well with the bread). Feeling somewhat chastened by Marusya’s noble self-denial, I followed suit and chose a Gazpacho Chilled Soup (560 RUR), which came with a free portion of smugness. Doing that “you try a bit of mine” thing, I have to say I regretted missing the Summer Celery Soup With Egg & Truffle (960 RUR) – which is a sort of orgasm in a bowl, and probably shouldn’t be served to under-18s. Of course at that price it ought to be stupendous too – and this doesn’t disappoint.
And here we took a pause to refill our drinks, ask for some more water, and quietly digest what was merely Act One of the performance. The entire culinary drama is the brainchild of Novikov star chef Mircko Zago, whose route to Moscow lay through Aosta, Gstaad, Rome, and Verona. His culinary daring has won him awards in Italy, where he is well-known on television. His work creating banquets for the Russian Presidency, however, was an appropriately more discreet affair. In addition to his work at Syr, Mircko Zago has been the Consultant Chef on many other new Novikov restaurants – including Galleria, Cantinetta Antinori and Nedal’ny Vostok.
Meanwhile, our main courses – presented with artistic beauty on fine white porcelain – came speeding from the kitchen. One of the best features of the finest kind of service in a restaurant is that you hardly notice it happening around you – you can leave your semaphore manuals and signalling coughs at home. Marusya’s eye had fallen on the Medallions of Beef with Thyme (1300 RUR), and they were every bit as tender as the waiter had faithfully promised. My usual habit of choosing the gonzo main dish from the menu was fustrated – there are no duds here, and Grilled Scallops with Mediterranean Ratatouille were worth every last rouble of 1600 RUR.
But.. where was the cheese? I’d had none so far, and decided to pass-up on the desserts in favour of putting the cheese-board to the test. There’s gorgonzola and gorgonzola, (300 RUR) but this was tantalisingly good, and any wistful regret for the tempting pannacotta instantly passed. Meanwhile, however, all the good intentions across the table that had marked the earlier stages were now thrown to the wind… a Raspberry Millefeuille (700 RUR) was heartily consumed in short order, with a growing chorus of yummy appreciation as its several layers disappeared. Tea and coffee came along with perfect timing.
None of this, you will already have noticed, is aimed at the credit-crunched – but in fairness, Mr Novikov’s culinary nest is home to a good clutch of value-priced eateries too. Syr doesn’t really have serious competitors in Moscow – you would need an air-ticket to head off in search of anything quite as good as this in the world. In Moscow, it simply doesn’t get better than this. |
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| 660. | Kolbasoff-2
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When the man and I set out to try Kolbasoff’s newest location near metro Oktyabrskoye Polye, I was more or less expecting to have an experience similar to what we found at the Kolbasoff location at metro Taganskaya. And as far as some aspects were concerned, there were indeed similarities. But this time around I left feeling much more optimistic about Kolbasoff and the possibilities therein.
This newer Kolbasoff venue is not in a central location, but rather in an area in north(-western) Moscow that has seen quite a few new developments over the past couple of years. Kolbasoff is about a ten minute (or less) walk from the metro (or about a 10 minute marshrutka ride from Sokol) on the third floor of the Fifth Avenue shopping center. The lower floor of the restaurant includes a long bar and a large room with tables, while the smaller upstairs is mostly equipped with booths. The design is very modern, using predominantly black and white, and before the game came on Mr. Polly was treated to at least one hour of Fashion TV.
We’re not sure if the menu has changed at all at the Taganskaya location, but we much preferred the menu at Oktyabrskoye Polye. For one, at least at this location, there is more than just sausage on the menu. There are salads with actual leafy green lettuces, such as ruccolla; there are salads with just vegetables in them for our non-meat-eating friends. There are steaks and cuts of meat that have not been turned into sausage, there are two fish entr?e selections and there is one mushroom and potato entr?e, again for the vegetarians. Granted, the first two pages of the menu are mainly cured meat appetizers, and some of the soups do feature sausage, but it is a sausage-themed restaurant after all. Let there be meat.
The back of the menu includes three pages of beer selections, and most of the draught beer choices can be served in small (0.33L), medium (0.5L) or large (1L) glasses. Beer prices ranged from average to pretty steep (120-upwards of 300Rbs). As I have already mentioned, I was very pleasantly surprised to find Newcastle on the menu – the first time I personally have seen this beer in Moscow (210Rbs for half liter). Another interesting beer option was Spirit of Hemp, which I tried for the first time. (It smells a little skunky, but basically tastes like your average light beer.)
For starters, I ordered a ruccolla and frisee salad with shrimp and mushrooms (310Rbs) and beef carpaccio (180Rbs), while Mr. Polly decided to try the Kolbasoff soup (180Rbs) and the boiled beer shrimp (180Rbs). I really enjoyed the salad, although I did wish it had a bit more mushrooms in it (they were excellent). The shrimp with the salad were succulent and brushed with a nice garlicky pesto sauce. Upon tasting his soup, the ingredients of which include soft cheese, white sausage (a little spicy!), pepper and tomatoes, Mr. Polly informed me that he wanted me to write that he loves Kolbasoff 2. I tried a spoonful, and agreed. It was thick, filling, and had a nice flavor and just the right amount of spice. Although he was slightly disappointed with the Spaten beer (95Rbs for a 0.33L), I was thoroughly savoring my rare Newcastle.
My beef carpaccio was served with raw mushrooms and celery, slice of lemon and lime and nice thin strips of fresh parmesan with some stray ruccolla leaves. I quite liked the meat itself, which I found delicate but flavorful. However, it did seem as though some of the slices had soaked in a little too much balsamic. Meanwhile, Mr. Polly commented on his beer shrimp, which he said were good, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, Mr. Polly tried a glass of Velvet beer (150Rbs for 0.4L and 290 for 1L), which he spoke highly of, and later Hoffbrau (120-0.33 / 180-1L). I toyed with the idea of trying a bottle of First Lady (290 Rbs – 0.33L), mainly because it was allegedly a beer made expressly for women, but then decided against it and got a Krusovice instead (105Rbs –0.33L / 170 0.5L).
We had a tough time decided on our entrees – we were wavering between the turkey sausage (320Rbs) and the ostrich sausage (450Rbs) or a steak. Kolbasoff 2’s menu offers both their own special Kolbasoff steak (580Rbs) and Angus steak (540Rbs). In the end, since we were in a sausage place, we decided we should eat the sausages. I ordered the turkey sausage and Mr. Polly ordered the ostrich sausage plate. Both were served with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes (served, funnily enough, as a little face: the sausage is the smile, the mashed potatoes have two gherkins for eyes and there is a stewed tomato in the sauerkraut for a nose).
Both of our sausages were fresh and juicy – my turkey sausage was a bit too juicy, almost kind of watery. This did not lend the best flavor to the turkey, which had not been cooked with any spices or onions or anything at all. A touch of anything would have really picked the dish up. Mr. Polly’s ostrich sausage, however, had a very nice flavor and was mixed with a touch of scallions. We were both ostrich virgins prior to this and were pleased with the freshness and the taste. He cleaned his plate, but I only ate about half of my sausage, if that much.
Mr. Polly decided to try the tiramisu for dessert (170Rbs), which was really a beauty of a piece of cake – really nicely presented. I only got to try a bit before Mr. Polly inhaled it all (which means it was very good).
The service was simply superb. Our waiter was efficient and completely non-intrusive, always there at the right time. What’s more, when we left I was careless enough to have left my cell phone on the table. I didn’t realize this until the next morning, but when we called to ask if it was there – it was! They had taken care to set it aside, which is a lot more than can be said for many Moscow establishments.
We had a very nice evening and although the prices seemed to be a little steeper from what we remembered from the Kolbasoff restaurant at Taganskaya, we will definitely consider going back again. |
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| 661. | The Wild Donkey Bar
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From reading its website, News and More (NM) had great potential. I really like the idea of a place to be able to relax, read newspapers and magazines, and take a time out from busy Moscow. However, what NM does not quite understand is that Moscow is full of places offering essentially the same vibe – they are called coffee shops and number in the hundreds, if not thousands, and with prices that are much easier on the wallet.
NM’s website is better than most that I have seen, with a concise description of how to find the restaurant and a history of the building. The location is immediately on the Garden Ring near the American Embassy, but not especially close to any metro. Krasnopresnenskaya, Smolenskaya, and Arbatskaya are your closest metro stations, all of them more than a “five minute walk”. Street parking can be problematic too since the building is located on an exit from the Garden Ring – if you do not find parking, you are either going right to Kievskiy Vokzal or left and around to the Garden Ring again.
From my glancing view, NM does have some cozy, darker sitting areas that would better fit its theme of relaxing pseudo-coffee and news shop. However, all of those areas are smoking areas, so we were led into a formal dining room. It was quite the contrast from what I had expected – closer to my grandma’s stuffy dining room on a Sunday or a 50th birthday party in a nicely decorated Soviet Academy of Physics. That is, interior is “well done” on a standalone basis of cost of materials and composition, but it does not fit NM’s theme or raison d’être really in any way.
In contrast, in Seattle there is a café with a similar theme called The Library Café. I was a there many times years ago, and I relish it to this day. Books, magazines, mismatched silverware, creaky tables, and awesome food at reasonable prices – truly a place where you could take oasis from a busy day.
This is what NM is trying to deliver – a kind of folksy, kick back with a newspaper place. A dining room with seemingly 5 forks, 5 knives, and all the other accoutrements expensive dining do not mesh with this mission statement. Either a place in going to be fine dining or not; it is virtually impossible to be both.
To the food specifics, however, and there are highlights, but these highlights were tempered with the huge amounts of dead time between dishes.
We began with an appetizer of prosciutto di parma served on fresh melon (420 RUB) and a chicken quesadilla (420 RUB). Upon finally arriving to the table, both of these were actually very good. I have had bad, but expensive, prosciutto in Moscow all too often; NM’s prosciutto was just right. Quesadilla was served with 4 different sauces; I would readily order it again if dining at NM.
Borsch (350 RUB) came much later – kind of an encore to the appetizer, but still very distant to entrées that would arrive at some point in the distant future.
My dining partner ordered sea trout (690 RUB) that was served with vegetables and pineapple sauce, and I opted for the signature cheeseburger with country fries (490 RUB) upon reading the inviting description in the menu.
The sea trout was rated excellent in terms of taste, presentation, portion size, and the composition as a whole – good vegetables, sauces, and flavorful resonance.
My cheeseburger was likely the only time that I have not finished a cheeseburger ever in my life. First and foremost, the waiter did not ask how I wanted it cooked, and, from the receipt, decided that I must have looked like a “medium rare” carnivore. I remember after the first few bites – and, heck, it had been about 45 minutes since the borsch, or so it seemed, and I was hungry – I said, “Really, this tastes horrible, if you can call having no taste a distinctly horrible taste.”
Maybe the cheeseburger would have tasted as good as it looks on the website photos if it HAD BEEN COOKED. Since I have no basis of comparison, I have to give it a nearly 500 ruble failing grade and consider myself lucky that I did not order the steak, as it would have likely came freshly hacked from a bloody side of beef, slapped on the grill for five seconds, brought out on a fancy plate, and put between fork number 4 and knife number 3 on the table.
For dessert, we chose one crème broule (190 RUB), Americano (100 RUB), and latte (250 RUB). At that point, dessert was an unsmiling asterisk to a two hour dining experience that should have taken about an hour, such a long period in which I would have thought my cheeseburger could have been cooked properly. Dessert and coffee were fine, but, again, like having dessert and coffee in my grandma’s stuffy dining room.
The check came, and we were ready to go. A part of me wanted to explore the establishment to be able to offer a more robust review, but a much bigger part of me just wanted to find the car keys faster, followed by the door. It would have been nice if, at some point in the marathon, the manager – or, ahem, even our waiter – would have come up and asked how things were going or attempt to tell us more about NM. Total bill was 3360 RUB plus gratuity (which I left grudgingly); I would have valued the experience at much less and would have walked out about 45 minutes into the meal.
In closing, NM falls into the category of restaurants that I would recommend only to a very limited number of people and with qualifications. If you are near the American Embassy and want a place with good WiFi and coffee, check out NM. If you are near the American Embassy and want a place offering a reasonable value proposition AND good food, check out Novinsky Passazh, namely Mamina Pasta. Hopefully NM finds its religion in the future, but I will not be rushing back to find out for myself. |
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| 662. | Frendy's
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In contrast to a recent review of a restaurant that I will refrain from naming – a place that may very well not exist when you read this review – I liked Frendy’s.
In fact, I not only liked Frendy’s, I was, and am, enamored with this small, cozy American-style diner on Ulitsa Pokrovka. Since our initial, virgin dinner on a windy, cold night in March, I have returned there two more times with friends.
Your first challenge with regard to Frendy’s is arriving. The location is equidistant between three metro stations – Kitay-Gorod, Chistiye Prudy, and Kurskaya – and Ulitsa Pokrovka is a long, one-way street if you are driving.
The location, however, is not a deal breaker and, for my taste, is more of an asset than a liability. In Moscow, I like smaller establishments that are not “so easy” to get to because, well, there tend to be less people, and fewer throngs of customers means that your business is “better valued” and results in a better dining experience.
If walking, get off at either Kitay-Gorod or Chistiye Prudy. It’s a 10 to 15 minute walk to Frendy’s on main streets, and in the Spring, Summer, or Fall, this walk is enjoyable and gives you an easy entry into a unique area of Moscow. Look for the big, lighted, yellow-hued sign – take a right through a small courtyard, and you are there.
Frendy’s occupies the third floor of a rustic, historic building. The second floor is occupied by the Bentley Hotel, and both businesses fall under the same ownership umbrella.
Upon making it up the stairs, you will realize immediately that three flights of stairs for such a cool diner is a fair trade indeed. The space that the designers had to use in formulating Frendy’s is challenging - Third floor, attic-style ceilings, and really only one possible natural light area.
Many restaurants in Moscow attempt to deliver either trendy-dark-expensive-depression or uber lighted-faux-expensive-bubble gum – and generally FAIL at delivering anything. Few restaurants “get it” and deliver the simple ambiance that Frendy’s does through its use of the right lighting, mirrors, and seating arrangement. Throughout the meal, I gushed to my dining partner – “I really like this place, even more than – ahem – Starlite”. From the dreary weather outside to the warm, lively reception inside – Frendy’s gets a 10 on atmosphere and setting.
To note, however, Frendy’s is not large and while it’s still a newer establishment, limited seating capacity is less of a dire issue. On the other hand, with a challenging location, if I were a walk-up diner who had made the trek to Frendy’s only to find out that I had to wait for a table, I would not be singing Fred Astaire with a smile. In the warmer months – and this is what will garner my Spring/Summer business – there will be seating, and perhaps a separate menu, in the courtyard outside.
Frendy’s also does not have free Wi-Fi access for customers and it can be challenging to catch a good signal in the building. It is generally a huge minus for me to not have readily-available Wi-Fi access, but I understand that the manager will add WiFi in the near future, as well as a loyalty/discount program and other promotions.
For the unabashedly American or Russian hamburger soul, the menu at Frendy’s is heaven. Keep this in mind when you go there – Frendy’s does not pretend to be something it is not. It is an American diner, and it does not portend to be everything for everybody.
The menu reads like an All-Star list of the foods that are the death of the Pax Americana and will be the downfall of the rising Asian Tiger. From my vivid memory, cheeseburgers, chicken wings, nachos, Philly cheesesteak, seasoned french fries, onion rings, chili, nachos, omlets, eggs over easy, ranch dressing (a first in Moscow for me), the seemingly mandated-by-law Caesar salad, and porridge. In short, every selection on the menu was appealing for me, even the porridge.
We started with two appetizers, and it was hard to choose just two from the tantalizing list. We settled on boneless BBQ-flavored chicken wings (465 RUB) and Frendy’s nachos (380 RUB), to be doused separately and exclusively in a cold bottle of Coors Light (115 RUB) and milkshake (240 RUB).
Warning: Like the American waistline and ego, love it or hate it, the portions at Frendy’s are All-American too. That is, they are BIG. Actually, “big” is unfair – they are huge, and savory to the last gram!
The chicken wings came out first, and were immaculate. Then the huge plate of nachos showed up to the party, and I was a paralyzed to choose which to tear into with more gusto. In the meantime, my civilized, Red passport-carrying dining partner was enjoying her mushroom soup (210 RUB) and, surprise, Caesar salad with freshly grilled chicken (345 RUB).
I vaguely remember her saying, well, positive words about her soup and salad. Honestly, though, I was lost like Hunter S. Thompson in Circus Circus in the ranch dressing sauce for my wings, a mountain of nachos, and Coors Light.
To wit, it was a transcendental escape for my unapologetically American soul at an unapologetic American diner. I could have been in Steve’s Diner in a Vermont as easily as Frendy’s on Ulitsa Pokrovka in Moscow – like Dorothy in Oz, there is no place like home, and Frendy’s is a juicy morsel of genuine Americana.
Next were entrees – and we immediately understood it would be next to impossible to have room for them. For me, a Cheddar Bacon Burger (455 RUB) with breaded onion rings and, for my dining date, a quartered Club Sandwich (395 RUB) with french fries.
The cheeseburger was a three-inch tall monster daring you to take the first bite. My only choice was to douse it in ketchup and ranch, squeeze the bun down into the huge chunk of meat, and tear off the first sloppy bite. Harkening back to the famous Buffet song that will be played at my wake one day – “Cheeseburger in Paradise, not too particular, not too precise….just a Cheeseburger in Paradise. “ Absolute sloppy Cheeseburger heaven, each and every bite.
My dining partner had 25% of her Club Sandwich and raved that it was so good that it was a shame to try to enjoy it when she was already satiated, so she stopped to instead take photos of me with my new kitten.
At this point, we requested take home boxes since there was so much food remaining, all of it, quite frankly, damn good. Our items were wrapped in foil, neatly packed into a bag, and returned to us. As a testament to the “hot damn” factor of our entire meal, my Saturday breakfast was, immediately upon getting out of bed, my remaining chicken wings and cheeseburger. I gladly dodged the scathing barrage of words from my lady to indulge in Frendy’s morning after.
In short, I do not know what else can be said. Our bill was 2845 RUB – a bargain for the quality of food, portion size, mouth-watering flavor, attentive service, and appealing atmosphere.
Without hesitation, I recommend Frendy’s if you are looking for an American diner experience. I am writing this review on Delta flight 30 somewhere over Greenland – and I will be going to Frendy’s later today upon arrival, no joke. I recommend that you do the same! |
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| 663. | Shokoladnitsa
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Turn the corner from the Chekovskaya metro station, walk one block and you've already arrived at the newest Shokoladnitsa cafe. Although it belongs to one of Moscow's biggest chains, the new establishment has a certain individuality. Tucked away on a Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, with its entrance below street level, it escapes the main-street crowds and appears secluded and understated.
After descending the stairs, the first thing that meets your eyes is a large illuminated showcase of gorgeous cakes and desserts: jewel-like berries, sections of cheesecake, dainty filo parcels, and various chocolate morsels. To the right of this tempting counter display is the dining area--a room of exposed brick walls, wooden tables and big soft leather armchairs. The inhabitants of these chairs are diverse--work colleagues, close friends, and solitary diners--but they all share a relaxed unhurried manner that the furniture seems to invite.
Seeking the back room, my friend and I wandered through a corridor admiring an intriguing collection of coffee merchandise. Cups, plungers, parfait spoons and calabashes were displayed with prices attached.
Complete with its own counter and wait staff, the back room itself is designed to match the non-smoking section at the front, though it has a quieter, more intimate atmosphere. Though I am a non-smoker I felt very comfortable, as the room is very well ventilated. We took a table under a window, where one of the chairs 'grew' out of the wall--the wall was upholstered with leather to form the chair back, and a wide ledge with bolster cushions formed the seat.
A waitress brought the menu, and we browsed through the large variety of coffees, teas, drinks and snacks. I noticed that there were four different kinds of business lunch available, but as it was 2 p.m. I felt like something lighter.
We both decided to warm up with a glass of 'Glintvein' (mulled wine) (150Rb). This turned out to be a delicious concoction of Chilean red wine, sugar, cinnamon, citrus peel and cloves. The warm alcoholic glow had barely kicked in when the very prompt waitress brought my French mushroom soup with separate croutons. The soup was a cup of warm rich mushroom cream that I enjoyed at the time but regretted later. As I took care of the soup, my friend sipped away happily at her Cappuccino (80Rb).
In two minutes, we were already onto the main course--dessert. I was presented with Pancakes which were stuffed with honey and poppy seeds and accompanied by two sauces, chocolate and vanilla (120Rb). I enjoyed the combination of different sweets and the caviar-like texture of the seeds. My friend informed me that the dessert was invented in 1964 by the original Shokoladnitsa near Oktyabrskaya metro station. My tea was a white, Chinese jasmine-flavoured brew that complemented the sweets with its fresh, mild and not quite bitter taste.
My friend seemed equally absorbed in her selections. I sampled her European cheesecake with strawberries (160Rb), and was impressed by its smooth cheesy tang and feathery lightness offset with a juicy strawberry topping. She was also impressed with her drink - Japanese Sencha tea, which comes from Camellia buds (100Rb).
Shokoladnitsa's reasonably priced desserts and caffeinated brews already have a reputation as being among the best in Moscow. This location offers other benefits, in particular its quiet and comfortable atmosphere and fast service. Let's see what comes next. |
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| 664. | Assaggiatore
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Il Assaggiatore Piace il Ristorante “Assaggiatore”
The title of this review is the extent of my ‘polite’ Italian, bit and pieces of which I mostly learned from my former Italian-American boss of my restaurant days years ago, Mr. Castiglione – a tall mustached man from the southernmost point of Italy, Calabria, which might as well be Sicily. A good man and a good boss, and with memorable habits such as walking around the kitchen near closing time with a loaded pistol noticeably stuffed in his back pocket. He always said he had a good reason for it, and when I finally I asked him I didn’t bring up the subject again. He taught me other useful words not for print, but they always came in handy back then to secure one’s place in the kitchen hierarchy. In exchange I told him about great Italians that shared his last name such as Giovanni and Baldassare Castiglioni of the Renaissance, to whom he strangely bore a faint resemblance.
Assaggiatore literally means “the taster,” and in this case that was me. Assaggiatore has an excellent location, right on Ostozhenka between Kropotkinskaya and Park Kultury metro stations. For the review I decided to invite my first restaurant review companion, a Russian-Irish girl who has proven to be the best zamestitel Assaggiatore yet.
Despite having a prime location, the restaurant seems to be one of those places that is overlooked. We visited on a Saturday night, but had the place nearly to ourselves. However, the attendance that night did not reflect on the food our service. Even though Assaggiatore share the same street with top-end dining spots such as Vanil and Vertinskiy, the restaurant has a more modest approach of a nice Italian cafe with a pleasant white-washed exposed brick interior and wooden chairs. The menu features a broad range of Italian dishes from traditional Italian antipasta appetizers (carpaccios of salmon, tuna, and squid 350-420 Rbs), thin crust pizzas (480 Rbs), variety of pastas (390 – 650 Rbs), seafood (such as Chilean seabass in rosemary sauce 830 Rbs or grilled fish of your choice), and meat dishes from a wood-fired oven such as lamb with herbs (860 Rbs), beef Florentine (950 Rbs), and filet-mignon (1050 Rbs). The menu also had an excellent selection of creative side dishes, such as spinach and pine nuts (160 Rbs). The restaurant, alas, also offers a sushi menu. I swear there must be some city ordinance requiring sushi in all restaurants in Moscow.
We began with the wine list of Italian, French, and Chilean wines ranging from 180-220 Rbs a glass and – predicting I may sample some of the seafood on the menu - settled on a glass of Italian Pinto Grigio. The bilingual menu provided some good reading material, so to start off we immediately ordered focaccia with tomatoes (130 Rbs) to hold us over. Inexplicably we received a focaccia with pesto which looked and smelled so good we argued about sending it back, an argument which I later regretted I won as the pesto version did look superior in comparison.
It was tempting to sample something from each menu category, but seeing we only had one evening we decided to focus on the salads, soups, pastas, and deserts. Of the salads, my dinner date chose the avocado and grilled prawn salad (380 Rbs), which was a nice summer dish, albeit light on the avocado. Amongst a tasty selection of soups I selected the asparagus cream soup with crab meat (390 Rbs), which included bits of fresh asparagus but would have benefited from more crab meat to add more flavor to balance the combination.
The choice of a main course was challenging amidst some very good options. Noting some good seafood selections on the menu, but not wanting to walk away from an Italian restaurant without trying their pasta, I settled on the spaghetti with mussels (550 Rbs) which had an excellent sauce of garlic, fresh basil, parsley, and tomatoes. The mussels were traditionally served in the shell and the portion was quite generous, but I found the mussels themselves to be a bit chewy and perhaps not as fresh as one would find in Italy. Seeing we are in Moscow, I allowed that as a pass. The pasta itself tasted homemade and well-prepared al dente, something one does not often find in a country where things are often over boiled. Even though I was pleased with my dish, I was a bit envious of my date’s gnocchi in “Assiaggiattorre sauce,” which was a nice fresh mushroom and vegetable ragu sauce, a unique change from the standard cream sauce gnocchi usually find themselves in.
After our main courses we were both indeed already full, but could not help but order desserts – Italian panna cotta (170 Rbs), and a dish of Italian pistachio and chocolate ice cream (80 Rbs a scoop) followed by Italian espressos (110 Rbs).
For some post-meal exercise, we were graciously given a tour of the restaurant and discovered a beautiful summer terrace in the back (too cold that day to enjoy it), and a basement VIP room suitable for banquets (what’s a respectable Moscow establishment without a VIP room?).
Service was prompt and polite, food quiet satisfactory, and atmosphere pleasant. Worthy of a return trip, and also an excellent spot for lunches given its prime location. Assaggiatore also stands out for a wonderfully diverse menu to encourage repeat customers. However, my main suggestion to the restaurant management is to drop the sushi from that diversity and be a true Italian restaurant. I can only imagine what Mr. Castiglioni would have said to me had I proposed added tuna rolls to the menu of where I worked; I certainly would not have mentioned it around closing time. |
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| 665. | Expeditsia
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The Expeditsia restaurant which opened recently amid a good deal of publicity, is tucked away in an undisturbed part of the city, just off Solyanka.
The chef, Leon Ek, is of Night Flight fame, which has long boasted a tasty, inexpensive business lunch. But that's another restaurant-and another story.
Expeditsia is on the first floor of a pre revolutionary building. Once inside, you are struck by post-modern decor. As you make your way through the pine trees to your table, you absorb the subtle design and at the same time wonder why there is a helicopter at one end. Suddenly, you are aware that you are walking over a glass floor with a miniature river scene laid out below.
I ordered the Siberian Delicacy starter. My colleague chose the smoked Omul salad "Baikal". Which, we were informed, is a fresh water fish found only in Lake Baikal. It came very nicely presented with cedar oil but unimaginatively garnished with potato salad. My Siberian delicacy was a variety of small concoctions, burbot liver and damsons with aquavit, smoked fish and other salads. Again, well presented - but I was expecting the food to be as edgy as the decor and was a little disappointed.
They stock a reasonable selection of wines - Both new and old world. We settled on a bottle of Chilean Chardonay.
All of five tables were occupied the evening of our visit. Passable for 7pm on a Tuesday evening but the interior is so eye-catching that the lack of fellow diners doesn't distract you from the experience.
So, why the helicopter? The menu reflects the fare that can be hunted on a typical expedition to the Siberian wilderness, where you're either dropped off by the chopper to wage war on the wildlife, or you can hover overhead, picking off the game. , ducks, rabbits, wild horse etc. - are the critters likely to come into your cross hairs - and almost all are represented on the Expeditsia menu.
Pheasant and young wild horse followed. The pheasant was terrific. Very tender and cooked slightly pink. It rested on a lightly fried potato cake and was presented with cauliflower and celery purees with a ribbon of delicious pear, cognac sauce. It looked and tasted delightful.
I went for the roasted young horse from Yakutia. It was a bit of an attention-grabber served on a skewer and wooden board and looked as if it had been broiled rather than roasted as stated on the menu. The sauteed mushrooms in duck fat, were simple button mushrooms. At these prices I would have expected wild mushrooms at least. There was a celery, herb and cheese thing too. It was Okay, but not very impressive.
A lemon pistache mousse arrived for dessert. Pleasantly done but the pistache mousse had a little too much gelatine and was rubbery. The chocolate mousse was better. Nicely chilled and beautifully contrasted with hot parcels of baked apple wrapped in pastry.
The service was professional and attentive. And if your Russian is like mine (patchy), the staff will work hard to ensure things go smoothly.
The menu is well balanced and interesting, even though it leans heavily on raw fish, especially the starters. There are enough soups to justify a separate section to accommodate them and the main courses include various wild animals along side more familiar offerings such as steak and salmon. Creative desserts such as frozen cranberry with warm fudge and a homely Siberian berry pie are featured.
The bill was not cheap - around $130 US for two.
Overall, the decor upstaged the food but I understand that Leon the chef was off that night. Is Expeditsia just quirky, vying for attention in the over crowded Moscow restaurant scene? Probably, although its always going to be tough to make the food as appealing as the concept. Who can resist the lure of exploring Siberia and hunting in a helicopter? I recon they should sell those tours at reception - just a thought!
Robert Gollings is a
Consultant Chef in Moscow
robertgollings@hotmail.com |
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| 666. | Oldich Dress & Drink
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According to the PR blurb, Oldich's name is partly intended to evoke the ethos (although not, quite, the spelling) of London's Shoreditch, while carrying an air of retro chic. Adverts for staff have demanded a bilingual Russian-English work-force with a keen interest in classic fashion and quirky originality. And the "Dress and Drink" bit handles the two facets of a venue which is a vintage clothes store up top, and bar below. With an active program of live music and DJs, plus themed parties and literary evenings, it's pitching for the same crowd which currently sees the Krasny Oktyabr hub as its preferred point of pilgrimage - news that is likely to distress as many as it delights.
Setting prejudice aside, though, the bar/restaurant section has plenty going for it - once you get in. Arriving in the evening, when the upstairs shop is winding down, the bar possibly takes its 'hidden' vibe a bit too seriously - you'd be forgiven for missing it completely from the street, and even after gambling on plunging into the shop, there's scant evidence of what lies beneath. The management likes to reference Alice in Wonderland and its magical rabbit warrens; those of us who aren't acquainted with Mad Hatters may struggle to keep up.
Still, a willfully obscure location didn't dampen the popularity of the late, lamented Proekt OGI, and like that bunker venue, Oldich has character to burn. With heavy wooden tables and comfortable armchairs, it's a roaring open fire away from being the perfect place to gather for an intimate tete-a-tete over exclusive spirits and exotic cigars. Admittedly the sense of intimacy was heightened - uncomfortably so - by being the only diners on a dreary March Monday which seemed committed to denying any hope of spring returning, but even on a busier night it seems likely to be cozy rather than cramped. Plus, for a larger group, there's a separate room with a full-size dining table. There's serious attention to design detail as well: the crockery has been sourced from vintage markets in London, while the toilets feature retro-erotica wallpaper and voluptuous framed fabric over the pot - go pay a visit, and you'll see what I mean.
Given its Cool Britannia ambitions, it's only fair to note that the overall effect was reminiscent of one of my favorite restaurants in my former home town. OK, so it's not exactly fashionable Shoreditch, but the retro-fashion and underground feel carries well from the Thames Estuary to heart of Moscow. The menu, too, has more than a hint of the gastro-pub about it - and in the best sense of the word. Naturally, a few bar-room staples endure, with burgers and fish'n'chips taking their place despite protestations that the food here cannot be found elsewhere in Moscow. But there's also an honorable mention for a pleasing selection of Mediterranean finger food and some inventive desserts to complement them. The bruschetta with beetroot, artichoke and parmesan was a curious beast: at its base it could hardly have been more Russian, with creamy, mayo-slathered beets that might have come straight from the local stolovaya; the topping of parmesan and artichoke, meanwhile, was a taste of another world - almost literally - offering a fresh waft of Italian flavor. It's also one of relatively few wholly vegetarian options on the menu, although the "wine plate" of tempting tidbits works as a sharing dish as long as someone is willing to hoover up the Parma ham.
For mains we picked out the fish and chips (sufficiently meat-free to suffice) and the duck leg. The former was a genuinely decent attempt at a tricky Brit standard. The chips were actual chips, rather than fries, although they might have benefitted from slightly longer in the fryer; the fish came in a recognizable batter, and despite appearing as a handful of fishy goujon rather than the more traditional single large fillet, worked as well as any attempt at this dish I've seen outside of its homeland. The duck was well-cooked to the point where it slipped easily off the bone as the first gentle probing of a fork, but might have benefited from a more astringent partner than a serving of herb-spattered mash. A side portion of fruity sauce helped, but could have gone a bit further, perhaps.
The highlight, though, came with the dessert menu. Fig in a dark chocolate coating, studded with crunchy grains of sea-salt, was a perfect combination of sweet and savory: a simple idea which could easily become a classic. But the star turn was the pear tart with rosemary ice cream. Leaving aside the slight sensory confusion at confronting a pot of something which looked like it should be mint-choc-chip flavored and tasted entirely different, this was a triumph. The ice cream was a delight - fresh, unexpected and well-matched to the residual sweetness of the tart.
Another pleasant surprise was the bill - the whole thing, accompanied by a bottle of cider, came in at less than 3,000 rubles (albeit helped by a couple of freebies from the kitchen, including a flagon of iced tea). That seemed to give the lie to some of the complaints on Afisha.ru about high prices - generally speaking they seemed to be in line for this kind of market in Moscow. Admittedly, there's no sign of a cheap beer - it's all imported Brit brews at around 300 rubles a glass, rather than fizzy Baltika at 120 - and the clothes store proudly insists that its prices will be kept relatively high to distinguish "vintage" (a premium market) from second hand (with its slightly shabby connotations).
All in all, despite the hipsterish pretensions, Oldich has plenty going for it - and its downtown location makes it a great place for a pre-party gathering, whether you're planning to stay there all night or head on to another venue later. |
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| 667. | Bar Port
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Hard to find, difficult to forget!
Before getting too deep into this review, I want to clearly state and without qualification – go and dine out for lunch or dinner at Bar Port (BP). Do not delay – seriously. You will not be disappointed in the cuisine, pricing, or atmosphere. For expats, there is a very small window right now for restaurant customers in which, generally speaking, menu pricing has not caught up with the significant devaluation of the rouble during the past 6 months. Carpe diem – you will not regret the Italian inspired cuisine at BP.
“Hard to find, difficult to forget” is the motto that greets you when, well, you find BP. Upon arrival by car or metro, ignore the row of colorful restaurants that line the boulevard bombarding your optical nerve. BP is tucked into a nook at the short end of the monster, long building – walk along restaurant row towards the Garden Ring. Turn right at end of building, keep walking, look to your right, and you will see the BP sign, brightly stating it’s hard to find motto. Once found, though, BP is easy to find again.
As you can see on its website, BP has a sleek and classy interior with a balanced layout of bar and restaurant sitting areas. While it might seem trite, I was tickled to see that almost every seat at the bar has…drum roll please…an outlet to charge your electronic devices. From working on a laptop to keeping your phone or tablet satiated, the outlets were a thoughtful aspect. Not to worry – there are a large number of outlets in the restaurant area. This is clearly a sign the BP opened recently (December 2014) and is in tune with the finer things that its clientele will appreciate.
On most nights, BP gains a lively, edgier atmosphere as the evening progresses with either an in-house DJ or live music. BP is also located in somewhat of a mini business district - the after work drinks, dinner, and dancing scene heats up quickly. BP is also very active in social media, so take a look at BP’s Facebook page before going, as there may be a special event or menu items offered at that time that you will not want to miss.
I got the evening started with a mug of Guiness (400 RUR) to relax and a San Benedetta Water (200 RUR) to hydrate. A bit of a paradox, but BP is a bit paradoxical, so that was the culinary path that I took. To note, BP does have an extensive wine, beer, and liquor selection.
BP has a rich menu of small appetizers called unico that are similar to tapas, but not quite the same. Prices range from 100 RUR to 150 RUR per serving, with most priced less than 120 RUR. This is a key aspect of the “Gastronomic Bar” identity that BP is aiming to hit. Unicos - carbonara, seafood, duck, lamb, salmon, veal, mushrooms, and other vegetables.
I started with 3 unicos – duck ragu, carbonara, and beef with zucchini. The Duck Ragu (100 RUR) was underwhelming – too much dough taste that diluted the duck flavors. The Carbonara (100 RUR) is a surprising black color that delivers a powerful thick wave of mouth watering flavor. From my notes, the Beef with Zucchini (120 RUR) was excellent with tree exclamation points. Suffice to say, the small sized unicos delivered an out sized punch of flavor that greatly exceeded expectations.
To the opening wave of unicos, I added an appetizer of Tuna Tartar with Melons (520 RUR) that was, quite frankly, the best tuna tartar that I have had to date in Moscow. The tuna tartar was presented in a layer of sauce mixed with white melons that gave it a balance of savory flavor and sweet wetness that was divine. For the price, the portion size and high quality are compelling – I highly recommend this dish. There are a number of other enticing appetizers on the menu – and I venture that they all exceed expectations.
At this point in the meal, I was very impressed with BP, and I could not wait for my main entrée to arrive. It was difficult to choose one entree, but I had to limit myself to one, as I wanted to return to the unico menu, plus a couple desserts and coffee. The menu offers a mix of pastas, risottos, seafood, and meat dishes. My final choice was narrowed down to Tagliata Tuna Breaded with Cuttlefish Ink (690 RUR), Dorado al Cartoccio Baked in a Sleeve with Olives Tadzhaski, Cherry Tomatoes, Lemon and Herbs, with Fragrant Smoke (750 RUR), and Saltimbocca Veal alla Romana with Ham and Marsala Sauce (690 RUR).
I chose the saltimbocca, and – a week later – and I am still very happy with my decision. I had never tried this dish before, and I have had tuna and dorado previously. The saltimbocca at BP is my culinary high point for 2015, in part because I did not know what I was ordering (the surprise factor), but primarily because the dish was a knockout punch of pleasure to my taste buds. Tender veal, plus prosciutto, plus marsala sauce, plus the perfect preparation means that this is a dish that I will go out of my way to recommend to others and return to BP to have again. This was a very rare occasion where I forced myself to slow down and eat small bites so that I could enjoy every second that this dish was in front of me. Five stars, ten stars – whatever the ranking scale is, you must try this entrée if you are dining at BP!
After the saltimbocca, a small window opened before desert and coffee that simply had to be filled with an order of two more unico dishes. I chose unicos Marinara with Seafood (100 RUR) and Lamb, Red Onion, Eggplant (120 RUR). The marinara with seafood was very good with thin dough that did not dilute the seafood tastes. I could tell that the lamb unico used high quality lamb, but I would suggest a sauce or similar be developed since the overall taste was somewhat boring. If a light, savory sauce were added, the lamb would be “more tasty” and not be so much of the “only taste” in the dish.
Dessert and coffee are oftentimes the make or break moment of a dining experience for me. Great meal, bad dessert does not leave a great, literal, taste in one’s mouth. However, great meal, even better dessert is like hitting that aces over kings full house at the poker table.
BP has a diverse array of desserts that are similar to other restaurants, so I had resigned myself to the feeling that dessert would be a “check the box” endeavor of “good, try it if you would like a dessert”. I ordered Coffee Americano (170 RUR) and two desserts.
Much to my surprise, the least sexy dessert item – Cake with Pears (320 RUR) – was absolutely divine with a fluffy, tiramisu-like top layer, a second layer of juicy pear, and then a final layer of cake was the perfect combination. My fork sank hungrily through the cream layer, bit into the pear, and melded it all together with the cookie cake layer – to wit, this dessert was so good that it warranted instant recommendations to a number of friends in Moscow who work close to BP. Cheesecake with Passion Fruit Sauce (320 RUR) was also very good with a tangy sauce, but if you really need cheesecake, there is not a shortage of cheesecake choices in Moscow. However, the cake with pears that BP offers is found in only one place – Bar Port!
In closing, the total bill came to 3360 RUR before tip, an exceptional value for the level of quality, presentation, and atmosphere that BP offers. I will return to BP any time that I am in this area of Moscow, and I will continue to highly recommend BP as both a restaurant scene and a bar scene. |
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| 668. | BQ Café
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BQ Café
It was on a dreary and rainy October when BQ Café (BQ) appeared in my crosshairs for a dinner review. As always, I checked out BBQ’s website before heading out the door – metro Novokuznetskaya, and an area of Moscow that I do not know well. Thus, I fully expected to have a minor headache locating BQ once on the street.
Much to my surprise, however, BQ is extremely easy to find, even in the dark and cold rain. Novokuznestskaya has one exit – go up the escalator, exit, walk across the courtyard, and BQ is immediately in front of you about 50 m on the corner, behind the small statue and benches.
My dinner date had to cancel on me at the last minute. I called several friends with an offer to join, but the notice was either too short or “I’m not in Moscow right now”, so, that being said, I entered the BQ pit alone.
Upon entering, I was cheerfully greeted and told to proceed to the second floor. There is a bar on the first floor and second floor, as well as large table seating areas. And, on Friday, BQ is a busy place – to say the least, the tables were full, and, as such, I would recommend making a reservation prior to arriving.
To be honest and to save you time reading – BQ is fantastic, and I recommend it without reservation. The atmosphere and design are enchanting, the service excellent, the menu moderately priced, and the food five-star.
What differentiates BQ most of all, however, is a piece of a three-year recurring dream for me – being able to browse the menu, order, summon your server, and request your check from an iPad! Not your own iPad, but, yes, BBQ will give you one of their iPads loaded with the current menu offerings, in Russian and English. If you are familiar with an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you will understand immediately how to browse. If not, your waiter or waitress will be more than happy to assist.
The software suite is well-thought out and including an easy switch between Russian and English is a huge plus. You click the “+” on the item that you want to order, and it goes into what is essentially your shopping cart. After making your choices, you push the “my order” button to see your shopping cart. From that screen, you can easily delete, add, or modify (through a text box) your order, and then send it. After your order is sent, your server will confirm it with you.
After slinking through the ordering process with ease, it was time to indulge in what I ordered as it came down the pike.
The first salvo was unfiltered BBQ microbrew beer (190 RUB, 500ml) and a pina colada (350 RUB) to complement my chicken quesadilla (410 RUB). Even if I was dining alone, I was still going to drink for two! The beer was flavorful and cold, the pina colada made Jimmy Buffet proud, and the quesadilla hungrily melted in my mouth.
The second salvo was the Spanish assortment of meats (850 RUB) from the Tapas Menu, mushrooms enoki wrapped in bacon (320 RUB), and eurovareniki (220 RUB). The Spanish assortment includes a wide array of tastes – Cheese Manchego, Marcon Iberico, Choriozo Iberico, Bayonne Ham, Stuffed Pappers, Green Olives, Croutons, and Lomo Iberico – and is one of the several Tapas plates that are great starters for a group meal.
The enoki mushroom dish is one of the “mushroom season” dishes being offered currently and was a refreshingly different taste served with fresh asparagus. I believe that the eurovareniki are available all year, and I enthusiastically recommend them. Served in a crisp housing of thin dough, they explode – simply explode – with flavor once you take a bite. On my return trip – and it will likely be this Sunday evening for live NFL football – I will definitely order the eurovareniki.
At this point in the meal, I was happily satiated, but I knew I still had my main course on the grill. I pushed the button on my iPad to summon my server, and politely requested a 30 minute break before the next salvo, as well as another BBQ microbrew beer (190 RUB, 500ml). I then sat back, read up on some news, and simply indulged in the staged changing from a sit-down restaurant to a dance floor restaurant a la Tema Bar.
The main course of BQ pork ribs and french fries (490 RUB) arrived on time and piping hot. I, however, was still on the sidelines satiated, so I pushed the button to request that they package it for me to take home. I can say that the ribs were excellent the next day for lunch since the sauce had soaked into them overnight. However, there are many attractive main course offerings on the BQ menu, and I will try something else on my next visit.
The total for the evening was 3020 RUB and is a bit skewed on the high side since I purposefully chose the 850 RUB tapas and indulged in a pina colada for 350 RUB. As such, a person can visit BQ for a fine meal and drink or two at a moderate price and indulge in the pleasant atmosphere that makes a person want to return again and again.
Atmosphere and other points to take into account:
BQ attracts a younger, hip crowd, so the music and surroundings reflect this; however, everything is done with good taste. The big screen televisions on my floor were showing a mix of sporting events and music videos, neither of which dominated my meal. I was told, as well, that the music and lighting changes several times per day – morning from 0800 to 1200 has a peppier, wake me up like coffee vibe, 1200 to 1600 is a mix of music to the 1990s, 1600 to 1800 is happy hour with a laid back feel, 1800 to 2200 is edgier cocktail, and from 2200 to the wee hours of the morning showcases a DJ or live music.
BBQ has free Wi-Fi and outlets that are the most readily available and numerous of any restaurant or café that I have seen in Moscow to date. This is a huge plus because BQ is a superb location for either a working dinner or after dinner wind down.
Happy hour is from 1600 to 1800 with attractive drink specials and replays of sporting events from previous days.
BQ offers a Weekend Lunch that is a rotating special menu from the chef for 1111 RUB that is enough food, generally speaking, for two .
BQ celebrates holidays – US, EUR, and RUS. For instance, Halloween runs from 21 October until 31 October, with thematic decorations and menu/bar offerings.
Loyalty card: Free with first visit and offers a 5-10% earned credit forward, not an immediate discount. |
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| 669. | Prostye Veschi
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One of the best things about a trip to Kiev or St Petersburg is the range of super-quality mid-price cafes, bars & restaurants on offer – no wonder there howl about Moscow prices. Of course, Moscow has always had a few places not aimed at the expense-account gravy-trainers… but it's still been a sadly limited range, and they disappear with frightening frequency. The latest newcomer to the "demokratichny" sphere is Prostye Veshi (Simple Things), a smallish cafe-bistro across the road from Krasnopresnenskaya metro.
The retro-metro interiors come as no surprise, but it’s a formula that works well elsewhere - so why not? Bright white walls lit with downlighters, old b/w pictures on the walls, sturdy furniture evoking the post-war confidence of the 1950s. And although the prices aren't quite post-war, they're cheerfully old-fashioned too, and you’ll leave Prostye Veshi with even bigger smiles than when you arrived.
Price, though, isn't the only reason to be cheerful. The service is warm, friendly and personal, there are English-language menus obviously done by a native speaker (no howlers or blunders), and - somewhat amazingly - an extensive drinks menu that's entirely available. Parking nearby (or even directly outside) is a breeze, unfortunately - and since I held the car-keys for the evening, I went for a non-alcoholic cocktail, a mint frappe (a mere 80 Rbs). OK, hands up all those who thought - like me - that this was going to be a milkshakey concoction? In fact it's a rum-free mojito cocktail, identical in every way except without the hooch in it - and as an option for the cop-fearing quaffer it's not just good, it's excellent… and I had two. My Official Food-Taster for the evening was looking a little starboard, but a glass of Malaga Cruz port - for only 90 roubles - soon corrected the steering, but left us wondering if the prices weren’t perhaps listed in Serbian dinars.
On to the munchies, of which there’s a short but seasonal menu - six or seven options for salads, and the same kind of range for soups and other first courses, an identical number of main courses, and a goodish range of desserts. So, err, why so limited? The answer - according to Irina Khodzinskaya, who set the place up - is that the menu will change completely every two months, offering the best of each season's top picks. If you're reading this review any time in 2007, it won't be the late-2006 menu we tried! Portions are outstandingly generous, so we shared a green salad with chicken livers, weighing in at 210 roubles for a giant plateful. The mixed green and red leaves of lollo rosso, fennel and more partnered the scrumptious chicken perfectly - perhaps not everyone would appreciate the liver so lightly fried perhaps, but we tucked this away with great pleasure, only lamenting the absence of a squeeze of lemon, or perhaps a flash of balsamic vinegar to offset the broad flavour of the chicken livers? Autumn soups caught our fancy, so we had one each - and what a contrast they were! My favourite mistake in most restaurants is to be lured by exotic-sounding dishes which fail to deliver - but this time I hit pay-dirt, and the pumpkin soup (130 Rbs) was light, delicate, exuded freshness, and combined some satisfying hunks of pumpkin with some toasted pumpkin-seeds as a garnish. Unhappiness sadly ensued across the table over the rival chestnut soup (130 Rbs) - which seemed to be mainly hot cream and a dancing-troupe of pork pieces who went uncredited on the menu-listing. Chestnuts can be indigestible things at the best of times, but they were so little in evidence here that at least you need have no fears on that score. The home-made onion bread looks delicious, but had an over-chewy texture which clearly announced "sprinkled with water and microwaved." What a pity - the taste was excellent, the appearance good, and probably it had been very nice before going into the micro?
Fast-forward to the mains, and here we were more than happy. Ms Food-Taster's leg of lamb (at 390 Rbs the priciest item on the entire menu) was so tender it fell apart out of sheer desire to please the eager eater - happiness and bliss quickly returned, although further comment was mostly muted by appreciative lip-smacking noises. I fared just as happily with the trout with fennel & herbs, and in fact the roast fennel proved a highlight - I'd expect just a smidgeon of it tucked inside the trout, but it came as a garnish. The trout itself was perfectly prepared, moist, and fragrant from a lemon-herb marinade. Paradise, it seemed, was available on earth, and for cash prices… but some element of earthly woe was needed to prevent us just floating away in ecstasy, and this was provided in the form of the most stylishly impractical serving-style of 2006… serving the whole fish on a rimless wooden slat the same width as the fish. Open the thing to remove the bones - and fish-juices lap-out all over the table. Any angle of attack here will produce the same graceless results. I found myself longing for that tired cliche of old-fashioned dining habits - a normal plate? You can't take me anywhere, you see.
We finished-off sharing a largish dessert portion of fresh melon slices (80 Rbs) - Ms Taster would have preferred them ready-peeled, but the old hippy within me appreciated the absence of such supermarket-style convenience. Despite a single sad soup slip-up and a perverse plating pecadillo, the whole experience was succour for both body and soul, and for prices last seen in Moscow when the Metro used green-plastic tokens. This happy combo of bonhomie and wallet-friendliness attracts a crowd, and although it's exactly the kind of place you'd like to drop into when you can't be arsed to make supper at home, in fact you'll probably have to book a table if you plan coming after 8pm - the venue is small and they’re chronically short of tables. The kitchen closes at 11pm, but you can munch your dessert and raid the drinks-menu for bargains until midnight. They even take credit cards and allow you to smoke if you wish. Get rid of the Beatles tape guys, and it's a winning formula. |
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| 670. | Goodman Steak House
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Last week we set off to try out Goodman Steak House. As all meat-eating expats know, Moscow is truly in dire need of another quality venue to supply the goods for all of our steak needs (up until now, there was really only one place that came to mind...) I was admittedly a little skeptical about what to expect, given that so many steak houses before it were inevitably forced to do their own walk of shame out of town or were subjected to an empty existence without clientele, relying on only the crumbs thrown from stubborn kryshas. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Goodman will begin to finally fill the steak gap in Moscow's restaurant scene.
Goodman Steak House is set slightly back off Tverskaya (in between Tverskaya and Mayakovskaya metro stations), which allows for a quiet dining experience in what is otherwise a noisy part of the city. The main part of the restaurant is dimly lit with a sleek, modern design. We opted, however, to sit on the patio and enjoy a cool summer evening outside. The hostess let us know that if it got a bit too chilly on the patio, our waiter would be more than happy to bring us a little throw-blanket to keep warm - unless we wanted to move and sit inside, which could also be arranged. In addition to throw-blankets, Goodman also offers valet parking for those brave enough to purchase and drive cars in this city.
The menu was a breath of fresh air, as it is not one of those five-hundred page tomes found in so many other Moscow restaurants. After ordering beers (I took a 0.4L Fosters ($4), while my dining partner sampled a 0.3L Radeburger ($3)) we were brought fresh bread with garlic and herb butter and two tasty (and complimentary!) mini-bruschettas. There is a succinct selection of cold appetizers ranging from $7.50 to $39, including beef carpaccio, chicken liver pate and raw oysters (which would probably impress the socks off young dates *wink wink*). Next are salads and hot appetizers. I decided to go with the grilled mushroom salad with pumpkin seed dressing and prosciutto ($14), while my dining partner chose the tiger shrimp sauted in a tomato-based garlic and herb sauce.
We couldn't possibly have waited much more than five minutes before both of our appetizers were served. Even if all else had gone wrong (and it hadn't), Goodman sure gets good points for presentation. The salad turned out to be a delicate mix of spring greens with a dose of sauted mushrooms. The pumpkin seed dressing was unusual and palate-pleasing. Meanwhile, the tiger shrimp (which can also be ordered as a full entre) were tender, juicy and the sauce was wonderful. US out-of-towners might be slightly taken back by presentation, which includes the decapitated heads and buggy little eyes of each of the eight scrumptious shrimp.
Moving on to entrees, the menu offers rib eye, New York strip, filet mignon ($26-28) and burgers ($12.50-14.50). Those looking for something other than beef can choose from rack of lamb ($26), pork ribs ($22), braised lamb shank in rosemary ($19), or chicken schnitzel ($10.80). Each of these entrees is served with a sauce that comes separately, (mustard, pepper, mushroom and Goodman's specialty). Seafood lovers may choose from a selection of whitefish, a full shrimp entree and a salmon steak ($22-24). Side dishes ($4-10) include mashed potatoes with Roquefort cheese and fresh spinach served with a cream sauce and cheese - as well as grilled veggies and chanterelle mushrooms. It looks like vegetarians also have a viable option with the pasta plates ($12.50), which include both veggie linguini and mushroom linguini.
Although everything looked tempting, we were here to sample the steaks. My dining partner chose the rib eye with the mashed potatoes and Goodman sauce and I decided to go with the filet mignon and fresh spinach and the mushroom sauce. I like my steaks well done (which I am aware some may consider a crime against steak) so I was expecting to have to wait a bit longer for my entree. But we did not wait long at all, and not only were our entrees both served at the same time (*gasp*) but both of our orders were cooked *exactly* the way we had requested. The filet mignon - even at "well-done" - was juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender, truly a treat. The mushroom sauce was full of flavor, but not too rich. The rib eye was equally tender and juicy, and the slightly tangy Goodman sauce really is an excellent choice for any steak on the menu. As for presentation, the steaks (and other meat dishes - we were spying on the surrounding tables as well) are served separately from the side dishes on their own plate. While the mashed potato side dish was very good, the spinach in cream sauce blew both of us away.
Unfortunately, I did not get to finish all of the spinach due to the only quirk in the evening. I had haphazardly placed my utensils in such a way on my plate as to inadvertently give the "I'm done" signal to the waiter who happened to be nearby. I was perplexed as he began collecting my plates without asking. When he began to walk away, I finally realized that my delicious but unfinished dinner was being taken away from me. "Wait!" I gasped. "I'm not done yet! Can I please have it back?" The waiter was at once so stunned and horrified that I swear he was frozen in place for a moment. "But" you're not finished? I'm - so sorry!!" I got my mignon back, but my spinach was lost forever.
Aside from what was obviously simply an awkward mistake, the service was attentive and very pleasant, adding to the overall enjoyable and unpretentious atmosphere. They have got it down right, and it would appear that a lot of agree. The patio was completely full by 9pm and there were several more groups inside when we left, opposed to a near-empty room when we entered at 7.
Dessert selections include apple pie with ice cream, New York cheesecake, Goodman's own cheesecake, fruit sorbet, ice cream and a fruit plate ($5-8). We decided to share the Goodman cheesecake and see how it might be different from a New York cheesecake. This selection turned out to be the most underwhelming event of the evening. We were served a rather large portion of cheesecake with a fresh strawberry sauce drizzled over it. The sauce was lovely, but the cake itself was missing a certain something taste-wise.
Those who enjoy a good wine will not get any tips from me, as I do not know my wines and prefer a nice beer or five. Goodman, however, offers both a full bar with well drinks ranging from $2.50-29 and a full wine menu with reds, whites and rosettes from France, Italy and Chili. Wine per the glass looks to range about $7-9, while by-the-bottle prices naturally range anywhere from $18 to $180 (or thereabouts).
Overall, we had a lovely evening. This is the perfect place to take a date, a business partner or out-of-town visitors. It's also the perfect place to get a good steak (and I would venture to say that Goodman most probably serves up a worthy burger). The restaurant's slogan may sound a little silly in English ("Goodman: a good steak for a good man"), but rest assured that even if you are a bad man, your steak will still be good. |
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| 671. | Don Pedro
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In a metropolis like Moscow where there are as many restaurants as there are Mercedes Brabus parked in front of them, it is unfortunate that I can only count a handful of eateries I would consider frequenting on a regular basis. I am pleased to say that the newly opened Don Pedro is one of them. Though this establishment has been deemed a cafe by the management, Don Pedro can give most of the "full fledged" restaurants in this town, a run for their money.
With a Spanish sounding name (the menu consists of French/Italian influenced dishes), an interior of "minimal, stylish gothic" (check out the futuristic wood burning fireplace!), the handsome golden sarong-shirted waiters, and the menu consisting of dishes with names such as Notes of a Hunter, your first impressions would likely be of yet another restaurant with an identity crisis, but everything seems to work in Don Pedro's favour.
Due to the fact that the perusal of the menu seemed to take an age, our waiter not only agreed to provide us with numerous "tasters" of dishes we wished to try, he then continued to describe each one with considerable knowledge! An establishment with proficient & friendly serving staff, quite a shock considering the usual scowls or blank stares I get from most waiters around this town.
My dining partner & I ended up ordering 4 salads, 2 cold & 3 hot starters, 2 soups, 2 entrees and 2 desserts....and let's not forget the mixed basket of fresh breads and the miniature individual butter dishes with silver domed covers that accompanied our meals.
If I was to write in detail about every dish we dined on, this would be far too long a review, so here were those we thought extremely worthy of mention: Of the 15 (!) dishes we tasted - and let me tell you that they were served in their full sizes not as amuse bouche as was expected - I was impressed with the concept of the cold starter "Sentimental journey", a modern take on the old standby at any Italian restaurant, prosciutto & melon - at Don Pedro these two partners in crime were paired with thin slices of passion fruit and lemon ice cream, which gave this dish a fresh, acidic, palette cleansing flavour. The Beef Tartare was of an excellent consistency, and wonderfully spicy - thank god that chef Edwardo shows this classic dish its due respect instead of just viewing it as "raw meat and egg", as many here in Moscow tend to do. My dining partner and I both raved about the aubergines with goat cheese/parmesan sauce and I loved the subtle flavours of the foie gras, bite size pieces served with raspberries - the most difficult thing in the world is to make things simple, and that is exactly what this dish was, simple presentation, wonderful taste.
Though Don Pedro has a lunch menu - 5 courses, 190 rbls - I would eat here almost everyday just for the soups!!!! The French Onion Soup, with it's smoky flavour and the slice of baguette with melted Gruyere was yet again simply but lovingly prepared and the Seafood Soup, with it's ochre colour, creamy texture and decorated with fried octopus slices and 1 oyster in the shell, was both tastefully prepared and had my dining partner raving for 10 minutes.
Of the 2 entrees we tried, "A Domani", the lamb chops which were cooked to pink perfection and served with a spinach and rice/wild rice mould, were tender and flavourful, and the duck was crispy, though could have been a little less tough. Lovely honey & berry sauce though. We barely had any room for dessert by this time, but we managed a few spoonfuls of the substantial Tiramisu - which was light, creamy and wonderful - & the Cheesecake, which we decided was more NY style than your normal, baked with -crust kind. A good choice for those who prefer A LOT of cream in their desserts.
My only qualm through the whole dining experience was the use of Russian Salad in 2 of the salads we ordered - not my idea of the French or Italian kitchen - and a lack of seasoning in a couple of the dishes. In any case it was an enjoyable experience.
The prices for all these substantial dishes range from 120 rbls - 200 rbls for salads, cold & hot starters, the Beefsteak being the most expensive meat entree at 750 rbls, and the Dorado Baked in Sea Salt being the most expensive fish entree at 550 rbls; we unfortunately didn't have the capacity to try the pasta or fish dishes, next time hopefully. The wine list consists of Chilean, French, Georgian wines and is surprisingly wallet friendly, instead of making you want to laugh hysterically when you peruse the prices. The house Sauvignon my dining partner tried was 750 rbls for the bottle - unfortunately there isn't a huge choice for wines per glass, but with the prices being so down to earth, that isn't a setback.
All in all, a very good dining experience in a casual, friendly environment. Don Pedro is well worth a visit - or two! |
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| 672. | Ararat Cafe
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Sevan Up
The revolving glass doors closed hermetically behind me. Moscow's sticky heat was left behind as I entered the chilled air of the glassed atrium. Modernist elevators whisked the world's Great and Good to secluded upper levels with silent unquestioning obedience, at the soft-spoken command "make it so". The first job would be to make it past the guards. However, the strange absence of a body-check, x-ray scanner, or series of impertinent questions from some juvenile Rambo only reinforced my initial suspicions that we had passed through a wormhole in the time-space continuum. I passed-by a carpet deep enough to have swallowed me alive, gently congratulating myself on evading such obvious traps, and allowed myself to be engulfed in a massive sofa until my colleagues arrived. Around me citizens of other realms closed deals on their mobiles in a Babylon of languages. How few of them knew what I knew - that this massive complex had an Achilles - heel, which could be penetrated by myself and my colleagues on a secret mission that dwarfed the scale of their billion-dollar deals. We were going to lunch.
For those of you in civilisations who have not yet mastered time travel, I should reveal that fifty of your Earth years ago, a former Cafe Ararat stood on the same site. Its clientele were soviet bohemian writers and intellectuals, for whom the promise of far-off Caucasian mountains enshrined the furthest hope of foreign exotica afforded by Stalin's People's Paradise. Photographs of the former Cafe can be seen on today's walls. It's immediately obvious that this is no rural trattoria with bentwood chairs and mama slaving in a steamy kitchen - this is the upscale end of Armenian cuisine. It's not, however, a dumbed-down or homogenised version; authenticity and quality are overseen by Master Chef Samvel Minasian. Prior to taking up his duties in Moscow, Minasian was supervising banquets for Guests of State in Armenia, as Head Chef to President Robert Kocharian. His remarkable achievement at Cafe Ararat is to maintain the simplicity implicit in Armenian cuisine - which relies on superb-quality ingredients, all flown-in specially - but present them in a style befitting a 5* international hotel. The atmosphere is laid-back and informal - the dress code is smart-casual, and cosy sofas encourage longer lounging.
The tastes and aromas of Caucasian cuisine are dominated in Moscow by Georgian food - with which expats fleeing an overdose of sour cream are already well familiar. Armenian chefs have the same broad palette of flavours and textures at their disposal, but the results are pleasingly different. There is a little "bite" in the flavouring, but it's aromatic rather than fiery. All is reliant on the freshest ingredients - the strong suits of the Armenian kitchen are imaginative purees and melanges of spiced vegetables, succulent fish, and speciality grills - all accompanied by fine local wines produced in a proudly independent tradition.
And so, to our meal. Three of us sat down to lunch and in Armenian tradition, we ordered a meze selection of appetisers to share. If the dishes are unfamiliar, English-speaking assistance is at hand, with knowledgeable and enthusiastic insight into any dish on the menu - from portion-size to pedigree, each dish is explained with the passion of an art-historian, and with a view to their suitability as dining combination. We took several - you can adjust your selection according to your appetite, budget and available time, but a traditional Armenian meal should have the table almost collapsing under the quantity and variety served. If you like it simple, Traditional Armenian Eggplant Salad ($6) is luscious and rich, and what I especially liked was that it wasn't swimming in an ocean of cheap oil - a background aroma of light virgin olive-oil complemented the aubergines. The Selection of Smoked Fish seemed no pocket-pleaser at $22, but the giant portion of salmon, crayfish, fresh crab, and sturgeon is a meal in itself, and all excellent. Aveluk is an Armenian speciality -“ a spinach roulade cross-cut into elegant slices ($5). The Armenian cheese platter ($5) is much more interesting than it sounds, the cheeses are nicely contrasted for bite and texture. With all of this, of course, you must have Armenian flat-bread, lavash. If you can't decide, or there aren't enough of you to order a full spread of full-sized portions, Ararat will be happy to put together an Appetiser Selection based on your preferences.
The danger - as usual in Caucasian food -“ is to enjoy the sumptuous appetiser selection so much that by the time the main courses arrive, you're already on the retreat. Yes, sadly we made that mistake too, but in fairness, these are appetisers you'd happily gorge on until they were physically taken away from you. Assuming you are more prudent in your hors deoeuvres-munching than we were, you might profitably continue to the magnificent mains. Armenia is a land of lakes and rivers - its famous Lake Sevan is even pictured in a huge mural on the restaurant-s walls. Lake Sevan produces several kinds of trout, and Ishkhan trout ($23) is excellent. If you're watching the calories or fat intake, this comes steamed with aromatic vegetables and herbs, and it truly melts in your mouth. Kyufta ($18) is one of those dishes which could only come from a society which sets no price on preparation time - prime beef is first whipped, and then lightly poached into a sort of spiced meat souffle, served with an omelette garnish. However as a rule Armenian men don't like their meat overly mucked-about with, and Traditional Armenian Shashlik ($24) is exactly what you'd hope it might be - a gigantic portion of toothsomely grilled cuts, your choice of chicken, lamb or pork.
At this point we were forced to withdraw - we slunk away defeated. Diners of greater girth and determination might have proceeded further to a promising selection of innovative desserts, all retailing at $8 and unknown numbers of calories.
An excellent convention in this restaurant is the option to order wines by the glass. And not only the vin de table, but many of the wines in the cellar. Armenia is, after all, a country in which wine-drinking is an everyday pleasure, without the strictures of a sommelier's beady eye. We had a luscious dry light red, which partnered my fish very comfortably despite all conventions to the contrary. If you wish to spend more, you can delve into their cellar of Armenian (and other) fine wines. Armenian table-water is ideal on the side.
The service is immaculate - charming, welcoming, eager to share the pleasure of Armenian food with new friends. Mind-changing and an onslaught of capricious questions about the menu were handled with bilingual aplomb. But whilst the service is five-star, the bill weighs-in mid-priced, as part of a conscious effort to encourage non-residents into the hotel's exclusive environs - there's no punchy overpricing here. A final tip - whether or not you make it to the desserts, skip your post-prandial coffee or liquer here, and instead beam-up to their Panorama Bar on the top floor, for a super rooftop view (outdoors in summer) of downtown Moscow and the Bolshoi Theatre. |
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| 673. | Chito Grito
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Hurray! The season of the shashleek is upon us! The weekend exodus of hordes of Muscovites, creating traffic jams as they head to and from their summer Dachas can mean only one thing: The smell of barbecued pork will pervade the country air for miles around! For those of us unfortunate enough to be stuck in the city, or for others who merely have an aversion to mosquitoes and grass in their food, the best way to satisfy the Shashleek urge is to head to one of Moscow's many Georgian restaurants. Last week I threw caution (and weeks of dieting!) to the wind, and opted for this urban version of the meaty feast.
As we all know, the wide variety of Georgian restaurants in Moscow ensures that both the quality of the food and the impact on the wallet (and the waistline!) can vary considerably, although it is generally possible to find good Georgian fare for very modest sums. With a prime location just off the Novy Arbat, it is no surprise that Chito Grito rates slightly higher than usual on the price scale, but did we get a juicier shashleek or a cheesier hachipuri for our money? Unlike the salad - the verdict was mixed.
Our hearts sank as we entered the restaurant and saw the all too familiar "table in a stable" type decor which seems to invariably define the Georgian dining experience. While I could ignore the cart wheel light-fittings and faux-rural wooden furniture, I chose to sit with my back to the stuffed yak's head which peered disconcertingly down onto the tables below. Call it "urban nonsense" if you will, but I like my dead animals stuffed with rice and mounted on a bed of greens, rather than suspended on the wall above me as I carve up their distant cousin for dinner. My companion and I eagerly diverted our attention from the decor to the (Russian language only) menu and were thankfully reassured by the wide choice of dishes on offer.
We selected some of the most traditional dishes in addition to a few of the house specials. Our stunningly beautiful Osetian waitress, elegantly dressed in traditional black gowns, was helpful and informative as she took our order, offering to start the preparation of our first courses while we continued to deliberate over our choice of mains. Much to our rumbling tummies delight, this system worked well, and our cold starters soon appeared with a steaming hachipuri hot on their tails.
The Green lobio with nuts (130Rbs) was tastier than many of the bland offerings I have tried in the past, but as usual, it was impossible to eat more than a few mouthfuls before tiring of the all too rich and thick consistency. The Chicken satsivi (190Rbs) on the other hand, was a delight to the taste buds: tender strips of chicken in a delicately spiced creamy sauce, chilled to perfection, providing a cool and refreshing dish perfectly suited to a warm summer evening. The Hachipuri (190Rbs) was served sizzling on a hot plate, and proved to be a fine example of this, one of the all-time favourites of Georgian cuisine. The Harcho soup (130Rbs) was nice albeit somewhat uninteresting; although the huge chunks of "melt in your mouth" beef which were to found hiding under the surface were a pleasant surprise indeed.
Being the self-confessed "cheese addict" that I am, the highlight of the dinner (and the ultimate halt of the calorie counting) came for me, in the form of the Fried sulugini "on a kesi" (120Rbs). Wow!! A "kesi" is a type of hot plate on which the strong and salty cheese is melted, then served bubbling and sizzling, ready to be scooped up with a spoon and eaten with such pleasure as is rarely afforded to cheese lovers in Russia! For those of you who have eaten a French raclette and wondered why you have to put up with the potatoes and sliced sausage, just to be able to have the melted cheese - then this one's for you! Believe me, it's sinfully good!!
Enough about the cheese! What about the meat? Well, we ordered a Pork shashleek (300Rbs) and a Lamb shashleek (450Rbs). The lamb was definitely the better of the two: It was tender and tasty, whereas the pork was overcooked and dry and tasted just like a chicken shashleek I had in Rostiks the other day! The portions were fair, and the sauces were tangy, though my favourite was the Adzhika sauce (70Rbs) which had more of a chilli kick to it. The fresh vegetable Georgian salad (250Rbs) we ordered to accompany the meat was an overpriced, disappointing bowl of chopped tomatoes and cucumbers - a boring array of vitamins, if ever I saw one! All in all - the main course did not live up to the promise of the starters.
We passed on desert (my guilty conscience suddenly got the better of me!) and went straight to coffees. As we sipped the rather good Turkish coffee (70Rbs) my companion and I decided that despite the substandard salad and pork (and of course, the aforementioned decor!), Chito Grito's good service, genuine Georgian recipes and reasonably sensible prices would leave most customers satisfied and coming back for more. And if it's a business lunch you're after, then I'm sure the 3 different options (140, 160 and 200Rbs) would be pretty hard to beat.
In any case: Forget the dacha! Forget the meat! Forget the diet!! I know where I'll be headed when I need my next fix of cheese. |
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| 674. | Vanil
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When I told Mr Polly that Expat.Ru had invited me to review Vanil, a place that a clueless prole like myself had never heard of before, his eyes lit up and he got very excited. He messaged all his friends to make them jealous. Turns out Vanil is, or at least was at one time, one of the top elitny eateries in town. After all, it was founded by some pretty well-known people: Fyodor Bondarchuk, Stepan Mikhailkov and none other than local restaurant legend Arkady Novikov. This initially gave me the impression that it must be packed with Moscow’s gilded youth and socialites, especially after noting that Vanil, a restaurant, enforces face control. But I soon came to understand that Vanil is more for an older, perhaps more refined crowd: Moscow’s gilded thirty-somethings.
Naturally my expectations were high. Very high. Especially after reading that an average dinner at Vanil without drinks will break you off about $140. I had also read conflicting comments about the menu, allegedly filled with indecipherable, purposely obscure selections. But in fact, once we had been seated at a table for two near a window facing Ostozhenka, I found that the menu was not as pretentious as I had been led to believe. I was only slightly disappointed when I understood that we would not be sitting at one of the popular tables facing an amazing view of Christ the Savior Cathedral. Instead we had a full-on view of the traffic jam outside and car-less metro commuters hurrying home from work. But never mind that - after all, who doesn’t enjoy watching the poor folk hobble by and stare wistfully in at you while you dine? Thanks to Vanil’s glistening ceiling-to-floor windows, this was a special treat we were granted the opportunity to enjoy several times that evening.
After perusing the menu for a bit, I was met with more disappointment upon learning that despite the fact that there are two scallop options listed on the menu, there were no scallops. So I was forced to rethink my plan. We decided on two cold appetizers the beef carpaccio with mushrooms (970Rbs) and tuna fillet with seaweed salad (750Rbs). Initially I had wanted to try the “warm scampi on rocket salad” (690Rbs) purely out of curiosity (what is rocket salad?), but we decided instead to share (note: “share”) another shrimp dish from the hot appetizers – scampi in tandoori sauce (450Rbs). I ordered a Kirin beer (180Rbs per 0.33L) and Mr Polly opted for a simple non-carbonated water.
Our cold appetizers were served quite soon after we ordered. Mr Polly’s water was poured into two wine glasses, even though he had only ordered water. My beer was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, I was hungry, so we began to check out the appetizers, which were both presented elegantly on Japanese-style plates. (One of the pages of Vanil’s menu offers a selection of what are allegedly Japanese delicacies, including sashimi and sushi rolls.) Vanil’s beef carpaccio is not cut in the traditional super-thin slices, but in small, thick rectangles. Not exactly what I was expecting, but this is probably the best thing I ate all evening there, and that is not meant to demean the carpaccio. It was excellent. Mr Polly’s tuna fillet was also quite good, but towards the end the large quantity of sea salt gracing the tuna and seaweed salad overwhelmed him.
Next came the scampi in tandoori sauce and Mr Polly’s order of cream of mushroom and celery soup. When the shrimp were served, I was again impressed by the detail devoted to presentation. I was also very impressed by the extremely large plate, considering that there were only four shrimp on it. Despite the accompanying iceberg lettuce salad, the actual food only covered about 1/3 of the plate. I began to feel like Steve Martin in LA Story when I noticed that Mr Polly’s soup was served in a gigantic bowl, also filled only about 1/3 high. I was getting a little nervous now since we had asked to share the shrimp, and there were only four. Plus, the waiter did not give Mr Polly silverware to partake in the shrimp, so there was clearly no chance that they had heard us say the word “share” and that he would be bringing the remaining four shrimp on a separate plate post-soup. I had not ordered soup because I thought it would be too much food. I was sorely mistaken. So I saved Mr Polly’s two shrimp for him after trying as hard as I could to relish the strange tandoori sauce drizzled over my half.
By the way, my beer had still not arrived at this point in time. I had to ask the waiter to please bring the beer I had ordered at least 30 minutes previously when he came to collect our dishes. He nodded obediently, but I got some look like “uh, yeah,” like it was my fault that he hadn’t brought it already.
We waited a little while before the entrees were served. Having been forced to forego the scallop plate, I had decided to try the “stake [sic] with vegetables Chinese style” (1250rbs). Mr Polly chose the veal breast with crunchy vegetables in an orange sauce (1100Rbs).
Now let me begin my diatribe by saying that I selected the Chinese-style “stake” because (a) I figured a place with such a high reputation would do a good job with “Chinese style” and because (b) having been misled by the description of “Chinese style,” I had envisioned said “stake” and the alleged vegetables would be served up as a stir-fry. Boy, was I ever wrong. Instead I got another gargantuan plate with a small, not-choice cut of steak surrounded on either side by saut?ed bits of probably two mushrooms cut up real small, and three snow peas cut up real small (the small slices make it look like there is actually more than three to the untrained eye). The worst of it was that the majority of these “vegetables” was freaking Chinese lettuce!!! First of all, Chinese lettuce is an affront to any kind of real lettuce. Plus, lettuce isn’t exactly what you imagine when you read the word “vegetables.” To top it off, this mutant, evil spawn of the lettuce devil and the “stake” had all been soaked in some sort of cheap-tasting teriyaki (read: Japanese, NOT Chinese) sauce that really did not do much to help either the hateful Chinese lettuce or the tough meat. To add insult to injury, a few drops of the offensive sauce literally leaped off of my fork, staining my sweater. So I guess the lesson here is that even in Moscow’s best, any “Asian-style” sauce will do and that bok choi’s rejected deformed cousin Chinese freakin lettuce can make any dish “Chinese style.” Oh, and neither of us received steak knives despite both of us ordering main courses with meat. You can imagine what a joy it was to saw away at my wretched “stake.”
Mr Polly’s veal was served in two pieces, one with meat, and one that was 90% bone and 10% impenetrable grizzle. The “crunchy vegetables” were not crunchy, and consisted of about 12 rectangular slices of some obscure vegetable measuring roughly two inches long and ?-inch wide. Maybe they were carrots, I’ll never know and at this point I’ve no desire to find out. They were, as you could probably guess, presented beautifully. But that had started to lose significance. Mr Polly liked the meat part of the veal, which he said was very tender, and the orange sauce it had been cooked in. He also noted that this was the first place he’d gone with me to review at which he’d actually been able to eat everything he was served. That should help you understand just how ‘minimalist’ the very pretty servings are.
We were then offered the dessert menu, which has a large selection of pretentiously named sweets at prices ranging from 250-950Rbs. At least the English dessert menu had enough mistakes to be amusing, with choices like “Ring with ice cream” and “chestnuts muss [supposed to be mousse].” After the stake disaster, I was in a foul mood and nothing except the berries appealed to me at all, but at this point I was in such a snit that I couldn’t even bear to not have to pay 950Rbs for what I assumed would end up being three to five berries on a giant plate. Thank you, I’ll pass. Mr Polly, however, cannot pass up anything halyava, so he tried a creative little number with vanilla ice cream topped with strawberry sorbet surrounded by three “French meringues” and fresh whipped cream topped with slices of strawberry and a sprig of mint. Not bad. Now I was even more pissy because hey, I should have ordered a freakin dessert. He also ordered a latte but I didn’t bother looking to see how much it costs. Probably a lot. I just finished nursing my puny, overpriced beer.
While I simmered away in my silent little hissy fit, Russian Mr Polly hastened to note that you have to pay for atmosphere and ambiance. OK – to their credit, Vanil has got the whole interior design thing down right. The restaurant is decked out predominantly – and tastefully- in what we can call Asian style. The color scheme is light, eliminating anything even slightly resembling Moscow’s heavy and ubiquitous “wood factor.” The lights are dimmed – but not too much, and the music is played at a perfect, unobtrusive volume. There are plenty of tables, many of which were filled with clients before we left, and despite their close proximity to one another, Vanil really manages to retain a sense of intimacy at each table. You don’t feel crowded, but you do feel cozy. This could be a great venue to chat someone up, for either business or pleasure.
That said, I’ve experienced my fair share of atmosphere and I ain’t payin no 950Rbs for no berries. It was with a sigh of relief that I stepped out onto the sidewalk, breathing in the cool autumn air and rejoining the masses of car-less commuters, without even one wistful glance back at Vanil’s fabulous floor-length windows. |
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| 675. | La Bottega
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Wine + Russians = does not compute. Of course it shouldn't be so, because Russians have loved the fruit of the vine for centuries, the Tsars themselves owned vineyards – although Mikhail Gorbachev dug them up and burnt them, and was rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize for doing so. Russia even produces decent wines, although you have to look hard for them (the Krasnodar Krai is a rewarding place to begin your search – where Australian winemakers are now guiding the process). Yet despite all this, it's hard to think of the Hollywood movie where the Russian character's favourite tipple is an elegant Barolo. Wine is – in the final analysis - an alien pastime for many Russians – a fact to which La Bottega are neatly attuned. Even the blackboard of specials chalked-up outside is in English. Bottega is aimed very clearly at an expat clientele, plus those Muscovites who hanker after their summer holidays in Andalucia as they trudge through the snow. The staff are English-speaking and greet guests cheerfully in English. If you're an expat in Moscow, then this place was made for you. How well was it made? Well, let's see....
The location at White Square – outside Belorusskaya Circle Line Metro – is almost purpose-made for La Bottega's target market, scattered at the feet of the Towers of Mammon that loom above. Prosperous pin-suited yuppies go scampering homewards past La Bottega's doors – and on the evening we visited there seemed to be an exclusively foreign clientele filling out the place.
It's a warm, cheerful and unashamedly louche venue with lots of soft furnishings and red crushed-velvet curtains – they may be serious about wine, but the atmosphere is far from stern and severe. There's a mixture of 1970s retro with 1920s Berlin cabaret playing on the sound system – this is a barfly lounge where lounging is positively encouraged.
La Bottega is primarily a place you come to enjoy a glass of wine, so we eschewed the other drink options and went straight for the wine list. The wine list is extensive, and their website has the whole thing if you want to check it out. If you aren't in the mood or the visitor-numbers for a bottle, they have a good range of some of their most attractive wines available by the glass – and for prices that stand up very well by Moscow standards, with some even coming in under 300 RUB per glass. It's a pricing policy that keeps you there for a second or third glass, and encourages sampling several. I found the Allegrin Veneto Soave 2010 crisp and attractive – served ideally chilled, with some fruity notes to it, and priced to enjoy at only 370 RUB per glass. Emilia's preference for reds led her towards a Ripasso Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2009, further up the price-scale at 470 RUB - but worth it. This is wine that stimulates the palate and prompts the appetite, and so we were quickly surveying the food menu.
As a Wine Bar, La Bottega's menu is extensively slanted towards smaller and lighter dishes you might have on the side with your glass of wine – and we enjoyed these appetiser dishes rather more than the main courses. If I went back to Bottega, next time I'd order two starters and skip the main course altogether – there's a panache and inventiveness among them that is somehow missing amid the worthy standards of the mains. Outstanding among the starters, and The Most Outrageously Delicious Thing I've Eaten in Months was the Mellow Figs Baked with Gorgonzola & Walnuts (450 RUB). My relentless curiosity often leads me into ordering the strangest stuff on the menu “just to try it” - but this time, for once, it paid off – the Odd Coupling of tangy fruit with attention-grabbing intense cheese is an unbeatable duo that I've never seen anywhere before – you have to try this! In fact it was so magnificently delicious that Emilia ate most of mine. And with good reason – she'd ordered a Mixture Of Green Leaves with Parma Ham Gran Riserva & Sheep's Ricotta (570 RUB)... but the green leaves were mostly chopped Chinese Leaves of clunky unloveliness, and they went unmunched. Surely they could get nicer salad leaves than this? My local supermarket sells them. The salad was crammed into a small deep bowl that made it hard to eat - and barely showed it in an attractive way. A better partner for a serious red wine was the Pear & Gorgonzola Quiche – a substantial slice for 320 RUB, and a meal in itself. It looked a little forlorn just plonked on a dish without even a lettuce-leaf for company, and might have benefited from more attractive presentation – but it delivers the goods on the fork.
The wind whistling in from the front door – which it does with some ferocity, straight into the seating area – was causing a little discomfort by now, and they'll need to fix this before winter draws in. We fortified ourselves with hot dishes and more wine, moving on to a Laughing Magpie Australian d'Arenburg 2007 – satisfyingly full and rounded, and worth the 450-RUB price-tag that accompanies it. The main courses which came along with it were less satisfying, however. I'd never seen a veal medallion the size or shape of those which appeared as Veal Medallions in Marsala Sauce (590 RUB). Full marks for getting the classic Marsala Sauce right, but the veal was very average. I had high hopes of Papardelle with Porcini and Cream Sauce if it was priced at 530 RUB – but it, too, was very ordinary. Scant on the porcini (in a bumper year for porcini), and not very creamy at all. We shared a quite decent panna cotta dessert for 290 RUB. The fare is bog-standard wine-bar stuff, in fact.
Overall, we felt that La Bottega would be good for sharing a glass of wine with friends, perhaps with a snack course on the side – the tables in the bar area are too small for eating main courses anyhow. There's a good selection of wines at prices that encourage you to linger. Unless you are unduly fond of fresh air, you might want to seat yourselves at the larger and more convenient tables which are further from the door. The staff is friendly and cheerful, but you have to keep on their case to make sure they bring what you actually ordered. The huge volume of passing trade from the adjacent office-blocks will probably keep La Bottega packed without them having to try harder than they do. |
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| 676. | Suliko
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If you go out for a nice meal in Amsterdam, then you eat Indonesian food, of course. In Berlin, you'll find the best Turkish food in the world, and there's no finer Indian cuisine than that served in Manchester. And in the same way, in a tradition rooted back in the soviet era, it's hard to go wrong in Russia if you go for Georgian food - the best-loved ethnic cuisine of the former USSR. Stories of Stalin's legendary all-night revels (he and his henchman Beria were both Georgians themselves) are already legendary.
Of course, the soviet days when only a few Georgian restaurants might reliably have any food available are long gone. Moscow is almost awash with Caucasian cooking - I've got a choice of three places within 100m of my house. It's hard to have a disappointing Georgian meal, however humble the establishment - the traditions of hospitality prevent it happening. However, with instructions from the Expat Site's latest glamorous assistant in hand, I trekked down to the other end of town in search of a "classic of the genre" - Suliko.
Suliko is anything but humble - it's grand and imposing, with that special combination of comfort and swagger that makes the Georgian heart pulse faster. The interior is uniquely Georgian - polished stone walls in different colours, bright lighting, whimsical carved wooden beams, the obligatory fountain flowing from the mouth of a clay urn. If the decor says anything at all, it says "this has cost a stack". The welcome is warm but politely muted - they're there when you want them, but they stay out of your face. Everything is pristine, and Suliko would make the perfect place to entertain visiting clients who've been emailing you to ask if they ought to bring their own soap or perhaps some food supplies. Even the most cautious faultfinder would visit Suliko without a new tale to tell afterwards. It's not only appropriately grand in style - there is something slightly soviet about the expansiveness of the place - but there's another handy benefit too. If your cautious clients are boring you to death, just position yourselves in the rear, larger dining-hall -“ and a live and rather dominating floorshow of Georgian singing will spare you from having to listen to any more of their stories. If, on the other hand, you actually want to be able to hear them, then request a table in the first hall instead.
The convivial style of Georgian eating lends itself best to dining in small groups. A meze of hot and cold starters is laid, and this is, in effect, the main part of the meal. Somewhat later - in fact quite a lot later sometimes - a hot main course will appear, but very much in a supporting role to the delicious selection of appetisers and starters you've already had. These are not cleared when the main course comes (unless you've finished them - which is unlikely, given the portion-size) - the main course simply arrives as reinforcements, just when you thought you were finally making some indentation on the starters.
This point is especially worth bearing in mind when looking at the prices. The financial outlay on the starters might seem out of balance - but considering that a single main course, without side-dishes, will then be easily enough for two, the final bill is not the shock you first feared. Even so, Suliko is overtly catering to the well heeled, so if you need to impress - this is the right place.
It's very easy to over-order, or to pick too many heavy items - so we took the waiter's advice, and still over-ordered. The adjapsandal (spicy tomato stew) (250Rbs) was juicy and lush, with lots of fresh bite left in the tomatoes. One of the selection of Georgian cheeses (450Rbs) was extremely salty, so the adjapsandal came in handy - as did the deliciously chewy Georgian lavash bread, which is rather similar to ciabatta in texture. My own personal favourite amongst the starters were the Aubergines Stuffed With Nuts (200Rbs) - melt-in-the-mouth tender, but not greasy in the slightest, and lightly flavoured with cardamom.
Frankly, in terms of amounts, this would already have easily been enough for the two of us. However, because Georgian food is traditionally served with a huge variety of dishes on the table, we'd been encouraged to order more dishes - and they were, it's true, excellent companions to those we already had. The problem, in a nutshell, was not too much food - but too few diners to consume it. If we'd been Georgians, of course, we'd have arrived with a whole extended family to tuck into it all.
Some satsivi (300Rbs) came next - another Georgian classic, filleted cubes of chicken served in a Circassian sauce - ground walnuts, garlic, onion, ground coriander, and some more garlic, and left to marinade (it's served at room temperature). It's on this kind of dish that Georgian restaurants divide into the men and the boys - Suliko's manhood was unquestioned, and the chicken pieces were soft tender top-quality fillets. Lobio (180Rbs) has been a vegetarian lifesaver in Moscow since the Brezhnev era at least, and Suliko's is a hearty bean stew served in an individual clay pot.
Another great Georgian tradition is vegetable pates (300Rbs for a selection-plate of three different pates), and Suliko's are some of the best. One was based on beans and garlic - another had tiny baby carrots in it.
Georgia is - as any Georgian will tell you - the home of the grape, and claims to be the first country where wine was made. Almost certainly you've already tried the worst of Georgian wine - it turns up at parties where Russians seem to love the thin, acerbic yet semi-sweet reds. It doesn't have to be like this - if your taste is more for a French-style red wine, then pick a nice Saperavi. The more robust body of Saperavi is the perfect accompaniment to Georgian food. Suliko also serve wine by the glass if you prefer.
Finally, when you have chatted, and idled, and nibbled at all the starters, and listened to the musicians, comes the main course. We shared a single main course and there was still heaps left over - tsiplyata v ezhevichnom souse, chicken in a loganberry sauce (500Rbs). Brought to the table in its terracotta casserole, the outside is as crunchy as the inside is tender.
Suliko is the perfect set-up for upscale Georgian, and your mission - if you choose to accept it - is to find the right occasion and group of diners to enjoy it. It's not especially cosy, and you'd feel a bit exposed there on a lover's tryst. But if you have foreign guests over - especially if they already sick of sour cream and accordions - it would be a super treat for corporate-level guests that offers them a cuisine they'll not have tried elsewhere. |
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| 677. | Sindbad
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The Golden Road to Samarkand...
Last week I was discussing mid-price restaurants with the editor of The Expat Site - who said that it was hard to find many that were really reliable. So off I went to Sindbad, where I had to eat my words, and a very dodgy Caesar Salad (180 rbls). Actually as a chicken mayo salad, served on chopped lettuce and sprinkled with grated Sovietsky cheese it is a quite decent appetiser - it just isn't Caesar Salad. Luckily our other starter, Piratsky Salad, (120 rbls) was delicious - a super-fresh mix of green veg and tomatoes in a chilli dressing that kicks butt.
The whole summer menu is geared towards the outdoor setting. Sindbad's oriental garden is set within a high wall - authentically like an Uzbek caravanserai courtyard, and has semi-open dining snuggeries for privacy in smaller groups, as well as tables fully in the open. The star attraction is food hot off the charcoal grill, and with this Central Asian cuisine, decor, and (ehem) authentically diffident service, it's easy to feel transported to downtown Bukhara for a few hours. Especially as the area's crawling with cops, due to MID being around the corner...
I stuck with house specials and took Salmon off the grill as my main course - a bargain at 150 rbls, although the portion size isn't huge. Sveta was unlucky twice running, and after a dud Caesar salad, got Chicken Wings (150 rbls) as a main that managed to be greasy outside whilst dry inside, and no hint of spice or sauce with them either. The side-order of Persian KooKoo was disappointing - instead of the fluffy egg pudding came a greasy omelette.
Sveta was so miffed at this point, having nibbled at the wings and discarded them, that we ordered a portion of Tiger Prawns off the mangal, and these were tip-top at 450 rbls. Coinciding with the garden lighting and water-run coming on, the evening took an upward turn from here.
For dessert we got Grilled Banana (120 rbls) and Grilled Pineapple (150 rbls) with liquer, which they brought nicely presented on a large dish, and these were undoubtedly the highlights of the evening - crisp outside, succulent inside, without added unwanted sugar to spoil the natural taste.
With liberal draught Baltika beer, some wine, a cocktail and great espresso we paid 1900 rbls for two. Without the emergency prawn reinforcements and the kookoo, we could have dined for 1300 rbls. For outdoor summer eating it's a super location - their garden is a real treat compared to many Moscow al-fresco operations. Stick to the Uzbek house specials and the grilled options, avoid the half-arsed pseudo-Russian/Euro choices and it's mid-price outdoor dining you'd go back to again. |
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| 678. | Mio
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Fruity Daytime Clubbing Experience
Having been briefed to specifically review Mio's food, rather than its music or ambience, I decided to make a reservation for lunch rather than in the evening in the hope that I wouldn't be distracted by the atmosphere and could therefore concentrate 100% on the food. I should imagine the place is really quite buzzing at night. Reservations are essential on Friday and Saturdays and recommended at all times for larger groups.
Mio, fashionable among the young trendy Russian set, launched itself as a DJ cafe, but is now trying to establish itself as a worthy eatery too. One method of food marketing they have adopted is a weekly mail out of lunch menus to regular customers, who also include diplomats from the nearby French embassy. Slightly apprehensive about hanging out in a nightclub during daylight hours, imagining dingy, smoky surroundings, I was pleasantly surprised by the light, fresh and clean restaurant area. The comfy sofa we collapsed onto was very welcome.
As lunch was scheduled for the Morning After The Night Before, Natasha and I were both in need of detox so ordered fresh carrot and apple juices (140rbl). We then studied the very extensive menu which includes summer dishes, meat, fish, pasta, salads and the inevitable standard page of sushi. The cuisine is mostly Italian and French (with the token Japanese) and it is perhaps worth noting that the menus are only in Russian at the moment, although they are in the process of being translated into English.
I sampled the Duck Salad with Pineapple (210rbl) which was fruity and yet light and filling. It included cranberries, lettuce and tomatoes and had that too-good-to-be-true yummy but healthy taste; always an unlikely combination and one I can never quite trust. Natasha opted for a Caesar Salad with Salmon (220rbl). The dressing was wonderful and the parmesan good, although apparently the salmon could have been a little less chewy.
I then chose Pork Shashlik (120rbl) which was deliciously tender and just the right size as the main course of a light lunch. I personally think garnish is a waste of time, but my shashlik was accompanied with the most exotic looking carrot gratings I've ever seen. They looked far too glamorous to actually eat.
Natasha's main course option brings me round to a common complaint of Moscow restaurant reviewers: Why can't the Muscovites leave sushi to the experts? Her tuna rolls (170rbl) were mediocre, while her salmon sushi (80rbl) and yellow tail fish sushi (210rbl) were really below average, and one even had to be returned to the kitchen with a comment that the fish may have been off.
I am loathe having to grumble about this because I honestly enjoyed my Mio meal and would like to recommend the place, however I do feel obliged to warn any potential patrons to avoid the sushi there.
My advice is to stick to the modern European options, and your experience should be good and definitely worth the slight challenge of finding the venue. |
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| 679. | Coffeemania
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Coffeemania at Trubnaya
I can't make risotto. The most acceptable of my failures come out like a sorely-unspiced pilaf – the more disastrous ones are more like an asian congee rice porridge. But since I really like risotto I've been driven to experiment at home with different recipes and various allegedly “no-fail” authentic Italian risotto rice brands... until now. For only 550 RUR my risotto fixation can be swiftly and sated with as perfectly-prepared a dish as you'd find in Milan or Florence – without going beyond Trubnaya metro. There will be some who see 550 RUR as very expensive for a dish of rice – for myself, I see it as a huge saving on the airfare to Rome.
I mention all this apropos of Coffeemania being essentially a smartly informal place to eat – that incidentally happens to serve great coffee too. Those who already know their “original” cafe on Bolshaya Nikitskaya (adjacent to the Moscow Conservatoire) will know the fun-style pseudo-industrial interior (exposed pipework and metal-grille decor) – but the new branch at Trubnaya offers an entirely new ambience. The funkiest of Frank Lloyd-Wright's interior designs have been raided mercilessly to create a warm and relaxed feel of natural mid-brown woods (cedar, pearwood, and others) with recessed lighting that recalls some kind of cocktail lounge in an early Pink Panther movie. The shopping-mall design elements of the Plaza outside (apparently a rejected design for Khanty-Mansiysk airport Duty-Free?) remain firmly where they belong – outside.
Ever-loyal to its bistro-style roots, Coffeemania is quite happy to serve just drinks or short-orders – and the bar menu would be very welcome for anyone dropping in after the adjacent shops in the Plaza, with a great selection of long and short drinks, wines, spirits and other drinks. With my dining companion delayed in New Year traffic, I plunged straight into the menu's recommended white wine for my risotto - Garafol Serra Fiores (570 RUR), and my starter course - Salad Bakinsky (ie in a “Baku” style) - 510 RUR - arrived alongside my friend. Both of these were close shaves - my friend's timing, and the slices of smoked halibut that made up the centrepiece of a nobly low-calorie salad for which I gained brownie points with her. The rest of my salad was composed of juicy tomatoes, dill, and sweet red onion flakes - a nice basket of sesame white bread and rich aromatic borodinsky came automatically. Meanwhile on the other side of the table, a delicious cider cocktail appeared - a Hotel Ritz Hemingway special at just 370 RUR, surely the best bargain in the drinks menu!
I was pleased to see Coffeemania devoting the kind of detailed attention to risotto that it deserves - the waitress kindly advising me that mine was now at the exact moment of readiness for the table. Friendship is a fine thing, but risotto waits for no man and I urged it onwards in spite of all societal prejudice in favour of waiting for one's friends. No mistake either, because Moscow's most sumptuous Mushroom Risotto (570 RUR) came to the table accompanied by a generously-unrestricted bowl of freshly-grated parmesan. Not even the arrival of Crab Jumbo (530 RUR) opposite could distract me from savouring every last mouthful of the risotto, although I generously agreed to indulge in conversation once it was sadly gone. The soft-shelled crab itself was a wonderful thing, served in a light tempura batter on cos lettuce leaves... from my viewpoint as an observer the entire thing was a picture of deliciousness, although the actual diner-behind-the-plate claimed she'd have preferred her whole cos-leaves sliced for ease of consumption. Such are the dilemmas facing the modern aesthete at her supper. With my risotto craving duly discharged, and running one dish behind my companion (a nicety with which the table staff coped seamlessly) I was able to relax and admire the interior decorations whilst my colleague tucked eagerly into a favourite dish from the Coffeemania “old place” - Corleone, a classic escalope of veal served with hand-made pasta and field mushrooms, and worth all of the satisfied drooling sounds at 730 RUR.
We skipped desserts in favour of coffee and tea - but you may not feel so pressured, and there is Coffeemania's legendary selection of in-house patisserie to edge you towards temptation so extremely easily.
Freed of dining duties temporarily, I surveyed the dining-room in search of the answer to my question - who is Coffeemania for? To my western eyes it's considerably more relaxed and informal than many Russians would accept as a “restaurant” - but many of the diners there were clearly on romantic dates, whilst the larger (and, err clumsier-looking) group tables went unoccupied the entire time. Have credit-crunched couples moved their eating expectations down a price-notch - or have Russians finally begun to abandon pompous pretention as an essential to their dining? Whichever is the case, the Coffeemania formula is clearly not only surviving, but moving ever onwards and upwards - and taking a loyal public along with it.
So what's good here? Almost everything, really - a standard of cuisine (achieved with a newly-imported kitchen set-up) that knocks spots off places costing double the price, an informality of style and ambience that belies cheerful smiley efficiency at the table; a range of menu items that covers everything from European bistro favourites, Italian trattoria classics and a delicate range of asian dishes; genuinely separate smoking and non-smoking areas; and underlying all of this, a quality-driven at which the client's happy mood and comfort are in the driving seat. And the downsides? Conservative diners in search of starched whites and silverware won't find any of that here... and the price of wine by the glass doesn't encourage refills. However, the Hemingway cocktails are priced to comfort the credit-crunched at a feel-very-good-indeed eaterie that quickly feels like your favourite place in town. |
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| 680. | Pasta della Mamma
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When we walked into Pasta della Mamma (R.I.P. Borgo) the first thing that struck me was that they hadn't changed the interior at all. It was exactly the same. This may not be a bad thing, but I thought it was a little odd. The interior is nice enough, and the atmosphere is calm and relaxed - no snootiness. But aside from that, there really isn't anything to add to (or subtract from) what was said about Borgo.
The menu was brief with a nice selection of very appetizing items. One difference here was that Pasta della Mamma's prices are lower than Borgo's prices were, but not always by very much. Rumor has it that the owners are now targeting a more middle-class clientele.
We both ordered fizzy water (90/210Rbs) and I also got a mojito (180Rbs). Although it was served in a giant glass, the mojito was a bit of a disappointment - fairly weak with too much lemon. There is also a wine list, Aleydis pointed out Marques de Cazares (crianza 2001 - 1050Rbs/bottle) as a recommendation should I decide to get my wine on. We both liked Pasta della Mamma's oval-shaped water glasses, which fit niftily into the hand.
For starters, I ordered the shrimp with garlic butter sauce (320Rbs) and beef carpaccio with parmegiano regiano (330) and Aleydis decided to try the grilled Portobello mushroom (420Rbs). Other selections were green salad with fried goat cheese (330Rbs), and bruscetta with asparagus and lemon (270Rbs). Although we didn't try them, some of the soup selections looked very tempting, such as cream of lobster soup with shrimp (330Rbs) and artichoke soup with truffled crostini (270Rbs).
Aleydis was more than happy with her grilled portobello. I have to agree - she let me have a taste and it really was very good. I was equally as happy with the beef carpaccio, which was mild, served with ruccolla and a nice amount of parmesan, and not too much oil or balsamic. However when the shrimp came, I asked Aleydis to try them as well, and we both agreed that better shrimp has been had. The sauce was nice enough (and there was a lot of sauce - they served the shrimp with a spoon for the sauce) but the shrimp were clearly not as fresh as they could have been, and thus they were a bit chewy and stringy.
When it comes to entrees, Pasta della Mamma offers a lot of the old pasta standards. Aleydis ordered the raviolis with ricotta and spinach (450Rbs), and I opted for the spaghetti carbonara (360Rbs). We had heard from other Expat.ru posters that the portions were supposed to be big. Pasta della Mamma's menu even has a special blurb announcing that carry-out is indeed an option, and that "doggy-bags" are no problemo.
Overall the service was very good. One poster on Expat.ru had noted that most of the waitresses were closer to middle-aged as opposed to young nubile thangs. We found this to be true for the most part, and decided they were probably really going for that "Mamma" feel.
Both of our entrees were underwhelming in their own ways. Aleydis explained that her ravioli (five very large ravioli) were too plain, and that the white sauce they were served in was also bland. She said they really could use something to spice them up, especially the spinach, which she would have liked to be tangier. My pasta carbonara was generally alright - not the best I've had in Moscow, but certainly not the worst by far. My main problem was that the pasta was a little too al dente - almost to the point where I thought it might have been a good idea for the cook to boil it for at least a couple more minutes. The sauce was nice enough, there was lots of parmesan (which I liked) and very, very thinly stripped bacon. Personally, I would have liked to see more bacon meat and less translucent bacon fat, but that's just me. Overall, it was pretty heavy, and yes, the portion was big. I could only eat about a third of it, if that.
Neither Aleydis nor I could finish our entrees, and there was certainly no room left for even thinking about dessert. As Pasta della Mamma is slightly more affordable, I would probably consider going back, but probably for the appetizers and not full entrees. |
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| 681. | Khodzha Nasreddin in Khiva
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A Gourmet Adventure
If you are ever overwhelmed by an urge to escape Moscow and visit an exotic land to enjoy bountiful quantities of delicious food and copious amounts of entertainment, but you only have one evening to spare and $50 in your pocket, then sidestep the customs and baggage claim queues and retreat to the restaurant, Khodja Nasreddin in Khiva. One step inside the door and you enter the enchanting world of Uzbekistan and the ancient city of Khiva.
After being greeted warmly by the restaurant staff in traditional Uzbekistan dress my fiancee and I were escorted to our table across a small "bridge" where you get a panoramic view across the roof tops of the city. This replica is quite remarkable and includes mosques, minarets, portals and cupolas. The restaurant is an intriguing clutter of ornaments and artefacts, mats, tea rooms and both open and intimate dining areas. Conventional tables exist but it is worth trying the more interesting low tables for the more comfortable and traditional experience.
The restaurant has a second floor which, we were told by the restaurant's manager, is a replica of Muhamad Rakhim Khan's harem which was part of his palace. It is worth noting the unique photos of this business and military man on the walls of the entrance to the second floor dining area. We visited the restaurant late Saturday afternoon and this floor was awash with children being thoroughly entertained by a variety of clowns. The manager informed us that the shutters of this floor are always closed and the clocks remain stopped to give the impression of the non-existence of time, as it was during the Rakhim Khan's era.
Returning to our table we removed our shoes and immersed ourselves in the array of cushions and pillows and lay dreaming of what life must have been like in Uzbekistan at the time of the legendary figure Khodja Nasreddin, as we prepared to select our meal.
The menu makes interesting reading and the numerous intriguing dishes offering almost every part of an animal's anatomy are laced with stories and names of famous merchants, travellers and warriors who ate these dishes many years ago. The shashlik with sheep's testicles will have the men crossing their legs when they order.
We both chose the salmon Termez Style ($12) with amber caviar for a cold starter and had the salmon Muynaksky Style ($18) with roasted spinach, and veal Koreyka ($26) for main dishes. We ordered bread Cake of Khiva ($3) which was freshly baked in the onsite Uzbekistan bakery and a side dish of pickled vegetables Kyzyl-Kumsky ($10).
This was all washed down with a glass of young Uzbek red wine ($13) a glass of Le Sommelier ($8) and raspberry fruit brandy ($3).
I have to admit that by this stage of the proceedings we were a little overextended, gastronomically, to attempt desert but a quick glance at the menu revealed an extensive and extremely tempting selection ($6-17).
In addition to the memorable meal the out-of-town experience to be had at Khodja Nasreddin in Khiva is further enhanced by entrancing belly dancing performances each evening and special one hour shows of dance, musicals and opera each Friday and Saturday nights commencing at around 22:00, all complimentary with your meal. |
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| 682. | Clumba Club
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The May holidays had just begun on May 1st, and it was time to visit Novinsky Passazh and Clumba Club for dinner. In the days before, I had taken the time to review Clumba Club’s website – very sleek site with relevant information. I have had dinner several times at the Mamina Pasta on the atrium floor as well, but never since Clumba Club had opened, so I was intrigued.
Upon arriving, my dinner date and I found the lay out and ambience appealing. Clumba Club is a very “open” restaurant with a smoking section that is completely separate from the atrium dining area. As a diner, the atrium location gives you an immediate sense of relaxed calm, even if the shopping center itself were to be bustling with people. The tables are big, the seating is deep and comfortable, open-space acoustics are conducive to conversation, and Wi-Fi readily available.
On that note, I would not say that Clumba Club itself is boring, but it was absolutely dead on the evening we were there, as we were, literally, the only diners. I attribute this mainly to it being May 1st, but maybe Clumba Club is generally slow.
In the wake of our evening there, and quite frankly, I have found it difficult to find inspiration to pen this review. Not “writer’s block” – instead, I have just found it exceptionally hard to put a finger on “what” Clumba Club is or is trying to be.
To wit, there is a huge assortment of items to choose from on the menu. Clumba Club covers surf, turf, and damn near everything else under the sun. While this is good – at least as long as the selections do in fact deliver – it does little to define a restaurant. An Italian place has pasta, a Japanese place has sushi, an American diner has burgers – and it’s almost like Clumba Club is trying to be all of these at one time.
The food, without qualification, was good. Expectations were met, and even exceeded.
We started with two appetizers – a parmesan ham platter (220 RUB) and Tashkent tomatoes stuffed with suluguni cheese (410 RUB). Appetizers came quickly, almost with our fresh strawberry (175 RUB, .5L) and melon (275 RUB, .5L) drinks and were a great start to the meal.
I had planned on ordering a coterie of oysters since Clumba Club is, or at least is becoming, known for its oyster selection. However, and no fault of Clumba Club’s, the news of Fukusima has turned me off to anything labeled Japanese for the time being, especially your basic water filters in hard shells.
Now for a dose of irony – I followed up my “nyet” to oysters with a “da” to a piece of tuna sushi (110 RUB) and smoked eel sushi (110 RUB), as well as a Philadelphia roll (420 RUB). My rationale was, well, weak – but I am a sucker for good sushi, and somehow sushi made the cut, but raw oysters did not. The sushi was exceptional, but I have resolved since then to take a break from the Empire of the Sun – it’s the sourcing of the seaweed wraps, as well as the seafood itself that gives me pause, and I have a hard time believing that any restaurant in Moscow – or the USA or Europe, for that matter – can guarantee the sourcing, short of a Geiger Counter next to the soy sauce.
My dinner entree reflected my fresh Talk with Jesus, and I went with beef stroganoff (760 RUB), another step forwards in the muddled culinary theme of the night. My lovely dinner date chose a filet of megger fish (1350 RUB) after we had a lengthy discussion with the waiter and our iPad to determine its advertised Spanish pedigree was believable.
Beef stroganoff is easily one of my favorite dishes in the world, and while most restaurants can deliver an acceptable stroganoff, Clumba Club has an exceptionally good stroganoff. The megger was also highly-rated, but since I was a new convert away from seafood, even the Spanish variety, I did not partake.
We followed our entrees with a raspberry and mint tea (450 RUB) for my lady and an Americano (150 RUB) for me, as well as milfee with berries (450 RUB) and tiramisu (390 RUB) as dessert to be shared.
Again, everything about the meal was enjoyable – quiet atmosphere, tasty food, and attentive service. We spent nearly 3 hours at Clumba Club– much to our surprise – but I still walked away with a sense of unremarkable. Call it a positive unremarkable since everything was fine, but the essence remains the same.
During the past week as I have gathered my thoughts for this review, I have found that I have few poignant thoughts with regard to Clumba. The final bill was 5390 RUB, or about $200, and that, quite frankly, seems expensive to me. Yes, Clumba Club delivered on what a restaurant is “supposed” to deliver upon – food, service, and atmosphere – but was a somewhat forgettable, or at least not memorable, dining experience.
All of that being said, I do fully endorse Clumba Club and would like to try it again on a non-holiday weekend since maybe it will be more lively – most likely for a business lunch type meal in the cafe portion. The location is convenient, especially if you have a larger party, and you will be served high-quality offerings. If, on the other hand, you want more of a people-watching or high-energy affair, then Clumba Club will probably disappoint. |
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| 683. | Shchisliva
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Shchisliva
The name? Well, it's an untranslatable weary pun, mixing the colloquial word for “bye!” with the name of cabbage soup. It's one of those extremely contrived jokes that you hate the moment you hear it, and it gets worse with repetition – particularly since “bye!” (rather than maybe “hello!”?) is weak name for any kind of eaterie. But though it's hard to swallow – we don't have to eat the name.
The location is superb – directly opposite the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum – if you'd come here two centuries earlier, the artist Tropinin would have been living next door, where he had his studios too. It's even located so that you can see an exhibition, saunter down the small side-street where the Museum's exit is located, and topple through the front door (take care when crossing the road, however). Unlike the Pushkin, across the road – which is mainly Western art, with a bit of Russian – Shchisliva mainly features traditional Russian dishes. However, they are served with a loving delicacy and lightness of approach, that you'd hardly recognise them if you've been bombarded with their greasy canteen counterparts. This is Russian food prepared with aplomb, and served with the aesthetic beauty the neighbourhood inspires.
They don't – yet – have a liquor licence, although they're allowed to serve you beer (they have a good range of international beers, in fact). If you want anything stronger, you can bring it yourself (a grocery street around the corner on Lenivka), and they charge a 500 RUB corkage charge per bottle. There's a range of home-made lemonades – the pear-flavoured one (250 RUB) was quite pleasant, and a large glassful, instead of the usual thimbleful.
The décor is minimalist-Scandinavian – primarily geometric pine furniture and avocado-green fabrics that add a probably unintentional 1970s feel to the place – you expect to see Diane Keaton waiting for Woody Allen to show up? And rather like Greenwich Village in the 1970s, you have to go outside if you want to light up – it's a 100% no-smoking venue, which suits me fine. Wi-Fi is free, has no fiddly passwords, and goes like the clappers.
Following our established pattern, Emilia cross-examined the waiter about the most complex and outlandish dishes on the menu - whereas I prefer to see how they cope with established classic dishes. The result is usually that Emilia gets left with some outré experiment while I tuck into something nice – but the tables were turned today! The idea of Anchovy in Spicy Battered Leaves of Sage (240 RUB) sounded like something from a fish-and-chip shop to me - but it arrived as elegantly light tempura-style wafers without a hint of grease to them at all. However, if I'd been expecting a Russian-Railways style “salat” (i.e. “leftovers in mayonnaise”), I was delighted to find that Salad of Herrings & Mustard Sauce with Cherry Potatoes (260 RUB) was a tangy and light collation, with lots of crispy Cos lettuce leaves, al-dente potatoes, and delicious herring as the magma core of this extensive volcanic portion. I particularly enjoyed the contrasting textures of crispy lettuce alongside smooth potato, and the mustard sauce was the tongue-tingling masterstroke that brought it all together. I could quite happily have cut straight to the coffee and the bill after that, and felt more than satisfied.
However, our lunch was only just beginning. Although Shchisliva was pretty full for a weekday lunchtime, service was enviably brisk and charmingly shy. With seamless refills of our drinks in hand, we'd decided to try a sampler portion of Okroshka (250 RUB) – Russia's beloved summer soup. It's usually assembled at the table, and can be made with either kvass, or kefir. We tried a little of both, and Emilia came down firmly in favour of the kefir version – which is home-made, the waiter confirmed, although the menu doesn't say so. Since Emilia is something of an okroshka maven at hope, it was a testing moment to discover if they could make it as she likes it? Happy smiles and eager enthusiasm resulted, and the restaurant's reputation was instantly confirmed.
On to the hot main dishes, and once again, I'd chosen a taster portion of two different dumpling dishes. Dumplings with North Sea Fish (440 RUB) were tender and very pleasant, but a bit monotonous on their own – they really needed the foil of some kind of side dish? However, the Fried Dumplings with White Oyster Mushrooms (360 RUB) were my star find of the day, and served in a creamy savoury sauce that sets new records for calorific content. As a Brit reared on my mum's pie and gravy, this was like a Freudian regression into childhood bliss - and I even minded my manners and didn't talk while I was eating it. Culinary satisfaction was in evidence on the other side of the table too – with the arrival of Home-made Smoked Duck with Mashed Parsnip (470 RUB). Although it looked a little bare on the plate, the duck was deliciously tender – although visually the decoration of cranberries might have been better replaced with some kind of jus of them instead? The parsnip easily won the Best Supporting Vegetable Award – creamy, buttered, and just the way your mum made them.
And at that point, we had to admit defeat. It had all been so delicious that we'd sent the plates back scraped clean of every last morsel. The desserts all sounded tempting - but they'd have had to send us home on wheels if we'd given in to temptation.
Shchisliva serves reliable, appealing food without any silly pretentions, in a pleasant and modern setting with attentive service. The prices are rather less than we expected for such a ritzy location, and the atmosphere is relaxed and laid-back, with no particular dress code at all. The strict non-smoking policy is slightly unusual for Moscow, but we found it a major plus.
Shchisliva has an appetising line-up of items for breakfast, and instead of a “business lunch” promotion it offers 20% discount on the entire menu from 12-4pm on weekdays. |
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| 684. | Daikon Sushi & Noodle House
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If you thought a Daikon was the latest sub-compact-car to come out of the SE Asian motor industry, you were close, but no cigar – it’s an oriental marinated vegetable sometimes called “winter radish”, something of a delicacy in Japan and Korea. But you were close – Daikon is also a restaurant that’s high on features, with smart metro styling, and a price somewhere near half what you were expecting this excellent ought to cost.
Parking isn’t a problem – located a couple of blocks up Prospekt Mira from Sukharevskaya Ploschad, on-street parking is easy to find. Step inside the doors and you’re enveloped in a warm atmosphere of a lot of people having a lot of fun – and the fun never stops at Daikon, because they genuinely work around the clock. This doesn’t mean that they stay open “until last guest”… you can really arrive at 3am for supper, and the welcome is just as warm. Come at 6am and they will serve you a choice of five different breakfast menus… Asian if you’d like, or if your sense of culinary adventure’s a little dimmed in the early hours, they have European brekkie too.
The lean, clean lines of contemporary decor dominate the interiors, which spread-out over two floors (via a period staircase they’re obliged to keep for building-preservation reasons). There’s not a single hokum bamboo anything at Daikon, and no attempt to replicate an Emperor’s boudoir – in fact it looks strangely similar business-class lounge of a Scandinavian airport. The genuinely curious can even opt to sit along a window-lined corridor from where you can watch the kitchen activities as a theatrical experience, through large observation windows.
The eclectic menu presents Singaporean, Japanese, Indonesian and Thai dishes side-by-side, without any purist zeal about maintaining their separateness – in fact you’re encouraged to mix-and-match, and have whatever you like. To aid the decision process we lubricated our throats with a big bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water (195 Rbs), and alongside it some of the “house special” asian cocktails. London-Hongkong (190 Rbs) is a stiff slug of delicious gin adorned with some rather less successful blue curacao and a soho lychee.. It packs a punch, but I was looking for a little lusciousness… and got a lot of lusciousness when I moved over to one of their supersize Mojitos, a cracking 500 ml for just 195 Rbs. Mrs Torheit made a similar manoeuvre, lured by the exotic name and appearance of a Tokyo Night (160 Rbs-worth of vodka, sake, curacao and schnapps), but ultimately returning to more familiar ground for the next round for a Strawberry Margarita (170 Rbs).
I was badly in need of something to soak-up all that gin by this point – I could really have used a few rice-crackers or oriental-style nuts, but luckily a mix of appetisers to share practically flew out of the kitchen, and were soon arranged on the table with the delicacy of a feng-shui consultant. Opinion was divided over the Glass Noodle Salad with shrimps (190 Rbs) – Mrs T finding it rather penitential in nature, whilst I thought it was deliciously light and fresh. The Lamb Samosas (180 Rbs) found much more favour on the other side of the table – smaller and more delicate than their Indian cousins, these were Indonesian-style and came with a piquant fruit chutney that partnered their rich flavours perfectly. There are some dishes that just mesmerise my attention whenever I see them on a menu – anything with goat’s cheese is one, and fishcakes is the other, and the Thai Fishcakes (195 Rbs) were perfection on a plate… I found myself muffling the words “only one!” after the offer to “mmm, try one!”. The spectacular range of hot starters – at such pocket-friendly prices – is liable to tempt most diners at Daikon in that direction, but for those who’d prefer, there is an appropriately wide selection of sushi and sashimi. But where, we asked, was the daikon? And out it came, sliced into golden yellow ovals with a delicate flavour vaguely similar to what a brine-marinated persimmon might taste like? Some vegetable-stuffed cabbage rolls stood guard over the golden daikon – but at only 122 Rbs this was a tasty vegan treat you wouldn’t need to steal.
The portion-sizes at Daikon (unusually, not indicated in the menu) are generous, but if you arrive extra-hungry you might like to include a hot appetiser in your meal too. Mrs Torheit did just this, diving vigorously into a thick tomato broth of Seafood Nabe (350 Rbs), teeming with succulent cuts of salmon, prawns and squid. This would easily make a light low-carb main-course on its own, in fact.
In honour of the Lenten Fast (and to prove it was possible), I continued in vegan vein with the Pakchoi Beancurd with sesame oil (255 Rbs) - although I’m not sure the “oyster sauce” would really suit dedicated vegans… but it tasted pretty-much like light soy to me, with no fish taste to it at all. Mrs Torheit’s eagle eye for the best pick on any menu saw her trounce my healthy choice, however. The Unazu Smoked Eel with gohan steamed rice is undoubtedly the most stupendously top-value main course in Moscow this week – 295Rbs for a very generous portion of the most succulent eel fillet yet devised by the mind of man. Any dish which can induce a state of voluntary silence in Mrs Torheit is indeed a remarkable achievement. Once again, the main courses were not only beautifully presented on the plate, but brought to the table with delicacy and care… these are people who are really passionate about what they do, and enjoy offering it to you just as much as you enjoy eating it.
My Sago Melon dessert (130 Rbs) illustrated the art of service perfectly – the bowl is lifted to the table using a special wooden spatula in which the bowl nestles. “Too rich!” muttered Mrs T, but I was already wallowing in an unctuous sago-pudding-nostalgia moment from childhood that would have provided Marcel Proust with enough material for two or three chapters. Creamy-perfect, there is a small amount of chopped melon to garnish it, but you can soon get rid of that and enjoy the sumptuous sago. This was all merely pique from Mrs Torheit’s part, since her classical Asian dessert of Indonesian Pineapple with ice cream (185 Rbs) turned-out to be good-ol’ pineapple fritters, and not the oriental exotica she’d imagined… although it was none the worse for that. A hot shot of Espresso (65 Rbs) for me and Jasmine Pearl tea for the mem’sahib (155 Rbs for a very large pot) brought down the curtain on a very successful evening.
In a city where quality and service so rarely merit the jaw-dropping bill for stylishly-served Asian cuisine, Daikon turns the tables – you get a meal out that probably would have cost double in other restaurants, without any compromise on quality or service. No wonder the place was packed to the gunnels when we went, so unless you really are coming at 3am, booking’s strongly advised. |
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| 685. | Solyanka
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Not the Solyanka Your Mom Made
I’ve frankly never been fond of the word solyanka. Perhaps it’s the phonetic way the word seems to crudely roll off the tongue when pronounced, or perhaps it brings back those lingering memories from the mid-90’s as a Russian language student living in St. Petersburg and asking my host mom what’s for dinner, only to hear again that it would be a solyanka of some mysterious sort. As in most kitchens across the world, solyanka – or stew – is merely a recipe to throw in a pot whatever you can find around the kitchen along with a pinch of salt, a bay leaf and some parsely. In my time I have fished out from various solyankas various inedible parts of a chicken including a foot, the inevitable sharp chip of bone, a roach, and even once a bolt.
Thus I accepted the invitation to go the new restaurant-bar-club in lower Kitai Gorod with keen curiosity yet perhaps some subconscious trepidation. Still, it was close to my apartment and I needed a good meal. I had recently recovered from food poisoning from a recent trip to Sochi for the recent gargantuan economic forum where everyone is goo-goo and ga-ga for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the gilded dreams of the buckets of money that comes with it (the culprit being a hotel restaurant; a notoriously worse offender than a rynok shwarma stand no matter how many stars on the hotel’s lobby wall). I was still a bit bleary eyed from the late nights at the “unofficial nightclub” of the forum (a surreal Mad Max-meets-Waterworld-meets-Dubai oil & gas themed club built on a mock offshore oil platform, complete with working oil derricks) and a bit weak from multiple days of a monotonous bread and white rice diet, so I was looking forward to having some real food and moving past my hang-ups over the club’s name – but knew that another chicken foot would do me in for good.
However, just seeing the sign for the club seemed to provide some reassurance. Just the font styling of the word solyanka in silver letters, something that seemed to resemble the old Zil label of the old Soviet party cars and ubiquitous Soviet refrigerators, showed some thoughtful design and intellectual ironic flair, a telltale of a smart and creative management - and hopefully cooks - that appreciate the details.
And indeed just the details of the restaurant interior design require some appreciation here. To be fair, solyanka does not just mean “stew” in the strict food sense, but more of a “mix” in broader descriptive terms. In this case solyanka means eclectic – very eclectic. The location is an old late 18th century kupecheski merchant’s mansion, with tall windows and antique ceilings. However, despite this neo-aristocratic setting the interior concept instantly struck me as a modern triangulation of So-Ho, Havana, and London. I think I was somewhat near the mark as the publicity director who came by our table described the place as a convergence of Miami, London, and a classic St. Petersburg apartment.
This seemingly pretentious mixture was balanced out and grounded with a crazy assortment – yet tasteful selection - of used furniture that could have come from Craig’s List, and in fact may inspire fond recollections of that old favorite couch you once had in the basement. The full space had approximately 4-5 rooms, with not one room or chair matching, and even each toilet room in the progressive unisex bathroom was wallpapered in a completely different style (yes, I actually checked). And, like a giant Transformer robot, the main room goes through a metamorphosis at 11pm – changing from an eclectically designed dining area to a theatrically lighted club dance floor complete with a stage and a wall of speakers and video screens. Somehow all of this ad-hoc yet well planned eclectic design concept works, earning kudos to the club’s designer who took the name and theme solyanka stylishly to heart.
And that’s what is so special about Solyanka – a theme that both subtly and surprisingly works. It is a restaurant, club, bar, clothing store (still unsure about that element), and gallery – all wrapped up in a packaging of different color wrappings and ribbons. I could have sat there for a while sipping on my beer (200 Rbs) admiring these details, but the menu of course deserves some mention here, too, as the food was the original intent of my visit and my writing here. I did see solyanka on the menu, although the menu itself is rather a solyanka of different cuisines ranging from Thai (-ish) with a peanut and coconut milk soup with crab meat (360 Rbs), an attempt at Southwest fusion with a chicken and mango quesadilla (230 Rbs) to reliable Russian standbys such as beet vinaigrette (190). However, before digging into these and other goodies, the waitress brought out cut carrot sticks, each in its own shot glass of very flavorful ginger sauce, to whet our appetites as compliments from the chef. A basket of bread then came out along with arranged buttered spoons – cleverly arranged silver spoons full of creamy butter – as another unique prelude to the meal, which made me feel as we were getting a bit buttered up ourselves.
I was in desperate need of flavor after days of bread and rice, and the Thai peanut and coconut milk soup with crab meat delivered in that department. The soup indeed had real crab meat, confirmed by the occasional bit of crab shell, and was quite tasty – albeit a bit salty and a bit thick. The chicken and mango quesadilla fell a little short of the mark as the mangos were not yet ripe enough for cooking, making them a bit bland and too firm. My date – who by the way was not so enamored with the hip collection of Craig’s List furniture but rather hooked by the in-restaurant clothing boutique “Twins” (yeah, really owned by twin sisters. Go after you eat, otherwise you may not have money for even a buttered spoon) – seemed satisfied with the vinaigrette, although it is hard to go wrong with that recipe but still challenging to make it too exciting (unless you throw in some goat cheese and pine nuts like one yummy restaurant in Moscow, nameless here).
For main courses we perused through the seafood items with interest including dorado (460 Rbs), steamed salmon (330 Rbs), and tuna steak (170 Rbs), quickly skipped over the pig leg (270 Rbs) and rib eye (680 Rbs), and settled on the risotto (280 Rbs) for the fashion loving lady and black squid ink spaghetti (490 Rbs) for the funky-furniture loving gentleman. The risotto was quite good but square and just a small step up from my recent rice recovery diet. I still am not sure what to make of the spaghetti as it seemed to be a combination of the soup and appetizer I had just ate. There was peanut sauce, bits of crab meat and crab shell, cilantro, and I swear some unripe pieces of mango. Was this actually the chef’s special solyanka by another name?
I admire bold and innovative dishes and the chefs that create them (we were told the chef had worked at the Hyatt Ararat), but this mixed solyanka was not as successful as the mix of interior decoration surrounding us. My taste buds were still feeling a little uninspired, but were awoken by an excellent vanilla creme-brule for dessert that had a perfect crispy, caramelized blow-torched crust. Yum.
We stuck around for a while to see the place transition from restaurant to nightclub. When we arrived at 8pm we were nearly the only clientele, but around 11pm people began trickling in. Given the relative emptiness inside at the time, we were a bit surprised to see a long line outside when we finally left outside the velvet rope. Yes, even a place with a name like Solyanka prides itself in its face control.
I left Solyanka more impressed with the interior and concept than the kitchen, but have already made it a local stop for drinks and creme-brule. Definitely worth checking out when in the Kitai Gorod area, even if for a business lunch (270 RBS) on weekdays if you have some business in Kitai Gorod other than clubbing on the weekends. Solyanka – a great club that knows life is in the details, and not afraid to experiment with peanut sauce. Thursday - hip-hop night, Friday - techno, and Saturday - Nu-Rave. See you there. |
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| 686. | Jewish Avant-Garde. Chagall, Altman, Shterenberg, and Others
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Jewish Avant-Garde. Chagall, Altman, Shterenberg, and Others
The show will trace the emergence and development of Jewish modernism as a trailblazing phenomenon in 20th-century art. The exhibition explores one of the most dynamic periods in the culture of Russian Jews. The 1917 Revolution proclaimed the equality of all nations, which was followed by the abolition of residency restrictions for Jews that had been in force in the Russian Empire. As a result, dozens of talented Jewish artists and writers moved to Moscow and Petrograd, where they played a crucial role in shaping and advancing Soviet avant-garde. Thanks to newfound creative freedom, Jewish culture entered a period of unprecedented resurgence. Some of the finest Jewish artists such as Marc Chagall, Nathan Altman, Joseph Chaikov, Eliezer (El) Lissitzky, David Shterenberg, and other artists from various groups and movements made ingenious use of modernism’s innovations in their experiments as they sought to create «new Jewish art.» |
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| 687. | Jewish Avant-Garde. Chagall, Altman, Shterenberg, and Others
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Jewish Avant-Garde. Chagall, Altman, Shterenberg, and Others
This spring’s central exhibition titled «Jewish Avant-Garde. Chagall, Altman, Shterenberg, and Others» is set to open at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. The show will trace the emergence and development of Jewish modernism as a trailblazing phenomenon in 20th-century art.
The exhibition explores one of the most dynamic periods in the culture of Russian Jews. The 1917 Revolution proclaimed the equality of all nations, which was followed by the abolition of residency restrictions for Jews that had been in force in the Russian Empire. As a result, dozens of talented Jewish artists and writers moved to Moscow and Petrograd, where they played a crucial role in shaping and advancing Soviet avant-garde.
Thanks to newfound creative freedom, Jewish culture entered a period of unprecedented resurgence. Some of the finest Jewish artists such as Marc Chagall, Nathan Altman, Joseph Chaikov, Eliezer (El) Lissitzky, David Shterenberg, and other artists from various groups and movements made ingenious use of modernism’s innovations in their experiments as they sought to create «new Jewish art.»
The exhibition spotlights the evolution of the Jewish avant-garde in Russia — from revitalizing Jewish folk art, adapting its style for modern use, and reinventing its motifs to the avant-garde stage expressed in non-representational abstract forms.
National theaters, not least the Moscow State Jewish Chamber Theater (GOSET), were among the most important experimental platforms for the new art. Over the years, prominent cultural figures such as Abram Efros, Alexis Granowsky, Yehezkel Dobrushin, Solomon Mikhoels, and Marc Chagall worked for GOSET. According to many accounts, Chagall's theatrical compositions influenced not only the scenery of productions but also the performance of Jewish actors. Chagall’s series Introduction to the Jewish Theater, on display at the exhibition, is widely regarded as one of the pinnacles of his oeuvre. This section of the show will also include works by Alexander Tyshler and Mark Epstein, who collaborated with another avant-garde group — the Kultur Lige Theater Studio under the artistic direction of Ephroim Loiter.
Exhibitions of Jewish artists held in Moscow in 1917, 1918, and 1922 became important milestones in the history of the Jewish avant-garde. The show will feature a reconstruction of the 1922 Kultur Lige exhibition, which showcased works by Nathan Altman, Marc Chagall, and David Shterenberg. The curators of the new project consider that seminal exhibition to be the culmination of avant-garde experimentation both in these artists’ respective careers and the overall Jewish art movement.
A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the creative output produced by Jewish artists in the 1920s: from Alexander Labas’s original Cubist compositions, Alexander Tyshler’s color-dynamic constructions, Joseph Chaikov’s analytical sculpture, and El Lissitzky’s Suprematist Prouns (an acronym for «project for the affirmation of the new») to works made toward the end of the decade when avant-garde trends died down before Jewish art was eventually incorporated into the context of the new Soviet «grand style.»
The exhibition features more than 100 paintings and drawings by Marc Chagall, Nathan Altman, David Shterenberg, El Lissitzky, Robert Falk, Joseph Chaikov, Alexander Tyshler, Solomon Nikritin, Yakov Pain, Nisson Shifrin, Isaac Ber Ryback, and others.
The works on display at the show are on loan from the collections of some of Russia’s largest museums, including the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of the Jewish History in Russia, the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, the Nizhny Tagil State Museum of Fine Arts, as well as from private collections.
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| 688. | The Imprint of the Epoch. Vladimir Lagrange
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The Imprint of the Epoch. Vladimir Lagrange
Lumiere Gallery presents the exhibition project “The Imprint of the Epoch. Vladimir Lagrange”, dedicated to the anniversary of the author.
Vladimir Lagrange (1939-2022), who would have turned 85, went down in the history of Soviet photography primarily as an outstanding reporter of the “Thaw” era. The sharpness of perception and sensitivity to the heroes of his time became decisive in the work of the master. His lust for life and tireless creative searches have been embodied in a rich visual archive, with which the Lumiere Gallery has been working for more than twenty years.
The exhibition continues the long-term research of the Vladimir Lagrange Foundation. The exposition includes a unique collection of more than forty works. For the first time, the public will be presented with original vintage prints from the collection of the Lumiere Gallery and the personal archive of the author, “contacts” – small frames demonstrating the creative reflections of the photographer, as well as collectible prints with the signature of the master.
The project was based on little-known works by Lagrange, revealing one of the most productive periods of the author’s work: “Installation of power lines, 1971”, “Intermission in the Kremlin, 1960s”, “Hooray, holidays! 1984”. The presented plots with portraits of workers, images of thawed childhood and essays on the instructions of the publishing house offer a deeper study of the author’s work. The exhibition also featured iconic works beloved by collectors and photography enthusiasts, such as “Goalkeeper, 1961”, “To work. Moscow, 1967”, “In a hurry. The 1960s”, “Young ballerinas, 1962”. Since 2007, Russian and foreign photographic collections have been replenished with works by Vladimir Lagrange. At the moment, the author’s prints are represented in more than eighty private collections.
Over the past four years, as part of personal exhibition projects, Vladimir Lagrange’s works have been shown in such museums and galleries as Mira Square (Krasnoyarsk), Yeltsin Center (Yekaterinburg), Progress Gallery (Kirov), National Art Gallery “Hazine” (Kazan), Samara regional Museum of local history (Samara), Lipetsk Regional the Museum of Local Lore (Lipetsk), the Erarta Museum (St. Petersburg).
Vladimir Lagrange was born in 1939 in Moscow. His interest in photography arose mainly due to his parents: his father worked as a reporter for the newspaper «Pravda», and his mother was a photo editor. In 1959, he came to work in TASS Newsreel as a student of a photojournalist, where he would spend four years, and then for a long time his professional life would be connected with the magazine «Soviet Union». Vladimir Lagrange is known as the «thaw photographer,» a time when the canon of art is changing: in magazines and newspapers, courageous heroes are replaced by romantic young people. Vladimir Lagrange is one of the first to understand what forms of expression the new generation is looking for. As a young professional, immersed in the life of the times of the thaw, Lagrange spoke about the era with a new expressive language. In 1962, the exhibition «Our Youth» — one of the main events of the year for domestic reporters — opens with a photograph of Lagrange’s «Pigeons of the World» (1962), against which the entire exposition unfolds. In May 1962, the magazine «Soviet Photo» publishes this work on a U-turn, and it will forever remain the «business card» of the author.
Moscow has always been famous for its pigeons (photo «Pigeons», 1972). This dovecote was in the area of VDNH, on Argunovskaya street, where the photographer lived in those years. She was visible from the window of the house. The Ostankino tower served as a contrast. Compact frame construction — black and white and nothing more.
In 1963, Lagrange began working in the magazine Soviet Union. The magazine, which continued the work of the famous «USSR at a Construction Site,» mostly created the myth of the USSR. Many doors opened before the journalist, thanks to which Vladimir Lagrange drove along and «shot» the country far and wide. In 1987, American publishers launched a large-scale project, «One Day in the Life of the Soviet Union,» in which Lagrange also takes part.
In 1964, Vladimir Lagrange, for the first time as a tourist, visited France. He shot an unknown country and extraordinary everyday life, and after returning in one night, he printed more than two hundred photographs. In addition to France, the photographer travelled to Italy, Poland and Afghanistan, where he went to shoot the withdrawal of troops.
In 1991, the era of the USSR ended, and the magazine «Soviet Union» was closed. Vladimir Lagrange first goes to the Rodina magazine, and then to the Moscow bureau of the French agency Sipa Press and continues to shoot a social report in a manner peculiar only to him.
Vladimir Lagrange is a participant in the legendary exhibitions «The USSR — the country and people in art photographs», which travelled the world (1969-1975), as well as «The USSR — the country and people in art photographs» (1968), IV All-Union Exhibition «Seven Years in Action» (1963). Today, his exhibitions are held both in Russia and abroad.
The works of Vladimir Lagrange are in museum and private collections, and in 2002 the author was awarded the highest award of the professional guild of photographers and the Golden Eye of Russia Journalists Union.
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| 689. | Resume
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English Teacher for Camping
I really love working with kids at camps. Got some camping up and looking for an experienced teacher to work with kids? I engage kids with all kids of games and activities. I work mainly in Moscow and Moscow suburbs. |
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| 690. | Resume
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Housekeeping, cleaning and maintenance services
It’s my pleasure to greet all the expats living in Moscow! Being a native Muscovite with a vast living abroad experience, I consider it to be my duty to make your stay/living in my city an easy, friendly and comfortable! I’m ready to take over the maintenance, cleaning and partial overhaul of your apartment, cottage or house. I’m an experienced cleaner, able to install full kitchen set with putting the dishwasher or oven into operation. I can also make minor internal repairs should you accidentally face any. I’m a bilingual RUS-ENG speaker with basic knowledge of French and Italian, with the Moscow State Linguistic University Master’s degree in International Economics. I’m also ready to make guided tours around Moscow, make any-depth cultural introduction and familiarization, perform any form of translating activities, teach the basics of Russian. My wife, being a living mother of four kids, would be happy to take care of your kids of any age, including the newborns, while you are away to the soiree or theater. Feel free to reach out to me for references and recommendations. |
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| 691. | Vacancy
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Full-time Live-in or Rota Native English or French Governess/Governor/Tutor
Native English or French governess/governor/tutor is required to work with the boys: 8, 12 and 16 years old in the family in Moscow region. The candidate should be under 40 years old, qualified and have relevant experience in families and educational facilities. The family is looking for a fun and active, positive, friendly, communicative and sporty person who will take a sole charge role. The candidate will provide the general care and support for the children, manage daily schedule, provide language lessons and tuition, help with homework, exam preparation, sports, games and walks. Schedule: full-time live-in or rota + travels with the family. Monday-Friday: morning hours before school, then from 15:00 (pick-up from school) till 20-21:00. Saturday-Sunday: full days (approximately from 9:30-10:00 till 20-21:00). Package: visa support, tickets, a separate accommodation and meals. Location: Zhukovka, Moscow region, Russia. Salary: negotiable. |
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| 692. | Vacancy
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Rota Live-in Native German or Bilingual Nanny/Teacher
Native German or Bilingual (Russian & German) Nanny/Teacher is required to work with the boy 2 years old in the family in Moscow region. The candidate should be qualified, have relevant experience in families and/or educational facilities with the same age group of children. The basic knowledge of Russian language is obligatory. The family is looking for a professional, kind, active, friendly and responsible person who has the solid understanding of the Early Years and developmental milestones and be able to guide the child through these phases. The sole charge role. The candidate will be responsible for the safety of the child. The nanny will provide all necessary childcare & support (hygiene, daily schedule, feeding, putting to sleep etc., prepare breakfast sometimes) and assist the boy in his development, evolve early learning, games & walks etc. The nanny will teach the German language through communication, plays & other activities. Travelling with the family. The boy wakes up at 6-7:00 and goes to sleep at 20:00. Rota live-in: 2 weeks on/2 weeks off. Conditions: a shared room with the child. Location: Anosino, Novaya Riga, Moscow region. Salary: negotiable. |
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| 693. | Resume
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Native English Teacher
I am a native English teacher from England. I have 5 years of experience teaching both business and general English. I am located in Moscow so can give either offline or online. |
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| 694. | Vacancy
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ESL Teacher
Simply English Moscow is looking for energetic, professional native English teachers to join us for the 2024-25 school year. Our teachers work in state and private schools, kindergartens, and with private students. Simply English Benefits: A competitive salary: 90,000 - 120,000 Rub (depending on experience and qualifications); Housing - subsidized by the school; Work Visa - full support and paid by the school; Free unlimited monthly transport pass; Free health insurance in private clinics; Paid public holidays; Paid winter vacation; Paid sick leave; Vibrant social life for teachers with bi-weekly parties and events; Paid Teacher training and “living in Moscow” seminar during the first week of employment; Free Wi-Fi and all utilities in teacher housing; Professional programs, curriculums, and teaching materials provided by the school; 24-hour emergency support. Requirements: A native English speaker from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa, NZ or Ireland; Flexible, creative, energetic, and passionate about working with kids! Positive and easy-going, with experience handling cultural differences; Have at least 1 year of teaching experience with children in a school or kindergarten setting. Or hold a Bachelor of Education degree or other qualifying Early Childhood Education degree or Certificate. |
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| 695. | Resume
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Russian Teacher
Native speaker, graduated from Moscow State University, I have been teaching Russian for more than 15 years. I only use authentic materials so, from the very first lesson, you will be in contact with the real language. During the lesson you will read texts written by Russians for Russians, you will listen to spontaneous conversations, interviews and radio broadcasts, you will watch commercials and film clips and you will discover grammar like a real Sherlock Holmes. |
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| 696. | Resume
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Native English teacher from Canada
I’m a native English speaking teacher from Toronto, Canada. I have been teaching English in Russia for over 12 years, working at some of the top kindergartens and schools in Moscow. I specialize in working with children as young as 4 years old, as well as with their parents. I have a proven track record of preparing students with no knowledge of English for entrance exams to international schools within one academic year. |
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| 697. | Vacancy
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Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics IGCSE and IA-level Teachers
A British School in the centre of Moscow is looking for a Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics IGCSE and IA-level teachers for 2024-2026. Successful candidates will have students getting B to A* in the subject in the past years, have solid classroom management skills and be dedicated to students’ progress. Part time as well as full time contracts may be considered. We offer visa support, medical insurance, meals, paid holidays, a competitive salary and work with a great team. |
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| 698. | Resume
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Business and Literary English Professional
I am a highly qualified and experienced business professional - with a masters degree in English from Oxford Univrsity, 10 years of experience in business and finance in London, and 13 years working in Moscow in a variety of teaching, translating and broadcastint roles. My students have worked in organisations including Rosatom, Severstal, HSE, Cordiant, Gazprom and Lukoil. I also spent 2 years as a presenters on the Voice or Russia / Sputnik news doing radio broadcasts on current affairs. I am interested in all business classes and general adult English, but also have a specific interest in anyone who would like to learn more about English literature. I do not generally work with young learners as I can offer more specialist value in these other areas. |
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| 699. | Offered
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Tokmakov per., 16/1
Simple, basic Art and free space, 20 sq.m for flexible use 24h/7, right et the center of Moscow. English, French, Russian friendly. It has basic ' fascilitues: but good for individual projects, art storage place- commertial. Only with your own ' Wi-Fi high band system! @ There is All important for 24h ' in use), but no kitchen! |
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| 700. | Offered
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I am offering my beautiful 1-room flat in the close proximity to Studenchskaya, Kievskaya, Delovoy Tsentr metro station from the beginning of June, 2024. The flat is fully furnished, has a large balcony, equipped kitchen and high-speed internet connection. Lots of shops, restaurants, cafes are nearby. Moscow City is in a walking distance as well. Photos are available on request.
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The virtual community for English-speaking expats and Russians
