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Hotels Restaurants Cafés Nightlife Sightseeing Events Maps MOSCOW November 2008 Welcome to MIYP Stalin’s 7 Sisters How to build tall buildings Culture and Events November 2008 N°1 www.inyourpocket.com COnTenTS 3 E S S E N T I A L C I TY G U I D E S Contents Foreword A word from our Publisher 4 5 6 8 14 15 News Monthly November headlines! Stalin’s Seven Sisters Arriving Getting here is half the battle Language Cyrillic Alphabet tips Culture & Events Discover Moscow’s cultural scene Where to stay A fine selection of places to spend the night 20 Restaurants Nightlife 28 39 Moscow never sleeps What to see Churches, monasteries, the mausoleum 40 46 50 54 55 57 58 59 60 61-65 66 November 2008 St. Petersburg! Getting around Planes, trains & taxis Mail & Phones Shopping Business directory Useful addresses Expat Interview BBC Russia’s Stephan Grootenboer Maps Tsar Puska Street register 4 FOReWORd So, you are going to launch a new magazine? In Moscow? During a financial crisis? Are you nuts? The first three comments are all true. But nuts? No. After 10 years living and doing business in Russia, it takes more than that to make me crazy. It is just a matter of trust. In St. Petersburg we are the most popular visitor guide among expats, business travellers and tourists. Over the past few years, we have received many requests as to when In Your Pocket would move to Moscow. To be honest, it took us longer than we first thought, what with almost two years of preparation; setting up a quality distribution network, training the sales team, etc. This autumn Moscow In Your Pocket finally received its press registration from the Press Ministry, which is required for every magazine with a print run over 999 issues. Since our circulation is no less than 30,000… Having becoming better acquainted with Mosocw throught the preparations, I can say that it is an amazing and bubbling city with not only lovely museums and events but many secrets to discover. Having lived for many years in St. Petersburg and almost felt like a ‘Piterburzhenka’, I am visiting Moscow so much now, I’m becoming part ‘Moskvitchka’ too. I hope you enjoy this very first Moscow In Your Pocket. All your comments, remarks, praise and tips are welcome. Bonnie van der Velde, Publisher, Russia In Your Pocket russia@inyourpocket.com Ps: you can download our visitor guide in PDF to use on your i-phone or just visit our site for mobile phones: http://mobil. inyourpocket.com/city/moscow.html. neWS Europe In Your Pocket In Your Pocket goes Moscow Popular and comprehensive visitor guide series In Your Pocket has now expanded to Moscow. In fact, this is the first, brand new issue of the Moscow edition you are holding in your hands. The monthly visitor guide has been published successfully in St. Petersburg since late 2003. ‘We’ve had requests for years to do a Moscow guide’, says Bonnie van der Velde, director of KS Media, the publishing company of In Your Pocket in Russia. ‘My Russian-western team has worked very hard to make this dream come true’, Van der Velde, a Dutch entrepreneur and expert in tourism who last month received her MBA in Russia, explains. ‘We want to show the world how much Moscow has to offer and how to make it easier to discover it yourself.’ Moscow In Your Pocket starts with a print run of 30,000, while in St. Petersburg the monthly circulation is 23,000. ‘Without the support of the business, expat and tourism industry, you can not do this. It can take a while before our independent editing and sales policy is understood, but in the end there are only winners: travellers, expats and the companies offering their services to them.’ 5 Moscow Clubs Ready for Europe The Moscow football clubs Spartak and CSKA are fighting for their chances in the UEFA cup. During the group stage some interesting European clubs will come to Moscow to play next weeks. So grab your chance and head to the stadiums. For more info see our Football schedule on page 15. 06/11 Spartak Moskva v Udinese (Italy) 27/11 CSKA Moskva v Lech Poznań (Poland) 03/12 20:45 Spartak Moskva v NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) If you want to see Juventus playing, take the plan or train to St. Petersburg; 25/11 Zenit play in the Champions League against the Old Italian Lady. Europe Seeks Russian Students The first European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) arrives in Moscow next month. From Thursday 13th November till Saturday 15th November, EU countries including Great Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands will take part in the ‘Study in Europe Fair’. With Russia’s high economic growth the Russian education market is becoming more and m o r e a t t r a c t i ve. O f Russia’s 7 million university students, around one million live in Moscow. Each year 45,000 Russians choose to go abroad to study predominately in western countries and China. Russia attracts approximately 89,000 students, the majority from former Soviet republics or former communist ally countries in Africa or Asia. The location is the capital’s Gostiny Dvor, (D-4) Ulitsa Ilyinka 4. The nearest metro stations to the exhibition venue, Gostiny Dvor, are metro stations Kitai Gorod and Ploshchad Revolutsy.Thursday 13th November you can visit the fair from 10:00 to 18:00, with the official opening at 13:00. Friday 14th and Saturday 15th the fair is open until 19:00. Cover story Musty medieval St. Basil’s was built in the sixteen century by architect Postnik Yakovlev at the behest of Ivan IV (better known as Ivan the Terrible). St. Basil’s is a great place to glimpse the medieval roots that contemporary Moscow stands upon. Photo provided by istockphoto.com/ruslangilmanshin. With the launch of Moscow In Your Pocket, now imminent, check out what we have to offer in the Russian capital at www.inyourpocket.com: the full content of Moscow IYP is now online. There are also online guides to Sarajevo and Banja Luka, Bosnia to enjoy, ahead of print editions to both cities, to be launched in October and November. Elsewhere, Glasgow In Your Pocket is in the final throes of preparation: expect the guide to hit newsstands before Christmas. The biggest news of all though at In Your Pocket is our new, much improved website, coming soon to public beta. Check it out at beta.inyourpocket.com, and let us know what you think via email:editor@inyourpocket.com is our address. Many international media, and also travel guides like Lonely Planet, use the In Your Pocket for updating their Russian publications. ‘We check all our information monthly or bi-monthly, so we are the most up-to-date publication in Russia in English. One of the leading British national newspapers just called me to ask to use our hotel reviews in its latest Russia special. I told him, ‘Go ahead, just don’t forget to quote us!’ At the moment In Your Pocket publishes visitor guides in 18 countries with guides in more than 42 cities. Online you can find content about more than 114 towns. Although the core readership consists mainly of business travellers, tourists and expatriates, more and more locals have started using it as well. . E S S E N T I A L C I TY G U I D E S Moscow In Your Pocket founded and published by OOO ‘Krasnaya Shapka’ Russia, 196084 St. Petersburg, Ul. Tsvetochnaya 25A, iyp.spb@gmail.com, tel: +7 (812) 448 88 65, fax: +7 (812) 448 88 64, www.inyourpocket.com © In Your Pocket / BCB Tourism And Publishing BV CEO Ben Rogmans, The Netherlands Published 12 times per year, N 1, 01-11-2008, 30.000 copies Editorial Editor Jennifer Fell Layout & Design Alexander Firsanov Research Maria Vichuk Sales & Circulation General DirectorBonnie Van Der Velde bonnie@inyourpocket.com Sales Managers Laura Nedolugina Toolan lnt@inyourpocket.com Maps Discus Media Ltd. License CZG N 01041K, www.mapserv.ru Copyright notice Text and photos copyright SP IYP 20032008. Maps copyright cartographer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without written permission from the publisher and copyright owner. The brand name In Your Pocket is used under license from UAB In Your Pocket. Looking for a copy of IYP? In the Russian capital, Moscow In Your Pocket is distributed as a complimentary guide by over 150 hotels, restaurants, bars, companies dealing with business, leisure travellers and expats. Just ask for us in your hotel! On our website you can download our latest complete magazine in PDF version for free. You can use it on your i-phone, mobile phone or Blackberry too. You can also use our special website for mobile phones: www.mobil.inyourpocket. com/city/moscow Online at www.inyourpocket.com even more content is available – all the reviews from places we visited. And, even more importantly, you can add your comments online! If you don’t have time to look for us or you live abroad you can also order our printed guide (for example St. Petersburg In Your Pocket) by our online Click and Buy system. If you would like to order large quantities of our Russia visitor guide, for example to present to your visiting delegations, please contact our office: +7 812 448 88 65 or email russia@inyourpocket.com Winter Bazaar, what else? Come December 06, it’s Winter Bazaar Time. This event from the International Women Club (IWC) in Moscow has become an institution in Russia’s capital. It takes place at the Radisson Slavyanskaya SAS Hotel. Attended by hundreds of people, both ex-pats and Russians alike, the bazaar is a real international market. They come for shopping and cuisine, and also to contribute to the club’s charity projects. With fresh food from about 30 countries and lots of goods to sell, some people even start their holiday shopping here. More information: www.iwcmoscow.ru, Bazaar venue: Radisson SAS Slavyanskaya Hotel, Evropeisky pl.2, MKievskaya, tel. 941 80 20. Editor’s note The editorial content of In Your Pocket guides is independent from paid-for advertising. We welcome all readers‘ comments and suggestions. We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of going to press and assume no responsibility for changes and errors. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 6 STALIn‘S SeVen SISTeRS Whatever Stalin may or may not have said about touriss and skyscrapers, plans for a Moscow makeover were in fact already afoot as early as 1931. That year, the Communist Party approved a number of mega building projects including the reconstruction of Moscow and the Moscow Metro. The next year, when Stalin created the Union of Soviet architects, he gave them their mission. More than simply emulating the skyscrapers of America, he wanted to exceed them by creating his own versions - Moscow versions. The first project, a clear forerunner of the sisters, was the ill-fated Palace of the Soviets, approved in 1933. Though never built, this 415m-high monster set the tone of grandiose classicism that dominated the post-war period. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was spectacularly dynamited to make room for it. A view from Moskva River Poor old Stalin. After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, legend has it that he was convinced that everyone in the world would now want to visit Moscow. But Uncle Joe had a little problem. Disregarding the city’s dearth of cheap hotels and non-Cyrillic signage, the great leader had a rather Freudian complex about his capital’s lack of tall buildings. “What if they come to Moscow and don’t see any skyscrapers?” he is reported to have complained. by Jennifer Fell The results of all this angst are known by some as the ‘Seven Sisters’, but most Moscovites rather more prosaically refer to them as the Vysotniye Zdaniye - the tall buildings. Despite huge demands for housing and infrastructure following the war, early fifties Moscow devoted the bear’s share of its energy to creating these buildings. Being great propaganda magicians, the Soviet leaders used the flurry of construction energy to show the world that, from the ashes of war, the Soviet capital was renewing itself not only better than before, but doing it better than everyone else. The sisters went on to become the dominant feature of Moscow’s post-war skyline and, in defiance of the growing competition from the current building boom; they remain the definitive architectural statement of the city’s contemporary identity. For first-time arrivals to Moscow, these mammoth creations certainly make a memorable impression. Emerging from Leningradsky Station off an early Petersburg train into a pre-dawn neon haze, you immediately behold the Hotel Leningradskaya (now the new Hilton hotel), one of the smallest of the sisters, completed in 1954. All in all there were eight such buildings planned; two hotels, two government buildings, two housing apartments and the University. The eighth, the Zarayadye, was to have adorned Red Square but, mired in delay, was eventually abandoned. Trademarks of the Stalinist architectural style embodied in these buildings are the obvious wedding cake structure that pulls the eye toward the central, massive spire, and the patriotic decorations and mouldings. Critics generally agree that the Stalinist period dates from the Palace of the Soviets competition to 1955 when Khrushchev disbanded the Architects Union. Super-buildings for a super people, the buildings also utilised new techniques of building with steel frames with concrete walls upon a concrete slab, which allowed for their massive size. STALIn‘S SeVen SISTeRS Restoration of the 29 storey, 1000 room Hotel Ukraina is continuing presently with the hotel due to reopen in the next year. Described as both a seedy Soviet and awe-inspiring and historical, time will tell how the Ukraina emerges into postSoviet Moscow and how many wheat sheaf vases, obelisks and stars have been preserved. In accordance with such a prestigious project, both apartment buildings were destined to have only elite tenants. Reserved for the best of the best, Kotelnicheskaya was home to sculptors, painters and artists as well as senior officials while the scientific elite of cosmonauts and pilots filled up the apartments at Kudrinskaya pl. Without one common owner, these buildings have suffered the most in the post-Soviet period due to unregulated privatisation and lack of central administration. 1 Kotelnicheskaya Nab The looming edifice of Moscow’s State University (MGU) was the first of the seven sisters to begin construction and was finished second in 1952. In total more than 400 architects worked on the project, submitting countless plans and designs which in turn amounted to a great advertisement for communal process back then. With a height of 235.7m, this squat giant is topped by a 12 tonne star and its massive dimensions ensure that a walk around the perimeter lasts for three kilometres. The MGU was built using the labour of gulag prisoners and German war prisoners, some of whom were housed on an upper floor when not involved in building work. One Daedalus is even supposed to have tried to escape by strapping wooden wings to his arms and springing off the side of the building in an attempt to fly away. Historically the hotels have weathered the last half-century best. The Hotel Leningradskaya has recently undergone complete renovation to become quite the palatial masterpiece. Rightly treating it as a museum piece, the hotel’s restoration has seen much of the original fittings retained – note the long bronze chandelier suspended in one of the corner stairways, and the copies of the gates of the Verkhospassky Cathedral in the Kremlin. The bomb shelter did not receive such historical respect, though, and was transformed into a luxury swimming pool. The building on Kotelnicheskaya seems to be have been abandoned by the city authorities. Reports in the Russian media reveal long standing disputes over the building’s administration or lack thereof. Literally rotting from the inside, this 32 story monstrosity is a mini-city with 700 apartments, a cinema and a beautiful park inside. Today new owners are buying up different part of the building and embarking on renovation schemes without respecting the original building. It’s claimed that walls have been demolished without adequate surveyance and theatre visitors have been able to take home parts of the granite foundations and door handles as souvenirs. Whether they are wor thy for restoration or enormous monstrosities that only serve to remind the people of the Soviet era already past, these buildings cast an impressive shadow. They capture the past and the present together, these mega buildings standing as witnesses for the last fifty years. Their immense appearance speaks of faded glamour and of resurrection. 7 The new Vysotki Vital Statistics Building Hilton Leningradskaya Ministry of Heavy Industry 1 Kotelnicheskaya Nab Moscow State University (MGU) Minstry of Foreign Affairs Hotel Ukraina 1 Kudrinskaya Ploshchad Year 1954 1953 1952 1953 1953 1955 1954 Metro Komsomolskaya Krasnye Vorota Taganskaya Universitet Smolenskaya Smolenskaya Barrikadnaya Moscow City The residential apartment building Triumphal Palace was completed in 2005 with a height of 264metres. Although its one of the new generation of Moscow’s skyscrapers but takes its inspiration from the seven sisters. The coming years will see intense development of the Moscow skyline in particular as the various towers of the Moscow International Business Centre, known as Moscow City, near completion. This 12 billion dollar project will boast, when completed, Europe’s tallest building the Russia Tower (612.2m), Mercury City (532m), Federation Tower (506m) and the new City Hall and City Duma (308.4m) which will amalgamate all city offices around town. There’s also the City Palace Tower designed by Londoners RMJM, which will be a dedicated Wedding Palace (Registry Office) venue. www.moscow-city.ru www.skyscraperpage.com Minstry of Foreign Affairs Hotel Ukraina Moscow State University (MGU) Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 8 ARRIVInG Aeroexpress Trains All international airports in Moscow have a fast train connection to the capital’s city centre. All? Yes, all! The one at Sheremetyevo-2 opened just this summer. While not many people seem to know about (our publisher had a whole train to herself last month), looking at Moscow’s traffic jams, it undoubtedly become more popular soon. Train tickets can be bought at the cash desks (kassa) in the train terminals or in the Arriving halls. Note that the timetable often has intervals of an hour, but you do arrive in around 35-40 minutes. The train arrives in the centre close to a metro station where you can hop on the metro or grab a taxi to your home, office or hotel. The only drawback is that there are no toilets and trains do not operate throughout the night. www.aero-express.ru Okay, you‘ve got the visa and you‘re on your way. How do you get to your hotel? ARRIVInG ARRIVInG By train All of Moscow’s eight train stations are conveniently located next to metro stations. If you arrive from Western Europe, you‘ll arrive into Belorussky Station (Belorusskaya metro). Arrivals from Riga arrive at Rizhsky Station (Rizhskaya metro). If you arrive into Yaroslavsky, Leningradsky or Kazansky stations, look for the metro signs to Komsomolskaya metro. For a full description of train stations see Getting Around page 49. 9 Press & mail “In Your Pocket guides are a godsend. They are impressively up to date and clearly written by people who live in the city. Invaluable.” The Herald Sun (Australia), September 7, 2008 By plane Moscow‘s three main airports are Sheremetyevo in the north, Domodedovo to the south west and Vnukovo in the south east. Remember that when taking a taxi pay no more than 2000Rbl. Around 1500Rbl is reasonable. The best bet is to call ahead and book a transfer (see Taxi and Transfers this page). By car Surely a task for committed roadfiends and their indestructible cars, driving in Russia is a feat not to be compared with driving in other countries. Don‘t forget your national and international driving permit, registration and insurance documents for your car and of course your passport with visa. At the border, ask for an Immigration Card and make sure it is stamped. You also need to fill in the customs declaration form and have that stamped too. If you drive your own car from abroad, you will get a Temporary Vehicle Permit at the border which is valid for up to a month. If you need to extend this, take your visa, passport and registration to the customs office. In Moscow this is located at Butovsky Tamozhniya Punk at Kilometre 26 of Varshavskoe Shosse (5kms outside the MKAD). Head to the office of Sovtransavtoexpedita. Get there early to beat the queues (05:00 is not considered too early). Those already there will have a list; get yourself on the list straight away. Traffic police may fine you for not having a fire extinguisher or first aid kit (both are mandatory) or for speeding. On highways this varies between 80 - 110 km/h. Don‘t overpay the police; the offical penalty for driving 20km too fast is 300Rbl; for 60 km it costs 1000-1500Rbl. Although how anyone could speed is also a bit of a mystery as the roads coming into Russia are generally as old as the hills or tundra around them. For more information, see the boxed text Driving in Moscow page 10. “The secret of the In Your Pocket guides is that, unlike many expensive travel guides, they are written by native English speakers living in the city they are writing about. That can lend itself to frank, matter-of-fact advice about your destination rather than jaded impressions from world-weary professional travel writers.” The Irish Times, August 8, 2008 ‘St. Petersburg: I f you haven’t come across In Your Pocket (IYP) before, bookmark them now. IYP’s print guides can be found scattered around the hostels of Eastern Europe, and their online coverage of 57 eastern European towns and cities and is a brilliant resource written by excellent writers whose slant is always “off the trail”.’ The Guardian, February 28, 2008 ‘Be forehand only buy a guide for background information (…) if you look for restaurants and cafes it won’t help you: most information is out of date (…). The solution: In Your Pocket, the complimentary visitor guide distributed in the city: perfect information and up-to-date.’ Dutch national newspaper De Volkskrant (17 November, 2007) explains why In Your Pocket in Russia is much better than all the other guides. ‘In Your Pocket guides are not simpl y translated from German: each guide is written by an English language writer. Until now these pocket sized guides were available in Germany only in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. New editions however will be published in all World Cup cities with information on local festivities, and an insert about the teams and stadiums. All information is also available on the publisher’s website.’ Sueddeutsche Zeitung, May 4, 2006 Domodedovo Airport Domodedovo Airport www.domodedovo.ru is the flagship of Moscow’s new modern airports. It is located in the south east and is accessible by buses and the aeroexpress train (see the boxed text). Taxis head to the center and usually (depending on traffic) run into traffic jams and cost around 1600Rbl. On a good day, the ride will take around one hour. The bright blue Scania buses (60Rbl) depart more frequently than the Aeroexpress train and leave every 15 minutes. For information on public transport options, see the box public transport. Domodedovo Xpress Aeroexpress tickets can be bought for 200Rbl from the blue-red cash desk in the right wing of the airport station, near the railway platform. Once you arrive at Paveletsky Station, follow the signs to metro Paveletskaya. The last train leaves the airport at 24:00 and the first train leaves 06:00 - 07:00. Sheremetevo - 2 Xpress Sheremetevo Airport Sheremetevo www.sheremetyevo-airport.ru is now the ugly step sister of Moscow’s airports but things are looking up with the new Aeroexpress train commencing services. There are 2 terminals, the smaller terminal Sheremetevo 1 is mostly for domestic flights and the main terminal, Sheremetevo 2 deals with international flights. A bus transfer shuttles between the two terminals. For public buses and marshrutkas away from the airport see Public Transport. Tickets can be bought for 250Rbl (children 63Rbl) in the new Train Terminal, a brand new place with bars, coffee shops (even a Starbucks) and an internet cafe. The terminal can be hard to find but follow the signs. The timetable too is a little irregular; the first train leaves at 05:20 and the last one at 00:20. An annual ticket is also available (4375Rbl). A bus transfer shuttles from the Train Terminal to Sheremetevo-1 and C. Vnukovo Xpress After arriving at Vnukovo, tickets for the aeroexpress train can be bought from the cash desk to the left of the exit or at the desk inside the train tunnel. To find the train, head out of the arrivals terminal and turn left. Walk for around 100 metres to the underground tunnel entrance. Tickets cost 200Rbl and the journey takes around 30 minutes. The last train leaves Vnukovo at 24:00 and the first train in the morning at 07:00. Trains terminate at Kievsky Station. Vnukovo Airport Vnukovo www.vnukovo.ru is another of Moscow’s newer airports and like Domodedovo, has a great website in English. From here you can take a bus or marshrutka to metro Yugo-Zapadnaya or the aeroexpress train (see boxed text Aeroexpress). Vnukovo also offers the Trans-free fixed priced taxi service to all destinations including other airports in Moscow. Tel. 436 77 20. By bus International departures are scattered around the city‘s several bus stations though all are located near metro stations. The Central Bus station is the Moscow’s main station. Central Bus Station Ul. Uralskaya 2, MShchyolskaya, tel. 468 04 00. After arriving here, metro Shcholkovskaya is a few steps away from the bus station. Taxis are known to charge around 1000Rbl and up for a ride into the centre. Taxis and Transfers Airport taxi drivers ask anything from 2000Rbl (€55) or more. If you don’t want to bargain with all your luggage in your hands (not to mention large 1000Rbl notes from the atm), order a car before you fly. Ask your travel agency, or book with a local Russian company. Transfer for 1-3 persons should cost around 1,500Rbl (€41) and your driver picks you up in the Arrival Hall. Enjoy the drive! Accord Logistics, tel. 8 800 555 7585 (24/7 english), www.chauffeur-drive-service.com Transport Talk Train Platform Ticket Arrivals Departures Journey Time Seat/place Daily Carriage Local Train International Train Station Customs поезд poezd пути puti билет bilet прибитие pribitiye отправление otpravleniye время в пути vremya v puti место mesto ежеднедно ezhednevdno вагон vagon пригородные prigorodniye международныи mezhdunarodny станция stantsiya таможние tamozhniya Tourist Information Tourist Information D-4, Gostiny Dvor, Ul. Ilyicha, MKitai Gorod. The office exists but that‘s about it. Readers’ mail Thank you very much for the amazing work done with your guide! I spent four days and I had a wonderful time with an extremely complete agenda: Opera, Jazz, Rock, plus wonderful Stroganoff veal steak, fantastic dinner in spot of the month. All questions a traveler gets in his head when dealing with a new culture, all answered in a very clever way. Juancho Guajardo Hello ‘In Your Pocket” team, Thank you for providing this great free guide to St. Petersburg every month. I enjoy reading it and find it very useful to have around for looking up events, addresses etc. Thanks and best regards, Christina Delius, 23 Mar 2008 Public Transport For a full description of public transport options, see our website www.inyourpocket.com Airport Bus No No Domodedovo - M Scania bus (60Rbl) Elex-Polus/AutoRoad -80Rbl Domodedovskaya Sheremetyevo 851 (20Rbl) 48 (50Rbl) MRechnoy Vokzal Vnukovo - MYugo- 611/611C (15-25Rbl) 70Rbl Zapadnaya Travel Agencies Cosmo Travels F-6, Ul. Narodnaya 15, MTaganskaya, tel. 956 60 82, www.cosmotravels.ru. Zdrastvuite = How do you do Dasvidanya = Good bye Moscow In Your Pocket Go to Russia E-2,Bolshoy Sergeivsky per 24/6, MChistiye Prudi, tel. 225 50 12, www.gotorussia.com. November 2008 10 BASICS Basic data Area: Russia is the biggest country in the world, covering an area of more than 17 million km2, of which 13% is developed and 51% is virgin territory. Moscow is in Russia’s Central Federal Region. Local Time: Russia has 11 time zones and Moscow is UTC/GMT +3 (+4 during daylight savings time). Population: Russia 142 million, Moscow 13 million. Ethnic groups in Russia: Russian 81.5%, Tartar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% Rivers: The 4,400km – long River Lena, in Siberia, is Russia’s longest river. Moscow’s Moscow River is 503km in length and is between 120 and 200m wide with around 50 bridges spanning it throughout the city. Highest point: Mt Elbrus 5,642m (Caucasus). Moscow has everything you can dream of and more. With a little patience and an energetic spirit, you can find everything. BASICS 24 hours Moscow never sleeps! Not just a dance hit, it’s a citywide mantra. Whether you want books or booze, see a dentist or your house cleaned, the capital is working 24-7. As well as bars, restaurants and supermarkets, you can also get your nails done. 11 Alcohol While Russia is still the land of vodka, it’s also the country which loves beer - at any time of the day or night or on the way to work. Russians drink more beer (pivo) than anything else. Be ready to see drunk people anytime, anywhere. Vodka is cheap with literally hundreds of brands to choose from. Russky Standart Platinum, Diplomat and Marusya are pretty good. Locally brewed staples for Moscovites are Sibirskaya Korona, Zolotaya Bochka or for slightly more kopeks, micro-brews from Tinkoff or Durdin. Get into Soviet festivities by cracking open a bottle of Sovietskoe Shampanskoe (Soviet Champagne), the national party drink. Customs Most important is the completion of the MIGRATION CARD (see Visa). If you don’t carry drugs, billions of euros or weapons with you, you do NOT need to complete the ‘Customs and Currency Declaration Statement’ upon arrival or departure. This applies even if your cabin crew gives you this form. Just collect your luggage and go to the GREEN (nothing to declare) channel. If you are carrying valuables, or are the argumentative type, then it is wise to fill in the customs declaration and have it stamped. In this instance you need to get in the RED (to declare) queue. In general, the rules are: CASH: You can bring in up to US$3,000 in cash without declaring it (considering we are in Russia this rule may vary). ART: Anything resembling art should be cleared in advance of departure at the Rosokhrankultura (Russian Cultural Security Department), Kitaigorodsky pr. 7, bldg. 2, tel. 660 77 30. It’s illegal to take out icons or paintings which are more than 100 years old. PRINTED MATERIAL: Once again, if it’s more than 100 years old, it’s not going anywhere. If it was published between 1908 and 1958, you will need an ‘expert’s report,’ either from the Rosokhrankultura or an accredited shop. If you go to the Rosokhrankultura, take the sales receipt of the item you are getting checked with you, along with your passport or the passport of the person who will take it out of the country. Disabled travellers With its old cobbled streets, steep inclines and the maze of perekhods (crossings) under the street, Moscow is rather unfriendly for the disabled. While the metro is impressive, it is practically impossible for wheelchair users to access it. Things are changing slowly. As the modernisation of Moscow’s hotels, museums and restaurants continues, more and more venues like IKEA and Mega now have wheelchair access and disabled facilities. Faster trains plying the route between Moscow and St.Petersburg have special wagons for the disabled. As part of a city government initiative, in 2007, thirty special handicapped accessible buses were purchased. Look for the U sign in this magazine. For travellers with visual and/or hearing difficulties: Russian drivers are no gentlemen, so be careful! Driving in Moscow Documents – Carry with you at all times your International Driver’s License, Russian Insurance documents (minimum third party; can be purchased at a petrol station near the border), Original Registration document (to prove you’re the car’s owner). MKAD – The MKAD (Moscow Automobile Ring Road) is the five lane (plus one emergency lane) highway that marks an outer boundary line around Moscow for around 120km. The MKAD gives direct access to all major city boulevards and highways leading out of Moscow to Smolensk (M1), St. Petersburg (M10), Tula (M2), Vladimir (M7) to name a few. If there are no traffic jams (a rare occurrence), spee ds of up to 160km/hr (and a lot of accidents) not being unheard of. In times of traffic jams, when speeds slow to just 5 – 10 km, Russians will start using the emergency lane (even the DPS use it) and even add a couple of extra lanes and drive on the grass. Tips for safe driving – 1. Make sure your car is in good condition. 2. Keep all your documents in order. 3. Always lock your doors. 4. Avoid rush hour and bad weather whilst driving (more accidents). 5. Remain focused on the road (drivers pass on the left, on the right, don’t use their indicators, forget to switch on their lights, speed a lot) 6. When stopped by the police, remain cool and keep some money handy especially when you know you’ve done something wrong. 7. Remember that most drivers didn’t actually pass their license test, instead choosing the speedier option to ‘buy’ their licence. 8. Don’t drink and drive at all. The limit is zero on blood alcohol. Communism Lenin’s mummified corpse in its Red Square Mausoleum (D-4) is one of the cities prominent Communist reminders, not to mention the almight Moscow Metro. Stalin’s red stars atop the Kremlin towers are still in place too. The elaborate kitsch chaos of the All Russia Exhibition Centre erected in the 1930s remains a testament to the Communist dream factory as does practically every other hulking square construction all over town. There’s enough hammer and sickles and Lenin, Marx and Engels statues to play ‘I spy’ and keep the kids entertained for hours. Although most statues are still in place, Marx is s still on Pl. Teatralnaya, Lenin on Pl. Oktyabrskaya, Park Iskusstv (Art Park) (B/C-6/7), near the New Tretyakov have become a repository of Communist era statues. Electricity The electrical current in Russia is 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Most sockets are standard European size with double round–pin plugs. If you have British appliances, you’ll need an adapter anyway so bringing an European or multifuncational one yourself makes sense. Crossing the road Unless you want to play chicken with your life, you need to learn this word ! It means perekhod. When you see this sign above a tunnel, know that you can head safely under and cross under the street. Miss one and you can end up walking for 200 or 300 metres or more while you look in vain across the street. It’s too dangerous to cross the street and drivers are not your friends. Take note of the layout so you can emerge on the side of the street you want. The busiest interchanges have around five different exits, entrances to different metro station and also quite a few shops. National holidays Russian prazdniki (holidays or festivals) are important and occur frequently. On most holidays, you wish people a happy holiday by saying ‘s prazdnikom’. January 1 ........................................................... New Year January 7 ......................................... Orthodox Christmas February 23 ..................... Defender of the Fatherland Day (informally known as Men’s Day) March 8 ................................ International Women’s Day May 1 ...................................... Day of Spring and Labour May 9 .............................................................. Victory Day June 12 ........................................................... Russia Day November 4 .................................... Day of Popular Unity Note: all government offices and most other official institutions are closed on public holidays. Working days are often shifted. For instance, if it falls on a Tue or a Thu, then the weekend is shifted a day towards the holiday and the Sat or the Sun becomes an official working day. Floors In Russia the ground floor doesn’t exist as such. When you’re on the ground floor, you’re really on the first floor. And so on. Foreigner prices The ‘foreigner price’ is a hangover from the good old days of Intourist-organised Soviet travel. At some theatres and museums, foreigners are required to pay twice to 6 times more than Russians. These institutions say that Russian tickets are subsidised whereas foreigners paying the ‘real price.’ If you have a document (propusk), which says you work or study in Russia, you are theoretically entitled to the local price. Moscow Blogs Moscow Doesn’t Believe In Tears moscowdoesntbelieveintears.blogspot.com La Russophobe russophobe.blogspot.com Sean’s Russia Blog www.seansrussiablog.org Climate November sees the weather becoming quite cold, but all heaters in Moscow have been switched on now. Good chance of seeing the first snowfalls. Fur caps on! Such a bargain! 1 kg of beef 320Rbl 1 kg of potatoes 25Rbl 10 eggs 36Rbl McDonald’s Big Mac 58Rbl Loaf of black bread 20Rbl Litre of vodka 130Rbl Bottle of local beer 30Rbl Pack of Marlboros 38Rbl Petrol, 1 litre 25Rbl Viagra 1700Rbl Ipod 5540Rbl €9.05 €0.70 €0.98 €1.47 €0.54 €3.54 €0.85 €1.07 €0.70 €46.24 €150.69 $12.75 $0.95 $1.51 $2.27 $0.72 $5.47 $1.14 $1.45 $0.95 $71.53 $233.11 Other Blogs on Russia: English Russia www.englishrussia.com Moscow Through Brown Eyes moscowthroughbrowneyes.blogspot.com De Rebus Antiquis et Novis minaev.blogspot.com Song to Woody songtowoody.blogspot.com Scraps of Moscow scrapsofmoscow.blogspot.com €1 = 35 - 36Rbl; GBP £1 = 45 - 47Rbl US $1 = 25 - 27Rbl; China CNY 1 = 3 - 4Rbl Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 12 BASICS Money The national currency is the ruble (Rbl). Banknotes come in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and the 5,000 note. Ruble coins come in 1, 2, 5 and 10Rbls. There are 100 kopeks to a ruble and kopek coins come in 1, 5, 10 and 50. Officially, it’s illegal to pay in dollars or euros. Keep ahold of small notes as shop keepers often have no change at all. If you want to pay for that bread, it is up to you to find some change yourself. Not all establishments take credit cards, even if they have signs that say they will. Always have cash as back up. American Express travellers’ cheques are exchangeable at most banks, for a commission free exchange, you can go to the Bank of Moscow, Ul. Tverskaya 8, tel. 299 20 10. Most Russian banks also offer Western Union money transfers (see www.westernunion.ru for a complete list). ATMs are on most street corners and in most hotels, however, you may want to warn your bank before arriving in Russia, in case they see your withdrawals as unauthorised transactions or robbery and put a stop on your cards. The maximum withdrawal amount is between 7,000 - 15,000Rbl. answer ‘Ya’ (meaning me). Now that you’ve identified the person in front of you, all you need to do is wait for your turn. Unwritten rules include telling the person behind you that you are just nipping out for a cigarette and will be back in five minutes. Contrary to western understanding, you don’t lose your place by not waiting around, you can also just come back later. BASICS History 1147 Prince Yuri Dolgoruky founds Moscow and builds the first wooden Kremlin. 1237 Genghis Khan’s grandson and his Mongolian army burn Moscow down. For the next 230 years Russian principalities pay tribute to the Tatars ‘Golden Horde’. 1325 Moscow becomes the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 the church sees Moscow as the Third Rome. 1475-79 Ivan III (the Great) throws off Tatar rule, and Moscow becomes the capital of a unified Russian state. 1533 Three year old Ivan IV (the Terrible) becomes Grand Duke and proclaims himself tsar (emperor) in 1547. 1613 After 10 years of invasions the Poles are ousted from Moscow; first Romanov elected as tsar. 1712 Moscow loses the capital title to St. Petersburg; all tsars continue to be crowned in Moscow. 1755 Empress Elizabeth founds Moscow University. 1812 French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, storms through Borodino, entering Moscow to find it abandoned; erupting fires reduce 2/3 of the city to ashes during the 39 day occupation. 1813 Architects start to rebuild the ruined city. Moscow changes from a feudal town into a bourgeois city with new buildings such as Theatre Square. 19th century Births of numerous artists, writers, painters, scientists and politicans (eg. Pushkin, Glinka, Shishkin) cause this century to be called The Golden Age. 1900 Population reaches 1 million making Moscow the 10th most populous city in the world and thanks to railway developments (Trans Sib) the fastest growing. 1918 Following the Revolution the Bolsheviks move the seat of government back to Moscow. 1922 As the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), is founded Moscow becomes the Soviet capital. 1935 The first Metro line, the underground Palaces for the people, is opened. 1941 Battle of Moscow; Germans invade Russia and advance to within a few hundred miles of Moscow but the city stands firm. 1950s Decade of Stalin’s Gothic architecture and Russian baroque. Most famous are the Seven Sisters Skyscrapers (Vysotki). 1960 The boundaries of the city are expanded to the Outer Ring Road, more than doubling the city’s area. 1980 Moscow hosts the Summer Olympics, boycotted by western countries due to the war in Afghanistan. 1990 Thanks to Glasnost and Perestroika, the first McDonalds opens at Pushkin Square with queues of 5km. Moscow party chief Boris Yeltsin becomes Russia’s first democratic elected president in 1991. 1994 Moscow’s mayor Yury Luzhkov decides to rebuild Church of Christ the Saviour, which opens in 2000. 1997 Moscow’s 850th birthday celebrations. 1990s From a city with almost no restaurants, hidden clubs and KGB prostitutes Moscow rises as Night Life and Party Capital where everything is available – from naked hairdressers to dancing in the Gulag Club. 2000 – 2008 Moscow develops as an international business centre, and becomes the most expensive city in the world. At the same time, the city becomes the playing field for Chechen terrorists who plant bombs in the Metro and in October 2002, the audience of the Dubrovka theatre is held hostage. 130 die in the bungled rescue attempt. Under Putin Moscow becomes a political force; when the Kremlin speaks the world listens (at least). He annoints Medvedev as his successor, who takes office in May 2008. 13 Habits Russians are a superstitious bunch so no whistling in the house unless you want to make all your money fly away. In the Ploshchad Revolutsy metro, take note of all the shiny pistols and dog noses on the statues which have all been polished smooth by Russians rubbing them to bring good luck. Russians are also keen on cleanliness. When entering a Russian household, remember to take your shoes off as soon as you get inside. Usually your host will offer you slippers (tapochki). In terms of greetings, if you’re a woman and you hold your hand out to a man, don’t be surprised if it is not shaken but kissed. Chivalry is alive and thriving. While Moscow is a modern city, men still pay a lot of attention to the niceties of dating i.e helping women into their coats, kissing the hand, arriving at your doorstep with an armful of flowers. It can take some getting used to. Religion Christened the Third Rome since the middle of the 15th century, Moscow is the largest of all the Eastern Orthodox church centres. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Church has enjoyed a startling resurgence. Much like before the Revolution, the church plays a major role in the cultural life of the city. Today over 90% of Russians identify as Russian Orthodox, Moscow has literally hundreds of churches and places of worship. Female visitors should cover their head and men should remove their hats, contrary to western church behaviour, services can last for several hours and the congregation stands. Health & Safety Like all of today’s large cities, Moscow is no stranger to terrorism. Many will recall the Dubrovka Theatre siege of 2002, as well the 2004 Moscow metro bombing. Terrorism aside, Moscow’s criminal underbelly no doubt sees tourists and business men as small fry. Cross roads using the perekhod where possible and don’t run across multi lane boulevards! Russian drivers don’t stop because you are on a zebra crossing. Other dangers include dodgy electrical fittings, temperamental gas stoves, uncovered manholes and absinthe. Moscow’s water board guarantees that the water is drinkable when it leaves the processing plants, but it can’t guarantee it will reach your apartment in the same condition. For drinking or making tea, it is better to stick to bottled water, or clean the tap water with a filter and give it a good boil first. Queuing Russians have rules for queing? It may seem improbably when confronted with the Russian populace enmasse inside the metro but outside public transport Russians adhere to queuing rules strictly. The modus operandi involves fronting up to the dispersed group and asking ‘Kto pasledny?’ (Who’s last? To which someone will (hopefully) Smoking Smoking really is the choice of Russia’s new generation. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, smoking figures have more than doubled according to recent research. On the other hand, Moscow can be a haven for the persecuted smoker. Although it’s a place where you can light up without fear of being ejected onto the street, more and more non-smoking establishments such as Coffee Bean are opening. You can no longer smoke in train carriages, only in the designated smoking section at the end. Be on guard! Pickpocket places Red Square, Ul. Tverskaya, metro rush hour and busy downtown streets are popular places for pick-pockets. A tried and tested trick is to block the entrances/exits of public transport and metro entrances (particularly during rush hour which for Moscow is almost all the time). It may be wiser to leave valuables in your hotel’s safe and carry only enough cash for the day. Don’t be too conspicuous. Think twice about leaving mobile phones in bags when checking them at official airport and train station checkpoints. Police! The police here generally look for any excuse to fine you, so photocopy your passport and visa. Make sure that you always carry a few photocopies; if the police stop you (they check Russians all the time too) then show them the photocopy rather than the original. What to do if you are robbed Cancel your credit cards as soon as possible. Carry copies of your credit cards with international customer service numbers somewhere other than your wallet. Your embassy can help you if your passport has been stolen (see page 56). More safety... Avoid attracting unwanted attention by not speaking loudly in your mother tongue, or walking the streets if you have been drinking. If you are of African, Arab, or Asian descent exercise caution, particularly at night. 01 - fire 02 - police (militsiya) 03 - ambulance 937 9911 - Moscow Rescue Service (operators speak Russian, but will connect you with an English speaking operator, manned 24 hrs) Market values Moscow is the most expensive city in the world for expats the third year running according to the annual Mercer Cost of Living survey. Accommodation is the biggest killer here as you can easily pay for your apartment what you’d pay in London. Restaurants are also pricey but tend to have better quality than you’re likely to find around the country. On the bargain side… there’s still McDonald’s. Other good deals are cigarettes and alcohol. Toilets Difficult to find a public toilet that’s free? If the portable lavatory doesn’t thrill you, try McDonald’s or random hotels, cafes and restaurants. Utter the words ‘Gdye tualyet?’ (‘Where is the toilet?’) while flashing a friendly smile (Russians will understand very quickly you’re a foreigner) and most will let you use their facilities. Media The Moscow News Weekly (www.mnweekly.ru) Claiming to be the ‘peoples newspaper’ and printed since 1930 in English this newspaper brings a lot of interesting local and Russian news - weekly. The Moscow Times (www.moscowtimes.ru) Published since 1992 and printed every working day The Moscow Times covers national and international events in English, mainly focusing on business and politics. Russia In Your Pocket (www.inyourpocket.com/ country/russia) That’s us! Updated and printed monthly since 2003 in St. Petersburg, the ‘Pitersky’ have hit the capital. News, events and reviews for expatriates, tourists and business people living or visiting Russia. Russia Profile (www.russianprofile.org) English-language magazine offering expert analysis of Russian politics, economics, society and culture. Interesting features and opinions by Western and Russian specialists. or or = ladies = gentleman Visas & Registration Every foreign visitor needs a visa to enter (and exit) Russia. To apply at a Russian consulate, you need an invitation from an inviting party (your hotel, a travel company, business partner, or Russian friend). A tourist visa is valid for a maximum of 30 days. For longer stays, business (multiple entry, 3, 6, 12 mth) visas can be a good option, although you can’t stay in Russia longer than 90days in any 180day period. Don’t forget you need proof of health insurance and a document certifying that you are HIV–negative if you want a visa for longer than three months. However difficult it may be, try and check with the consulate before applying. Remember that you must be registered within 72 hours of your arrival in Russia. If you’re staying at a hotel, the hotel is legally obliged to register you within 24 hours of arrival. Many tourist agencies can also register you. If you don’t get registered on time, you can expect serious problems when leaving, ranging from paying a fee, to missing your flight while officials interrogate you. For more information see www. inyourpocket.com. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 14 LAnGUAGe Alphabet CULTURe & eVenTS LAnGUAGe Moscow has inspired many artists from Tchaikovsky to Tolstoy and Bulgakov. Contemporary Moscow hosts sees a brilliant mix of events each month that befits a capital city; classics, sports, rock and drama. 15 The Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters. If you can learn them, it will make finding your way around St. Petersburg a lot easier. SK Olympisky (SKO) Olympiysky Pr. 16, MProspekt Mira, tel. 688 53 22, www.olimpik.ru. Sokolniki Sports Palace (SOK) Ul. Sokolnichesky Val 1, MSokol, tel. 645 20 65, www.sokolniki.ru. Language Although the official language is Russian, more than 100 minority languages are spoken with Tartar being the most popular minority language. There are also people who speak little-known languages like Ket, Rutul, Nivkh and Vepsian. Knowledge of English is not as widespread as in European countries, but it’s on the increase! Cinemas 35mm Ul. Pokrovka 47/24, MKrasniye Vorota, tel. 917 18 83, www.kino35mm.ru. Dome Cinema Olympisky pr 18/1, MProspekt Mira, tel. 931 98 73, www.domecinema.ru. Oktyabr cinema A-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 24, MArbatskaya, tel. 545 05 05, www.karofilm.ru. Theatres Bolshoi Theatre (BT) C-3,Teatralnaya Pl, 1, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 250 73 17, www.bolshoi.ru. Helikon Opera (HO) A-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 11, MArbatskaya, tel. 202 65 84, www.helikon.ru. Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre (KNOT) C-1, Karetny Ryad 3/2, MPushkinskaya, tel. 694 22 55, www. novayaopera.ru. Kuklachev Cats Theatre (KCT) Kutuzovsky Prospekt 25, MKutuzovskaya, tel. 249 29 07, www.catstheatre.ru. Marionette Children Theatre (MCT) C-2, Ul. Petrovskiye Liniya 1/20, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 625 32 37 Operetta Theatre (OT) C-3, Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka 6, MTeatralnaya, tel. 540 30 00, www.mosoperetta.ru. Pushkin Drama Theatre B-3, Tverskoy bul 23, MPushkinskaya, www.pushkin.theatre.ru. Stanislavsky Music Theatre (SMT) C-2, Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka 17, MPushkinskaya, tel. 629 28 35, www.stanislavskymusic.ru. 930 70 21 Word of the Month:Krepky Oreshek Most film fans will have already seen one of the Krepky Oreshek films starring Bruce Willis, otherwise known as Die Hard. The literal translation is Hard Nut! Krepky is related to the group of Russian words with the root ‘krep’, which includes krepost, meaning fortress and oreshek means nut. So Bruce Willis and any of the tough gangster types are all hard nuts; they are krepkie oreshki. Don’t mess with them... Priyatnogo Appetita! Circus Great Moscow Circus (GMC) Prospekt Vernadskogo 7, MUniversitet, tel. 939 45 47, www.bolshoicircus. ru. Old Moscow Circus (OMC) D-2, Tsvetnoy Bulvar 13, MTsvetnoy Bulvar, tel. 625 89 70, www.circusnikulin.ru. Concert Halls Academic Concert Hall (ACH) Leninsky pr. 32a, MLeninsky Prospekt, tel. 938 50 85. Column Hall of the House of Unions (HHU) C-3, Ul. State Academic Children‘s Music Theatre (CMT) Prospekt Vernadskogo 5, MUniversitet, tel. Practicalities No Hello Good morning Good day Good evening Good Bye How are you? Thank you Excuse me Sorry Please I don’t understand nyet zdrastvuite dobroye utro dobry dyen dobry vecher dasvidanya kak dela? spasibo prastitye izvinitye pazhalusta ya nye panimayu Eating out in Russia when you don’t speak Russian is a culinary adventure. Smooth the way with these few phrases. When you enter the restaurant and the waitress greets you, say Pazhalusta mozhno stolik na dvoikh (say it like this: na dvaeek) (Please can I have a table for two?) If there are three of you, say na troikh (for three), if there are four of you, then there is enough bodies standing around for the waitress to work it out. Next up, you need a menu. Grab their attention (this has nothing to do with Russian so you should feel quite at home here), say mozhno menu (can I have a menu?). By the way, mozhno by the way, is the most useful word ever in Russia. It can help you out of all sorts of situations, it’s polite yet casual, easy to learn and use – remember to stress the first syllable. If the menu is not in English, say Mozhno menu na angliskom, pazhalusta? (Can I have a menu in English, please?) Then study the menu. At this point, they may ask if you want to order something to drink – Shto budete pit? (What will you drink?) Pit means to drink, so if you hear this, you’ll work out what they are asking about. Voda bez gaza is still water, Voda c gazom is sparkling. Pivo razlivnoe is draught beer. Sok is juice (no, they’re not talking about what you wear on your feet). When ready to order, start off by saying mnye pazhalusta... (For me please) If you ordered a main dish, they might ask you if you would like a garnish (rice, potatoes, vegetables to go with it). You can also say, pakazhite pazhulusta na menu (show me on the menu please) and they will point to the item they are talking about. Compliment the chef by saying, Ochen vkusno! (Very delicious!). To ask for the bill, say mozhno shyot. The expected answer is da, konyeshno (yes, of course) again. Don’t forget when about to dig in, say to your partner – priyatnogo appetita. When leaving the restaurant, Russians don’t normally say spasibo (thank you), normally they say, Das Vidaniya or Vsyo bilo khorosho (everything was good). Good luck - Udachi! Bol. Dmitrovka 1, MTeatralnaya, tel. 292 01 78. Cosmos Concert Hall (BKZC), Prospekt Mira 150, MVDKHa, tel. 234 10 54. DK Gorbunova (DKG) Ul. Novozavodskaya 27, MBagrationovskaya, tel. 145 98 85. Gnesin Hall (GH) A-4, Ul. Povarskaya 38, MArbatskaya, tel. 291 38 55. House of Composers (HC) C-3, Brusov per 8/10, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 629 13 65. Venues ACH ACHM ACHT BKZC BT CMT DKG DYN ESS GH GMC HC HHU HO IHMC IHMS IHTC KCT KNOT LOK LUZ LSC MCH MTC OMC OT PCH PDT SKO SKP SMT SOK MPTC MPCH TCH TCHS TCHR Academic Concert Hall Academic Concert Hall Moscow Hall Academic Concert Hall Tchaikovsky BKZ Cosmos Bolshoi Theatre State Academic Children’s Music Theatre DK Gorbunova Dynamo Stadium Eduard Streltsov Stadium Gnesin Hall Great Moscow Circus House of Composers Hall of the House of Unions Helikon Opera International House of Music Chamber Hall International House of Music Svetlana Hall International House of Music Theatre Hall Kuklachev Cats Theatre Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre Lokomotiv Stadium Luzhniki Stadium Ledovy Sports Complex Mir Concert Hall Marionette Children Theatre Old Moscow Circus Operetta Theatre Pushkinsky Cinema-Concert Hall Pushkin Drama Theatre SK Olympiysky State Kremlin Palace Stanislavsky Music Theatre Sokolniki Sports Palace Moscow Philharmonic Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow Philaharmony Chamber Hall Tchaikovsky Conservatory Grand Hall Tchaikovsky Conservatory Hall Small Hall Tchaikovsky Conservatory Hall Rakhmaninov Hall International House of Music - Chamber Hall (IHMC), Svetlanov Hall (IHMS),Theatre Hall (IHTC) F-7, Kosmodamianskaya Nab. 52, MPavelets- kaya, tel. 730 10 11, www.mmdm.ru. MDM Palace (MDM) Komsomolsky pr 28, MFrunzenskaya, tel. 248 43 83, www.mdmpalace.ru. Mir Concert Hall (MCH) D-2, Tsvetnoy bul. 11, MTsvetnoy bul, tel. 624 96 47, www.mir-hall.ru. Mocow Philharmony Chamber Hall (MPCH) B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 29, MMayakovskaya, tel. 232 53 53. A/B-2, Triumfalnaya Pl. 4/32, MMayakovskaya, tel. 232 53 53. Pushkinsky Cinema-Concert Hall (PCH) B-2, Pushkinskaya pl 2, MPushkinskaya, tel. 545 05 05. State Kremlin Palace (SKP) C-4, Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka im. Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www.gkd.ru. Moscow Philharmony Tchaikovsky Hall (MPTC) Tchaikovsky Conservatory Grand Hall (TCH), Small Hall (TCHS), Rakhmaninov Hall (TCHR) B-4, Ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 13, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 629 94 01, www.mosconsv.ru. Sporting Venues Dynamo Stadium (DYN) Leningradsky Pr. 36, MDynamo. Eduard Streltsov Stadium (ESS) Ul. Vostochnaya 4, MAvtozavodskaya. Ledovy Sports Complex (LSC) Leningradsky pr. 38, MDynamo, www.fhr.ru. Lokomotiv Stadium (LOK) Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya 125A, MCherkizovskaya. Luzhniki Stadium (LUZ) Luzhniki nab. 24, MSportivnaya, tel. 785 97 17/637 02 62, www.luzhniki.ru. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 16 CULTURe & eVenTS Sport With 5 teams from Moscow in Russia’s highest division of the Championship you know the capital likes football. Last year Zenit St. Petersburg won the cup, and now Rubin from far-off Kazan is almost the new champion with 4 matches to play. Last week of November the competition will be decided. Football Nov Time Match Venue 01 CSKA (Mos) - Spartak (Mos) LUZ 03 Lokomotiv (Mos) - Dynamo (Mos) LOK 08 Spartak (Mos) - Lokomotiv (Mos) LUZ 09 FC Moskva (Mos) - CSKA (Mos) ESS 09 Dynamo (Mos) - CSKA (Mos) DYN 16 CSKA (Mos) - Rubin (Kazan) LUZ 16 Lokomotiv (Mos) - FC Moskva (Mos) LOK 22 Spartak (Mos) - Zenit (SPb) LUZ 22 Dynamo (Mos) - Tom (Tomsk) DYN Moscow Teams; CSKA, www.pfc-cska.com, Dinamo, www. fcdynamo.ru, Lokomotiv, www.fclm.ru, Moskva, www. fcmoscow.ru, Spartak, www.spartak.com Russian Football Union, www.rfs.ru Stadiums; Dynamo Stadium (DYN), Lokomotiv Stadium (LOK), Luzhniki Stadium (LUZ), Eduard Streltsov Stadium (ESS) Ice Hockey 02 17:00 Dynamo (Mos) - Avangard (Omsk) LUZ 12 19:30 Dynamo (Mos) - Vityas (Chekhov) LUZ 14 19:30 Dynamo (Mos) - Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) LUZ 18 19:30 CSKA (Mos) - HC MVD (Balashikha) LSC 25 19:30 CSKA (Mos) - Sibir (Novosibirsk) LSC 25 19:30 Spartak (Mos) - Amur (Khaborovsk) SOK 27 19:30 CSKA (Mos) - Amur (Khaborovsk) LSC 27 19:30 Spartak (Mos) - Sibir (Novosibirsk) SOK 28 19:30 Dynamo (Mos) - Traktor (Chelyabinsk) LUZ Moscow Teams: CSKA, www.cska-hockey.ru, Dinamo, www.dynamo.ru, Spartak, www.spartak.ru Stadiums; Ledovy Sports Centre (LSC), Luzhniki Stadium (LUZ), Sokolniki Sports Palace (SOK) Russian Ice Hockey Federation, www.fhr.ru CULTURe & eVenTS 01/11 19:00 Mireille Mathieu C-4, State Kremlin Palace (SKP), Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Im. Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www.gkd.ru. Mathieu is practically a French National Hero, so widel y is she adored. Russia‘s own love affair with her began in 1967 when she starred in the film Journalist whose Moscow premiere was a t tended by Brezhnev himself. No Piaf imitator by any means, Mathieu has always had her own style. Her seductive voice and natural charisma have kept her fans enthralled; her 2005 album, her 38th release in France went to the fourteenth place on the charts.QAdmission 4000Rbl - 7000Rbl. 17 03/11, 04/11 20:00 Abba Show D-2, Mir Concert Hall (MCH), Tsvetnoy bul. 11, MTsvetnoy bul., tel. 624 96 47, www.mir-hall.ru. It looks like Abba, smells like Abba, sings like Abba yet it just isn‘t. One good thing about this tribute show is that at least Benny and Bjorn know about it so its not a totally woeful ripoff. The hits and the harmony, the costumes and even the hair of Abba will be onstage in this tribute show to the one and only Abba.QAdmission 900 - 3900Rbl. 08/11 19:00 Dmitry Kvorostovsky B-4, Tchaikovsky Conservatory 01/11 20:30 Splean Club B1 Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky pr., tel. 648 67 77, www.b1club.ru. Splean are a St. Petersburg-based avant garde rock band. They‘ve been hitting the pub and club scene since 1994 and are great live performers. The band‘s name translates as Depression, and the ‘ea‘ spelling in English is a play on the spelling of The Beatles. Their most successful songs include ‘Orbit Sugar Free’, ‘New People’ and ‘Time Backwards’.QAdmission 1500Rbl. Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky Pr., tel. 648 67 77, www. b1club.ru. Famous for being the ex-singer of the Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish, Tarja Turunen is now striking out on her own. Since parting ways acriminously with Finland‘s most popular band three years ago, she‘s released two albums.QAdmission 1800Rbl. 06/11 20:30 Tarja Turunen Club B1 Grand Hall (TCH), Bol. Nikitskaya 13/6, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 629 20 60, www.mosconsv.ru. This Russian baritone is quite a regular on the world‘s opera stage so this concert, an intimate affair with pianist Ivari Ilya is a great chance to see this performer at home. Their program features the music of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Mentner set to the words of Tolstoy, Pushkin and other Russian poets and writers.QAdmission 5000 - 40000Rbl. 08/11 20:30 Agata Christi Club B1 Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky Pr., tel. 648 67 77, www.b1club.ru. Agata Christi, the Russia band with the inspiring name of that elderly British crime writer, are an Ekaterinburg group with a long career. Formed by brothers Gleb and Vadim Samoylov, the band has proved enduringly popular over the years with their mysterious horror glam rock style. Called the Russian Cure, their style is easily identifiable by their characteristic whispers and shrieks. QAdmission 1200Rbl. 10/11 19:00 R&B Festival SK Olympisky (SKO), Olympisky pr. 16, MProspekt Mira, tel. 688 53 22, www.olimpik.ru. For those who live and breathe R and B, this festival is a real treat. Timbaland, the producer-rapper with the Midas touch, will perform as well as ex-Destiny‘s Child Kelly Rowland and Busta Rhymes. The Russian audience are no strangers to Timbaland; it was he who produced their very own Dima Bilan‘s first album in English in Hollywood.QAdmission 1000 - 10000Rbl. 07/11 19:00 Russian Best Song Show C-4, State Kremlin Palace 02/11, 03/11 19:00 Alexander Gradsky BKZ Cosmos(BKZC), Ul. Prospekt Puppets and Shows for Kids! Performances Nov Time Event 02 12:00 Mowgli 03 12:00 Cinderella 04 12:00 Mowgli 05 12:00 Cinderella 06 12:00 Mowgle 07 12:00 Cinderella 15 14:00 Puss in Boots 23 12:00 Puss in Boots 29 12:00 Mowgli 29 16:00 The Cat’s House 30 19:00 Cinderella Puppets 01 10:00 02 12:00 08 14:00 09 12:00 15 10:00 16 14:00 22 10:00 29 12:00 30 14:00 Venue OT OT OT OT OT OT PDT PDT OT KNOT OT Mira 150, MVDKHa, tel. 234 10 54. Called the father of the Moscow Rock scene, Gradsky is a professional trained vocalist with a long and varied list of accomplisments, albums and fans. He first became famous in the early 70s when his versatile voice with athree octave range started singing bard tunes set to rock and roll. Since he‘s dabbled in writing the music for operas and ballet as well as classical blues and satirical ballads.QAdmission 2000 - 3200Rbl. 02/11, 03/11 19:00 Efes Blues Festival Club B1 Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky pr., tel. 648 67 77, www. b1arena.ru. This two day festival is devoted to traditional blues straight from the homeland of blues, America. Taking place annually since 1999 in Russia, this years Blues Festival brings New Orleans born and raised Larry Garner, Sharrie Williams, a blues songstress with a soulfilled voice and sa xophonist Gordon Beadle. Another Larry also appears, Larry McCray, a guitarist who has travelled the wide long roads of America from the south up to Chicago.QAdmission 1000 - 4000Rbl. (SKP), Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Im. Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www.gkd.ru. Should you be looking to grab a snapshot at the Russian music scene of the past few decades, this awards night is perfect. A round up of the usual suspects such as Philip Kirkorov (Russia‘s Michael Jackson lookalike), his ex-step daughter, Kristina Orbakaite, the pretty boy crooner Nikolay Baskov (a favourite with mums) and the bad boy of ballads, Valery Meladze. Those interested in girl bands won‘t b e disappointed either, Viagra (one of the best things in Russian pop) will put in a performance.QAdmission 600 - 6000Rbl. Circus Nov Time Kuklachev Cat Theatre (KCT) Kutuzovsky Pr. 25, M Kutozovskaya, tel. 249 29 07, www.catstheatre.ru Olympics of Boris the Cat 02 11:00, 14:00 Admission 300 - 800Rbl Old Moscow Circus (OMC) D-2, Tsvetnoy Bulvar 13, MTsvetnoy Bulvar, tel. 625 89 70, www.circusnikulin.ru Dalokosh - Tigers, poodles with great hairstyles dressed up with ribbons and of course, dancing monkeys. 01 14:30, 18:00 02, 09 11:00, 14:30, 18:00 03, 04, 05, 06 19:00 07 14:30, 19:00 08 11:00, 14:30, 19:00 Admission 700 - 3000Rbl. Great Moscow Circus (GMC) Prospekt Vernadskogo 7 MUniversitet, tel. 939 45 47, www.bolshoychircus.ru Golden Bouffe - Crowd pleasing spectacle with lions, acrobats, unicycle tricksters and clowns. 01, 19, 21, 26, 28 19:00 02, 08 11:30, 15:00, 19:00 03, 09 11:30, 15:00 04, 06 15:00 05, 07, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 15:00, 19:00 Admission 200 -1500Rbl IX New British Film Festival Through 4/11 Formula Kino Evropa, Evropeisky Shopping Centre, Pl. Kievskogo Vokzal, MKievskaya, tel. 287 18 00, www. britishcouncil.org/russia. The British Council brings a little bit of Britain to Moscow with a festival celebrating some of this year’s best British films. Some of the pictures being shown this year include: the wildly popular heart-warming comedy ‘Happy-Go-lucky’ (Mike Leigh), Michael Winterbottom’s psychological drama ‘Genova’ and the award-winning ‘Hallam Foe’. The latest British-made film from Hollywood A-listers Jim Broadbent, Sean Bean and Colin Firth wil also be screened, as well as a new documentary about Liverpool by Terence Davies.Q Admission 250 - 350Rbl. Aunt Lusha and Roly-poly Vanyusha MCT Katka’s Day MCT Miracle Doctor MCT Tower for Flowers MCT Hedgehog, Hare & Toptishka the Bear MCT The Little Gosling MCT Aunt Lusha and Rollypoly Vanyusha MCT The Little Gosling MCT Hedgehog, Hare & Toptishka the Bear MCT Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 18 CULTURe & eVenTS Ballet Nov 05 05 06 07 07 08 09 10 12 14 15 16 16 17 19 24 28 29 29 30 30 Time 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 12:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 Event Don Quixote The Flames of Paris Don Quixote The Flames of Paris Cinderella Cinderella Giselle Nutcracker La Sylphide Imperial Russian Ballet Gala Paquita Grand Pas Paquita Grand Pas Imperial Russian Ballet Gala Paquita Grand Pas Spartacus Swan Lake Seagull La Sylphide La Sylphide Giselle Swan Lake Venue SMT BT BT BT SMT SMT BT SMT BT KNOT BT BT KNOT BT KNOT SMT SMT BT BT BT SMT (OT), Ul. Bol. Dmitrovka 6, MTeatralnaya, tel. 540 30 00, www.mosoperetta.ru. Our Lopatkina, as she‘s known at home in St. Petersburg is one of the most elusive and beloved ballet stars. Called the best ballerina on the planet, Lopatkina is performing here with stars of the world‘s ballet stages from Milan to New York and French ballet master Roland Petit. The Ballet Gala continues the next evening presenting classics excerpts from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and others ensuring a truly once off experience.QAdmission 3000 - 6000Rbl. CULTURe & eVenTS 11/11, 12/11 19:00 Uliana Lopatkina Ballet Gala C-3, Opera Theatre Stadium (LUZ), Luzhnaya Naberezhnaya 24, MSportivnaya, tel. 785 97 17, www.luzhniki. ru. Todes ballet is modern an d d y nami c Rus sian dance. Not a traditional ballet except for the odd appearance of a tutu, the Todes began life twenty years ago. Founding choreographer Alla Dukhova arrived in Leningrad from Riga with her group of experimental dancers and met a local breakdancing quartet. Naturally, they joined forces and now Todes Ballet has evolved into one of Russia‘s best known practicioners of modern street dance. Q Admission 1200 - 7000Rbl. 19 14/11, 15/11 19:00 Todes Ballet Luzhniki Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky Pr., tel. 648 67 77, www.b1club.ru. Ex-Fugees singer and mul tiGrammy award winner Lauryn Hill is on the comeback. Best known for her debu t solo album Th e Miseducation of Lauryn Hill that won her five Grammys in 1999, Hill has long been a soulful and spirited performer. After withdrawing from the limelight for several years, Hill has made sporadic appearances including a short lived Fugees comeback. This tour marks her comeback.QAdmission 2200Rbl. 15/11 21:00 Lauryn Hill Club B1 11/11 19:00 Michael Bolton C-4, State Kremlin Palace (SKP), 14/11 21:00 Okean Elsi Club B1 Maximum, Ul. Ordzhonikidze 11, MLeninsky Pr., tel. 648 67 77, www.b1club.ru. This Ukrainain cult band, though formed already for fifteen years, really got its start in the days of the Orange Revolution. Wildly popular throu gh ou t th e wh ol e country, their songs (much quoted by the Ukrainian press) are considered to be the voice of the people. Being the most recognisable and popular band in Ukraine made them the face of Pepsi Cola in Ukraine.Q Admission 1500Rbl. 17/11, 21/11 19:00 Classical and Choral Music Nov 02 02 03 04 04 05 05 06 07 08 08 09 11 12 12 13 14 14 15 15 15 16 18 18 19 20 21 22 22 23 23 25 27 27 27 28 29 29 30 30 Time 14:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 14:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 14:00 19:00 19:00 Event Venue Sharm Theatre (Kazan) MPTC Nine Centuries of Organ Music MPTC Messiaen Festival, Ivan Sokolov TCHS State Orchestra of Tatarstan Republic MPTC Festival of Russian Orthodox Music TCH Messiaen Festival, New Music Studio TCHR Ancient Music Academy Ensemble MPCH Moiseev Folk Dance Ensemble MPTC National Philaharonic Orchestra MPTC Russian Cossacks Dance Ensemble MPTC 50th Anniversary Composers Union KNOT 40 years of the Grand Children’s Choir MPTC Messiaen Festival, A Trostyansky TCHS Messiaen Festival, P Aimard TCHS Moiseev Folk Dance Ensemble TCHS Messiaen Festival, Olivier Latry TCH National Philharmonic Orchestra MPTC Alfred Brendel TCH Joanne Lunn, Mahler, Mozart, Brahms MPTC Narek and Gayna Akhazaryan MPCH Bolshoi Theatre Soloists & Orchestra TCHM Oleg Kagan Festival TCH Combattimento Consort Amsterdam MPTC European Festival MPCH German Requiem TCH Musica Viva: Day of Music Celebration TCH Borodina Quartet TCH Olga Borodina, Tchaikovsky MPTC Hermitage Quartet TCHR Stephen Isserlis (cello) TCH Yuri Zhislin, Yakov Katsnelson MPCH David Oistrakh 100th Birthday TCH 4th Festival of Tartar Songs MPTC National Philharmonic Orchestra TCH Guitar from America; Yuri Nugmanov MPCH Early Music Ensemble MPCH Russian Symphony Masterpieces IHMS Andrey Korobeinikov TCH Nine Centuries of Organ Music MPTC Music of Italy TCHR Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www.gkd. ru. Michael Bol ton has been the King of the soft rock ballad for around two decades now. Throughout his career although he‘s worke d wi th Pavarot ti and Dylan, his famous mull et h aircu t alm os t gen era te d as mu ch press as his charitable works, baby blue eyes, romantic entanglements and massive album sales. When he cut his long curly locks in 2002, the noble songster auctioned them off for charity. Q Admission 1200 - 9000Rbl. 15/11 19:00, 16/11 16:00 Motor Freestyle SK Olympisky (SKO), Olympisky pr. 16, State Kremlin Palace (SKP), Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, w w w.gkd.ru. Kn o wn for his gran d op en-air performance spectacles, Jean Michel Jarre has been one of the pioneers of electronic music since the release of his album Oxegene in 1977. Favouring the new age, electro sythesiser pop genres, Jarre‘s concerts are events. Celebrating Moscow‘s 850 anniversary in 1997 with a record audience of 3.5 million saw the Moscow State University home to a show of lasers, image projections, sky trackers and fireworks.QAdmission 1200 - 4000Rbl. Jean Michel Jarre C-4, 12/11 19:00 Bravo C-4, State Kremlin Palace (SKP), Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www. gkd.ru. There once was a time when men were still men and women were ladies, people listened to the radio of an evening and the Beatles were bringing rock and roll to the world. This is the Bravo timewarp. For better or worse, they are the retro kings of the Russian rock scene, playing American and British rock of the 60s. This concert is for their 25th anniversary.QAdmission 500 - 2500Rbl. MProspekt Mira, tel. 688 53 22, www.olympik.ru. Calling all Evil Knievels together for this two day event dedicated to the awesome and adrenalin inducing motor freestyle. For these guys riding a bike on one wheel is just the least of their stunts. The world‘s best (and bravest) riders from Japan, Italy, France as well as Russia‘s own Aleksey Kolesnikov will keep the crowd on the edge of their seats with their bike acrobatics.QAdmission 500 - 5000Rbl. 13/11 20:00 Mouse on Mars Ikra Club, Ul. Kazakova 8a, MKur- skaya, tel. 778 56 51, www.ikraclub.ru. Hailing from a country with a long and famous history of bands with odd-looks and bizarre electronic sounds, this German duo‘s music is pure electronic experimentation. Th ey mash together their favourite tunes, sounds and voices to produce a very ‘challenging‘ musical experience. Expect this show to be crammed with weird beeps, pounding beats and some bizarre hypnotic multimedia. QAdmission 700 - 2700Rbl. bul. 11, MTsvetnoy bul., tel. 624 96 47, www.mir-hall. ru. With her rich voice, Elena Vaenga is the new queen of the Russian romantic ballad. Involved in music from a very young age, she‘s classically trained and wrote her first song at the age of nine in her native Murmansk. Now known as pearl of Petersburg where she‘s extremely popular, this is her first Moscow solo concert. Her repertoire includes her own tunes and classic Russian romance and ballads.Q Admission 1000 - 2600Rbl. 15/11 19:00 Elena Vaenga D-2, Mir Concert Hall (MCH), Tsvetnoy kovsky Conservatory, Ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 13, MArbatskaya, tel. 629 74 12. The Musica Viva Festival is dedicated to resurrecting the hidden gems of classical music. The new season continues with Bach’s 2 and 3 suites and Handel‘s Ode for St. Cecilia‘s Day. Foreign stars appearing at Musica Viva are the flautist Andras Adorjan from Germany and Danish soprano Sine Bungoordt as well as Australian tenor Andrew Goodwin.QAdmission 700 - 1500Rbl. 20/11 19:00 Musica Viva B-4, Tchai- 29/11 18:00 Golden Grammophone C-4, State Kremlin Palace 15/11 19:00 Robert Alagna International House of Music, Svetlana Hall, Kosmodamianskaya nab. 52, MPaveletskaya, tel. 730 10 11, www.mmdm.ru. Sometimes called the Fourth Tenor, French born Sicilian based tenor Alagna is married to the glamorous Romanian soprano, Angela Gheorghiu and together they are opera‘s most talked-about couple. Daring in his stage performances, his voice drips with as much elegance as his fabulous attire. Q Admission 800 - 8000Rbl. (SKP), Ul. Vozdvizhenka 1, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 917 23 36, www.gkd.ru. Despite this Russian music awards night is now in their thirteenth year, 2008 will turn out to be lucky for one of the many pop princesses and princes who have turned out singles this year. Expect fglitz, glamour and gold.QAdmission 1500 - 25000Rbl. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 20 exHIBITIOnS Tickets for Theatre & Events Tickets for most events can be bought at one of the many ticket offices (teatralnaya kassa). Of course each venue sells its own tickets and some let you reserve tickets on the internet. Tickets can also be bought online at booking agencies such as www.kassir.ru, www.kontramarka. ru and www.parter.ru. Venues such as the Bolshoi Theatre (www.bolshoi.ru) have an online box office. Choose your seats, pay by Visa or Mastercard and then pick up your tickets before the performance. Happenings on the exhibition circuit in November include Russian contemporary art, Soviet retrospectives and British fashion. lin, Patriarch‘s Palace, MOkhotny Ryad, www. kreml.ru. This exhbition proves that fashion brings everyone together; its a joint project between the Kremlin and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The V and A has provided this collection of British costumes, dresses and accessories that show the understated wonder and elegance of British fashion from the 18th centuries. It‘s not all Jane Austen living in the country though, there‘s also parasols and fans, walking suits and riding habits. exHIBITIOnS Through 16/11 Two centuries of British Fashion C/D-4, Krem- 21 Through 07/12 Maria Lomakhina B-6, Tretyakov Gallery on Krimsky Val, Opera & Operetta Nov 01 01 01 01 02 02 02 05 05 06 07 07 08 08 09 09 09 12 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 19 20 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 23 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 Time 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 14:00 19:00 12:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 18:00 19:00 19:00 13:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 19:00 Event La Boheme La Traviata Mazepa The Barber of Seville La Boheme Cosi Fan Tutte The Barber of Seville May Night The Tsar’s Bride Love Potion The Snow Maiden Der Fledermaus Eugene Onegin Iolanthe The Merry Widow Tosca Gershwin Gala Jazz Show Demon Gershwin Gala Jazz Show Eugene Onegin Tosca Hamlet Carmen Iolanthe Count of Monte Cristo Gershwin Gala Jazz Show Count of Monte Cristo Gershwin Gala Jazz Show Bravissimo Count of Monte Cristo Queen of Spades Carmen The Tales of Hoffman Queen of Spades The Tales of Hoffman Lohengrin The Tales of Hoffman La Traviata Carmen L’elisir d’amore The Tales of Hoffman The Fiery Angel Silva The Fiery Angel Boris Godunov Der Fledermaus The Barber of Seville Norma The Barber of Seville Love Potion The Barber of Seville Nabucco Venue BT SMT HO KNOT BT SMT KNOT SMT KNOT SMT KNOT OT TCH BT OT SMT HO SMT HO KNOT BT KNOT SMT BT OT HO OT HO KNOT OT SMT BT HO SMT HO KNOT HO SMT BT KNOT HO BT OT BT KNOT SMT HO KNOT HO SMT HO KNOT Ul. Krimsky Val 10, MOktyabrskaya, www.tretyakovgallery. ru This retrospective exhibition shows the works of Soviet painter Maria Lomakhina. Born in the Crimea, she studied in Moscow in the years before the Revolution before making her debut as a painter in 1919. She worked in many artistic disciplines including decorative and applied arts as well as the art of the frescoe. In the 1923, she joined the workshop of Petrov-Vodkin before going on to work on reconstructing the frescoes of churches in Kiev and Novgorod. This exhibition shows over 100 of her works from the years 1910 - 1960. Through 10/01 The Buccalleti Heritage C/D-4, Kremlin, Assumption Belfry, MOkhotny Ryad, www.kreml.ru. The story of the Italian Buccalleti famly begins in the last century with the founder, Mario Buccalleti. Inspired by the Renaissance, he developed a particularly intricate style which he passed onto his son Gianmaria. Cigarette cases, rings, delicate brooches and an imitation brocade metal handbag are among the 150 masterpieces assembled into a tribute to the continued elegance of one of the Italy‘s top jewellers. Producing only 3000 items a year, of which around 500 are one of a kind orders, this is the chance for jeweller lovers to view these very special art objects; they rarely if ever appear on the neck of a celebrity on the red carpet. Through 20/11 Alberto Giacometti B-5, Museum of Private Collec- tions, Ul. Volkhonka, 10, MKropotinskaya, tel. 203 79 98, http://www.museum.ru/GMII/mlk.htm. The works of Albertto Giacometti, a world-famous Swiss artist, have at long last come to Russia. Giacometti is first and foremost known for his razor-blade thin, roughly-molded bronze sculptures and busts. This exhibit also shows his early cubist works from the 1920s and his lesser well-known paintings and graphite drawings. Through 23/11 Martin Munkacsi, Think While You Shoot! C-4, Manezh Through 10/12 The Grace Kelly Years D-3, Ekaterina Foundation, Kuznetsky Most 21/5 (enter from Ul. Bol. Lyubanka), M Kuznetsky Most, tel. 621 55 22, www. ekaterina-foundation.ru. Dedicated to the life of Grace Kelly, the Hollywood actress who became a Princess of Monaco, this exhibition covers all parts of her life. From her childhood in America to her days in Hollywood and becoming Hitchcock‘s preferred leading lady, the exhibition being sponsored © www.ekaterinafoundation.ru by the Grimaldi Forum of Monaco also includes personal belongings, letters, jewellery, which help the audience to imagine Kelly‘s life. Exhibition Hall, Manezh Square 1, MAleksandrovsky Sad, tel. 231 33 25, www.mdf.ru. Hungarian born Munkacsi began working in Berlin as a photographer at the age of 22. Before becoming famous as a photographer for the American glossy Harpers Bazaar, he captured the rise of Hitler in Germany. Munkasci captures motion so well, that looking at his black and white photos you would think you were watching a movie screen. This exhibit highlights the artistic agility of the human form and the machine alike. Through 23/11 Tony Oursler, NixAlienClimaxCloudAxe Winzavod, 4- ya Siromyatnichesky per. 1 bldg 6, MChkalovskaya. This internationally famous video artist will make you laugh, cry, duck and cover with his talking, dripping, blinking, puckering blob-like forms. Oursler masterfully combines surround sound rumbles, screeches and low-toned grumbles with video projections of moving human facial features so that the onlooker can‘t help but feel part of this 3D alien world. Art, Ul. Petrovka, MChekhovskaya, www.mmoma.ru. Though born and raised in Russia and a graduate of the Moscow Academy of Arts, Anastasia Bordeau is now based in France. This exhibition is being presented for the first time and conists of night paintings. The night world envisioned by Bordeau is not the dark depths where dangers lurk but, as the title suggests, what is found in the night is a gift, a flower. Interestingly her works are devoid of people but not the objects of manking, making them seem more restless snapdragons ready to pounce than flowers. Through 16/11 Flowers of the Night C-2, Moscow Museum of Modern Lavrushinsky per. 10, MTretyakovskaya, www.tretyakovgallery.ru. Russian watercolour tradition has developed greatly since its arrival from England in the 18th century. This exhibition comprised of 350 works from Russia‘s most distinguished artists show how each artist could realise an individual effect using this subtle artistic form. Including works by Briullov, Ivanov, Kramskoy, Surikov and Vrubel, this exhibition is also presented in a quiet space enhancing the quaint historical scenes and atmospheres depicted. Through 30/11 The Magic of Watercolours D-5, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 22 WHeRe TO STAY We‘ve selected a range of accommodation options from some of the top end wallet-busters down to the frugal and friendly options. Prices include VAT (18%) and breakfast unless otherwise indicated. WHeRe TO STAY Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya F-1, Ul. Kalanchevskaya 21/40, MKrasniye Vorota, tel. 627 55 50, www.hilton. com. Pre-Hilton, the Leningradskaya was the city‘s first hotel. Now, it is shaping up to be again. Restored with respect for the hotel‘s history, the newly renovated 273 room palatial hotel is a winning marriage of heritage and modern elegance. Rooms as you expect with the Hilton brand are of exceptional standard with all the trimmings. Soft furnishings, and understated glamour abounds. Some of the stand outs include a Guiness Book listed six storey longbrass chandelier and the exquisite lobby.Q273 rooms (239 doubles 12000 - 17000Rbl, 34 suites 20000 - 72000Rbl). Breakfast not included (1200Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PHAUFGKDCW hhhhh 23 Cream of the Crop Ararat Park Hyatt D-3, Ul. Neglinnaya 4, MLubyanka, tel. 783 12 34, www.hyatt.com. Contemporary and cosmopolitan, this a Moscow business hotel with attitude with a fabulous location. There is a definite accent on service throughout with Italian natural marble adorning the walls and soft furnishings ensuring a luxurious and comfortable stay. Sleeping is another of the pleasures here with imported US linen and thick mattresses. Among the many dining options are the Armenian cafe Ararat, Park Restaurant and the Conservatory Lounge with stunning views from the Summer Terrace. The fitness centre is impressive.Q216 rooms (135 singles 28000Rbl, 28 doubles 30100Rbl, 27 suites 32800 - 48200Rbl, 32 Deluxe 30500Rbl). Extra bed 2100Rbl. VAT and breakfast not included (1250Rbl). Visa support 3500Rbl, registration free of charge. PJHAFGKDCW hhhhh (Le Royal Meridien) National C-4, Ul. Mokhovaya Baltschug Kempinski D-5, Ul. Baltschug 1, MNo- vokuznetskaya, tel. 278 20 00, www.kempinski-moscow. ru. Without actually being the President, it would be hard to get closer to the Kremlin than Moscow‘s first five star hotel, just across the river. It‘s a stunning view. The lobby is home to more business men than tourists on Red Square and the rooms bear the mark of royalty. Some suites literally do having been designed by minor members of the British Royal family. Suites have the most sensational bathrooms that are sure to grace the pages of design magazines. Brunch on weekends, their well regarded Restaurant Baltchug, and Shogun Japanese restaurant form part of their inhouse dining options. Q230 rooms (39 suites 38000 - 41000Rbl, 104 Superior Room 28000Rbl, 86 Deluxe Room 33000Rbl). Extra bed 1800Rbl. VAT not included. Visa support, registration free of charge. POJHAR6FLGKDCW hhhhh 15/1, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 258 70 00, www.national. ru. Rub shoulders with history here as this century old building is one of the grand old dames of the Moscow hotel scene. The location doesn‘t get any better and neither does the guestlist with previous occupants including Lenin himself. The hotel, while honouring the past, is reassuringly modern in service standards and management. The rooms house not only comfortable beds, renovated bathrooms with jacuzzis but also original furniture and antique fittings.Q216 rooms (46 singles 10800Rbl, 68 doubles 15000 - 15900Rbl, 51 suites 24900 - 81900Rbl, 51 Studio room 18900Rbl). Extra Bed 1200Rbl. VAT not included. Visa suppport and registration free of charge. PJHAULGKDCW hhhhh kaya, tel. 937 00 00, www.marriott.com/mowgr. Situated on Tverskaya street, the Marriott Grand provides a convenient location, luxurious rooms with modern stylings, natural lighting and European restaurants. Being co-managed with two other Marriott hotels in Moscow, ensures flexible booking. The rooms themselves are fresh and large with a generous amount of space. Twin rooms come with two King size beds that you could swim in, let alone sleep.Q382 rooms (243 singles 21000Rbl, 128 doubles 21000Rbl, 2 suites 80000Rbl, 8 Junior Suite 36000 - 44000Rbl, 1 Presidential Suite 100000Rbl). VAT and breakfast (1240Rbl) not included. Visa support and registration free of charge. PHAR6UFLGKDCW hhhhh Marriott Grand Hotel C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 26, MMayakovs- Pokrovka Suite F-3, Ul. Pokrovka 40/2, MKurskaya, Golden Apple Hotel B-2, Ul. Mal. Dmitrovka 11, MTver- skaya, tel. 980 70 00, www.goldenapple.ru. Moscow‘s first boutique hotel is brimming with juicy design elements. Here its not an apple for the teacher but for the guest. Each floor is rainbow colour-coded so the plastic bag lamps, the umbrellas and river pebble bathroom floor in each room will be a different colour. The quiet location is accentuated by the pedestrianised Degtyarnaya Ulitsa on one side. Don‘t miss the opportunity to sit in the Big Apple in the foyer - yes, the inside is sheepskin.Q92 rooms (10 doubles 14950Rbl, 2 suites 42950 - 49950Rbl, 65 Superior 17450Rbl, 15 Deluxe 19950 - 25950Rbl). Breakfast not included (950 Rbl). PJHAF� GKDW hhhhh Marriott Royal Aurora Hotel C-3, Ul. Petrovka 11/20, Symbol key P Air conditioning O Casino T Child friendly R Internet F Fitness centre K Restaurant D Sauna 6 Animal friendly A Credit cards accepted H Conference facilities U Facilities for the disabled L Guarded parking G Non-smoking rooms M Nearest metro station C Swimming pool W Wi-Fi connection MKuznetsky Most, tel. 937 10 00, www.marriott.com/ mowdt. Featuring the Polo Club steakhouse restaurant, an ode to English gentlemans club complete with bridles, the Marriott Royal Aurora is for those looking for refinement. Along with classic styled rooms with enormous beds and quality furnishings, this hotel features a butler service. A team of trained butlers attend to the needs of all guests, from welcoming them to their rooms with champagne to helping with each and every aspect of their stay. Q230 rooms (161 singles 23000Rbl, 34 doubles 23000Rbl, 2 suites 80000Rbl, 1 apartment 25000Rbl, 31 Junior Suite 26000 41000Rbl, 1 Presidential Suite 100000Rbl). VAT and breakfast not included (1470Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PHAR6UFLGKDCW hhhhh tel. 229 57 57, www.pokrovka-moscow.com. Boutique design hotel or your standard Russian design catastrophe. A fine line is being walked here, with purple, red, black in the interior but it comes up trumps. The cigar lounge and the restaurant come from the excitable minds of Russia‘s best designers. Indeed, the French furniture turns the hotel into a gallery. Not having standard rooms, the Pokrovka has only suites and apartments. All are filled with 30s and 50s design features and have modern kitchenettes. The small foreign literature library suffices should you get bored with the state-of-the-art tv and internet.Q84 rooms (84 suites €282 - 2520). Visa support and registration free of charge. PJHAFLGKCW hhhh Ritz Carlton C3, Ul. Tverskaya 3, MTeatralnaya, tel. Metropol D-3, Teatralny proezd 1/4, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 499 501 78 00, metropol-moscow.ru. The Metropol is one of the grand dames of Moscow’s hotels. Its art nouveau exterior has stood witness to the Revolution and the story of founder Mamontov and his mosaics fill books. Most rooms exhibit the style of the early twentieth century furniture with original features. Unfortunately the bathrooms are not in keeping with the magnificient exterior and are looking worn.Q363 rooms (129 singles 12600 - 14300Rbl, 160 doubles 12600 - 14300Rbl, 67 suites 23800 - 59500Rbl, 7 apartments 44600Rbl). Extra bed 3000Rbl. VAT and breakfast not included (1100Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PJHAUFLKDCW hhhhh 225 88 88,www.ritzcarlton.com. Luscious furnishings and decor abound here in this modern palace completed just under a year ago. The results are sophisticated rooms filled with luxury utilities and the utmost comfort. Where else would you be able to call on a bath or technology butler or to recharge your laptop while it was locked away in the room safe. The dining facilities vary from the German castle inspired Carreterra, to the classicism of Jeroboam and the design elegance of the 02 Lounge.Q334 rooms (163 doubles 33500Rbl, 23 suites 125000 - 430000Rbl, 30 Executive Room 38000Rbl, 72 Deluxe/Club 36000 - 40500Rbl). Breakfast not included (1550Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. Extra bed 1500Rbl. PJHA6UFLGKDCW hhhhh www.inyourpocket.com November 2008 Moscow In Your Pocket 24 WHeRe TO STAY Brunch with the Stars Ararat Park Hyatt Park Restaurant D-3, Ul. Neglinnaya 4, MLubyanka, tel. 783 12 34, www. hyatt.com. Food to feast on, a great location and welcoming atmosphere are the high standards the Hyatt strive for with their Sunday Brunch. Live cooking stations are the main event with Russian pancakes and pastries, a seafood station full of shrimps and oysters and the all essential sushi counter. Moet and Chandon champagne, Hennessy cognac, Kauffman vodka and assorted red and white wines, fresh juices and soft drinks are also available. Q 12:30 - 17:30. Adults 4200 Rbl, children under 6yr Sun free, 6-12 years 2100Rbl. WHeRe TO STAY Savoy D-2, Ul. Rozhdestvenka 3/6, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 620 85 55, www.savoy.ru. This historical hotel first opened in 1913 and was known under the Soviets as Hotel Berlin. In 2005 it underwent a full renovation transforming it into a modern five star hotel with all the trimmings. The lobby is covered with marble and gold plate leaf while the adjacent lounge bar is extremely modern with a striking purple lighting effect. All the rooms are adorned with stately Italian furniture, Russian oil paintings and have received the attention of Italian designers. The restaurant is superb with an ornate moulded ceiling, Vrubel inspired fountain and Venetian mirrors and marble columns. Q67 rooms (53 doubles 17850Rbl, 6 suites 21525Rbl, 3 Deluxe 18900Rbl, 5 Executive 19950Rbl). VAT not included. PJAFGKDCW hhhhh 25 Swissotel Krasnye Holmy F-6, Kosmodamianskaya nab. 25, MPaveletskaya, tel. 787 98 00, www.swissotel.com. Bright and clean as a pin, this efficient and contemporary place has not a skerrick of clutter. This must be the secret to how they manage to have enormous bathrooms. Whole football teams could shower with comfort in the rooms on the upper floors. Being a circular tower, means that each room in the hotel is unique depending on its position. While the lobby is a little too minimalist, the star players are upstairs including the City Space bar on the 34th floor and their brand new restaurant Kai.Q233 rooms (27 suites 54075Rbl, 129 Advantage Room 26075Rbl, 69 Executive Room 30275Rbl, 8 Panorama Room 34825Rbl). VAT, Breakfast not included (1350Rbl). Visa support 1750Rbl, registration free of charge.PJHA6UFL� GKDCW hhhhh Holiday Inn Sokolniki Ul. Rusakovskaya 24, MSo- kolniki, tel. 786 73 73, www.holidayinn.com. With over 500 rooms and twenty floors, the Sokolniki is a testament to business precision and class. Two restaurants, an inhouse bakery, Sports bar, and numerous conference rooms, ensure a lively bustling atmosphere amid professional environment. Rooms are stylishly rendered in classic tones, with the tower structure of the hotel affording wonderful views over the surrounds.Q273 rooms (148 singles 9350 - 10250Rbl, 40 suites 20000 - 23000Rbl, 308 Double/Twin 10250Rbl, 11900 Executive double/twin 119000Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PHA6UFLG� KDCW hhhh Tatiana E-7, Stremyanny per. 11, MPaveletskaya, tel. 721 25 00, www.hotel-tatiana.ru. The Tatiana is well-situated near Paveletskaya and focuses on business clients. They are fully aware of the need to run to a meeting, work out in the gym and then a sauna before bed, although if you need theatre tickets, they can help with that too. The spacious rosy pink rooms are not too feminine so as to affront any businessmen. Comfortable long sofas and modern amenities will ensure a relaxing and quiet stay. Q72 rooms (21 doubles 11000 - 12000Rbl, 16 suites 1600 13500Rbl, 35 Superior 12500Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PJHAUFLGKDCW hhhh Mid-range Arbat A-5, Plotnikov per. 12, MSmolenskaya, tel. 244 76 35, www.arbatt-hotel.ru. Welcoming with a confident air, the Arbat is a breath of fresh air. Offering dedicated service, their rooms are spacious with a pastel colour schemes. Deluxe facilities have the same decor with double the space and the entire hotel is kitted out with fridges, flat screen interactive tvs (also internet enabled) and crisp clean white bathroom vanities. Unrenovated rooms are modest, yet exude a once-we-were-beautiful-too grace with parquet floors and heavy doors. The Winter Garden, where conference goers may take coffee breaks, is a green oasis.Q112 rooms (62 doubles 9000Rbl, 50 suites 10000Rbl). Visa support 2000Rbl, registration free of charge.PHAGKW hhh Upmarket Akvarel C-3, Stoleshnikov per. 12, build.3, MPushkinsHilton Leningradskaya Grand Ballroom F-1, Ul. kaya, tel. 502 94 30, www.hotelakvarel.ru. Situated next to the Denis Simachev bar with its orgy of kitsch design, the Aquarel offers a more peaceful counterpart its talked-about neighbour. This fine hotel is a stalwart example of clean classic lines. The amenities tick all the boxes and located on the back street, the situation promises quiet relaxation. The decor reflects the acquarel theme of watercolours and the downstairs lobby is a cross between a fashion showroom and casino with taffeta drapes.Q23 rooms (15 doubles 10500Rbl, 8 suites 13300Rbl). JHAGKW hhh Kebur Palace (Tiflis Hotel) A-6, Ul. Ostozhenka 32, Kalanchevskaya 21/40, MKrasniye Vorota, tel. 710 88 55, www.moscow.hilton.com. Immersed in the historical setting of the Grand Ballroom, this is a unique gourmet buffet complete with sushi and wok stations, meat and fish carvery as well as a resplendent array of salad starters and desserts. Dining is accompanied by live music and the prices include vodka, wines, Russian champagne, beer and soft drinks. There’s also a playroom for children.Q 13:00 - 17:00. Adults 2800Rbl, children Sun under 6 yrs free, 6 - 10 yrs 1400Rbl. PTAEG MKropotkinskaya, tel. 733 90 70, www.hoteltiflis. com. Along atmospheric Ostozhenskaya street, in the long shadow of the Church of the Saviour, the Kebur is a mahogany and walnut palace. The long dark corridors with framed prints of old Moscow on either side call to mind an old English library. While standard doubles are not that roomy, they are charming. Bathrooms are luxurious, particularly those with baths and there is a marvellous swimming pool downstairs.Q77 rooms (30 singles €250 - 380, 40 doubles €300 - 450, 7 suites €460 - 700). Extra bed €30. Visa support and registration free of charge. PJHAFLEGKDCW hhhh Crowne Plaza WTC Krasnopresnenskaya nab. 12, MKrasnopresnenskaya, tel. 258 22 22, www.crowneplaza.ru. The charming mechanical rooster crows across the wide atrium every hour and the palm trees bring to mind Hawaii. Here you wil find stylish rooms and facilities in a classic hotel space. Standard rooms are tastefully kitted out in chocolate and biscuit striped carpet, a bold design feature that gives an air of innovation and warmth. There is also the Real Food Restaurant and a daily shuttle to the nearby Expo exhibitions centre.Q575 rooms (543 doubles 15000Rbl, 31 suites 18000 - 24000Rbl, 1 apartment 70000Rbl). Extra bed 1800Rbl. Breakfast (900Rbl) and VAT not included. Visa support and registration free of charge. PHA6UFLGKDCW hhhh Marco Polo Presnya A-3, Spiridonovsky per. 9, Elegant F-3, Ul. Pokrovka 32, MChistye Prudy, tel. 917 Marriott Avrora Restaurant Avrora C-3, Ul. Petro- vka 11/20, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 937 10 00, www. marriott-royal.ru. Violins and piano provide the musical entertainment while the Marriott chefs entertain you with their diverse brunch menu. As well as the required sushi and wok stations, there is also a carvery of American beef, scottish salmon, lamb and duck as well as desserts. In keeping with brunch tradition drinks are unlimited; Veda vodka, Austrian wines and Sovetskoe Champagne as well as beer and soft drinks.Q Sun 12:30 - 17:00 Adults 4200Rbl, Children 6 - 11yrs 2100Rbl, under 6 free. MMayakovskaya, tel. 244 36 31, www.presnja.ru. This smart business focused hotel has a lovely feel to it, creating as their maxim says a real home away from home. Just as Marco Polo travelled far and wide, they know that today‘s modern traveller does as well. True to their word, this is a comfortable place which prides itself on its family atmosphere and quiet aspect.Q70 rooms (30 doubles 13850Rbl, 14 suites 19550 - 43100Rbl, 20 Superior 16600Rbl). VAT not included. Visa support 1580Rbl, registration free of charge. PJHA6FGKDW hhhh 41 80, www.eleganthotels.ru. This is no frills place has a dark lobby and a bright basement restaurant where guests can enjoy a full cooked breakfast. The layout suffers from the conversion into a hotel; its a rabbit warren with narrow corridors and short steps giving a cramped feeling. The rooms themselves have decent sized bathrooms with shower cabins and are pleasantly presented and clean. There‘s a nice effect to be gained from the red décor. In a bid to cater for economic thrifty clients, they have four rooms without a window.Q29 rooms (5 singles 4900Rbl, 16 doubles 6500Rbl, 7 suites 7200 - 9500Rbl). Visa support and registration free of charge. PHAUKW hhhh Ritz Carlton Caviaterra C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 3, Heliopark Empire A-1, Ul. 1-ya Brestskaya 60/1, Sretenskaya E-2, Ul. Sretenka 15, MSukharevskaya, Sputnik Leninsky pr. 38, MLeninsky Prospect, tel. 930 22 87, www.hotelsputnik.ru. This Soviet princess has moved with the times and put some new jewels in her Russian tiara. There‘s a lively basement bar and a fantastic Indian restaurant on the 16th floor. Rooms vary. They all have standard amenities and are wholesomely decorated. While the singles are apt to recall one‘s student days when one lived in a shoebox, they are accordingly inexpensive. The décor in lux suites is pleasant enough that will make you feel at home without making you feel like you‘re staying in someone elses. Q374 rooms (170 singles 4040Rbl, 181 doubles 4890Rbl, 23 Junior Suite 6080Rbl). Extra bed 50% of the room‘s price. Visa support and registration free of charge. PHA6KW hhh MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 225 88 88. Although in operation for just under a year, this brunch is already a must for reservations. The array of seafood and specialty meats popular in South California from where the chef took his inspiration. Champagne is unlimited, as is wine and soft drinks for the little ones.QOpen 12:00 - 2:00, Sun 12:00 - 24:00 Cost 4000Rbl per person, free for children under 6yrs. PTJALSW MBelorusskaya, tel. 980 59 26, www.heliopark.ru. Two Egyptian felines stand sentry at the marble entrance to this smart business hotel just across the road from the Belorus station. Comfort and functionality are the order of the day with thirty three rooms over seven floors. Rooms come complete with flat screen tvs, minibars and wifi. Standard rooms are not blessed with a lot of space but are harmoniously decorated with handsome drapes and coverlets.Q33 rooms (19 doubles 8500Rbl, 1 suite 13800Rbl, 1 apartment 15600Rbl, 12 Superior 8500 - 10200Rbl). PHALGKDW hhhh tel. 933 55 44, www.hotel-sretenskaya.ru. There are two standout features of this place. First is their tropical garden which is positively balmy and houses their informal bar. Second is their quaint folklore inspired decor. The complex calls to mind a medieval boyar‘s house. Rooms all have airconditioning, desks, mini bars and satellite tvs. A sauna, fitness centre and swimming pool are found downstairs and there is also a restaurant in the style of a chapel.Q38 rooms (8 suites 12540 - 13200Rbl, 19 Standard 10560Rbl, 11 Superior 11220Rbl). Extra bed 990Rbl. PHAUFLKDCW hhhh Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 26 WHeRe TO STAY Napoleon Hostel E-3, Maly Zlatoustinsky per. 2, 4th Floor, MKitai Gorod, tel. 628 66 95, www.napoleonhostel.com. The little dictator is distinguised by being the most European in style and facilities. The nightly happy hour, the name of each dormitory bearing a Russian city, the relaxed atmosphere in the reception/common room all contribute to making this a fine choice for travellers. The considerable attention paid to travellers is evident in the custom built ventilation system and larger than standard beds. Q (47 beds 700Rbl). Breakfast not included. Visa support $US30, registration 600Rbl. PJAGW Moscovites love their restaurants so they tend to fill up fast, which means you will need to book in advance to be sure of getting a table. Tipping is one European tradition that Russians are making their own. Tip for good service only - around ten percent is considered fair. Prices indicate the average price of a main meal. ReSTAURAnTS From Russia... with Food Traditional Russian food is rich and stodgy peasant-fare from the village. If you are wondering what that green grass stuff is, it’s dill (ukrop), the white stuff is almost always mayonnaise. Here are the classics... 27 Russian Bochonok E-3, Ul. Myasnitskaya 24, bld 3, MChistiye Prudi, tel. 625 03 28. Coming here you would think that Russian history is littered with Viking tales where meat was skewered and roasted and beer drunk not out of mugs but straight from the barrel right? This romantic underground cellar restaurant does Russian soups, stews and shasliki from the open fire. The only thing non Russian is the service which was very friendly and the beer, which is mostly imported. QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (300Rbl). PJHALES Bliny Bliny (pancakes) are an indispensable part of Russia’s culinary tradition. Eaten in huge quantities throughout the year, any Russian restaurant has at least a few varieties on the menu. Bliny are typically served as an entrée with ham (vetchanoy), caviar (ikra), cheese (syr), or as a dessert with vareniye (chunky, sweet fruit preserve), or honey (myod) and tvorog (Russian version of cottage cheese). Hostels Comrade Hostel E-3, Ul. Maroseika 11, 3rd Floor (go under arch to the left), MKitai Gorod, tel. 628 31 26, comradehostel.com. Situated in a quiet central location with under twenty beds, this hostel is tiny and intimate. The host Dennis understands travellers needs providing an inviting communal kitchen, cleanliness and a positive atmosphere. There is no hesitation to help with city information or onward travel advice to other Russian cities.Q2 rooms (2 10 Bed Dormitory 840Rbl). Visa support 800Rbl, registration 350Rbl JGW MKurskaya., tel. 916 20 30, www.transsiberianhostel.com. Offering a quiet and central location, this hostel is a fine choice for those looking for a relaxation. From the outset, the entrance way painted a cheery map with names of Russian cities shows the attitude of the management. Four rooms set up as either doubles or dormitory style opening out onto the shared kitchen is the basic set up. As the name suggests, they can help with planning and advice for your Trans-sib. Q4 rooms (2 doubles €50, 1 Twin €50, 1 8 bed dorm €18). Extra bed €15. Visa support 700Rbl, registration free of charge. GW Trans-Siberian Hostel F-4, Barashevsky per. 12, Cafe Margarita B-2, Ul. Malaya Bronnaya 28, MMaya- Soups Russians are big on soups especially borshch. Actually borshch is said to come from Ukraine. Borshch is chock full of beetroot and shchi is full of cabbage. Both can be pretty good or the most awful dishwater you ever came across. Solyanka comes with various unknown meat bits chopped up with olives and a slice of lemon while Ukha is water based fish soup. Russians like to dollop a spoonful of sour cream (smetana) into their soups. Godzillas C-2, Bolshoy Karetny per. 6, apt. 5 (First Floor), MTsvetnoy Bulvar, tel. 699 42 23, www.godzillashostel.com. Large and lively hostel, Godzillas has original parquet floors, three kitchens, satellite tv in the common room and a washing machine. Dorm beds are in rooms large enough to lay your head in without feeling too cramped. In reality the location is good, and the hostel is within walking distance from the centre, it is just that for tourists the area is a little lacking in ready attractions. In additrion to their dorms, they also have ten single rooms and can also do your registration. Q13 rooms (10 doubles 1740Rbl, 3 triples 1740Rbl, 60 Dorm bed 725Rbl). Visa support $US25, registration free of charge.GW Serviced Apartments Like Home E-5, Bol. Ovchinnikovsky per.16, off. 403, MNovokuznetskaya, tel. 223 34 52, www.likehome. ru. Offering a variety of luxury serviced apartments in and around the Moscow city centre, Like Home is a good option for those seeking a little more independence and privacy than a hotel offers. Not only are all apartments renovated to a high standard, the company can take care of the visa, transfers to and from any airport or train station. Apartments are equipped with modern conveniences, towels and linens, cleaning andservice, fast internet. Their website showcases each place comprehensively so you know what you‘re paying for. Discounts available for longer stays.QOpen 24 hours. A kovskaya, tel. 299 65 34. Set in the heart of Bulgakov country, this is a neighbourhood classic. Laidback Russian cuisine faithfuls are the order of the day with blini, meat dishes and soups. It‘s all fresh and homely with nothing overdone. At night there is live music with different local musicians, which given the somewhat cramped floorspace makes for a fun night out. QOpen 8:00 - 24:00 (300Rbl). PJAEBSW Kvass F-2, Ul. Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya 20, MKur- skaya, tel. 917 56 69. Step back in time as you enter this restaurant. The interior evokes Moscow city streets in the good old days. The cuisine is Russian traditional and lovingly prepared. For those with an adventurous palette, pig’s ears could be an interesting discovery. While for the modest tastes - soups, pelmeni and draniki are a safe bet. Kvass (non-alcoholic brew made from bread and yeast) is particularly refreshing.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (300Rbl). PALS Salads Everything here comes with mayonnaise, the national dressing. Olivier salad, the New Year salad, comes with potatoes, pickled cucumbers, carrot and spam ham. Hmmm sounds tasty? How about Selyodka pod shuboy – the winner of the award for the strangest name, ‘Herring under a Fur Coat’ consists of Herring, and then potato and followed by beetroot. Mayonnaise also features in this one too. Metro F-5, Ul. Verkhnyaya Radishchevsksya 2/1, bldg. Bed and Breakfast Flamingo B&B A-1, Ul. 2-ya Yamskaya Tverskaya 6/7 entr. 5. apt 10, MMayakovskaya, tel. 8 919 772 40 02, www.flamingobed.com. Like its sister Kita Inn, flamboyant Flamingo is a small three room b&b, right next to Mayakovskaya metro. Infact both b and bs are in the same building. Flamingo is gay-friendly, vibrant and funky. Even when noone is there, it feels like there‘s a full house. There‘s free laundry, wi-fi, breakfast whenever you want and independent open minded travellers need to apply. Q rooms (2 doubles €100). Extra bed €50. Visa 2 support €60, registration €32. 6LNGW hh Tverskaya St. Apartments A-1, Ul. 2-ya Tverskaya- Yamskaya 18, MMayakovskaya, tel. 661 56 59, www.tvst.ru. Specialising in short and long term rentals in the Tverskaya area, this is a multi-service accommodation provider. Apartments with up to three bedrooms are available with all the amenities taken care of, from cleaning service, internet and satellite tv. Each property is detailed on the website in English with a photo gallery showing all aspects. Tverskaya St. can also arrange transfers, translators and registration for a reasonable price. QOpen 24 hours. A 5, MTaganskaya, tel. 915 28 18. Metro fans should definitely hop on this wagon. Settees and tables, even the moving staircase downstairs seem to have been snatched from the Moscow underground. The Russian menu is a copy of the metro map, and just like the real-life version, once you understand how it works, you know what to order. Live music all days, like the days gone by in the real metro.QOpen 11:00 - 24:00 (500Rbl). PAES Pelmeny / Varenky Pelmeny is your dinner standby. The student’s favourite are little dumplings stuffed with meat. And very chewy meat it is too. They make a great winter snack and are the staple diet of your average Russian bachelor. Varenky is the version for vegetarians being filled with potato, cheese or cabbage or even tvorog (that cottage cheese again). The jam and fruit versions are for dessert. Na Melnitse (At the Mill) E-1, Ul. Sadovaya-Spasskaya Kita Inn B&B A-2, Ul. 2-ya Yamskaya Tverskaya Russian brides ‘liebe’ Germans Germans are the most preferred man for Russians brides. At the end of last year, from a total of 1,640 marriages to foreigners in Moscow, 147 Russian women said ‘da’ or ‘Ja’ to a German. The top 5 also includes Turkey (140 marriages), USA (119), Great-Britain (95), Israel (86) and France (60). According to Russian press agency Inter fax, 140 different nationalities were included in the 1640 marriages. In Moscow there is currently only one place where international marriages can take place: The Wedding Palace (referred to in Russia as ZAGS) at Butyrka ul. 4. 6/7, bld. 5, apt 9, MMayakovskaya, tel. 8 926 224 89 01, www.kitainn.com. Small but vibrant with personality, this funky little b&b is a place for mature travellers, those that have survived the hostel phase and are looking for more personal attention. There is a kitchen for communal use, wi-fi and three rooms. The location is prime and its gay friendly. The host, Nikita, while being a fount of local info, encourages his guests to explore without coddling them. Q rooms (1 single 3 €80, 1 double €120, 1 triple €150, 1 apartment €300). Extra bed €50. Visa suport and registration free of charge. J6GW hh 24, MKrasnie Vorota, tel. 625 88 90. Let the door swing shut behind you. You‘ve stepped into a Russian village scene, with working watermill, pheasant and a feathery chicken, some carp in a pond. Peaceful! Peasant men wander around offering service but unlike the real peasants, these ones are wearing tailored attire and haven‘t been rolling around in haystacks. The food is strictly Russian, meat, and game and different fish specialsQOpen 12:00 - 24:00. (1000Rbl). PJAGSW vokuznetskaya, tel. 232 14 48. Inside this quaint yet splendid little place is a bit of Russia‘s past. The brightly coloured wall canvases portray a simpler time, just like the tradtional Russian soups like Gorokhovy and Borshch. Something of a retro atmosphere is found here, what with the tea brought to you in a glass with a silver holder (similar to what you find on Russian train journeys.) The samovar and other objects d‘Russe are totally at home, the only thing out of sync is the Cyndi Lauper pop tunes on the radio.QOpen 11:00 - 24:00 (600Rbl). PJAES Kholodetz Congealed fat around a few scraps of fleshy meat cooled and served in square slices is enough to tempt anyone right? It looks like dog food yet is enjoyed by Russians the country over, sometimes on a daily basis and they make a great show of cooking it up for special holidays like New Years. Uncle Vanya D-5, Ul. Pyatnizkaya 20, bld. 2, MNo- Menu decoder Beef Bread Caviar Chicken Fish Meat Pork Potatoes gavyadina khleb ikra kuritsa ryba myaso svinina kartofel Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 28 ReSTAURAnTS Zhiguli A-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 11/1, MArbatskaya, tel. 291 41 44. A quiet restaurant on the weekdays, in the evening and the weekends however, a lot of dancing and partying is going on here. Especially for those with a bit of nostalgia for Russian and Soviet chansons (or European pop hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s), they‘ll find their thing here. The food is decent and relatively cheap for such a centrally located restaurant. In front of the restaurant (to the right when you enter) there is an even cheaper fast food Russian restaurant with a nice view on all the pedestrians scurrying along Novy Arbat. Q Open 12:00 - 2:00 Fri, Sat 12:00 - 4:00 (500Rbl). PJAES ReSTAURAnTS Soviet nostalgia Petrovich D-3, Ul. Myasnitskaya 24 bld. 3, MChistiye Prudi, tel. 623 00 82. Step back into the Soviet era of the 50s and 60s. This club is high on the nostalgia factor with everything from traditional home made drinks like Mors to blini. Real Stalin era cutlery, bowls, lamps litter the place. For the wonderful atmosphere, the welcome, we give a top Russian school mark of 5.QOpen 12:00 - 05:00 (500Rbl). PTJAESW 29 Zhar Ptitsa A-1, Ul. 2-ya Brestskaya, 37 side 1, MBelorusskaya, tel. 251 71 85. This Russian restaurant housed in a traditional wooden peasants abode definitely keeps to the theme and then some. It‘s got low ceilings and stoves, the big barrels and curtains hanging up so that different eating areas are created. The walls and shelves are crammed with samovars, khloma objects and the soundtrack is pure Russian retro romance songs from the by gone era. The handmade mors is delicious and the servings of Russian traditional dishes such as beef stroganoff are more than filling. QOpen 12:00 - 23:00 (400Rbl). PAESW Hard Rock Cafe A-4, Ul. Arbat 44, MSmolenskaya, Self Service Russian Style Russian and European 1, Red Square C-4, Krasnaya Pl. 1, MPl. Revolutsiya, tel. 692 11 96. Billing themselves as an exclusive Russian restaurant, this place is located on Red Square in the State Historical Museum. Presentation of each dish is attentive and thoughtful and service is also a cut above. Although waiters do not speak English, there is an English menu filled with wordy explanations of the traditions of each Russian dish. The atmopshere isn‘t stuffy for such an upmarket place though it is popular iwth tour groups so it is not exactly the most authentic Russian audience. In the evenings, traditional dancers appear to regale the guests. Q Open 12:00 - 23:00 (650Rbl). PTJALEGXS Pokrovskie Vorota F-3, Ul. Pokrovka 19, MChistiye tel. 244 89 70. This is the king daddy of American style food and fun. Three levels of rock memorbilia, a bar downstairs and a central dancefloor on the second floor with a dj booth above. Food here is a bit disappointing (this is guacamole?) and their long island iced tea was closer to actual tea than to any long island tea we remember drinking. They play rock music and after 9pm on weekends, there‘s a cover charge. It‘s also pretty popular so get in early and eat before you go.QOpen 8:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 24:00. (500Rbl). PJAEBS Prudy, tel. 917 39 85. Soviet films are screened above the bar and the semichki (sunflower seeds) are sitting on your table. You can smell the fermented bread vapours of kvass already. This Soviet retro café is an oddity in that they are so big on service, they have a bell that rings so a waiter can meet you. Standard Russian fare is on offer including kholodets (terrine of boiled meat and fat), blini, omelettes and meat as you want it so long as you want it boiled up with some cabbage.QOpen 10:30 - 23:00 (350Rbl). PJAEGSW Starlite Diner A-2, Ul. Bolshaya Sadovaya 16, MMaya- Stolovaya 57 D-4, Gum Department Store, 3rd floor, 3rd line, Red Square, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 788 43 43. Russia‘s love affair with retro lives on at this inexpensive Soviet style cafeteria. In quite a suprising location, meshed between the designer boutiques of GUM, this simply designed little nook provides all the classics of Russian cafe dining. The meat patties and beef stroganoff and the salads, olivye and vinegret are among the most popular as is the one for mayonnaise lovers, Selyodka pod shuboi. Stolovaya 57 also has sandwiches. QOpen 10:00 - 22:00 (250Rbl) PJAGSW kovskaya, tel. 690 96 38. No, the girls couldn‘t be in shorter skirts and no they are not wearing roller blades. Although if they were they wouldn‘t be out of place. The food is a little underwhelming, but that‘s not the reason for coming here. It‘s most certainly American and those red booths are real - the only thing Russian here are the electricity sockets. You‘ll hear more English spoken in this diner than in other Moscow hangouts which adds to the otherwordly experience. Also at Korovy Val 9a, Metro Oktyabryska, tel. 959 98 12, Pr. Vernadskogo 6, Metro Universitet, tel. 783 40 37.Q Open 24hrs (600Rbl). PTJAGBSW Black Cat (Chyornaya koshka) Ul. Vorontsovskaya 6, MTaganskaya, tel. 911 76 01. Real Russian theme restaurant based on a film from the 70s based in the 50s. If that seems confusing, just watch the film in the back - its on non-stop. This little den is a bit like dining in someone‘s cluttered garage with bric-a-brac and waitstaff wearing their costumes. The portions of Russian favourites are delightful and filling and the traditional rustic drinks such as mors and kvass are delicious. Q Open 12:00 - 24:00 (600Rbl). PTALES Are you being served? American American Bar and Grill A-1, Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 2/1, MMayakovskaya, tel. 250 95 25, www. rosinter.ru. You know how tourists to America often talk about how big the servings are there? How they had to split a salad between two people? This is like this place. The casual easygoing atmosphere, country music soundtrack are like the big servings; an American dining staple. Here they do American style and Tex-Mex (which is almost American as well). The interior is mostly wooden but not the waitresses.QOpen 24hrs. (500Rbl). PJALGBSW Grabli D-5, Ul. Pyatnizkaya 27, MTretyakovskaya, tel. Cafe Pushkin B-3, Tverskoy bul. 26/5, MTverskaya, 545 08 30. Hanging plants abound in this little Russian Garden of Eden. A breezy conservatory over two levels with cafeteria service so you can walk around and choose for yourself. Start from the left to the entrance way, then head around past the salads, juices and around to the hot meats and breakfast section towards the back. Wholesome and freshly prepared, so long as the queue to pay at the end isn‘t too long, your food ought to still be hot by the time you sit down. QOpen 9:30 - 23:00 (300Rbl). PJGS Seno (Hay) C-3, Kamergersky per. 6/1, MTeat- tel. 629 55 90. Located in downtown Moscow near the Pushkin Square this aristocratic style restaurant is a spot you won’t forget. Actually, this was one of the first fine-dineries in the 1990s where you could eat and talk freely without being disturbed by the ears of Russia’s secret services. The Russian and French cuisine is mouth watering and served in extensive portions. There are several floors including a sophisticated 24 hour café at the first floor and restaurant called the Library Room with splendid view on Tverskoy Bulvar. A good place to impress your business partner.QOpen 24hrs (600Rbl). PTJAESW Goodman B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 23, MPushkinskaya, tel. ralnaya, tel. 692 04 52. Perfect for lunch or a spot of dinner, this Russian eatery is a great find. In the middle of the city, its decor evokes the lazy days of frolicking in the countryside with big straw lamps hanging overhead and filling home-made staples concocted over a warm stove. The self-service selection is as broad as the smile on the hostess as you enter.QOpen 10:00 - 23:00 (250Rbl). PTJAGBS Caribius C-2, Strastnoy bul. 4, bld. 3, MChekhovskaya, tel. 650 28 44. Go through into the yard and keep an eye out for this odd little place with the Caribbean feel in the middle of Moscow. Although the food is mostly European and Russian (they‘ll tell you it‘s Italian), you can sit amidst large pictures of palm trees in patio furniture. The staff are cordial and the chef is partial to dumping loads of pepper into the soup, although they did real flowers into the lemonade. 775 98 88. The good in Goodman says it all. This stylish steak house chain is informal and relaxed and the food is to be savoured. The only things they care about are your meal and how it is served to you. Wooden interior and soft leather couches and all the waiters wear chef‘s whites. The lavatories are five star, just like the service. Their menu, although predominantly meat oriented, has a hefty chunk of salads and even seafood. QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (800Rbl). PJAEGBSW Remember that customer service – as a concept - is relatively new to Russia. When some Russians have never experienced customer service, you understand why they don’t know how to deliver it themselves. Before passing judgement, think about how good the service really is in your own country? We have tried to find the best places for you in Moscow – and we will add more every month. Russia’s capital has plenty of places where the staff are friendly and helpful, and offer you real Russian hospitality. Should you like a bit of torture you don’t have to worry; it is still not uncommon to be ignored in restaurants and shops by seemingly paralysed waitstaff, to see all tables ‘reserved’ while there is actually no one eating, to be yelled at by angry babushkas working in worldfamous theatres, or to be hung-up on by unhelpful telephone operators. One reason for this behaviour may be that many people can not express themselves in English properly and no one has taught them how to respond properly. To quote an average Russian taxi driver: Can you speak Russian? Symbol key P Air conditioning E Live music T Child friendly G Non-smoking areas O Casino R Internet B Outside seating A Credit cards accepted S Take away U Facilities for the disabled L Guarded parking M Nearest station 6 Animal friendly Vokzal Ul. Sushchyovskaya 21, MMendeleevskaya, tel. 499 972 00 78. As big as Leningradsky Station‘s arrivals hall and its filled with the warm and tempting aromas of cooked meats, fresh cookies and pie, salads and brewing coffee. There may not be a Lenin statue, but it would be hard to be disappointed here. In addition to the varied meal options, their servers sit in railway cabins and adopt a cheerier demeanour than any real railway worker. All aboard!QOpen 11:00 - 23:00 (200Rbl). PNGS Dymov No1 B-2, Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka 6, MChek- hovskaya, tel. 699 07 70, www.dymov1.ru. Hip and cool as the 70s soul and r and b soundtrack that keeps the place throbbing, this contemporary design palace is definitely a favourite. The food is delicious and well cooked while the service is professional and satisfying. There‘s no bookshelves, just beershelves. Being a largeish venue, there‘s three separate dining rooms so no overcrowding nor overhearing of other‘s conversations. Q Open 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 06:00 (600Rbl). PJAESW Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 30 ReSTAURAnTS GlavPivTorg D-3, Ul. Bolshaya Lyubanka 5, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 628 25 91. This restaurant, located not far from the former KGB headquarters Lyubanka, cannot fail to impress. Not only because of the banker style interior with green lamps and the possibility to eat some long forgotten Soviet-style snacks with your beer, but also because rumour has it that in this building, former part of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was signed. If this is of no interest to you, there is still lots to offer, with good food, and of course good locally brewn beer. In the evenings there is life music and dancing! For more privacy, head upstairs.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (500Rbl). PJALEBS Pilsener A-1, Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 1, MMayakovskaya, tel. 251 20 23. If the lengthy queues are anything to go by, you will need to show up early or book to avoid disappointment. The house draught beer is not only affordable but drinkable. Indeed the arm muscles of the staff must be greatly developed if you watch the platters heaving with spiced meats and other Czech specialities go past. Enormous portions of sausages, pigs ears, whole chickens and assorted beef dishes make for satisfied stomachs and wallets. No English menu though. QOpen 12:00 - 01:00 (600Rbl). PJAGSW ReSTAURAnTS European Correas A-1, Ul. Bolshaya Gruzinskaya 32, MKrasnopresnenskaya, tel. 605 91 00. Groovy cafe food brimming with freshness and taste, this kind of place really takes you away from Russia. In the style of a neighbourhood deli, the open kitchen means you can watch everything being prepared. The waiter walks past doing bicep curls with the plates. That‘s how casual it is. Attracting business men and burly gents tucking into green leafy salads, this is what tasty stuff does.QOpen 8:00 - 23:00, Sat, Sun 9:00 - 23:00 (600Rbl). PJAGS 31 Real Food Restaurant Krasnopresnenskaya nab. 12,, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 258 16 72. With a name such as it has, the main focus really ought to be on the food, which is remarkably good value. And so it hardly matters that the RFR is located on the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza and has a Laura Ashley interior and elevator music that reminds you of being on a cruiseship. Service is friendly and bustling, and in addition to Russian classic salads and Italian pasta and pizza, the menu also includes organic options.QOpen 7:00 - 23:00 (650Rbl). PALGSW T.G.I. Friday’s B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 18, MPushkinskaya, tel. 694 56 53. If you‘re looking for a place to relax with a gang of friends where the wait staff wear stripey costumes and novelty hats and smile alot, this place is for you. Not only are the margaritas enormous (two hands please), but this America-devoted beer house is full of life and does satisfyingly good food. Burgers are sizeable (you also need two hands), come with seasoned chips, although beer was nothing to write home about. But since when was America the brewing capital of the world?QOpen 12:00 - 01:00. Open 12:00 - 23:00 (500Rbl). PTAGSW French Jean Jacques Rosseau D-1, Tsvetnoy bulvar 24, MTsvetnoy Bulvar, tel. 608 58 10, B-3, Nikitsky bul. 12, MArbatskaya., tel. 290 38 86. This popular French bistro boasts a successful recipe of high standard French cafe fare. Waitresses in their black waistcoats, the long mirrors, and red and black interior with blackboards (oh and a million wine bottles in their onsite storage) create a bustling café atmosphere. Open 24 hours, they do breakfast, lunch and keep going on into the night.The prices for wine stretch over the whole gamut of possibility but start at a reasonablly for the house red.QOpen 24 hours. (300Rbl). PTALESW Probka Ukrainsky bul. 15, MKievskaya, tel. 499 243 33 Asian Turandot B-3, Tverskoy bul 26/5, MTverskaya, tel. 739 00 11.This is as chic as it gets. Exquisite wines, live classical music on a revolving podium, hand painted furniture and a fireplace makes this a place for all those who need or want to impress their company. The service is remarkably good (they even bring separate tables for the ladies handbags), and professional. If you don‘t get a light feeling in your head from the wine, it’s probably from the orchestra playing on their rotating stage. Rumour has it that the cost of building exceeded $US25 million.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (1500Rbl). PALEBSW 36. This German beer restaurant, behind the Evropeisky Shopping Centre, is an extremely warm and relaxing den with wood lined walls covered with Bavarian pennants. There‘s two halls; the main one with rows of tables and a smaller hall for quieter chats. Beers served here are mainly German brews which cry out to be downed with large orders of Nuremburgsky sausage. If you‘re feeling indecisive or feel the call of the beer gourmand, try their 6 beer taster special.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (450Rbl). PAGSW Scandinavia B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 19 (enter from Mal. Palashevsky), MTverskaya, tel. 937 56 30, www. scandinavia.ru. An icon amongst Moscow‘s expat scene, Scandinavia has been providing smiley service for over ten years now. This restaurant offers a simple menu of Swedish goodies such as gravadlax, baltic herring and meatballs. Not everything is from the north, as their bar menu also has a hefty and popular burger. The central location and calm international atmosphere means there are more than a few suits and ties dropping in after work.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (1000Rbl). PJAGBSW Tinkoff Protochny per. 9/11, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. Azeri Sim-Sim Ul. Konyushkovsakya 31, MKrasnopresninskaya, tel. 253 96 30. When you exit the metro look to your right for a large, round wooden structure with a dimly lit, red and yellow interior. Here you will find fans of Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian food enjoying sizzling shish kabobs, juicy pilaf, lavash (flat bread) and traditional assortments of fresh greens. This restaurant is of a high quality and its inexpensive prices will allow you to sample many different dishes. Be sure to try to the lobio appetizer: the pomegranate seeds add the perfect touch of sweetness to this spicy red bean and crushed walnut dish.Q Open 24 hrs. (250Rbl). PLS 777 33 00. Tinkoff is Russia‘s own micro-brewery with a trendy interior of gun metal grey, glass surrounds and beer vats busy making the beer. While the seven types of microbrewed beer and snacks are worth trying, the Tinkoff menu can be hit and miss. Somehow the mixture of pizza, sushi and sausages doesn‘t really enhance the beer tasting that much. Entertainment wise, there‘s a steady show of Russian diners, but the music is played at high volume, probably to compete with the televised sports on the big screen.QOpen 12:00 - 2:00 (700Rbl, 0,5l of beer 200Rbl). PASW Fish and Seafood Filomonova and Yankel Fish House B-3, Ul. Tverskaya 23, MTverskaya, tel. 223 07 07. Splendid everything. From the welcome, to the service, to selecting the fresh fish, to decor and choice of music, this place doesn‘t put a foot wrong. It knows what it is doing. We‘re not alone here either, this place won an award for best restaurant concept in 2007. Just watch the waiters take the fish off the bone for you. The fish, tasting divine, is the star here. No special sauces or other gimmicks. The menu changes daily and is posted with specials, and what‘s more fish and seafood is flown in.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (700Rbl). PJAGSW Georgian Genatsvale na Arbate A-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 11, side 2, MArbatskaya, tel. 203 94 53. You can‘t miss this Georgian fairy-like restaurant if you pass it. Settled inside you will be even more amazed and wonder why you didn‘t make a visit to old Tblisi. The kitchen isn‘t disappointing either, all the classics are there. From large khachapuri (cheese breads) to the dolma (meat with rice in grape leaves) and four kinds of delicious satsivi (spicy Georgian walnut sauce with chicken, turkey, sturgeon or turbot from the Black Sea). Live music straight from Georgia!QOpen 12:00 - 24:00.(450Rbl). PALEGSW William Bass C-5, Ul. Malaya Yakimanka 9, MPolyanka, Beer Restaurants Durdin D-7, Ul. Bolshaya Polyanka 56, MDobryninskaya, tel. 953 52 00. Beer hall Durdin has five original home brews on tap and luckily they‘re available in a taster of 5 small glasses for the price of a regular 0.5L glass. Served with grenki (deep fried bread with garlic), it is the perfect start to any beer drinking adventure. Those watching their cholestrol better stick with salad, the sausage specials are delicious, the cabbage and potato garnishes are spicy and colorful. If you do order a large platter, be warned that they will take some time to assemble.QOpen 12:00 -24:00 (400Rbl). PAS tel. 778 18 74. An immediate trip back to Ye Olde England except for the Russian waitresses. This two storey classic English pub is full of nooks and crannies, English ales and European brews and is spread out over two floors. There‘s a grand spiral staircase in the centre and lots of space giving the feeling of being in a grand country mansion. This wonderful atmosphere is reflected in the prices. You can even stow the kids in the second floor play room while you neck a couple.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 2:00 (800Rbl). PJAS Hurma C-1, Ul. Sadovaya-Samotechnaya 15/1, MTsvet- Darkroom Dining MNovoslobodskaya, tel. 688 33 96. Here you eat with your hands, fingers, tongue, cheek, ears… in fact with every part of your body, except with your eyes. You really see nothing, because it is as dark as dark can be. Trust your waitress who will guide you to your table and trust the cook! We tried it and we liked it - a once in a lifetime experience! Food is a mix of Russian and European with some other menu options. The concept is based on a Paris novelty - where else? - called Dans Le Noir. The basic idea is that without seeing the food, the sensation of taste is heightened. Darkness also encourages the sharing of secrets; you can hear unlikely stories from your companions under the cover of darkness. QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (450Rbl). PAGSW V Temnote (In the dark) Ul. Oktyabrskaya 2/4, Ethiopian Bungalo Bar Ul. Zemlyanoy Val 6/1, MKurskaya, tel. 916 24 32. Ethiopian dining offers the wonderful opportunity to make like a child and eat with your hands. Order the firmentoye (house) plate, it will be enough for four people between you. It‘s a round platter of spongey mattress type of Ethiopian bread with dollops of different curries, pickles and vegetables on top. Tear off a piece of bread, wrap it around a dollop of curry and then… feel it slide down your throat. If eating with your hands doesn‘t thrill you, they‘ve got a lot of other meat and vegetarian dishes. Q Open 10:00 - 24:00 (350Rbl). PAS noy Bulvar, tel. 607 31 63. A hurma is an exotic fruit of the caucasus, much like Georgian cuisine appears to many. This two level barn is filled with men and families enjoying big meals. There are loads of tables and so many waistcoasted waiters running to and fro. Here the khachipuri is akin to cheese pie, with puff pastry as opposed to heavier versions made from bread. The shasliks are made from all varieties and all parts of animals.QOpen 24hrs. (300Rbl). PLEGBS Madame Galife Prospect Mira 26/1 (enter from Grokhol- sky per.), MProspect Mira, tel. 775 26 01. Madame, do you have a table near the window? If you’re lucky enough, you will enjoy an enchanting, close-up view of one of Moscow‘s smaller botanical gardens. Many items on this Georgian and Eastern European-fusion menu are prepared on the rustic charcoal grill. But if you show up unannounced (and yes, you must ring a buzzer to be let in) and without a reservation, then you be shown to the basement room, tucked in a corner somewhere.QOpen 12:00 - 05:00, Sat 14:00 - 05:00, Sun 14:00 - 12:00. PAEBKS Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 32 ReSTAURAnTS Editor‘s Pick German Stary Berlin A-4, Ul. Arbat 25, MArbatskaya, tel. 202 20 03. You might not expect it, but yes it is possible to have fun with the Germans - as long as you, to quote John Cleese ‘don‘t mention the war!’ Stary Berlin (Old Berlin) on the Arbat is a typical kneipe (pub) and a restaurant in one. The walls are decorated with all kind of German oddities including dead animals. Music (and the beer) makes every day like Oktoberfest.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (700Rbl). PTALEGBSW ReSTAURAnTS Menza C-2, Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka 32, MChekhovskaya, tel. 650 32 40. Rock bottom prices from this Japanese noodle house billed as the territory of noodles. Order your meal by ticking some boxes and then handing your form into the waiter. Disco tunes play and your food arrives in minutes. It doesn‘t feel like a fast food joint (you don‘t get hot towels in McDonald‘s for instance) but our meal came in around ten minutes. Warehouse loft location and friendly service and Japanese beer which is light on the fizz and the rubles makes this place even more democratic.QOpen 11:00 - 23:00 (300Rbl). PJAGS 33 Indian Darbars Leninsky pr. 38, Hotel Sputnik (16th floor), MLeninsky prospect, tel. 930 29 25. Superb view with superb food. Sure Leninsky prospekt is not the most central but it is worth the trek here, believe us. Serving traditional and South Indian cuisine, Darbars is tastefully decorated in a minimal style so as not to take away from the two main attractions (food and the view people!).QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (700Rbl). PASW Mexican and Latin American Pancho Villa C-6, Ul. Bol. Yakimanka 52, MOktyabryskaya, tel. 238 79 13. Everything is hot and spicy here; the music, the menu, the wings, the atmosphere. Traditional Mexican is served up with breakfast, night and regular day time menus. The menu itself is ful of quips and witicisms about life el mexiho and how to drink your mojito. Bar stools are in the shape of saddles so ladies can preserve their modesty by siting side saddle.QOpen 11:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat, Sun 24 hrs (500Rbl). PJAEGSW Santa Fe Ul. Mantulinskaya 5/1, bld. 6, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 256 14 87. This relaxed Mexican restaurant has a great setting being inside a park with live music playing on the weekends. There‘s also a discernible Latin American influence at work here with Peruvian and Spanish dishes on the menu as well. Not to disapoint any die-hard sushi fans, the Santa Fe also serves Japanese as well! After all mojitos go very well with sushi! Portions are huge and the mangement is friendly. Q Open 12:00 - 1:00 (350Rbl). PALGBSW Tibet C-3, Kamergersky per. 5/6, MTeatralnaya, tel. 692 02 67. The ceiling is made from multicoloured silk patchwork, the chairs are covered with woven carpet but the music definitely isn‘t any liliting melodic tunes to put you to sleep. Tibetan cuisine is presented in smal bowls each dedicated to a part of your meal. Each vegetable meat or noodle dish is prepared with love so you leave with the impression of being well fed and well cared for. Q Open 12:00 - 23:00 (350Rbl) PJAGS Musing Mexicana, perusing Peruvian…. By Jennifer Fell When we finally arrived at Navarros we were immediately thankful for a number of things, the first being the bright and busy fairy lights and hum of Latin music coming from inside the stylish exterior. And secondly that our twenty minute hike from the metro was over before the dark clouds looming opened up. Then we saw the dancing erupting in the front bar… Promising Peruvian, Mexican and some Russian dishes, the menu turned out to be a mish-mash of these styles plus a few odds and ends so it ends up perfect for groups of diners all craving something different. It has all the Latin American favourites you remember from childhood but had forgotten how good they could taste (and how filling this food is). Yearning for some hot and spicy, we opted for the Peruvian seafood soup and Timmermans Kriek. My partner, with a gleam in her eye, ordered a Bloody Mary and a Caesar salad. The drink turned out to be tangy and smooth with some serious kick, providing the spicy edge to this ubiquitous salad. Off to a good start then, we Marks instantly felt at home in this rustic Interior: 7.5 ranch house interior sitting on orFood: 8 ange and pink chairs. The Peruvian Service: 8 soup of octopus, halibut, muscles Atmosphere: 8 and shrimp came with a fresh lime Cost: 2341Rbl to quicken the flavours and was deliciously light. When the kitchen was out of chicken wings, my companion opted for the pork shashlik marinated in cognac, served with chargrilled roasted vegetables and new potatoes. Seduced by the menu description, this cognac-imbued pork was delicious even if its alcohol preparative wasn’t discernible. The fajitas reminded me why big tables in these restaurants are a must. Sizzling on their black hot plate, these Argentinean loin beef strips came with strings of sliced fried peppers, a plate of yellow spicy rice, black beans and a fresh salad mix. There were also the warm, slightly sweaty tortillas for wrapping. Four plates in all, it was easily enough for two. After some time has passed, we grew mindful of our reviewing duties to test out the dessert menu. Not finding the Latin American sweets of our imagination, our disappointment was allayed by the irresistible sounding fruity green tea subtle. Constructed from green tea jelly, walnut biscuit and choc cinnamon mousse, it was good. It seems that the words of my companion as we wanderied towards this oasis had been prophetic, these faraway places are worth the excursion. Vostochnaya Komnata Smolenskaya pl. 3, MSmolen- skaya, tel. 937 84 23. If you can find this little place, you won‘t regret it. Head through the main shopping hall, go to the lifts in the back, take a right, go past the French cafe and up the stairs. The surroundings are remniscient of an Indian imports shop with flags and batiks. Service is friendly, the menu is akin to those you can find in, say London. If you want your meal as spicy as a London curry, make sure to ask for it. Bookings, and the scrumptious butter chicken, are recommended.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (400Rbl). PAS Ukrainian Korchma Taras Bulba D-5, Ul. Pyatnitskaya 14, MNovoskuznetskaya, tel. 951 37 60. This popular Ukranian restaurant chain is sure to brighten anyone‘s evening. Themed up to the max: from the colourful folkloric interior to traditional costumes on staff, this place serves hearty food and the menu is the thickest and the heaviest we have seen this side of the galaxy! Taras Bulba has fourteen Moscow locations, including 24hr restaurants at 12/19 Smolensky blvd, tel. 246 69 02, 13 Sadovaya-Samotechnaya, tel. 694 00 56 and Ul. Pokrovka 45, tel. 917 04 23.QOpen 12:00 - 2:00 (500Rbl). PJALGBS Italian Bocconcino C-2, Strastnoy bul. 7/1, MTverskaya, tel. 669 73 59. Not the place to eat with your hands, although the pizza tastes so good, you really want to. This classy pizzeria decked out in bone and cream faux Tuscan interior screams Moscow but the cuisine is pure Italy. The dough is magic; thin crispy and light. The toppings are fresh, full of taste and flavour. The only downfall to dining here is why do the drinks need to cost almost the same price as the pizza itself? QOpen 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 03:00 (700Rbl). PTALGSW Mi Piace B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 20, MTverskaya, tel. 650 75 75. This pizzeria and pasta house chain is the one with the cute brat in pigtails as their mascot. Smart interior with Iittle touches of Italy including Sophia Loren photos and displays of pasta and preserves. Small portions perfectly suit ladies but men will need much more than a handfull of pasta to fill up. Thankfully they have mega dessert pizzas for just that situation. Six city locations include Ul. Chaynova 22, tel. 250 08 93, Ul. Bolshaya Ordinka 13/9, tel. 951 52 50, Ul. SadovayaSanotechnaya 30, tel. 694 00 01, Ul. Pokrovka 16/16, tel. 623 44 11 and Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 7, tel. 970 11 29. Q Open 11:00 - 24:00 (450Rbl). PALGBSW Thai Om Cafe A-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 15/1, MArbatskaya, tel. 691 86 17. This underground paradise might be hard to find but once you have located it, you can hole up in one of Moscow‘s most romantic eateries. Billowing curtains, dimmed mood lighting and more lanterns and lights than neon billboars on the Novy Arbat above. The thai cuisine may be a little on the bland side for western palates despite attractive presentation. Follow the narrow passageway off the Novy Arbat above, next to the fur shop and the lifesize Om sign pointing you downwards. Q Open 11:00 - 24:00 (200Rbl). PJALEGBSW Uzbek Chaikhona No.1 C-2, Hermitage Sad, MChekhovskaya, tel. 694 00 01. Pleasing and fresh, this is a cosy little beach hut where you are surrounded by embroidered wall hangings. It’s ideal for lounging, either on the downstairs couches or the upstairs mezzanine. Plaited bread with sulguni cheese and spicy marinated chicken with peppers with fresh tangy herbs come out in no time at all. The inspired tapestry portrait of Prime Minister Putin, however, is not for sale. QOpen 12:00 - 1:00 (250Rbl). PJLBSW Tai Tai E-3, Ul. Pokrovka 4, MKitai Gorod, tel. 510 18 13. Ignore their sushi menu, the real speciality here is their great Thai menu. Blending rich, complex flavours to make a symphony for your tastebuds, the Tai Tai is a jewel. Service comes with a smile, and helpful advice. While the menu is in Thai and Russian, their professional photos provide more info than any mere English words. Relaxing instrumental melodies accompany the serious business of devouring the thai spring rolls, spicy beef curry and rice dishes.Q Open 10:00 - 23:00 (450Rbl). PJASW Vegetarian Avocado E-2, Chistoprudny bul. 12/2, MChistye Prudy, tel. 621 77 19. Vegetarian cafes are always empty right? Not this one. Come meal times it can be hard to get a table. Cheery fruit and vegetable pictures on the wall suffice for décor, there is an extensive range of teas and the food is delicious.Tofu, spinach and mushrooms feature prominently. The evening live music verges on the hippish harp, but there is also guitar for those looking for something more conventional. Q Open 10:00 - 23:00 (300Rbl). PJAEGSW Japanese Dve Palochki D-3, Ul. Myasnitskaya 24/7, MChistiye Prudi, tel. 940 65 82. Two Chopsticks is a swanky contributor to Russia‘s enduring affair with sushi. It has assured, prompt service and a broad range of freshly made scrumptious sushi and non-sushi noodles. It is also extremely popular. Thankfully it is huge and can accomodate the crowds. The upmarket interior suggests higher prices than it actually has, which is another bonus.QOpen 11:00 - 6:00 (300Rbl). PJLS Tibetan Shangshung E-3, Ul. Pokrovka 19, MChistiye Prudi, tel. 624 95 57. Serenity rules here as one expects in the land of the Tibetans. Calming red and orange decor with hanging tapestry lanterns and tv playing a screen saver with views of the worlds tallest mountains are in glorious harmony with the spicy oriental style food dishes. Noodles, soups and salads have been slightly Russified but there are definitely some gems such as the duck salad with blackberries and avocado. Q Open 12:00 - 01:00. (500Rbl). PJAS Jagannath D-3, Ul. Kuznetsky Most 11, MKuznetsky Navarros Bar and Grill Shmitovsky proezd 23, MUlitsa 1905 goda, tel. 259 37 91.QOpen 9:00 - 03:00 (500Rbl). PALESW Most, tel. 628 35 80. Delightful vegetarian cafe with a touch of hippiness. Depending on the time available you can choose to take a dish from the bain marie or opt to go through to the restaurant. Either promises a relaxing repaste. Vegetables come in all styles under the sun with soups, salads and even soy meat shaslik. There‘s a wellstocked vegetarian shop as well. Q Open 11:00 - 23:00 (400Rbl). PJAGSW Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 34 CAFÉS Bakery Bliss Cafes Bookafe C-1, Ul. Sadovaya-Samotehnaya 13, MTsvetnoy Bulvar, tel. 694 03 56. Minimalist designer cafe with bookshelves lined with designer books and even designer staff. The three areas are done out in primary colours which seems a little Play School and the staff have mastered the trick of appearing and operating and then disappearing until you need them. The New York cheesecake was practically perfection.QOpen 11:00- 02:00. (500Rbl). PJALSW CAFÉS News cafe E-6, Ul. Bakhrushina 32/1, MPaveltskaya, tel. 789 94 98. If you happen to be around Paveletskaya, this news-themed cafe can serve you up affordable pasta, risottos and fish dishes. More like a restaurant, in that they definitely do not offer any breakfast, it is however, the ideal place for a quick bite. Russian news programs are broadcast a little too loudly, so there is a feeling of being in a newsroom. It‘s not the most welcoming place but the booth seats are comfortable. Q Open 11:00 - 24:00 (300Rbl). PALGBSW Pirogi C-4, Ul. Nikolskaya 19/21, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 621 58 27. Imagine a euro grunge wilderness palace in a cellar smack bang in the designer district of Teatralnaya. The fact that this labyrinthian basement venue is hard to find makes it seem like a Russian speakeasy. Metal floors, brick walls lined with books and with popular music playing attracts a clientele more alternative than those who shop above. These clean surrounds are supplemented by the reasonably priced (and sized) meals and being barely five minutes from Red Square makes it a handy option.QOpen 24hrs (200Rbl). PJGS 35 Coffee Cherry B-2, Maly Palashevsky per. 6, bldg 1, Baltisky Khleb (Baltic Bread) B-1, Ul. Malaya Dmitrovka 3/10, MMayakovskaya, tel. 699 48 73. Part of the first Moscow expansion of St. Petersburg‘s top bakeries, this bakery has everything. The interior is similar to a theatre lounge or a ballroom and definitely conducive to lingering. High standard recipes and just as high production quality as well as good service. Also at Nizhny Susalny per. 4, tel. 261 26 35.QOpen 09:00 - 22:00 (200Rbl). PS MPushkinskaya, tel. 739 10 23. More cafe than coffee house, here is an inviting atmosphere even though we weren‘t wearing skivvies or black rimmed glasses or even smoking for that matter. The 60s mod fashion prints including one of Dame Edna Everage pouring tea put a smile on our face as did the menu; a no nonsense collection of pasta, pancakes and light bites. With young boys nursing a pint and women sleeping in a corner as the night wears on, disco lights wouldn‘t be out of place.QOpen 11:00 - 24:00 (coffee 60120Rbl). PJAS Coffee houses Coffee Bean E-3, Ul. Pokrovka 18/3, MChistiye Prudy, tel. 623 97 93 Wonderful coffee and wonderful service are to be found in the massive hall filled with wooden tables worn in by hundreds of brews. It makes you think that the coffee revolution has been going for decades in Russia. Here you‘ll find newspapers galore and biscuits of all varieties including chocolate chips. Counter service is order of the day, as is the great mix of relaxed city, student and professor types.QOpen 8:00 - 23:00 (150Rbl). PJAGBSW Dantes D-3, Ul. Myasnitskaya 13, MChistiye Prudy, tel. Le Pain Quotidien C-3, Kamergersky per. 6, MTeatralnaya, tel. 937 77 42. This Belgian bakery with outlets the world over brings its rustic down to earth bread philosophy to Moscow. Long wooden tables, delicious coffee served in bowls and salads heaving with greenery, cheese boards are on offer. Unfortunately there are no Beligan prices, just Moscow ones. Also at Evropeisky Shopping Centre, Pl. Kievskogo Vokzala, 4th floor, metro Kievskaya, tel.229 26 74, Ul.1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya, Metro Belorusskaya, tel. 234 17 85, Zubovsky bul. 5/3, Metro Park Kultury, tel. 247 17 95.QOpen 7:00 - 23:00 (350Rbl). PAGBSW 621 76 88. Trendy is what the interior brings to mind. Try hard is what comes next. Followers of fashion searching for the newest and grooviest places will adore its marble tabletops, leafy greenery and the eclectism of its interior. Named after Pushkin’s nemesis, the guy who killed him in their 1837 duel. Their food is a little like Pushkin’s shooting skills; hit and miss. At least they‘ve got a little bit of everything. No doubt when the lights go down, the surrealism and fashionable leadlight lamps that look like ufos will appeal greatly.QOpen 24hrs. (500Rbl). PTJAGSW Coffee Mania A-2, Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 46/54, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 721 83 77. Slick, pricey, popular with business people and mums with prams who appreciate the upmarket quality and that this coffee house is run with business like efficiency. The smart waitstaff all wearing the black uniform of the informed intellectual worker. Wooden furniture creates the feeling of well worn cafe with the orange décor takes care of the hip factor.QOpen 24 hrs (200Rbl). PTALGSW Gogol Mogol A-5, Gagarinsky per 6, MKropotinskaya, Stolle Ul. Malaya Pirogovskaya 16, MSportivnaya, tel. 499 246 05 89. Stolle does pies. And they do them well. Traditional Russian pies from old recipes that are unlike any others found in the city. Pies with chicken and fish fillings are scrumptious, in particular the herring (selyodka) one is amazing. It‘s the one shaped like a fish. They also do a range of berry filled pies and a small selection of salads and soups but the pies receive top billing. Their takeaway service is almost as popular as their sit down cafe.QOpen 8.30 - 21:30 (200Rbl). PG tel. 203 55 06. Supremely restful serving delicious coffee and cakes and icecream. This little cafe has a rich interior of red silk that calls to mind the a sweet French style cafe. The french calligraphy that apears on the outside sets the Mogol apart from the bleak surounds and the leafy canopy over the verandah shields the customers from the street. Watch out for the House Icecream, while it is a tempting dough-like concoction of raisins, chocolate and small orange pieces, it is doused in strong liquer!QOpen 10:00 - 23:00 (450Rb). PJABSW Home delivery Costa Coffee B-2, Pushkinskaya pl. 5, MPushkinskaya, Kvartira 44 B-3, Ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 22/2 (enter from Khlinovskogo Tupik, under the archway), MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 291 75 03. Wine bar, piano bar or a homing beacon for the city‘s underground? Shelves stocked with books and the green and black interior create a comforting darkness. Not as lively as an artistic Parisian bar; here the main action comes from the piano player hitting the keys with gusto. Secluded enough to make it ideal for a few hours of relaxing wine-fuelled conversation. Q Open 12:00 - 2:00 (350Rbl). PJAS Tri Piroga 1-y Nikoloshchepovsky per. 6, MSmolen- skaya, tel. 241 06 70. Head down the tiny street behind the metro to the corner with Smolensky pereulok to find this one of a kind bakery. Selling Ossetian pies and baked goods, there is enough space for around five tables from where you can sit and watch the bakers at work through the clear glass windows. It‘s open day every day at the Three pies bakery!QOpen 08:00 - 22:00. (150Rbl). PGS tel. 650 61 81. On average, this newish entrant in Moscow‘s caffeine war is reasonably priced. It must be said that here you get more for your ruble. None of these tiny 100ml cappucinos that cost the earth and are over in two gulps. This isn‘t the largest place so it is lucky that they promote ‘s toboi (to go?)‘. If you do nab a seat at the bench facing the ploshchad, the people watching will occupy you for ages. Q Open 24hours (200Rbl). PJAGSW Grill.ru tel. 775 43 43, www.grill.ru. According to the latest figures, Moscovites eat two tonnes of meat every minute. And for some that meat just can‘t arrive fast enough. Hence, the need for shaslik on delivery.Q Minimum delivery amount is 300Rbl but after 22:30, this rises to 400Rbl plus a 20% additional night fee. anteed MSG hit with their wok specials, noodles and rice and they even bring cigarettes. Talk about reading the local market...Q Minimum order for delivery 500Rbl, average price of a main meal 300Rbl. Derevo Cacao (Cocoa Tree) E-3, Ul. Maroseika 6/8, Volkhonsky Kaiser E-3, Ul. Maroseika 4/2, MKitai Gorod, tel. 721 14 42. Delightful French patisserie cafe with a bright pink interior covered with porcelain plates, cups and saucers that you just want to take home. Mouthwatering sweet treats and savoury bakes. Take away also available as well as bakery counter with fresh loaves. While the Maroseika location has the repose of a drawing room, their outlet near Mayakovskaya is like a bakery free-for-all. Also at A-2, Ul. Bolshaya Sadovaya 2/46, tel. 699 36 20.QOpen 08:00 - 23:00 (200Rbl). PJAS Lyudi Kak Lyudi E-4, Solyansky proezd 4/1, MKitai Gorod, tel. 621 12 01. Feeding and watering hole for the inner city groovy set, this is where your local Johnny Depp lookalikes come to imbibe cigarette fumes and caffeine. Desperately small and packed with atmosphere, the staff make you want to come back again and again. The name is hard to translate and opens up questions about the infamous Russian soul, but is philosophically saying, people are people. Think about that as they make you a fresh juice cocktail. Q Open 08:00 - 23:00, Thu 08:00 - 15:00, Fri 08:00 - 6:00, Sat 11:00 - 06:00, Sun 11:00 - 23:00 (300Rbl). PJS bld. 1, MKitai Gorod, tel. 789 30 90. This eclectic little cafe has an intriguing, comfy interior and real Godiva chocolates. It‘s a great window for daydreaming and watching the world go by. The coffee is matched by the service, both are recommended. Q Open 11:00 - 23:00 (400Rbl). PJAEX Chinatown tel. 230 53 53, www.chinatun.ru. Guar- Starbucks A-4, Ul. Arbat 17, MArbatskaya, tel. 203 67 14. The hum of conversation throngs here. Russians too are not indifferent to the Seattle coffee chain like every other country in the world has. This the first in the what looks to be many is super popular. This makes for something of a disheartener when after shelling out almost $US10 for a coffee you have to wait for ten minutes until some young person ups and leaves and you can finally sit down. Other than that, you can sit in the window in a comfy armchair and watch the world of the Arbat go by.Q Open 07:30 - 23:00 (300Rbl). PJAS Transpizza tel. 745 05 55, www.transpizza.ru. Pizza pizza pizza as well as salads and now also desserts. Their website is also in English and you can order online, but the site is temperamental so call them after 5 mins if you haven‘t had the promised confirmation call. QOpen 24hrs. Minimum order for delivery is 330Rbl between 09:00 and 22:00. After 22:00, within the Garden Ring, 350Rbl, and outside 500Rbl. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 36 nIGHTLIFe Justo Banya Dush D-3, Teatralny Proezd 3, MTeatralnaya, tel. 625 68 36. This old public bath-house-turned night club is definitely of the teenage hipster-skater-gamer breed. Past the restaurant and bar area, where alternative house djs are usually spinning, there is a small black-box movie theater where you can play the latest game system on the big screen. Q Open: 18:00-05:00 PJAKW nIGHTLIFe 37 Whether you are after an elite nightclub with a pyrotechnic show and a face control policy to shake fear into the hearts of grown adults or a dingy dive or comfortable English style pub where you can hole up til the wee hours of the morning, Moscow’s famed nightlife scene shouldn’t disappoint. Shamrock B-4, Ul. Novy Arbat 11/1, MArbatskaya, tel. Alternative F.A.Q. Bar C-3, Gazetny per. 9, bldg. 2, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 629 08 27, www.faqcafe.ru. Alternative meandering underground basement with seats and tables squashed into every nook and cranny. The dishevelled seat covers give it a very studenty apperance, and the hip soundtrack of James Bond covers add to the ambience. The waitresses are funky, the walls are awash with white paint and ill-jointed photography and bric-a-brac. Meals? Enormous.QOpen 12:00 - 06:00 (300Rbl). PAEW Mayak A-3, Ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 19, MArbatskaya, tel. Country Bar Ul. Pokrovka 50/2, MKurskaya, tel. 917 Kitaisky Lyotchik D/E-3, Lyubansky pr. 25/12, MKitai Gorod, tel. 624 56 11, www.jao-da.ru. This underground labyrinth of three bar spaces is popular with the alternative set. Democratic prices, live bands on weekends and casual atmosphere bordering on grunge are what some consider added bonuses. That the tables have been kicked around a bit only shows the deep love and esteem regulars hold for the place. Food is served promptly; decent sized portions with a smattering of Russian cuisine influences. QOpen 10:00 - 06.00 (300Rbl). PSW 28 82, www.country-bar.ru. Saddle up and ride into the wild west….Yes, they have a saddle as a bar stool in the pride of place. It’s cheesy and kitschy and the waitstaff don‘t seem to realise their place of employment is boundlessly amusing to foreigners and that makes it even funnier. They do have live music, American and Mexican cuisine and a tendency to play Rawhide. There‘s a giant fake tree in the middle, extending up to the mezzanine.QOpen 11:00 - 24:00 (400Rbl). PALES 691 9746. Don‘t come to Mayak looking to meet new people or find a special someone for the night. Mayak is mainly a sit-down gathering place for friends and colleagues. Located inside the Mayakovsky Theater, no wonder it is known for attracting the Moscow intelligentsia. Tables are filled almost every night of the week.QOpen 12:00-06:00. PJAKW 691 76 81. Despite the location on the upper floor of the Novoarbatsky Shopping Centre, this little Irish hub still boasts all the benches and bar fixtures. And when there is a band playing, you‘ll forget that you had to come through suburban shopping hell to get to it. Service is swift, open after midday so sloping in for a light snack or a couple of pints after seeing and English flick at the Oktyabr seems a very realistic option. Q Open 11:00 - 24:00 (300Rbl). PAESW Sixteen Tons Ul. Presensky Val 6, MUlitsa 1905 goda, Real McCoy Kudrinskaya pl. 1, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 255 DJ Bar Picasso C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 12/2, MPushkinskaya, tel. 662 70 02. This restaurant and disco bar is an odd one just off Pushkin square. The restaurant upstairs is mostly filled with youngsters sipping cocktails but downstairs is where the real fun starts. After a friendly face control you head down the stairs into a very dark hole. But around the corner awaits a long bright bar with girls dancing on it.QOpen 11:00 - 07:00.(300Rbl). PJAES 41 44. Look for this American style speak easy in the base of the huge Stalin skyscraper, on the Ul. Barrikadnaya side. Sometimes it could be a sleaze easy, especially on weekends when its heaving with people and you can get picked up or pick up faster than you can get a drink. Wed to Sat they throw in a live band as well. The bank teller staff stepped out of the Al Capone era sometimes approach patrons as if they expected them to whip out a revolver..... Q Open 24hrs (600Rbl). PALESW tel. 253 53 00, www.16tonn.ru. Authentic feeling English pubs don‘t have to shout about it, you know when you walk in that something just feels right. Like here for instance. The 16 tonnes home brewed beer, a smooth tasting light ale, goes down sweetly and the stained glass windows and corralled seating makes everything indubitably atmospheric. The place, which is already huge, has still got quite an intimate feeling. The menu is full of pub grub classics and there‘s a nightclub upstairs.QOpen 11:00 - 06:00. (600Rbl). PALESW Solyanka F-4, Ul. Solyanka 11, MKitai Gorod, tel. 221 75 Rhythm and Blues Cafe C-4, Starovagankovsky per 19/2, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 203 60 08. An alternative place for those who don‘t favour a fancy bar; its smoky and dark and looks a bit crappy. During the week they have salsa, merengue and rock ‘n roll evenings and are known to give the odd dance lesson as well.. .QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 except Fr, Sat 12:00 - 06:00 Admission 100 - 300Rbl. (300Rbl). PEGS Krisis Zhanra F-3, Ul. Pokrovka 16/16, bld. 1, MChisty Prudy, tel. 623 25 94, www.kriziszhanra.ru. Popular with young yuppies who haven‘t forgotten their student days just yet, this place is a little bohemian paradise. Tucked away on the middle strip on Pokrovsky bulvar, its almost underground. It‘s so dark and the music is so loud, you can not understand anything your friends say let alone the waitress. The three split levels create a seventies open plan warehouse feel to which the classics soundtrack goes well with. Great for before and after drinks.QOpen 11:00 - 05:00 (250Rbl). PSW GQ Bar D-5, Ul. Balchug 5, MNovokuznetskaya, tel. 956 57, www.s-11.ru. Not quite sure what it is really, Solyanka is part club, part restaurant, part someone else’s lounge room when that somone else owns a mansion. Suitably cool and unaffected Russians sit around chilling out and ignoring each other while lounging on mismatched furniture. Three rooms are filled with lounge chairs and adorned with design odds and bobs. There is a bar in the back, with twelve or so space bubble lamps hanging over the top. Drinks are lush, food is affordable. Just arrive early enough so you don‘t have to wait in line.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00, Thurs - Sat 12:00 - 06:00 (250Rbl). PAS 77 75, www.gqbar.ru. Almost too stylish for words, the GQ is a chic place with different rooms on several floors, all for eating drinking and dancing as well as for making friends with Moscow‘s glamour puss regiment. Perfect for a relaxed drink but if you fancy something a little heavier, their menu boasts Japanese, Russian, European and Wok dishes.QOpen 24hrs. (700Rbl). PALEBSW Bars and Pubs Bolshaya Krushka (Big Mug) D-3, Ul. Nikolskaya 15, bld 1, MTeatralnaya, tel. 710 71 99, kruzhka.ru. This chain of popular and inexpensive bars is home to those who value the simple things in life. An inexpensive but drinkable beer (in the big mug of course) and a lively atmosphere so you can have a good chatter with your friends. The industrial design sets off the laid back informal surroundings nicely. Just look out for their trademark orange door.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 04:00 P Gradus E-2, Ul. Sretenka 26/1, MSukharevskaya, tel. 607 07 13. With its grey stone walls, classy lighting, brushed steel and glass, this bar has a refined feel. The clientele of suit-types are presented with a diverse menu, but after dinner they can make their way to the bar’s two huge dance floors. The underground restaurant, with late night djs and a big screen for watching and football games, offers 17 draft beers, three house brews, extravagant steaks and more exotic lodge food.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (400Rbl). PAS Hot Dog‘s Bar ‘n Grill Ul. Zemlyanoy Val 26, MKurskaya, Tuesday Night for the Ladies Hot Dog‘s Bar ‘n Grill Ul. Zemlyanoy Val 26, MKurskaya, tel. 917 99 86. Unlike Ladies Night at Papas, at Hot Dogs, only ladies are admitted. From 19:00 – 21:00, the only Hot Dogs running around are the two raunchy male strippers who provide non-stop entertainment for many a thirsty lass. There’s plenty of free alcohol to go round; choose from champagne or a number of vodka mixers. Don’t sit close to the stage unless you want to attract the special attention of the strippers. These guys get bored pretty quickly of dancing by themselves…. Q Open 24hrs (300Rbl). PAEBSW tel. 917 99 86. This open all hours venue pays a lot of attention to its customers thats for sure with every night a different theme night. There’s also a long bar perfect for taking in sports and long tables where groups can get together. Once the crowds come in, its gets rowdy and rocking but there is plenty of room to dance and mingle with the lads and ladies. Waitresses and staff are friendly; you get the feeling that they are having as much fun as the patrons.QOpen 24hrs (300Rbl). PAEBSW John Bull Pub Smolenskaya pl.1, MSmolenskaya, tel. 241 06 44, www.johnbullpub.co.uk. Great location, good range of authentic imported beers and pub food with a Russian twist are among the drawcards here. This two story British styled pub is everything a pub should be. This is one of a chain of international John Bulls that are dotted across the European continent, much to the delight of many an English expat.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00 (500Rbl). PTAUSW Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 38 nIGHTLIFe Gogol C-3, Stoleshnikov per. 11, MPushkinskaya, tel. 514 09 44. Something is surely going to happen here, any minute now in any one of the three connecting spaces - its got that backstage energy. From the stage under the circus tent out the front, the cosy Parisian style restaurant and the beer kiosk that wouldn‘t be out of place at an outdoor festival of rock, Gogol is a great place for any amount of time, be it long or short, day or night. Bouncers keep everything sane. The music is bohemian stuff you proably won‘t remember the next day but you‘ll enjoy it while you‘re here.QOpen 24hrs. (300Rbl). PAEBSW nIGHTLIFe Gay and Lesbian 39 Suhoy Zakon Ryumochnaya (Dry Law) F-5, Taganskaya pl. 88 bld. 1, MTaganskaya, tel. 229 62 04. A ryumochnaya is a place dedicated to the serving of alcohol; usually vodkas. Staff here are excellent and its not often that we get to write that in this country. If you love beer you will love this place and no doubt will take advantage of the 4.2 litre beer keg option. Reasonably priced and down to earth, this is a drinking hole with character.Q Open 10:00 - 23:00, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 23:00 PJS 12 Volt C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 12, MPushkinskaya, tel. 933 28 15, www.12voltclub.ru. To find this chilled and relaxed gay and lesbian venue, head behind Tverskaya along Kozitsky pereulok and go into the second yard. Press the button near the black and white door for admittance (face control!). These two rooms aren‘t the largest so the club reaches capacity quickly especially on the weekends.QOpen 18:00 - 06:00. Admission free. bld.1, MChkalovskaya, tel. 916 35 55. One of the first gay clubs to open up in town, in fact it is so aged that it has spun into its New Age. The transvestite stage shows are outrageously flamboyant and can be viewed with awe from all 3 levels. Unless you want to escape to the karaoke room, where a singing battle no less entertaining takes place. A fun place to satisfy every desire. Q Open 19:00 - 07:00 PA Vinosyr (Wine cheese) B-2, Maly Palashevsky per. 6, MPushkinskaya, tel. 739 10 45, www.vinosyr.ru. With pleasure will we sit at the long wooden table, in this moody and dimly lit basement bar and sip on wine by the glass and cheese by the plate. Thank the gods there is no menu that takes hours to read and even longer for the staff to prepare. Deep red walls and the distressed timber long table dominate. Music geared to a younger audience, all of whom are present, quaffing and accounted for.QOpen 18:00 - 06:00. Open 18:00 - 06:00 (400Rbl). PASW Three Monkeys (New Age) Nastavnichesky per . 11, Propaganda E-3, Bol. Zlatoustinsky per. 7, MKitai Help A-1, Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 27, MBeloruss- Wall Street C-5, Ul. Volkhonka 9, MKropotkinskaya, tel. 916 57 31, www.wallstbar.com. Financial crisis? When you’ve lost all your money on the New York Stock Exchange, you can head to the Wall Street Bar, downtown Moscow. Drown your sorrows while following the latest news on the Bloomberg flat screens. Strangely enough they do not have a food menu in English (only a cocktail menu). But believe us: their food won’t give you a Great Depression; we tried some soups, Eastern salad, pastas, risotto and all were excellent.QOpen 12:00 - 03:00, Fri, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 06:00 Admission free. (500Rbl). PJALESW kaya, tel. 995 53 95, www.helpbar.ru. This is a cocktail bar with the mostest. It‘s small with suprisingly good and dangerously affordable cocktails, so it is no wonder it has won awards for them. Waitstaff are also pretty helpful so there was no sign of their famed surliness. Although it is not far from Belorusskaya, it is easy to miss the sign, so keep an eye out. You‘ll need to walk up the stairs.QOpen 24hrs. (250Rbl). PAEGSW Gorod, tel. 924 57 32, www.propagandamoscow.com. A cafe club with a backstage look, Propaganda has a chilled out vibe that is popular with everyone. The food is reasonably priced portion-wise and the lounge-house sounds put everyone into their comfort zone. Of an evening, different djs sets kick Also one of the oldest clubs around in Moscow, they‘ve already notched up 11 years; they regularly invite foreign djs and host gay evenings on Sunday nights.Q Open 12:00 - 06:00 Admission free. PJAEX Adult Entertainment Striptease are as much a part of Russian life as borshch or bliny. You can see one anywhere. Mind that in the clubs below girls ask for a minimum ‘present’ of 200Rbl. Rai Ul. Novoslobodskaya 46, MNovoslobodskaya, tel. Tiki Bar Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 3a, MBarrikadnaya, Cocktail Bars City Space F-6, Swissotel Krasnye Holmi, Kosmodamianskaya nab. 52, 34th floor, MPaveltskaya, tel. 787 98 00, www.swissotel.com. The view is heavenly. There are no other words for it when you are on the 34th floor looking out at all of Moscow beneath you. Then the waitress brings you your personally mixed cocktail. Here they know the classic cocktails from the Bloody Mary to the Martini backwards. That‘s why they reinvented them giving them a twist of orange blossom dew, a rinse of pernod, a topping of light vanilla foam.QOpen 11:00 - 03:00, Sat, Sun 17:00 - 3:00 (1000Rbl). PAESW tel. 741 22 03, www.tiki-bar.ru. Aloha! Escape the crowded & dusty city streets and dive into this Hawaiian themed cocktail bar. The cocktails are huge and the décor is tropical enough to transport you into Paradise in no time. The comfy couches on the second level are especially welcoming for large friendly gatherings and don‘t forget to share 6lt Treasure Chest filled with all sorts of sweet liqueur. Mahalo (Thank you) very much! QOpen 24hrs. (250Rbl). PALEGSW 499 972 45 77. A new club for the new elite of this town and face control is well in force. So as you can expect, the queues can be quite long. Everyone is trying to get into Rai, or as it translates to English, Paradise. As well a huge dance floor, it attracts a young, wealthy and trendy crowd. Elite prices match the super strict face control. A Vodka and redbull will set you back around 500Rbl.QOpen 10:00 - 24:00 (400Rbl). PAEGS Night Flight B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 17, MPushkinsaya, tel. 629 4165, www.nightflight.ru. Moscow‘s oldest nightclub is still the leading default-choice for foreign businessmen looking for attractive Russian company and a great Scandinavian meal. The orange and brown carpets, sofas and armchairs and staircases lined with bright strings of lights scream 70s-porno flick, but the guests don‘t seem to mind. They have more modern scenarios on their mind.QOpen 21:00- 05:00. Restaurant 18:00- 4:00. PJAKS Sorry, Babushka E-4, Slavyanskaya pl., MKitai Gorod, Clubs tel. 623 96 60, www.bilinguaclub.ru. A great barn of a place that hosts a variety of high quality music acts. The interior is a cross between a backstage area thrown together with ramshackle abandon. The food, which is obtainable anytime, is a mix of Russian and International classics, including some Mexican dishes. Groovy bookshop attached next door just adds to the hip librarian vibes.QOpen 24 hrs. (300Rbl). PJAES Bilingua E-3, Krivokolenny per 10/5, MTurgenskaya, tel. 788 06 15, www.sorrybabushka.ru. Sorry, Babushka is a peaceful place to hang out at night. You will mostly see young middle class Russians here. They have wallet-friendly prices and are not as difficult at the door as you might find at other places around town. Chandeliers and fancy sofas feature in the interior and the music varies from old school favorites to R&B, hip hop and trance.QOpen 12:00 - 06:00 (500Rbl). PS Rasputin A-6, Zubovsky bul. 25, MPark Kultury, Zona Ul. Leninskaya Sloboda 19 bldg 2, MAvtozavods- Can you face Face Control? Moscow’s upscale clubs have a strict door policy, known as face control. If you want in, you need to fit with the club’s image and be polite and friendly to the doorman or ‘facecontroller’ as they are known. Here are some useful do’s and don’ts. Do: - Arrive in an expensive car. No taxis thanks! - Dress up. Brands and accessories are a must! For girls, this means high heels and make-up. Guys will need to wear a suit and preferably something in black. - Having a beautiful girl on his arm should help any guy get in. A girl on both arm, even better... - If you don’t, at least pretend you have money to burn! Don’t: - Don’t enter a club in large groups, but split up in groups of 2 or 3. - Even if you are drunk, put on your best sober face. - No caps, no trainers, nothing sporty at all. - Lastly, speak English. Foreigners have loads of cash, right? Denis Simachev C-3, Stoleshnikov per. 12/2, MPush- kinskaya, tel. 629-8085, www.denissimachev.com. This hipster-glam night club and restaurant were opened on the ground floor of the wild Russian menswear designer’s boutique. Frequented by dilettante socialites and young, rich and trendy all-night partiers — who would like to think of themselves as Moscow’s art world — extravagance here is welcomed, almost expected in fact. This club’s energy is always high no matter what night you chose to go, but it is best to bring along a group of friends so you don’t feel left out by the closed social circles of regular patrons. Q Open 24 hrs. PAK kaya, tel. 229 14 28, www.zonaclub.ru. With two types of music, a rotating bar, dance acts and three floors including a VIP floor this is a great club in which to spend your Saturday night. On the first floor you will find a small dance with mainly R&B music, while on the second floor, there is an enormous dance floor with dance acts and trance. A lounge terrace is open in summer. QOpen 11:00 - 08.00, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 08:00 Admission 400Rbl, VIP 800Rbl. PX tel. 499 245 51 35. If you’re looking for an upscale strip bar living up to Moscow’s reputation, you can head to Rasputin, named after the famous womanising monk. Just about everything here breathes ‘spend, spend, spend’. And you just might want to with all this beauty around you. In addition to several private rooms with a jacuzzi or sauna, Rasputin’s shows are notably better than average. They could almost be staged in the Bolshoy (if not for the lack of clothes). The club also boasts a fine restaurant. Read the menu carefully, it holds a number of suprises…QOpen 17:00 - 05:00 Admission 1500-3000Rbl. PA SOS club B-4, Merzlyakovsky per. 1, MArbats- Fabrique E-5, Nab. Kosmodamianskaya 2, MNovokuznetskaya, tel. 953 65 76, www.fabrique.ru. This trendy club has strict face control and tends to be packed during the weekend. House music owns the one main dance floor and the second floor holds a restaurant, lounge sofas, several bars, summer terrace and a nice view on the dance floor. No entrance fee is charged but the drinks more than make up for that.QOpen Fri, Sat 21:00 - 07:00 (700Rbl). PAX kaya, tel. 691 99 78. It looks shabby from the outside and from inside it is too! But the people working and dancing here are friendly. What we don’t understand is why the administrator is working on her paperwork at the bar wearing a polo-neck? She should strip too! Lucky, the other women do. Many are your girl-next-door types complete with pimples who you dreamed of marrying whilst still a teenager so you can be happily relieved. The entrance sets you back 500Rbl, but you get the SOS house vodka cocktail for free.QOpen 24hrs Admission 500Rbl. PJA Dobroye utro = Good morning Dobri dyen = Good day Dobri vecher = Good night November 2008 Moscow In Your Pocket 40 MUST See: KReMLIn Cathedral of the Archangel Michael C-4, Kremlin, MAleksandrovsky Sad. A relative youngster on the Kremlin church scene, this cathedral was erected in 1505 and holds the tombs of Russian rulers from Ivan I to Tsar Ivan V. It also has more of an Italian renaissance feel to it with its Corinthian gables and turrets and white stonework. WHAT TO See 41 In the the very centre of Moscow is the Kremlin. Built on the fortified hill which formed the heart of the ancient city, and which to this day houses the political HQ of the planet‘s largest nation. The Russian poet Lermontov had this to say of the Kremlin in 1833, ‘What can compare to the Kremlin which sits on a high hill like the crown of sovereignty on the brow of an awesome ruler. No!’, he went on, ‘neither the Kremlin, nor the walls, nor its dark passages, nor the splendid palaces can be described. They must be seen, they must be seen!‘ All the following churches and Kremlin Armoury are open 10:00 - 17:00 and are closed on Thursday. See Kremlin box at the bottom of this page for ticket info. Church of the Deposition of the Robe C-4, Kremlin, Annunciation Cathedral C-4, Kremlin, MAleksandrovsky Sad, tel. 202 37 76, www.kreml.ru. This imposing cathedral where Russia‘s Tsars were christened and married was built by Pskov architects in 1482. The frescoes inside are considered to be some of the most valuable in Moscow given that prominent artists of the time including Andrey Rublyev (also buried here), Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor of Gorodetz all worked on them. MAleksandrovsky Sad, tel. 202 37 76, www.kreml.ru. Taking its name from an ancient festival where the Virgin‘s robes are transferred from Palestine to Constantinople (now Istanbul), this is a more modest cathedral nestled in a corner. Built in 1484- 1485 by artists from Pskov, this church notably has stained glass windows. Along with some fine icons, inside you can also find wooden sculptures from the 15th century. Kremlin ArmouryC-4 Krasnaya pl., MAleksandrovsky Cathedral of Assumption C-4, Kremlin, MAleksan- drovsky Sad, tel. 202 37 76. The grandfather of all the Kremlin churches, the Assumption Cathedral is the oldest and the biggest. Built in 1475 by Italian architect Aristotle Fiorovanti, this is where Ivan the Terrible was crowned Emperor here in 1547 before becoming a stable for Napoleon‘s horses in 1812. Their soldiers made off with the chandliers now hanging overhead. The cossacks brought them back after they caught up with the lightfingered Frenchmen. In 1918 the last Easter service was held here. Services resumed in 1990. Inside the many hefty chandeliers, some weighing over 5 tonnes. Sad. You need a separate ticket for the Armoury, the 19th Century museum purpose-built to house the nation‘s gob-smacking collection of gold, silver, arms and imperial clothes and carriages. They also hold a collection of the infamous and rarely glimpsed Faberge eggs. To prevent overcrowding, Armoury tickets can only be used after the time printed on them. They do not give access to the rest of the site and the Armoury only opens for specific sessions: 10:00, 12:00, 14:30, 16:30. Churches and Monasteries Andronikov Monastery Andronevskaya pl. 10, MPloshchad Ilyicha, tel. 911 45 02. Originaly founded in 1320, this monastery is famous for its icon painting monk, Andrei Rublyev who lived and died here in the early 14th century. Ryblyev is the posterboy of Russian icon painting having worked on the icons of the Kremlin‘s Cathedral of Annunciation and other churches. Today there is the Cathedral of the Saviour, and the museum named after Rublyev is housed in the adjacent Chapel of St. Michael Archangel. Only half the size of Novodevichy, it also has a quarter of its crowds. QOpen 11:00 - 18:00. Closed Wed, last Fri of each month. Admission free. Red Square Lenin Mausoleum D-4, Krasnaya pl., MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 923 55 27, www.lenin.ru. Waxy and bald Lenin is still on display. To see the world’s most famous mummified leader, join the queue at the entrance to Red Square nearest to the Alexander Gardens and be prepared to queue. No bags. No cameras. They‘ll search your pockets to make sure, don‘t worry. Lenin may be dead but you can‘t mess with him. Leave bags at the left luggage lockers on the way in before going through the metal detectors.Q Open 10:00 - 13:00. Closed Mon, Wed, Fri. Admission free. Kremlin C/D-4, Alexandrovsky Cathedral of Christ the Saviour B-5, Ul. Volkhonka 15, sad, MBorovitskaya, tel. 203 86 04, www.kreml.ru. Unlike Napoleon, who stayed here after his forces took Moscow in 1812, you will need a ticket to enter. There are a number of ticket booths, the most important being located in Alexandrinsky Sad, on the west side of the Kremlin. Leave any large bags in the cloakroom near the ticket office, under the gate. A ‘Kremlin Territory‘ ticket gets you into the site itself, along with all of the cathedrals and the more ancient buildings. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00, closed Thu. Tickets can be purchased an hour before the seance (in the museum‘s ticket office). Information office of the Armoury Chamber 921 47 20 Admission the Armoury Chamber 350Rbl, students 70Rbl. Admission the Cathedral Sqaure (5 museumscathedrals, the Patriarch‘s Palace, exhibitions in the Assumption Belfry) 300Rbl, students 50Rbl. MKropotkinskaya, tel. 202 80 24, www.xxc.ru. This is what a new Russian orthodox church ought to look like. It is so immense you‘ll be wondering how many blocks of dynamite the Soviet‘s needed to get rid of the thing the first time around. That was in 1931. This newly restored example came into being from 1994 until 2000 and is a shiny beacon for the Russian Orthodox Church at home. Buy your candles to the left of the entrance way, photos and souvenirs to the right. The walls are decorated with lists of awards, battles, list of those perished and awarded in the war with Napoleon in 1812 are inscribed once more upon the walls.QOpen 10:00 - 18:00. Closed last Mon of each month. Admission free. St. Basil’s Church C-4, Krasnaya pl. 2, MKitai Danilov Monastery Danilovsky Val 22, MTulskaya, tel. 961 14 80, www.msdm.ru. This classical monastery, named after its founder, Alexander Nevsky‘s son Danil, has been in the news of late with the return of their original 18 church bells from Harvard in the US. The Soviets sold them off for scrap but a benevolent American, Charles Crane rescued them. The bells were recently returned due to the efforts (and cash no doubt) of Faberge egg rescuer, Viktor Vekselberg. Danilov Monastery was the last monastery to be closed under the Soviets and the first to be reopened under Gorbachev in 1983.QOpen 06:00 - 21:00. Gorod, tel. 298 33 04, www.shm.ru. Standing magnificent at the head of Red Square is St. Basil’s cathedral. Russia‘s most recognised building was built in 1561 at the behest of Ivan the Terrible who allegedly killed the architects. While the view from outside is spectacular and rightly famed, it is certainly also worth a visit inside. Visitors used to the vast open spaces of Western European cathedrals will find a stone warren of small, intimate chapels, each decorated with countless icons and engravings and soaring in one direction only: upwards, to the height of the onion domes above. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00, Sun. 11:00 - 19:00. Closed Tue. State History Museum C-4, Red Square 1/2, Danskoy Monastery Donskaya pl. 1, MShabolovskaya, tel. 954 10 10. The late sixteenth century saw the founding of this well-kept monastery, originally part of Moscow‘s fortifications, to the south of the city centre. The surrounding brick walls include twelve towers with the main entrance being decorated by bright frescoes as you enter. Formerly the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church until 1927, today it is a peaceful abode surrounded by pleasant parklands. Inside the monastery grounds are bizarrely, a few tanks in honour of the Church‘s efforts in the Great Patriotic War (WWII).QOpened daily. Services at 6.30, 19.30. MTeatralnaya, tel. 692 40 19, www.shm.ru. This museum consists of two floors offering an extensive foray into Russian history from the middle ages of the mammoths right up to the 19th century. The first floor which runs up to the beginning of Peter the Great’s reign, and the 17th century holds many relics and artefacts of historical interest. The elegant side of Russian life is given slightly more space than the peasantry but their role in history garners them several rooms toward the end demonstrating Russian customs and revolutionary activists such as the Decembrists.QOpen 10:00 - 18:00, Sun 11:00 - 20:00. Closed Tue, first Mon of the month. Admission adults 150Rbl, students 60Rbl, family ticket 250Rbl. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 42 WHAT TO See Museums icha, tel. 678 14 67. Housed in the grounds of Andronikov Monastery, this museum is dedicated to the art of the icon through the ages. While there are none of famed Rublyev himself who the museum is named after, what is here, is beautiful. Preservation is paramount with some icons still shining brightly despite their age. Spread out over three floors of the restored St. Michael chapel, there‘s a ghostly feeling.QOpen 11.00 - 18.00. Closed Wed, last Fri of each month. Admission Russians 50Rbl, foreigners 150Rbl., tours in Russian 1000Rbl (5 people). WHAT TO See Chekhov Museum A-2, Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 6, Andrey Rublyev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art Andronevskaya pl. 10, MPloshchad IlyMBarrikadnaya, tel. 291 61 54. Chekhov never went out of favour even during the Soviet years. His museum opened here for the first time in 1953, and underwent a spring clean in 2003. The objects remain authentic, a little too authentic when you see the tiny metal bed he slept on. It was from this red castle-like house that he left to go on his epic jaunt to Sakhalin, at that time the journey took around three months. It was here that the music lover, who lived here with his mother, brother Mikhail and sister Maria, received patients, continuing his work as a doctor.Q Open 11.00 - 17.00, Wed, Fr 14.00 - 19.00. Closed Sun, Mon Admission 40Rbl. 21, MPark Kultury, tel. 246 94 44, www.tolstoymuseum.ru/museum/hamovniki.html. You almost expect them the Tolstoys to come inside and sit down to dinner or Sofia Tolstoya to serve tea from the samovar or to see Leo stomping up the staircase to his study to write a few more pages of War and Peace. This place makes clear how the family spent their time, including displays and exhibits of the shoes that Tolstoy made himself. Q Open 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon, last Fri of each month. Admission foreigners 200Rbl, Russians 60Rbl. 43 Novodevichy Cemetery Luzhnetsky Proezd 2, MS- portivnaya. This is the Who‘s Who of Russia’s late greats. Anyone who was anyone is here. Given the Russian adoration for statues and monumental monuments, it is a fascinating place. Chekhov‘s simple and modest memorial is in stark contrast to Soviet megaplinths. Buy the map for 50Rbl from the okhrana (security) fellow at the entrance way. It is in Russian but it will help you find the most important graves. Notable graves include Stalin‘s wife, Mayakovsky, Gogol, Eisenstein, Khrushev and Yeltsin.QAdmission free. Novodevichy Monastery Novodevichy proezd 1, MSportivnaya, tel. 246 85 26. Monastery or convent, this place occupies a very specific place in Russian history. On the grounds surrounded by the Kremlinesque walls are four cathedrals including the majestic four-onion globes Smolensky Cathedral. Founded by Ivan the Terrible in 1524, it was here that Peter the Great imprisoned his sister Sophia and executed her supporters from the Strelsty rebellion. Today it is a magnificient and peaceful cloister with an impressive icon collection.QOpen 10.00 - 18.00. Closed last Mon of each month. Museum 10.00 - 17.00. Closed Wed. Admission 100Rbl. Lev Tolstoy Memorial Estate A-7, Ul. Lva Tolstogo Bor odino Battle Panorama Museum Kutu- Art for Russia’s sake zovsky pr. 38, MKutuzovskaya, tel. 148 19 65, www.1812panorama.ru. Founded 150 years after one of the most famous battles in human history the Borodino Battle museum has a collection of weapons, ammunition, uniform and graphics, but its main feature is the round canvas painting, 115m wide and 15m high. Standing in the middle of this panorama you experience up close the heroic (and bloody) battle during the 1812 war between Russia and Napoleon‘s Grand Army in the days before CNN. 250,000 soldiers took part in the September 7 battle, of which a minimum of 67,000 perished.Q Open 10.00 - 18.00. Closed Fri, last Thurs of each month. Admission Russians adults 60Rbl, students 40Rbl, foreigners 80Rbl. Moscow Museum of Modern Art C-3, Ul. Petrovka Matryoshka Museum B-3, Leontevsky per. 7, MAr- Great Patriotic War Museum 1941-1945 Ul. Bra- tyev Fonchenko 10, MPark Pobedy, tel. 142 41 85, museum-cmvov.ru. Dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, this museum opened in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory. The museum houses a set of evocative battle dioramas on the ground floor, with excellent explanations of the scenes in English. Immediately as you enter, you see the Commanders Hall and Grand Staircase leading up to the Hall of Glory, a solemn memorial space. Further along there is the exhibition hall with exhibits about the different battles and parties involved.QOpen 10.00 - 19.00. Closed Mon, last Thurs of the month. Admission foreigners 120Rbl, Russians 80Rbl, Students and children 50Rbl. batskaya, tel. 202 73 16. This two room museum reminiscient of a school art studio has free admsision and gives the chance to really see the matryoshki without having an avid seller talking at twenty miles an hour trying to get a sale out of you. There isn‘t any information about the doll itself though just various displays of the different kinds that have been made and been popular in the past. Shop downstairs, naturally.QOpen 10:00 - 18:00, Fri - Sat 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Sun. Admission free. 25, MChekhovskaya, tel. 694 28 90, www.mmoma.ru. Great sculpture garden of sculptures by Tsereteli (Moscow‘s contemporary art guardian and self-promoter) sculptures offers the introduction to the contemporary Moscow art scene. Travel through the different phases of Russian art from the avant garde of the past with Malevich, Kandinsky, the Georgian Niko Pirosmani, Natalia Goncharova and some early offerings from the wundergroup AES group.QOpen 12.00 - 20.00. Admission foreigners 200Rbl, Russians 100Rbl. Pushkin Fine Arts Museum B-5, Ul. Volkhonka 12, MKropotkinskaya, tel. 203 95 78. Opened to the public in 1912, this museum was primarily intended as an educational facility. Coming from the fashion of that time, it houses a lot of the world‘s art in the form of plaster casts. It also has works by the Old Masters and representatives of various European schools of painting. 1924 saw the first addition of a picture gallery, to be followed in 1948 by the addition of many works from 19th century. It‘s a manageable musuem, but be sure to know which section you are heading. Two buildings sit side by side - the first grandiose structure houses the old plastery cast bit. The impressionists are held in a separate wing for which there is a separate admission charge.QOpen 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Mon. Admission foreigners 150-300Rbl, Russians 40-100Rbl. Museum of Private Collections foreigners 100Rbl, Russians 25-50Rbl. Soviet Sights Moscow Metro www.mosmetro.ru Moscow’s famous metro underground is not only a useful way to travel, it’s also a tourist attraction. Begun in 1936, it depicts Soviet achievements in glorious grandiose scale. Stand out stations include Komsomolskaya, Pl. Revolutsy, Mayakovskaya and Dobrinskaya.QOpen 05:30 - 01:00 Admission 19Rbl. Tretyakov Gallery D-5, Lavrushensky per.10, MPolyanka, tel. 230 77 88, www.tretyakovgallery. ru. Founded in 1856 by influential collector Pavel Tryetakov, it is the world‘s number one museum of Russian art. Ranging from exquisite and mysterious 12th century icons to the politically charged and prescient canvases of Russia‘s favourite realist master, Ilya Repin, the collection is a rich and revealing insight into the history and attitudes of this long suffering yet inspired people.Q Open 10:00 - 19:30. Closed Mon. Admission foreigners 150-250Rbl, Russians 50-100Rbl. Excursions from 500Rbl. Gulag Histor y Museum C-3, Ul. Petrovka 16, Tretyakov Gallery at 10 Krymsky Val B-7, Krymsky Val 10, MPark Kultury, tel. 951 13 62, www.tretyakovgallery.ru. Dedicated to Russian art of the twentieth century, this is the extension part of the Tretyakov project. And a worthy addition it is. Stunningly presented, each work contributes to the chronological project. Head up to the fourth floor to begin with the Moscow modernists. Everything is explained in English and as well as the canvas texts there are several multimedia and video representations providing a historial and political framework to understanding the pieces.Q Open 10.00 - 19.30. Closed Mon. Admission foreigners 150-250Rbl, Russians 50-100Rbl. MKuznetsky Most, tel. 621 73 46. For once the lack of English is a benefit, for the full comprehension of the Gulag is a discomforting experience to say the least. This museum has three parts; a documentary part showing the repression of different groups such as the church and the kulak peasants. Artistic responses to the gulag from exprisoners adorn the walls, entrance and staircase and there is a reproduction of a gulag barracks, punishment cell and officers rooms downstairs. The fact that this part is sealed off and the guide has to escort you here adds sobriety and realism to the exhibit.QOpen Tue - Sat 11:00 - 16:00. Closed Mon, Sun. Admission foreigners 70Rbl. (free for the readers of In Your Pocket). Romanov Boyar House D-4, Ul. Varvarka 10, MKitay All Russia Exhibition Centre Prodolny proezd, MVDNHa, tel. 544 34 00, www.vvcentre.ru. As you exit the metro, turn left and head towards the giant arch with the park behind. This sprawling complex of pavillions whose glory is fading fast, long walkways and elaborate fountains is a throwback to the Soviet era of glorification. The Friendship Fountain with its dancing golden maidens each dedicated to a Soviet republic is the best thing here.QOpen 10:00 - 19:00, Sun 10:00 - 20:00 Admission free. Gorod, tel. 698 12 56. Before they were the Tsars of All Russia, the Romanovs were a rich boyar (merchant) family with a manor not far from the Kremlin. The house of Nikita Romanovich Yuryev was first recorded on a map in 1597. After four centuries, it is now preserved as a small and thoroughly interesting museum. The recreated models and exhibits recreate the daily life of that time. The upper women‘s floor where a maximum amount of windows ensured some productivity at the loom say much about the culture.QOpen 10:00 - 17:00. Wed. 11:00 - 18:00. Closed Tue, first Mon of the month. Admission 100Rbl. Contemporary Russian History Museum B-2, Ul. History of Moscow Museum D-3, Novaya pl. 12, MKitai Gorod, tel. 924 84 90. Two rooms outline the history of Moscow from medieval farming ground to the building of the Kremlin through to the rise of commercial Moscow in the 19th century. It is hard to grasp the full impact without any English descriptions, though you can buy a booklet for 10Rbls on the first room. The second room has no English but is very visual and evocative with shop fronts presenting the different industries in the city.QOpen 10.00 - 18.00, Wed, Fr 11.00 - 19.00. Closed Mon, last Fri of each month. Admission foreigners 50Rbl. Tverskaya 21, MTverskaya, tel. 699 57 24, www. sovr.ru. Start early in the day with this one. There‘s a whole century of the most turbulent, convuluted, well documented history to be seen and absorbed. Now that history has moved on, so has the museum, covering all aspects of Russia‘s recent history. English texts are sporadically situated. Don‘t linger too much in the Revolutionary phase or you‘ll be too tired by the time the Space Race starts.QOpen 10:00 - 18:00. Tue - Sat 11:00 - 19:00. Sun 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Mon, last Fri of the month. Admission adults 100Rbl, students 70Rbl. Sakharov Museum Ul. Zemlyanoy Val 57/6, MKurskaya, tel. 916 44 01, www.sakharov-center.ru. Thought provoking and contemplative, this museum should be on the list for those interested in the life of Sakharov, Russia‘s Nobel Peace Prize winning physicist and human rights campaigner. The upstairs museum room hosts five informative displays (it is a very contemporary place) discussing the establishment of the Soviet regime, the beginning of dissent, the repercussions, the results (Gulag) and the aftermath. The displays are mainly photographic, but there is some installation. While all information is original and therefore in Russian, the museum provides extensive info on each display in English as well as an additional guidebook.Q Open 11:00 - 19:00. Closed Mon. Admission free. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 44 WHAT TO See Winzavod 4-y Siromyatnichesky per. 1 bldg 6, MChkalovskaya, tel. 917 46 46, winzavod.ru. A hub of contemporary galleries and other artistic inspirations on an industrial factory lot. There are over ten galleries with exhibitions varying from Russian photography to American and British works. There are also artists studios, an alternative clothes shop and a cafe. The location and industrial surroundings gives the feeling of being on the movie studio back lot. Q Open 12:00 - 20:00 Admission free. St Petersburg’s world-heritage-listed old-town, set on a series of rivers and canals is one of the most awe-inspiring and extensive in Europe. Designed by Europe’s greatest architects as ‘a window on the west’, it remained virtually untouched during soviet times. ST. PeTeRSBURG 45 Galleries Art4.Ru B-3, Khlinovsky Tupik 4, MPushkinskaya, tel. 660 11 58, www.art4.ru. This gallery was designed to allow visitors to become maximumly intimate with contemporary art. Despite its valuable and rich collection of works by notable Russian and Soviet contemporary artists, no guards, brandishing walkie-talkies will breath down your back when you try to get a closer look at a painting. Every Friday night until midnight, your entrance ticket will also get you free alchoholic drinks, heaps of sunflower seeds and live rythms from some of Moscow‘s hottest djs.QAdmission 200Rbl, students 100Rbl. Essential St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Fortress D-2, Petropavlovskaya krepost 3, MGorkovskaya, tel. 230 64 31, www.spbmuseum.ru. Where St Petersburg was first settled is now a tourist complex housing the city’s first cathedral. There’s also a beach with great views over to the winter palace.QThe fortress is open 06:00-22:00. Cathedral open daily 10:0019:00. Entrance to fortress is free. Admission cathedral and museums: Russians and foreigners 0-250Rbl, (ticket valid for all museums and re-entrance valid for 10 days). Admission roof walk 50-100Rbl. Parks and Gardens Gorky Park B-7, Ul. Krimsky Val, MPark Kultury. If you thought the days where grown women walked around toting stuffed toys (and men winning said toys for them) were over, visit the one and only gargantuan Gorky Park. Depending on the season, the rides can seem like the best thing since square bread or desperately sad. They are all working even if they have one child. Imitation space flights and gravity defying stunts, beer kiosks, miniature trains, this place is for kids big and small.QAdmission adults 50Rbl, children 15Rbl. menskoye, tel. 499 615 27 68. Sprawling and green Kolomenskoye is a favourite with kids, mums and dads, old grandmothers and young hipsters alike. Remnants of this estates past life as a Royal Estate can be identified in the scattering of different museums like beekeeping house and churches. It‘s also UNESCO listed. Got Tsar fever? Take a troika ride. Just don‘t drink any beers or you could end up getting friendly with the police and making a deposit to their own beer fund.QOpen 08:00 - 21:00 Museums open 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon. Admission free. Admission foreigners Museum 300Rbl., belfry 100Rbl, palace 150Rbl. Guided tours in English from 400Rbl (per person). Gagosian Gallery C-5, Red October Chocolate Factory, Nab. Bersenevskaya 6, MKropotkinskaya, tel. 230 07 33, www.gagosian.com. Moscow has now joined the Gagosian Gallery diaspora. Similar to its exhibition halls in New York, Paris and Rome, this chic contemporary art space on the third floor of an old chocolate factory, is designed to hold large, monumental works. The gallery is by no means underground (mainstream cutting-edge is more like it) but its exhibits will give you something artsy to talk about at your next cocktail party.QOpen 12:00 -20:00. Closed Mon. Admission free. Russian Museum D-3, Ul. Inzhenernaya 4/2, MNevsky Kolomenskoye Museum Estate Pr. Andropova, MKolo- pr., tel. 595 42 48, www.rusmuseum.ru. A dazzling journey from thirteenth Century icons to the cream of the Russian avant-garde spread across four spectacular palaces. QOpen daily 10:00-18:00, except Mon 10:00-17:00, closed Tue. Admission foreigners 150-300Rbl, Russians 30-150Rbl. By train to St Petersburg – There are now much faster train connections often in the afternoon, taking just 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours which precludes the need to take an overnight train. Trains from Moscow arrive at Moskovsky station, situated on St Petersburg’s main street Nevsky Prospekt. Turn left down Nevsky Prospekt to head towards the famous canals, the Hermitage and finally the river Neva. Public Transport The St Petersburg metro is cheaper and less-extensive than the Moscow metro with only four lines. You can buy tokens (zhetoni) from the windows labelled kassa (17Rbl) or in some stations there are orange vending machines which will give you 5 tokens for a 100Rbl note plus 15Rbl change. The metro system is complemented by a large network of trams, buses, trolleybuses and mashrutkas (mini-buses). Tours around Moscow Capital Tours D-4, Gostiny Dvor, Ul. Ilyicha 4, entrance No.6 (go downstairs), MKitai Gorod, tel. 232 24 42, www.capitaltours.ru. Offering a Kremlin tour and Moscow City bus tour, this is a good bet if you are looking to maximise your time. The Kremlin tour takes in the grounds, cathedrals and the Patriarchs Palace while the bus tour offers a taster of famous sights and buildings in the city. All tours are conducted in English and include entrance fees. Booking in advance is recomended (there‘s even online reservation). Q Tour costs Kremlin adults 1400Rbl, children 700Rbl, Moscow Bus adults 750Rbl, children 360Rbl. State Hermitage Museum D-3, Dvortsovaya nab. 34 Ostankino Ul. 1 Ostankinskaya 5a, MVDNHa, tel. 283 46 45, www.museum.ru/museum/Ostankino. The close of the 18th century saw the completion of this pink neo-classical Palace owned by Count Nikolay Sheremetev. Constructed of wood (although it looks like stone), the building was built by the Count‘s serfs. The estate also contains a theatre built for the Count‘s serf lover and future wife, Praskoya Ivanonova-Sheremetyeva.QOpen 10.00 - 17.00. Closed Mon, Tue. Moscow’s oldest parks is named after the falcon (sokol in russian) hunts conducted by the Tsars. Today it‘s a popular ice skating venue and in the warmer months, amusement rides are found here, including a ferris wheel from which there is a great view and the park is also the home ground of hockey team HC Spartak Moscow. (entrance from Dvortsovaya pl.), MNevsky pr., tel. 710 90 79, www.hermitage.ru. The magnificent façade of the winter palace is unfortunately currently hidden under scaffolding but the stunning interiors are still fully open. There’s an astonishingly vast collection of masterpieces by all the greats, as well as thousands of ancient artifacts.QOpen 10:30 - 18:00, Sun 10:30 - 17:00. Closed Mon. Admission foreigners 0-350Rbl, Russians 0-100Rbl. Free admission international and Russian students. First Thu of the month FREE admission for ALL visitors. AULK Calling St Petersburg To call from Moscow dial 8, then depending on your provider you should dial 53 or 55, followed by 812 (St Petersburg city code) and finally the number you want. Calling within St Petersburg - just dial the local seven–digit number as it is, without any codes. St. Isaac‘s Cathedral D-3, Isaakievskaya pl., MNevsky pr., tel. 315 97 32, www.cathedral.ru. One of the world’s largest cathedrals. If it’s a nice day climb up the golden dome for a breath-taking view of the city.Q Cathedral open 10:00 - 22:00. Colonnade daily 10:00 - 16:00. Closed Wed. Tickets for the cathedral and the colonnade are sold separately. Extra fee for photography. Admission Cathedral: foreigners 300Rbl (English, French, German guide extra 270Rbl/group), Russians 150Rbl (museum, included Russian guide); Colonnade: foreigners 70-300Rbl, Russians 70-150Rbl. Restaurants and Nightlife Garcon E-3, Nevsky pr. 95, MPl. Vosstaniya, tel. 717 07 28. This traditional Parisian bistro is possibly the yummiest smelling place on Nevsky Prospekt. Whether you’re there just for a morning pastry and coffee or trying out the seasonally changing evening menu you won’t be disappointed. Their wonderful bakery at Nevsky pr. 103 is just the place to get scrumptious takeaway snacks.QOpen 09:00 - 21:00. (100Rbl). Cold War Museum 5-y Kotelnichesky per. 11, MTaganskaya, tel. 500 05 54, www.zkp42.ru. This top secret bunker is located 18 floors beneath Moscow in the Taganskaya area. So close to the metro, there are not only adjoining tunnels but carriages rattling past. This ex-military communications post is now a museum dedicated to the Cold War complete with KGB rooms (now rehearsal space for heavy metal bands), raid sirens, and kilometres of tunnels. Not recommended for claustrophobes.QAdmission in groups 1000Rbl per person, 10 person minimum. Individual admission 2000Rbl per person. English tours require advance booking. Sokolniki Pl. Sokolnicheskaya, MSokolniki. One of Useful Information Flying to St Petersburg – St Petersburg has one airport, Pulkovo with two terminals situated about 5kms apart from each other. Flights from Russian cities as well as most of the former soviet republics usually land at Pulkovo-1, all other international flights usually arrive at the smaller Pulkovo-2. The national airline GTK Rossiya (www.pulkovo.ru) flies from all three Moscow airports. S7 (www.s7.ru) flies daily from Domodedovo airport while SkyExpress (www.skyexpress. ru) operates daily flights from Vnukovo airport. Travelling from the Airport - From Pulkovo-2: buses N113, N213 and fixed-route mini-buses K13 and T113 leave every 15 minutes for Moskovskaya metro station (20 – 25 Rbl). The less frequent K3 and K213 goes to Moskovskaya metro and then on to Sennaya ploshchad metro. From Pulkovo-1: Minibus K39A leaves for Moskovskaya metro every 15 minutes, the less-regular mini-bus K39 (20-25Rbl) goes to Ladozhsky station via Moskovskaya metro, Ploschad Vosstaniya metro and Hotel Moskva (Pl. Aleksandra Nevskogo metro). Sparrow Hills MVorobyevi Gory. Stand and survey almost Bulgakov House A-2, Ul. Bolshaya-Sadovaya 10, M Mayakovskaya, tel. 970 06 19, www. dombulgakova.ru. Steeped in popular Moscow legend, this is where Bulgakov, the author of Master and Margarita lived and wrote his famous novel. Night tours of Bulgakov‘s Moscow at night from 01:00 until 06:00 on Friday and Saturday nights taking in the sights of old Moscow familiar to Bulgakov and his friends and the novel. And adorable resident feline Behemoth is more than fat, he is adorable.QOpen 13.00 - 23.00 Bulgakov‘s Moscow at Night tour 550Rbl per person. Tour in English can be arranged in advance (call a week before). 1000 years of history. It might be hard to imagine the footprints of the Soviet greats when you are surrounded by kiosks and fast food vendors, not to mention the souvenir touts. Still, you can get an idea of the length and breadth of the capital from here, as well as seeing which of Stalin‘s Seven Sisters you can make out or play at counting the gold onion globes. Turn around for a glimpse of Moscow State University (MGU) directly behind you. Dvorianskoye Gnezdo (Noble Nest) D-3, Ul. Deka- Tsaritsino Ul. Dolskaya 1, MTsaritsino, tel. 322 68 43, bristov 21, MSennaya pl., tel. 312 09 11. If you came to St Petersburg in search of some imperial luxury this is the place to live out all your aristocratic dreams and more. Located close to the Mariinsky Theatre this famous restaurant could also very well provide the pièce de résistance of a very expensive romantic weekend. The palatial decor and food almost make you wish you’d been born a Romanov.QOpen 12:00 - 24:00. (1850Rbl). PTAIES www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru. Commissioned by Catherine the Great as an out of town palace in 1775, Tsaritsino has been the poor cousin of the Moscow estates and palaces. Early construction didn‘t meet with the Empress‘s approval and by 1795, after dismissing the main architect, the complex was already lying in ruins. Over the ensuing years, it has been a fashionable place to enjoy picnics amongst the ruins.QOpen 11:00 - 18:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Mon, Tue and last Fri of the month. Admission adults 150Rbl. The Other Side D-3, Ul. Bolshaya Konyushennaya 1, MNevsky pr., tel. 312 95 54, www.theotherside. ru.Cosy, relaxed and full of good old fashioned hospitality, this American-run ‘refuge’ is understandably a big hit with both locals and expats. Their beer is well-priced and wellsourced, the music is spot on (including some free live acts at the weekends) and their menu is a finger-licking blend of Chinese, Thai and Mexican flavours.QOpen 12:00 - 01:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 02:00. (300Rbl). PAEW Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 46 GeTTInG AROUnd Bulgaria Air Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal 2, tel. 578 27 12. MBarrikadnaya, tel. 234 40 74. Cyprus Airlines Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal 2, tel. 956 31 33, www.cyprusair.com.cy. Czech Airlines A-1, Ul. 2-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 31/35, MMayakovskaya, tel. 499 973 18 47, www. czechairlines.ru. Delta Airlines B-5, Gogolevsky bul. 11, 1st floor, MArbatskaya, tel. 937 90 90, delta.com. El Al Israel Airlines Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 20, off 208, MMayakovskaya, tel. 232 10 17, www.elal. co.il. Finnair A-6, Kropotkinsky per, 7, MPark Kultury, tel. 933 00 56, www.finnair.com. Germanwings A-3, Ul. Bol. Nikitskaya 50A/5, bld. 1, MArbatskaya, tel. 291 79 90, www.germanwings.com. Japan Airlines Tverskaya-Yamskaya 1st Ul, 5, MMayakovskaya, tel. 730 30 70, www.jal.com. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Ul. Usacheva 33, bld 1, MSportivnaya, tel. 258 36 00, www.klm.com. Korean Air Gnezdnikovsky B. per, 1, building 2, MPushkinskaya, tel. 725 27 27, www.koreanair.com. LOT Polish Airlines D-2, Ul. Trubnaya 21/11, MTrubnaya, tel. 499 775 77 37, www.lot.com. Lufthansa Posledny per, 17, MSukharevskaya, tel. 980 99 99, www.lufthansa.com. Malev Hungarian Airlines A-4, Ul. Povarskaya 21, MArbatskaya, tel. 202 84 16, www.malev.ru. Olympic Airlines Krasnopresnenskaya nab. 12, off 1103, MKrasnopresnenskaya, tel. 258 10 72, www. olympic-airlines.ru. Qantas Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 20, off 207, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 234 40 74, www.qantas.com.au. Qatar Airlines E-5, Kosmodamianskaya nab. 52, bld 5, MNovokuznetskaya, tel. 974 621 717, www.qatarairways.com. S7 Airlines Paveletskaya pl. 2/2, MPaveletskaya, tel. 777 99 99, www.s7.ru. Scandinavian Airlines Tverskaya-Yamskaya 1st Ul, 5, MMayakovskaya, tel. 755 47 47, www.scandinavian.net. Singapore Airlines F-2, Ul. Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya 13/3, bld 3, off. 3, MKrasny Vorota, tel. 937 59 20. South African Airlines E-1, Pr. Mira 39, bld. 2, MProspekt Mira, tel. 937 59 53. GeTTInG AROUnd Swiss International Airlines Posledniy per, 17, MSukharevskaya, tel. 937 77 67, www.swiss.com. Thai Airlines A-5, Smolenskaya pl. 3, MSmolenskaya, tel. 647 10 82, www.thai-airways.ru. Turkish Airlines C-3, Ul. Bol. Dmitrovka 7/5, bld 2, MChekhovskaya, tel. 980 52 02. 47 With over 12 million people calling Moscow home, big old Moscow isn’t a small place. It’s important not to underestimate travel times or distances. The public transportation consists of an extremely efficient and fantastically ornate metro concentrated in the city centre, a spider‘s web of trains running to all corners of the country and local buses, trolleybuses and a few marshrutkas (fixed route mini-vans.) Cathay Pacific Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 20, off 207, Buying Tickets For the full blooded Russian experience, line up to buy a train ticket at one of the Kassi (Ticket offices) at any train station. You can buy tickets for any train out of Moscow at any train station. If you don‘t speak Russian, it is a good idea to find out the number of the train you want to catch as in each station there is only information about their own trains. This is where the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru can come in handy. If you can read Russian or get a friend to help, you can even view timetables, buy tickets online with a creditcard and then just pick it up from the station! Their English version doesn’t allow purchases yet. Other options are to buy through a ticket or travel agency in Moscow. Another site is www.poezda.net, www.tutu.ru and www.waytorussia. net and www.trainsrussia.com. Domestic Airlines Aeroflot Ul. Kuznetsky Most 3, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 223 55 55, www.aeroflot.ru. Domodedovo Airlines Moscow obl, Domodedovo, tel. 504 03 00, www.akdal.ru. GTK Rossiya Ul 2-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya, 20/22, tel. 995 20 25/251 54 34, www.pulkovo.ru. S7 Airlines Novaya pl, 3/4 entrance 4, MKitai-gorod, tel. 777 99 99, www.s7.ru. Sky Express pos. Vnukovo, Tsentralnaya st., 2, tel. 580 9360, www.skyexpress.ru. Transaero 2 Brestskaya ul, 8, MMayakovskaya, tel. 937 84 59, www.transaero.ru. Rentacarmoscow tel. 234 67 91, www.rentcarmos- International Airlines Air Baltic B-2, Tverskaya Ul, 28/2, MMayakovskaya, tel. 221 72 13, www.airbaltic.com. Air France Korovy Val Ul, 7, MDobryninskaya, tel. 937 38 39, www.airfrance.com. Air Malta E-1, Pr. Mira 39, bld. 2, MProspekt Mira, tel. 937 59 52, airmalta.com. Alitalia Krasnopresnenskaya nab, 12, office 510, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 221 11 30, www.alitalia.com. American Airlines Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 20, off 207, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 234 40 74, www.aa.com. Austrian Airlines Domodedovo airport, tel. 795 35 21, www.aua.com. Bangkok Airlines Ul. Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya 20, off 207, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 234 40 74, www.bangkokair.com. British Airways 4th Lesnoy per, 4, MBelorusskaya, tel. 363 25 25, www.ba.com. Brussels Airlines E-1, Pr. Mira 39/2, MProspekt Mira, tel. 564 82 59, www.brusselsairlines.ru. Car Rental If you want to get out of the city - your way... here are some people who‘ll give you a car. You need a driver‘s licence from your home country, passport and credit card to walk away with a vehicle. For driving in Moscow tips, see page 10. cow.ru. Online reservation and the vehicle can be delivered to you. There‘s a deposit of course. Sixt Ul. Novoslobodskaya 20, MMendeleevskaya, tel. 564 87 46, www.sixt-rent.ru. This is their city centre location and they also have two airport outlets; Sheremetyevo-2 and Domdodevo. Public Transport Buses, Trolleybuses and Trams – The bus, trolleybus and tram network functions under the same ticketing system. Buy tickets from the small kiosks near to bus stations for 17Rbl a single ticket, 5 trips for 83Rbl, 10 for 165Rbl and 20 trips will set you back 325Rbl. The operating company is caled Mosgortrans. These types of transport are definitely for those with times on their hand; it is far more convenient to go by metro. Apart from wanting to take the scenic route, one of the few times it is logical to jump on a bus is when you happen to be near a metro like Akademicheskaya, outside the circle line and you want to go to say Kolomenskoe park. Buying your ticket onboard costs you 25Rbl. all trains leave daily unless otherwise stated Avis Ul. Meshchanskaya 7/1, MProspekt Mira, tel. 744 07 33, www.avis-moscow.ru. Avis has a head office in central Moscow and an outlet at Sheremetyevo Terminal 2 which operates daily from 06:00 - 24:00, tel. 578 71 79. Hertz Tverskaya Zastava pl. 2, MBelorusskaya, tel. 775 83 33, www.hertz.ru. Hertz has an outlet at Sheremetyevo2 and Domodedovo airports operating from 10:00 - 22:00. QOpen 09:00 - 18:00. International Train Schedule From Moscow Stn. Dep. KurS 22:45 PS 21:30 YS 23:55 YS 21:35 BS 08:00 KazS 23:25 BS 15:42 KievS 21:31 LS 22:50 KievS 20:23 KievS 19:37 BS 15:52 BS 10:23 KievS 21:20 BS 23:44 RS 19:10 RS 21:02 LS 18:05 KazS 23:25 YS 21:35 RIZ 20:08 BS 18:20 BS 21:09 Arr. 12:20 +3 09:08 +3 05:31 +6 14:04 +6 09:10 +1 03:09 +4 05:35 +1 09:47 +2 12:00 +1 07:47 +1 23:06 +1 13:57 +1 20:06 19:08 +1 05:03 +2 10:05 +1 12:15 +1 08:27 +1 19:10 +3 07:30 +5 06:50 +1 07:48 +1 16:11 +1 Trains to Moscow all trains leave from Moskovsky station. Train times are subject to change. From Moscow To Moscow N° Train Dep. Arr. Dep. Arr. N° Train 84 10:30 18:48 12:40 20:35 83 24 12:30 19:51 13:05 20:55 23 160 16:30 22:00 16:00 21:30 159 166 18:30 23:00 18:30 23:00 165 56 20:18 05:00 00:40 09:53 55 28** 21:30 05:30 22:30 05:56 27** 64 22:10 06:06 23:15 06:48 63 52 22:20 06:47 21:20 05:00 51 26 23:00 06:41 23:00 07:00 25 06 23:30 07:40 23:30 07:10 05 54 23:40 08:35 23:40 08:35 53 02 23:55 07:55 23:55 07:55 01 04 23:59 08:00 23:55 08:00 03 38 00:30 08:18 22:20 06:02 37 20 00:45 09:00 00:20 09:53 19 30 01:05 09:37 22:00 05;50 29 48 01:44 10:58 01:10 09:28 47 ** - odd dates Hailing a ‘taxi‘! ‘Taxi’ is a term to be used loosely in Russia. Although there are ‘official’ taxis, most St. Petersburgers hail down ordinary cars. To foreigners, travelling in an unmarked car may seem unsafe, and it is certainly advisable to take caution. There is a certain protocol to follow. Stand by a main road and stick out your arm. Girls have more luck stopping cars, so it’s advisable for a male companion to jump from the shadows.Always agree to a price in advance (‘Skolko?’); within the centre 150-300Rbl is normal. If the driver refuses, slam the door in an angry manner - sometimes they change their mind. Then hop in and enjoy the ‘chauffeur’ experience. Try to avoid using very large denominations and asking for change. www.inyourpocket.com Note:all times given are local times. 1 - Monday, 2 - Tuesday, 3 - Wednesday, 4 - Thursday, 5 - Friday, 6 - Saturday 7 - Sunday Destination ASTANA (1) (4) (6) BAKU (1) (3) (5) (5) BEIJING (3) (2) BEIJING (3) (2) (4) (6) BERLIN (2) (4) (7) (1) (4) BISHKEK (1) (4) BREST BUDAPEST HELSINKI KIEV KISHINEV LVOV MINSK ODESSA PRAGUE RIGA RIGA TALLINN (1) (3) (5) TASHKENT (2) (5) (7) (3) (4) ULAN BATAR (2) (5) VELIKY LUKI VILNIUS WARSAW To Moscow Dep. Arr. 06:55 15:33 +3 19:10 04:41 +3 22:56 18:13 +6 07:45 14:28 +6 15:13 20:35 +1 9:14 14:10 17:40 09:20 +1 18:15 09:52 +2 18:23 08:25 +1 19:07 09:00 +1 11:50 16:22 +1 08:37 09:08 +1 18:28 06:00 +1 15:05 15:16 +1 22:56 08:05 +1 16:20 09:41 +1 18:10 12:16 +1 17:10 09:20 +1 18:40 14:10 +3 13:50 14:28 +5 20:40 06:42 +1 17:00 09:05 +1 12:08 10:59 +1 Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 48 GeTTInG AROUnd Train Stations Moscow‘s eight major train stations keep the nation‘s rails moving in all directions. All are located next to metro stations, usually on the Koltsovoye (Circle) Line running around central Moscow. All stations have long queues for tickets as well as new pick up points for electronic (E- tickets) bought through the Russian Railways website. They all have spacious waiting rooms (except for Leningradsky) left luggage facilities, mobile phone outlets, cafes and toilets. Train stations tend to have little information in English so for those who have tickets already, it is a good idea to take note of your train number to be able to navigate and coordinate where you need to go. GeTTInG AROUnd Kievsky Station (Kiev) Kievskogo Vokzala pl. 2, MKievskaya, tel. 240 70 71. Right outside the metro Kievskaya, Kievsky is Moscow’s only railway station which overlooks the Moscow river. It‘s also right next to Europe Square with the 48 European flags and Belgian modernist sculpture and the Evropeisky Shopping Centre. As well as to Kiev, trains leave from Kievsky to Odessa, Budapest, Bucharest and Kishenev. There is the Vnukovo Aeroexpress Downtown Terminal where the passengers departing on scheduled domestic flights can check-in themselve and their luggage. This terminal is opposite the Evropeisky Shopping Centre, go under the clock and go up some steps to find it. Toilets for men and women are divided on opposite sides of the huge hall, and left luggage is downstairs. If you need to use the baby change facilities, there is a special entrance and you need to ring the doorbll. The ticket offices are in the centre. 49 Moscow Metro – Moscow’s metro is fast and efficient. It has to be with 173 stations and 9, 900 trains a day running over ten lines.Cost per ride is 19Rbl, operating hours are from 05:30 - 06:00 until 01:00. Buy a specified number of trips, pass through the barriers by swiping the card. On the train, the loudspeakers announce the name of the station you are arriving into, then as the doors close, they they announce the next station. If you miss your station, you don‘t have time to get off so play close attention. Plan your trip in advance on www.metroway.ru; an interactive metro map in English. Click on your starting station, then on your destination, press search to obtain the best route, travel time and number of transfers. www.mosmetro.ru Taxis Taxis to the city centre and airports depend on the taxi driver (his/her mood) and the time of day rather than where the station is. Short trips around the city cost around 300 - 500Rbl. New Moscow Taxi tel. 780 67 80, www.newmoscowtaxi.ru. Q 1hour costs 1750Rbl. New Yellow Taxi tel. 940 88 88.QCity centre to Sheremetyevo airport approx 1300Rbl, Domodedovo airport 1400Rbl. Taxi-ritm tel. 232 62 32/641 11 11, www.taxi-ritm. ru.Q City centre to Sheremetyevo airport circa 9000Rbl. 1km 15Rbl for the trip outside the city. Taxi Shanson tel. 925 75 13, www.tshanson.ru.Q City centre to airpot circa 1200Rbl. XXL Taxi tel. 995 82 94.QCity centre to Sheremetyevo airport circa 950Rbl. Belorussky Station (BS) Tverskaya Zastava pl. 7, MBelorusskaya, tel. 266 03 00. When you come out of Belorusskaya metro, turn towards the huge mint green Gothic style building. The second biggest railway station in Moscow has seen a lot of history over the years. Gorky was met here in 1928 when he returned to the Soviet Union and the first military trains heading to the front left here in 1941. Given the size and lack of English signs, be prepared for some perplexion. The ticket office for international trains (Open 08:00 - 20:00) is in the furthest part of the station itself. Trains go from here to Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk, Vilnius and Kaliningrad. The platforms are in the middle with the ticket offices to the left. Information touch screens (in Russian only) can be used to find out train and available berth information. The 24hour left luggage office is downstairs, prices ranging from 57 - 110 Rbl per bag. There are no lockers. Kursky Station (Kur) Ul. Zemlyanoy Val 29, MKurskaya, tel. 266 53 10. Situated behind Kurskaya and Chkalovskaya metro stations, Kursky is one of Moscow‘s most modern and western looking stations. Tickets offices are numerous and there are two information centres with English speakers. A multitude of shops including a sushi outlet, magazines, gifts and military wear specialist. To head to the long distance platforms and the toilets head downstairs, local trains including the express trains to Vladimir depart from the right hand side of the station (first floor). You can also get the Airexpress train to Domodedovo but as it only goes three times a day, it‘s not as convenient as the same service from Paveletsky Station. Leningradsky Station (LS) Komsomolskaya pl, 3, MKomsomolskaya, tel. 262 91 43. This is the hub for all trains to the north including international trains to Helsinki and Tallinn and domestic trains to Pskov and St. Petersburg. For international train tickets, head upstairs to the International Ticket office (Open 08:00 -20:00). Toilets are downstairs where if you are feeling brave, you can also have a shower. Services here are numerous and busy; gift shops, currency exchange (check the rates beforehand), take-away food outlets, a chemist and hairdressers. The waiting lounge is always overcrowded, and usually people are sitting on their bags; the atmopshere here can be stifling. There is also a special booking service centre to book hotels in St. Petersburg. Kazansky Station (KazS) Komsomolskaya pl. 2, MKomsomolskaya, tel. 266 23 00. The biggest railway station in Moscow can be reached from Komsomolskaya (exit not through the circle line, but from the red line). In years past, Kazansky was seen as a gateway to the East, and today trains still run to Kazan, Tashkent, Samara, UlanUde and Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk on timetables). Due to its immense size everything is scattered throughout the premises; the ticket offices and the Information desk (in Russian), and six information screens (one touch screen) are located in the furthest part of the station beyond the platforms. Rizhsky Station (RS) Rizhskaya pl. 79/3, MRizhs- kaya, tel. 971 15 88. You‘ll come here if you are heading to Riga or elsewhere in Latvia. Attached to Rizhskaya metro, head out of the metro onto Prospekt Mira and cross under the street using the perekhod pedestrian passage way. Rizhsky is a great deal quieter than other stations only handling a few train and is another example of faux grandeur of the 1900s. Paveletsky Station (PS) Paveletskaya pl. 1, MPave- Flying, airlines, timetables... Flight options to and from Russia have been improved in recent years. Checking timetables and booking online is easily accomplished through airlines websites. All international airlines offer websites in English with Russian airlines following suit in greater numbers. The budget airlines market has made a small (but growing) dent in the market with airlines such as S7 and Sky express. S7 flies from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport to Barcelona, Bangkok, Beijing as well as bi-weekly flights to Dublin as well as to most major Russian cities including St. Petersburg and Vladivostok. Sky express flies from Vnukovo Airport all around Russia to Kazan, Kaliningrad, Perm and St. Petersburg. For airlines see page 46. letskaya, tel. 950 37 00. Tsarist-era Paveletsky was the station where Lenin’s body was brought after his death in 1924. Today the station sends trains to Domodedovo Airport via the AeroExpress train. For this facility, you need to enter the station through Podezd (Entrance) 2 or 3. Here you can check in your bags to go to Domodedovo for a fee of 150Rbl. Express trains operate with intervals of 30mins to an hour depending on time of day. For ticket offices and toilets, enter through Podezd (entrance) 4. Sav yolovsky Station (SS) Ploshchad Sav yo- lovskogo Vok zala, MSavyolovskaya, tel. 266 81 00. Although no long distance trains run from here, the express train-bus facility for Sheremetyevo Airport leaves from Savyolovsky. Running daily, the trains run to Lobnya station (25mins) where passengers disembark and get onto a white bus which takes them to the airport (both Sheremetyevo terminals taking around 15-35 mins). For an additional fee, you can also check your baggage through here as well and choose where you want to sit on the plane. Taking the Trans Siberian? Actually no train in Russia is called the Trans Siberian. Trans Siberian really refers to the route across Russia so if you take any long distance train, you are going on the Trans-Sib. There are through trains to China that leave from Moscow going all the way to Beijing and others that you can take through Mongolia. For the hardcore train enthusiast, take the Moscow-Vladivostok train – seven days, more Russian cities than you can count on two hands, and no border crossings! Yaraslavsky Station (YarS) Komsomolskaya pl. 5, Dobroye utro = Good morning Dobri dyen = Good day Dobri vecher = Good night Moscow In Your Pocket MKomsomolskaya, tel. 266 63 00. Turn right out of metro Komsomolskaya; Yaroslavsky is one of the smaller stations with two turretted towers. The tickets for local trains (electrichky) are first, this is where you can buy tickets for Sergiev Posad and other Golden Ring destinations such as Kostroma, Ivanovo and Yaroslavl. Head upstairs for the service centre where you can buy both plane and train tickets and also obtain hotel information. Yaroslavsky is also the starting point for Trans-Siberian ad ventures such as Beijing, Ulan Bator and Siberian destinations such as Irkutsk on Lake Baikal and Russia‘s most easterly destination Vladivostok. November 2008 50 GeTTInG AROUnd Golden Ring Towns Moscow’s Golden Ring towns (Vladimir, Suzdal, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Kostroma, Pereslavl and Sergiev Posad) are all accessible by various trains and buses. For train times and info, see our Domestic Trains Schedule, this page. Please note that you can also travel to Sergiev Posad (the closest of these ancient Russian towns just 70kms and an easy day trip from Moscow) from Yaroslavsky Station. Trains depart several times a day. You can also take one of any number of buses to all the above-mentioned towns from the Central Bus Station. Times vary but the number of buses range from six buses a day (Kostroma) up to 20 buses (Sergiev Posad). For train times, see (in Russian language only), www.rzd.ru and www. busmow.ru MAIL & PHOneS IP Phonecards 51 Post Only believe half the stories you hear about Russia’s post system. Mail may get detoured, but usually not lost. If you need to get something in or out of the country in a hurry, consider a courier service. A letter to Europe or Australia takes around three weeks. In addition to these offices below, you can also buy stamps from any post office in Moscow and drop them into any dark blue post box around the city. MTverskaya. Despite the name, does all postal related chores including sending parcels, faxes, and email.QOpen 08:00 - 22:00. Main Post Office E-2, Ul. Myasnitskaya 26, MChistiye Prudi. From here, you can post letters and postcards, buy stamps or make a telephone call.QOpen 24hrs. The phone card is a a convenient and ingenious way to make international calls at affordable costs. Various cards are available from phone shops such as Evroset (you can also use their card for internet access) and from some internet cafes and post offices. Dial the local access number, then the card number (login), then the pin (parol) and then the number (without the OO) you wish to call. Calling Internationally To phone home from a Moscow landline, you need to dial 8 then wait a little (not necessary if you have a digital line) then dial 10, followed by the country code, city code and actual telphone number. Central Telegraph Office C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 7, Calling within Moscow The Moscow city code is 495 but some parts of Moscow for example Kolomenskoye just outside the Circle Line, have the code 499. To dial numbers with a 495 code, if you are in the 495 code yourself, simply dial the number. Hey presto, connection! If you‘re in the 495 area, but need to call to another code it is the same as calling within Russia, see below. Domestic Train Schedule From Moscow Stn. Dep. KurS 00:08 KurS 19:29 ** YS 09:35 KurS 09:00 KurS 14:49 KazS 16:08 YS 23:25 * YS 14:15 YS 22:05 BS 14:06 KazS 19:20 KazS 0:15 KurS 21:31 YS 22:20 PS 07:15 LS 00:50 YS 16:20** KazS 19:39 * YS 18:50 LS 19:28 KazS 23:16 PS 17:50 KurS 06:40 KurS 10:33 KurS 16:51 BS 23:54 KurS 19:29 PS 21:04 KurS 17:55 KazS 13:11** LS 21:50 KurS 18:00 YS 21:25 * YS 01:01 PS 13:40 PS 22:30 YS 08:24 Arr. 12:47 08:12 +2 06:24 +1 13:25 07:41 +1 17:45 +1 04:07 +4 06:13 05:10 +1 12:06 +1 08:35 13:04 08:20 +2 05:00 23:00 +1 12:18 +2 15:00 +2 13:39 +2 15:56 +1 07:30 17:45 +1 09:05 +1 10:10 10:41 +1 20:20 +1 06:31 +1 09:46 +2 07:30 +2 02:20 06:17 +4 06:10 +1 20:42 23:48 +7 09:20 +7 18:51 +1 10:41 +1 12:15 all trains leave daily unless otherwise stated To Moscow Dep. Arr. 18:45 05:45 16:40 ** 06:00 +2 18:57 16:58 +1 16:50 21:18 14:15 09:12 07:19 09:23 +1 11:10 ** 16:58 +4 13:08 03:02 22:35 05:31 +1 11:47 09:27 +1 21:35 10:35 21:57 11:25 +1 20:38 06:48 +2 23:00 05:43 3:05 22:09 +1 18:55 06:54 +1 07:20 06:30 +2 10:59 * 05:28 08:58 06:15 +1 18:00 06:25 19:23 15:20 +1 10:17 07:28 18:00 21:18 17:05 19:35 09:26 10:47 +1 23:00 05:45 14:50 06:00 +2 20:30 05:30 +2 07:28 09:58 09:00 ** 04:41 +4 21:20 05:32 +1 07:30 10:09 15:00 * 17:58 +7 11:48 04:00 +7 15:04 10:00 +1 17:40 06:15 16:35 20:13 ** - even dates Express mail and couriers DHL C-3, Central Telegraph Office, Ul. Tverskaya 7, MTverskaya, tel. 956 10 00, www.dhl.ru. DHL will come to you to pick up your parcel. There are over 12 offices around Moscow including this DHL agency on Tverskaya. Calling within Russia For calling within Russia or even within Moscow where there are different codes, simply dial 8, then wait for a long tone (not necessary if you have a digitial line), then the city code, then the number. Depending on which telephone company provides the telephone, you have to enter an additional prefix after the 8. So calling St. Petersburg for example, you have Destination ADLER ANAPA ARKHANGELSK (6) (7) CHERN (6) (7) DNEPROPETROVSK EKATERINBURG (SVERDLOVSK) IRKUTSK (3) (6) IRKUTSK (5) IVANOVO KALININGRAD KAZAN KAZAN KISLOVODSK KOSTROMA KRASNODAR MURMANSK NOVOSIBIRSK OMSK PERM PSKOV SAMARA SARATOV (6) (7) SHCHEKINO (6) (7) SEVASTOPOL SEVASTOPOL SMOLENSK SOCHI STAVROPOL TULA ULAN UDE VELIKY NOVGOROD VLADIMIR VLADIVOSTOK VLADIVOSTOK VOLGOGRAD VORONEZH YAROSLAVL Pony Express D-4, Gostiny Dvor, Ul. Ilyicha, 2nd flr, entrance 1, MKitai Gorod, tel. 937 77 77, www.ponyexpress.ru. Postal and courier services throughout Russia and the CIS, as well as intercity deliveries.QOpen Mon - Fri 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun. Laptop login Dial up - You can buy internet cards at computer shops, CD shops and kiosks. You can buy time–limited cards, which have credit for anything from 1–100hrs, or you can get cards that charge by the megabyte. On the back, there will be a dial–up number (nomer telefona), login (imya polzovetelya) and password (parol). Some brands (such as Lanck and Zebra) require that you register on their website before you can get your password. When setting up your connection, don’t forget to change your dial-up connection setting to pulse rather than tone dialling (if you don’t have a digital line). If you work with Windows XP: pulse dialling can be achieved by preceding the internet access number with a capital ‘P’. Wireless Wi–Fi (Wireless Fidelity) - You can find the usual Wi–Fi ‘hot spots’ at the airport, train stations and the sea passenger terminal, as well as hotels, cinemas, restaurants, stores and coffee shops. Quantum (www.wifizone.ru) and Comset (www.set3.ru) have hot spots in Petersburg. to dial 8, then 53 or 55 depending on your telephone service provider. Confusing, right? Westpost Dmitrovskoye shosse 27, 1034-1035, MTimuryazevskaya, tel. 730 59 42, www.westpost. ru. Here are two services, one the UPS international courier service and a separate mail service which operates through Finland where you pay extra for them to take it to Finland and mail it from there.QOpen Mon - Fri 09:00 - 20:00. Public Internet Access Cafemax D-5, Ul. Pyatnitskaya 25/1, MNovokuznetskaya, tel. 950 60 50, Moscow State University, Ul. Leninskie Gory 1, bldg 54 MUniversitet tel. 775 65 00; Ul. Novoslobodskaya 3 MNovoslobodskaya tel. 741 75 71, Volokolamskoe shosse 10 MSokol, tel. 641 04 22, www.cafemax.ruQOpen 24hrs. Internet Club D-3, Kuznetsky Most 12, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 624 21 40. Telephone codes Russian city codes Archangelsk 8182/818 Novgorod 8162/81622 Irkutsk 3952 Novosibirsk 3832 Kazan 8432 Petrozavodsk 8142 Moscow 495/499 Pskov 8112/81122 Murmansk 8152/81522 St.Petersburg 812 Leningrad 813 Vladivostok 4232 Oblast The above Russian city codes should be prefixed with 8 if dialling from inside Russia International country codes Austria 43 Denmark 45 Italy 39 Russia 7 Belgium 32 Estonia You can Finland mobile phone from 81 Spain provider use your 372 Japan home if your 34 Canada/USA 1 358 Latvia 371 Sweden 46 has a roaming agreementLithuaniaRussian mobile company. with a China 86 France 33 370 Turkey 90 If you call with your mobileNetherlands 31number, you‘ll need to a Russian Cuba 53 Germany 49 Ukraine 380 495 Czech Rep. to put in India numbers, so for Moscow +7UK followed by 420 all the 91 Norway 47 44 Mobile Phones 1 - Monday, 2 - Tuesday, 3 - Wednesday, 4 - Thursday, 5 - Friday, 6 - Saturday 7 - Sunday +1 - Arrival on the next day +2 - Arrival on the second day after departure, and so on * - odd dates NB: Ekaterinburg retains its pre-1991 name Sverdlovsk on train timetables. Codes should beSIM card. They range in price starting from 200Rbl up sian prefixed with 8-10 if dialling inside Russia. After dailing 8, wait for the 400Rbl tone - this is on your chosen package. to second depending only if you do NOT have a digital line. the number. To avoid roaming charges, you can get a Rus- Beeline , www.beelinegsm.ru. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 52 SHOPPInG SHOPPInG Ramstore (Komsomolskaya) Ul. Komsomolskaya 6/1, MKomsomolskaya, tel. 207 20 41, www. ramstore.ru.QOpen 24hrs. PA 53 Moscovites were born to shop. It‘s just that for a long time, there wasn‘t anything to buy. Different century, different story.... Bookshops Anglia Books B-2, Vorotnikovsky per 6, MMayakovskaya, tel. 699 77 66, www.angolphile.ru. Located a short walk from Mayakovskaya metro station, this handy little bookstore is chock full with books. Fiction from around the world, history and psychology sections are all well covered subjects. There‘s also English teaching material and coffee table art and design books.QOpen 10:00 - 19:00, Sat - Sun 10:00 - 18:00. A Gourmet Foodstuffs Globus Gourmet E-3, Ul. Maroseika 6/8. Picture a downscaled version of Harrod‘s Food Hall and this would be a close approximation. The downstairs wine storage is worthy of special mention, all wines are kept at 17 degrees. QOpen 10:00 - 23:00 PA Dom Inostrannoi Knigi (House of Foreign Books) D-3, Kuznetsky Most 18/7, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 628 20 21, www.mdk-arbat.ru. This is a floor to ceiling library of English books ranging from travel and books about Russia to recent fiction and paperbacks. Guidebooks and volumes about art fill the room.QOpen 09:00 - 21:00, Sat. 10:00 - 21:00, Sun 10:00 - 20:00 PA www.gum.ru. A trip here is essential - this elaborate three arcade structure with three tiers is constructed from limestone, marble and granite and was first built in the 1890s. In 1958, it became a shopping arcade again and is today one of the most popular tourist sights. Toilets for those in need are on the third level of the third arcade.QOpen 10:00 - 22:00. PTJAK Gum D-4, Red Square, MPl. Revolutsy, tel. 788 43 43, Gum Gastronom D-4, Red Square, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 620 30 10, www.gum.ru. Even the handles of the baskets are leather padded for your shopping comfort. The salad bar has an amazing range of good value, fresh chef-crafted salads. The pink dragon fruit and vegetables are so artfully displayed that committed carnivores will be swearing off flesh.QOpen 10:00 - 22:00 PTALK Sedmoi (7th) Continent , tel. 777 77 79, www.7cont.ru. This chain of gourmet supermarkets have a good range of fresh foodstuff and imported treats. The one on the Arbat has a great range. If you are looking for your closest outlet, check the website for their self-styled star rating system. Q Open 24hrs. PA Respublika A-1, Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 10, Okhotny Ryad C-3, Maneznaya pl.1, MOkhotny Ryad, MMayakovskaya, tel. 781 37 83. The drum and bass soundtrack doesn‘t make it attractive as a place to hole up with a paperback. This book and cd shop meets quirky giftstore is far too cool for that. In terms of English reading material, there is a reasonable amount with a broad enough selection to keep people happy. What‘s more, you can listen to the cds on headphones upstairs and then hop along to their bright pink cafe for a wee bite. Q Open 24hrs. Wi-fi from 11:00 - 23:00 (free) PJAKW www.oxotniy.ru. If you can find your way around in here, you‘ve made it in this town. Confusion central, this is a spawling place that has everything you need it just takes a long time to find it! Maybe that is part of the plan so that all customers stay and shop longer. There is a food court on the ground floor with a rane of ready food options from sushi to fried chicken to sandwiches, perfect for when you‘ve done the Kremlin and want a snack.QOpen 11:00 - 23:00 PJALKSW Yelisevsky B-2, Ul. Tverskaya 14, MPushkinskaya, tel. 650 07 60. The flag shop of nineteenth century gourmet merchandiser and importer Paul Yelisevsky has a grand interior. The ceilings are as high as a theatre. Stocked here, at reasonable prices are a variety of imported chocolates, biscuits and other foodie gifts as well as stocked seafood and cheese deli counters. There‘s a wine room, stocked with wines form around the world and champers, as well as a souvenirs room out the back. QOpen 24hrs. PJA Tsum D-3, Ul. Petrovka 2, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 933 73 Cds and dvds Mir Kino (World of Cinema) E-3, Ul. Maroseika 6/8, MKitai Gorod, tel. 628 51 45, www.dvdmal.ru. Foreign films, Russian flicks, arthouse offerings from the genii of European cinema are all to be found here. As well as the latest American blockbusters, they also have Soviet cinema and shelves of books dedicated to cinema and photography. Q Open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00, Sat 11:00 - 21:00, Sun 11:00 - 20:00 PAW Markets Dorogomilovsky Ul. Mozhaisky Val 10, MKievskaya, tel. 249 55 53. Covering almost a entire city block, this inner-city market just five minutes from Kievskaya and around the back of the Evropeisky shopping centre is a find. Fresh produce including fish and seafood can be found in the covered buildinngs, and there‘s also an array of standard Russian market goodies (plastic stuff no one needs but people seem to buy) displayed in the neat aquablue booths outside. It‘s neat and well attended so you can be assured that everything is ultra fresh. Q Open 07:00 - 20:00. Izmailovsky Ul. 3 Parkovaya 24, MPartizanskaya, tel. 163 21 76. The market isn‘t far from Izmailovo estate which was Peter the Great‘s playground as a boy. This flea market is the place to go for your Soviet kitsch souvenirs and a little bit of everything else. It‘s huge and rambling, filled with Russia‘s best and worst salespeople. Here you‘ll find matryoshki (nesting dolls), the laquer boxes, carpets, Soviet posters, badges, tea towels and so on. Bargain hard and be friendly, some of your encounters here have the potential to be the most memorable. Follow the crowds from the Partizanskaya metro station. Q Open 08:00 - 20:00. 00. Spritely designer loving Tsum has all the labels you‘ve ever seen and then some more you‘ve never heard of. All you need to know is womens fashion is on the third floor, mens on the second, kids and youth fashion is on the fourth as well as the cafe.Q Open 10:00 - 22:00, Sun 11:00 - 22:00 PJAK Supermarkets Azbuka Vkusa C-2, Ul. Petrovka 19, MChekhovskaya, tel. 623 87 47. Q Open 24hrs PJA Perekrestok (Kievskaya) Kievskaya pl. 2 (Evropeisky Centre), MKievskaya, tel. 229 19 54, www.perekriostok. ru. Q Open 24hrs PJA Perekrestok (Novoslobodskaya) Ul. Tikhvinskaya 4, MNovoslobskaya, tel. 499 973 05 53, www.perekriostok.ru. Q Open 08:00 - 24:00 PA Perekrestok (Polyanka) D-6, Ul. Bol. Polyanka 28 (Trading Centre Sofia), MPolyanka, tel. 660 05 44, www. perekriostok.ru. Q Open 08:00 - 23:00 PA Mega Shopping These three Mega shoppingmalls contain everything under the one roof including Ikea, Auchan supermarkets and many many brands. Most have free buses from the nearest metros and can also arrange taxis back to your apartment with all our your shopping (prices around 850 - 1400Rbl.) Gifts and Souvenirs Art Lebedev C-3, Galleria Ul. Tverskaya 9, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 697 26 35. You won’t find your average matryoshka nesting dolls, rather New age byte-inspired ones. This small nook situated just off Ul. Tverskaya is full of trendy design gifts. Cutesy slogan tshirts, hip magnets, books and toys that have sprung from the minds of today‘s contemporary designers in Russia.Q Open 08:00 - 24:00 PJA Belaya Dacha Kotelniki, 1st Pokrovksy proezd Podarki, Decor and Podarki A-2, l. Malaya Bronnaya 4, MLyublino, Kuzminki, Vykhino, tel. 739 84 64, www.ikea.ru. This is in the south west of Moscow. Free buses leave every half an hour from metro Vykhino and every 15 - 20 mins from metros Lyublino and Kuzminki. QOpen 10:00 - 22:00 PTULK 28/2, tel. 203 04 17, www.buro-nahodok.ru. Hand made design presents of such creativity and inspiration you won‘t want to give them away and will keep them for yourself. Products are from the design studios of Moscow‘s artists and include metal wrought sculptures, handbags, knitted goods, retro mobiles and the like. Truly a wonderland of clever things. Q Open 11:00 - 21:00, Sat 12:00 - 21:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. PAW Khimki Khimki, Microrayon 8, bldg. 1, MRechnoy Shopping Centres Evropeisky Shopping Centre Kievskaya pl. 2, MKievskaya, tel. 921 34 44. Initially the layout can be disorienting but after you‘ve adjusted it is well possible that you could spend whole days here. Quality restaurants and bars, saunas and health treatments, and all the European brand shops that gave the centre its very name. Bliss! The perfect hideout when you‘re in need of that injection of Western shopping culture.QOpen 10:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 23:00 PJAK Vokzal, Planernaya, tel. 737 53 29, www.ikea.ru. Take one of the free buses that run every twenty minutes from metro Rechnoy Vokzal and Planernaya. Don’t be tempted to take another bus. They take longer and have been known in the past to break down.QOpen 10:00 - 23:00. PTAUK Tyopli Stan Leninsky rayon, pos. Mamiri, MYas- Spasiba = Thank you Pazhalusta = Please Moscow In Your Pocket nero, Annino, tel. 737 30 07, www.ikea.ru. This Ikea is located in the south of Moscow. Take the free bus from metro stations Yasnero and Annino.QOpen 10:00 - 22:00. PTAULK November 2008 54 eMBASSIeS Australia F-4, Podkolokolny per.10a/2, MKitai Gorod, tel. 956 60 70. Austria A-5, Starokonushenny per. 1, MKropotkinskaya, tel. 201 73 79. Azerbaijhan B-3, Leontyevsky per. 16, MChehovskaya, tel. 229 16 49. Belarus E-3, Ul. Maroseika 17/6, MChistye Prudy, tel. 921 30 71 Belgium A-4, Ul. Mal. Malchanovka 7, MArbatskaya, tel. 780 03 31. Bulgaria Ul. Mosfilmovskaya 66, MUniversitet, tel. 143 90 22. Canada A-4, Starokonyushenny per. 23, MSmolenskaya, tel. 956 66 66. China Ul. Druzhby 6, MUniversitet, tel. 938 20 06. Czech Republic A-2, Ul. Yuliusa Fucheka 12/14, MMaykovskaya, tel. 225 05 40. Egypt A-6, Kropotkinsky per. 12, MPark Kultury, tel. 246 02 34. Estonia B-4, Kalashny per. 8, MArbatskaya, tel. 290 31 78. Finland A-6, Kropotkinsky per. 15/17, MPark Kultury, tel. 787 41 78. France C-6, Ul. Bol. Yakimanka 45, MOktyabyrskaya, tel. 937 15 00. Georgia A-4, Mal. Rzevsky per. 6, MArbatskaya, tel. 290 69 02. Germany Mosfilmovskaya 56, MUniversitet, tel. 937 95 00, www.moskau.diplo.de. Hungary Mosfilmovskaya 62, MKievskaya, tel. 796 93 70. Indonesia E-7, Ul. Novokuznetskaya 12, MPaveletskaya, tel. 951 95 49. Ireland Grokholsky per. 5, MProspekt Mira, tel. 937 59 11. Israel D-7, Ul. Bol. Ordynka 56, MPaveletskaya, tel. 230 67 00. Italy A-5, Denezny per. 5, MSmolenskaya, tel. 796 96 91. Japan Kalashny per. 12, MArbatskaya, tel. 202 83 03. Jordan B-2, Mamonovsky per. 3, MPushkinskaya, tel. 299 12 42. Latvia F-2, Ul. Chaplygina 3, MChistye Prudy, tel. 924 88 86. Lithuania A-4, Borisogrebsky per. 10, MArbatrskaya, tel. 291 15 01. Malta D-7, Korovy Val 7, off. 219, MDobryninskaya, tel. 237 19 39. Moldova D-2, Ul. Rozhdestvenka 7, MKuznetsky Most, tel. 924 63 42. Nepal 2-y Neopalimovsky per. 14/7, MSmolenskaya, tel. 244 02 15. Netherlands B-4, Kalashny per. 6, MArbatskaya, tel. 797 29 00. New Zealand A-4, Ul. Povarskaya 44, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 956 35 79 Norway A-4, Ul. Povarskaya 7, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 203 22 70. Poland Ul. Klimashkina 4, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 231 15 00. Spain B-3, Ul. Bol. Nikitskaya 50/8, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 202 21 80. Sweden Ul. Mosfilmovskaya 60, MUniversitet, tel. 956 12 00. Switzerland Ogorodnaya Sloboda per. 2/5, MChistye Prudy, tel. 258 38 38. Thailand Ul. Bol. Spasskaya 9, MKomsomolskaya, tel. 208 08 17. Turkey 7-y Rostovsky per. 12, MSmolenskaya, tel. 246 00 09. Turkmenistan Filippovsky per. 22, MArbatskaya, tel. 202 02 78. Ukraine Leontyevsky per. 18, MPushkinskaya, tel. 229 34 22. United Kingdom Smolenskaya nab. 10, MSmolenskaya, tel. 956 72 00. United States Novinsky bul. 19/23, MSmolenskaya, tel. 956 42 27. BUSIneSS dIReCTORY Accountants and Consultants Bauke van der Meer C-6, Ul. Bol Yakimanka 31/18, off 203B, MPolyanka, tel. 935 76 21, www.bvdmeer.nl. tel. 705 97 00, www.ey.com. 55 Printing and Copying Copy Max A-1, Ul. 2-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 16, MMayakovskaya, tel. 933 09 00, E-7, Paveletskaya Pl. 2 (Paveletsky Business Centre), MPaveletskaya, tel. 937 07 70, www.copy-max.ru. Ernst and Young E-6, Sadovnicheskaya nab. 77, bld. 1, Mega-Intel 1 - Schipkovsky per. 4, MSerpukhovskaya, tel. 737 00 22, www.mega-intell.ru. Real Estate Beatrix C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 12/9, office 95, MOhotny Ryad, tel. 232 32 22,, www.beatrix.ru. Banks Alfa Bank F-1, Ul. Kalanchevskaya 27, MKrasny Vorota, tel. 620 91 91, www.alfabank.ru. 75 75, www.citibank.ru. Evans B-2, Maly Palashevsky per. 6, bldg 1, floor 4, MPushkinskaya, tel. 7 232 67 03, www.evans.ru. Citibank C-3, Ul. Tverskaya 6, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 775 Deutsche Bank F-6, Ul. Sadovnicheskaya 82, bld.2, MPaveletskaya, tel. 797 50 00, www. deutsche-bank.ru. skaya, tel. 737 76 67, www.dresdner-bank.de. tel. 721 91 00, www.raiffeisen.ru. Intermark Savills Kropotkinsky per. 7, bld.1, MPark Kultury, tel. 7 502 95 53, www.intermarksavills.ru. skaya, tel. 7 232 31 58, www.pulford.com. Pulford B-2, Bol. Palashevsky per. 14A, Bld. 2, MPushkin- Dresdner Bank AG F-3, Podsosensky per. 30, MKurRaiffeisen Bank Leninsky pr. 15A, MOktyabyrskaya, World Bank A-4, Ul. Bol. Molchanovka 36, bld.1, MArbatskaya, tel. 745 70 00, www.worldbank.org. Recruitment G-nuis Ul. Goncharnaya 3/1 office 42, tel. 698 06 46, www.g-nuis.ru. Residential Complexes Park Place Leninsky Prospect 113/1, MYugo Zapadnaya, tel. 7 956 50 50, www.hines.com. Exhibition Centres All Russian Exhibition Centre (VVTs) Prospekt Mira, VVTs, MVDNKh, tel. 554 3400 www.vvcentre.ru. Pokrovsky Hills Ul. Beregovaya 3, MSokol, tel. 7 230 66 00, fax 7 230 66 16, www.hines.com. Rosinka Moscow rural, Krasnogorsky region, village Angelovo, MSkhodnenskaya, tel. 730 32 00, www.rosinka. ru. Q Open 9:00 - 18: 00. A Crocus Expo (International Exhibition Centre) Trade and exhibition centre Crocus City, 65-66 km Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), tel. 727 26 26, www.crocusexpo.ru. Tsentr, tel. 795 3799, www.expocentr.ru. tel. 698 1202, www.mosgd.ru. Expocentre Krasnopresnenskaya nab.,14, MDelovoy Gostiny Dvor D-4, Ul. Ilinka, 4, MPloshad Revolutsy, Sokolniki Culture & Exhibition Centre 5th Luchevoy Renting an apartment If you did not know Moscow is the world’s most expensive capital, you’ll find out as soon as you start looking for a house or apartment. It seems the whole world wants to live in Moscow - except for those Russians setting up house in London and Spain that is. There is a real shortage for accommodation especially for so called ‘European’ apartments. European means good (for Western people normal) quality with a separate living room and bed rooms for all members of the family. Also for ordinary Russians it is difficult to find a living place below $UIS1,000 a month. Most expats or their companies pay xxxx, xxxx, and xxx for xxxxx. Landlords and landladies can be quite difficult to deal with. If you do not speak Russian it is better to co-operate with a real estate agent or with friends. Don’t be surprised if after after 12 months the landlord knocks on your door with a price increase of at least 10%. Everything becomes more expensive and he also needs to pay more for his overseas holidays, right? Some tips before you decide on a place: • is the apartment close to a metro station? • does it have a boiler so in summer you will have hot water too? • save surroundings for your children? • can you open the windows for fresh air • do you have internet connection and does it work? • can the furniture of the owner be removed?! In Your Pocket Europe’s City Guide inyourpocket.com In Your Pocket guides and mini-guides are published in 46 cities across the continent. You can download PDF versions of them all for free at inyourpocket.com Prosek, MSokolniki, tel. 995 0595, www.exposokol. ru. World Trade Centre Moscow (WTC) Krasnopresnen- skaya nab.,12, MDelovoy Tsentr, tel. 258 1212/ 253 8252, www.wtcmoscow.ru. Language Schools BKC-Globus Bol Golovin per. 25, MSukharevskaya, tel. 7 730 00 26, www.bkc.ru. Cref F-2, Bol. Kharitonyevsky per., 14, MChistye Prudy, tel. 628 37 37, www.cref.ru.QOpen 08:00 - 21:00, Sat 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sun. A Liden and Denz Language Centre Gruzinsky per 3, E S S E N T I A L C I TY G U I D E S Moscow In Your Pocket Looking for another embassy? The complete list is at www.inyourpocket.com entr. 6, off. 181, MBelorusskaya, tel. 254 49 91, www. lidenz.ru.QOpen 08:30 - 22:00. Ruslingua Language Center 1st Spasonalivkovsky per. 3/5, office 403 (4th floor), MPolyanka, tel. 7 748 31 85, www.ruslingua.com.QOpen 09:00 - 21:00. November 2008 56 exPAT Student City Russia has more than 7.1 million students of which around 1 million study in Moscow. Russia attracts 89,000 foreign students each year from which the majority choose Moscow or St. Petersburg. The 45, 000 Russians who study abroad choose destinations like Britain, USA, Germany, France or Holland – although China is also very popular. AIESEC With branches in 14 cities across Russia AIESEC, the world’s largest student organisation is one of the most active international student organizations in Russia. In Your Pocket co-operates with these nice young peopl.eQNational committee Russia, Ul. Mitinskaya 26, office 457, tel: +7 (501) 439 03 96, www.aiesec.ru Cultural & Education Centres The foreign cultural or educational centres in Moscow organise many activities - for both Russians and foreigners. The epicentre is the well-known VGBIL building (Foreign Literature Library) in the city centre.QForeign Literature Library, Ul. Nikoloyamskaya 1 M Taganskaya, tel +7 (495) 915 36 21, www.libfl.ru American Centre Check out their agenda: many lectures on USA and Conversation Clubs – Who was talking about a new Cold War? Library with many English books you can borrow for 3 weeks and free internet for 30m.Q 497 777 65 30, www.amc.ru Tel. British Council To be or not to be, next to educational promotion the British Council also organises art and cinema events. The council’s library is handed over to local partners, see its website for more info.Q 287 18 00, www.britishcouncil.org/russia Tel. Canadian Centre Opened in 2006 the Canadian Centre focuses its activities on Russian students who are interested to go for Canada to study.QTel. +7 (495) 915 37 52, www.studycanada. ca/russia Campus France Even the tsars spoke French. The French Culture Centre continues the long tradition of French education in Russia and has a great mediateque with books CDs, DVDs, etc. Established for more than 15 years, they are a big promoter of all (cultural) French activities in Russia.Q +7 (495) 915 Tel. 79 74, www.ccf-moscou.ru DAAD & Goethe Institute Located in the former Embassy of the DDR, DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service, provides information on many study programmes in the Central-European country. Its brother, the Goethe Institute, promotes German cultural activities.QLeninsky prospekt 95a, tel. 132 49 92, www. daad.ru, www.goethe.de/ins/ru/mos/deindex Neso Russia (Netherlands) Brand new in Moscow, the Netherlands Education Support Office (Neso) is the sole representative of more than 70 Dutch universities and promotes Study in Holland, Tsar Peter the Great’s favourite country, and institutional co-operation between both countries. Its website shows a calendar of Dutch cultural and scientific events in Russia.QForeign Literature Nikoloyamskaya ulitsa 1, tel. +7 495 915 72 36, www.nesorussia.com Moscow has a large and active expat community. To keep in touch with what’s going on, visit the useful site, www. expat.ru. If you would like your group to feature here, send your details to research.mos@inyourpocket.com. exPAT English International School Zeleny prospect 66a, MNovogireevo, tel. 7 301 21 04, www.englishedmoscow.com. P‘tit Cref Bol. Afanasyevsksy per. 41, MArbatskaya, tel. 203 20 06, www.ptitcref.ru. The first tri-lingual kindergarten in Russia offers Russian, French and English classes in a bright and cheery atmosphere. Located just off the central Ul. Arbat, the school has numerous classrooms for fun, games, resting and of course milk and cookies. 57 Expat Contacts yahoo.com. Meets the first and third Wednesday at the Hard Rock Cafe, Ul. Arbat 44 from 10:30 - 12:00. Newcomers coffee morning held every second Wednesday, same venue. British Women‘s Club info@bwcmoscow.co.uk, www. bcwmoscow.co.uk. On the second Tuesday of every month from 10:00 - 12:00, members meet for coffee at the British Embassy. Canadian Women/Partners in Moscow cwim_moscow@yahoo.ca. Damas Latinas dlatinas@yahoo.com, www.geocities. com/dlatinas/club.html. Dutch Community www.nederlandseverenigingmoskou.ru. Dutch Women‘s Club (The Tulips) aleiddouma@live. nl, nvm.redroxx.eu/tulpen/ Hash House Harries Moscow tel. 8 985 364 99 36, www.moscow harriers.itgo.com. com/hauspostille. American Women‘s Organisation awomoscow@ Kindergartens Little Angels Ul. Novocheremushkinskaya 11/2, MAkademicheskaya, tel. 779 76 40, www.littleangels.ru. Moving and Relocations Ace International Moving Ul. Godovikova 9, bld. 5, MAlekseevskaya, tel. 956 60 07, www.ace-intl-moving.com. Allied Pickfords Varshavskoe Shosse 127a, MYuzhnaya, tel. 796 93 25, www.alliedpickfords.ru. Eurohome Relocation Services Nab. Berezhovskaya 20, Block 9, 2nd floor, tel. 502 95 23, www.eurohome. nl/index Interalvi Dmitrovskoe shosse 81, off 508, MPetrovskoRazumovskaya, tel. 745 22 75, www.interalvi.ru. Hauspostille (German-Language Community Newsletter) hauspostille@yahoo.de, de.geocities. International Women‘s Club www.iwcmoscow.ru. Moscow Dragons Rugby Club contact@moscowdragonsrfc.com, www.moscowdragonsrfc.com. site-moskva-acqueil.org. Religious Services per., MKitay Gorod. Grand Mosque Vypolzov per. 7, MProspekt Mira. International Christian Assembly Schelkovskoye Shosse 2a, MCherkizovskaya, tel. 8 962 933 35 81, www.icamoscow.org. International Christian Fellowship Bolshoy Nikolopeskovsky per 12a, tel. 507 06 35, www.icfmoscow. org. English services on Sunday at 11:15, Sunday school from 10:00 to 11:00. Memorial Mosque on Poklonnaya Gora Ul. Minskaya 26 (Poklonnaya Gora), MPark Pobedy. Memorial Synagogue on Poklonnaya Gora Ul. Minskaya (Poklonnaya Gora), MPark Podedy. Moscow Congregation for Progressive Judaism Ul. Volochayevskaya 14/1, MBaumanskaya, nashulmans@ mail.ru. Services are held at the Moscow Jewish Community House. Friday night services in Russian and Hebrew start at 19:00. For full details of English services and festivities, contact Rabbi Nelly Shulman. Big Choral Synagogue E-4, Bol. Spasoglinischevsky Moskva Accueil (French Women‘s Club) www. Nigerian Community Russia nigeriancommunity@ yahoo.com, www.nigeriancommunity.ru. This is a nontribal, non-sectarian, non-commercial social association of Nigerians and their spouses living in Russia. n‘s Educational Association www.swea.org. This group of Scandinavian speaking professional women meets regularly. For more information, contact Maria Sporri-Hedberg, tel. 8 903 112 88 31. Grocery Delivery Sedmoi (7th) Continent www.7cont.ru. While this site is only in Russia so far - it’s still one of the best shops around. International Schools Anglo-American School Ul. Beregovaya 1, MSokol, tel. 231 44 88, www.aas.ru. Independent Anglo-American School enjoys a fifty year history in Moscow and offers schooling for children from four years of age up through to the twelth grade.QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. A Moscow International Seventh-Day Adventist Church Nagatinskaya 9/3, MNagatkinskaya, tel. 499 British International School Ul. Bolshaya Akademicheskaya, 24, tel. 987 44 86, www.bismoscow.com. Websites Russia President: www.kremlin.ru/eng City government St. Petersburg: http://eng.gov. spb.ru/ Central Bank: www.cbr.ru/eng Customs: www.customs.ru/en State Statistics: www.gks.ru Federal Tax Service: http://www.nalog.ru/english .php?topic=english 725 53 98. Sabbath School begins Saturday 10:30, church service starts at 12:00. Services held in English and Russian. Our Lady of Hope Ul. Malaya Gruzinskaya 27, MBarrikadnaya, tel. 243 96 21. On Sundays at 12:15, services are in English and French. Additional service in English at 18:00 on Saturday and Sunday at 7/4 Kutuzovsky pr, Korpus 5, entrance 3, flat 42, Metro Kievskya. St. Andrew‘s Anglican Church B-3, Voznesensky per 8, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 629 09 90, www.standrewsmoscow. org. Sung Eucharist on Sun at 11am, Holy Communion at 19:00. Wed Bible Study at 19:30. Synagogue B-3, Bol. Bronnaya, MPushkinskaya. Water Delivery Arkhyz , tel. 545 58 58, www.vismalux.ru. King Water Ul. Nagatkinskaya 1, bldg 23, MNagatkinskaya, tel. 937 50 15, www.kingwater.ru. Nestle Pure Life , tel. 980 59 80, www.nestle-purelife.ru. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 58 HeALTH & LIFeSTYLe Bowling Cosmik Ul. Lva Tolstogo 18, MPark Kultury, tel. 258 31 31, www.cosmik.ru. Q Open 12:00 - 05:00. Samolet- Bowling Ul. Presensky Val 14/1, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 234 18 18, www.samolet-bowling.ru. HeALTH LIFeSTYLe HeALTH && LIFeSTYLe Hiking Hikers Club , www.hike.narod.ru. International hiking and walking group that meets for weekly walks in forests around Moscow. The next walks with meeting points and guidelines are posted on the website with the leaders contact details. batskaya, tel. 363 31 84, www.7krasok.ru. 59 Every consulate from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, where to find baked beans, places to get that filling fixed and where to send the kids to school.... Thai Spa Seven Krasok Ul. Povarskaya 10/1, MAr- Barbers JP Barbers Ul. Mokhavaya 7, MBiblioteka Imeni Lenina, tel. 797 20 52, www.jpbarbers.ru. Swimming Pools Chaika Turchaninov per 1/3, MPark Kultury, tel. 246 13 44. Q Open Mon - Sat 07:00 - 22:00, Sun 08:30 - 20:00. Cycling Veloser ver , w w w.veloser ver.ru. In forma tion in Russian only about the best routes around Moscow for enthusiastic cyclists. Medical Clinics American Clinic Grokholsky per. 31, MProspect Mira, tel. 7 937 57 57, fax 7 937 57 74, www.americanclinic.ru. Beauty Salons Expat Salon A-3, Mal. Patriarshy per, 3, MBarrikadnaya, Skatertny per. 23, M Arbatskaya, tel. 291 6467, www.expatsalon.ru. Probably one of few places in Moscow where you won‘t walk out with a haircut you didn‘t ask for. And why is that? Well, they understand English. Bookings for all services are essential.QOpen 9am - 9pm. A Luzhniki Nab. Lyzhnetskaya 24, MVorobevi Gori, tel. 637 07 64. Q Open 07:15 - 21:00. Olympic Village Minchurinsky pr. 2, MYugo Zapanaya, tel. 437 06 98. Q Open 07:30 - 22:00. Olympisky Olympisky pr 16, MProspekt Mira, tel. 786 32 16/688 53 22, www.olimpik.ru. Q Open Mon - Sat 07:00 - 22:00, Sun 07:45 - 20:30. Dental Clinics American Dental Centre Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 5, MMayakovskaya, tel. 730 43 34, www. americandental.ru. European Medical Centre Spiriodonevsky per. 5, MPushkinskaya, tel. 933 66 55, www.emcmos.ru. International SOS Groholsky per 31, 10th floor, Lanna Kamilina Bolshoy Tolmachevsky per 4/1, MTre- tyakovskaya, tel. 953 63 13, www.lannakamilina.ru. Three days a week, their London stylist will create wonders with your hair. American Russian Dental Centre Ul. SadovoKudrinskaya 21a, tel. 797 97 59, dentist@ardc.ru, www.ardc.ru. MProspekt Mira, tel. 937 57 60, mow.clinic@internationalsos.com, www.sosclinic.ru. Spas Arkadia Protochny per 11, MSmolenskaya, tel. 241 23 23, www.arkadia-spa.ru. Tska Leningradsky pr. 39, MDinamo, tel. 613 25 83, www.cska.ru. Q Open 07:00 - 23:00. Banyas European Dental Centre 1st Nikoloschepovsky Yoga Birthlight www.birthlight.com. Birthlight offers prenatal yoga, baby yoga, toddler yoga and baby swimming and aqua yoga. UK trained teachers take the classes which are all held at P’tit Cref. Pay in advance for 12 lessons, for lessons twice a week 400Rbl, or 450Rbl once a week. Contact tel. 8 905 749 75 91. per 6, bldg 1, MSmolenskaya, tel. 933 00 02, www. emcmos.ru. French Dental Clinic Ul. 2-ya Zvenigorodskaya 13, City Spa Ul. Nizhnaya 6, MBelorusskaya, tel. 257 70 17, www.city-spa.ru. Q Open 10:00 - 22:00. Espa Ritz-Carlton, Ul. Tverskaya 3, MOkhotny Ryad, tel. 225 88 88, moscowinquiries@ritzcarlton.com, www. ritzcarlton.com. bldg 41, tel. 234 58 58, recept@fdc-vip.ru, www. fcd-vip.ru. US Dental Care Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka 7/5, tel. 933 86 86, www.usdentalcare.com. Kundalini Yoga Centre Ul. Bolshaya Polyanka 33/41, MPolyanka, tel. 514 50 45, www.kundalini.ru. Drycleaning Nikko Dry Cleaners Ul. Tverskaya 16 (Gallery Akter), MPushkinskaya, tel. 580 35 10, www.drycleaners.ru. With thirty outlets around the whole of Moscow, you are never far from a cleaner, brighter wardrobe. Depending on the garment, they also have an express one-hour service. Steam, some branches, hot water, fluffy hats and sometimes (but not always) nudity. No, this isn’t something more about a weird strip club but the essential Russian experience of the banya. Warm up your chilled bones with a trip to the bathhouse and cleanse your spirits ready to head back out into the cold. It’s also one of the best hangover or pokhmele cures we know. La Sante Spa Pyatnitskoye Shosse 29/5, MTushinskaya, tel. 759 22 11, www.la-sante.ru. Q Open 10:00 - 22:00. Spa Palestra Ul. 2-ya Peschanaya 4a, MSokol, tel. 499 157 47 96, www.palestra.ru. Moscow Ashtanga Yoga Centre Ul. Zoologicheskaya Pet Services 30, MMayakovskaya, tel. 8 901 782 54 10, www.yoga108. com. This yoga centre has four outlets throughout Moscow and offers instruction in English and Russian. In addition to the above, the MAYC is also located at St. Tolmachevksy per 7 (Second Entrance - Orbit Centre), Metro Tretyakovskaya, tel. 953 69 57; Ul. Ostozhenka 8, Metro Kropotkinskaya, tel. 118 43 54; Bolshoy Vasilevsky per. 10, Metro Arbatskaya, tel. 8 926 300 45 87. Fitness Clubs Dr. Loder Ul. Ostozhenka 25, MKropotkinskaya, tel. 625 40 76, www.loder.ru. The elegant fitness also has an outlet at Strastnoy bulv 10/1, Metro Chekhovskaya, tel. 775 74 74. kaya, tel. 363 60 61, www.marina-club.ru. 502 91 91, www.orangefit.ru. Studio of Yogi Iengar Ul. Arbat 51, bldg 2, MSmolenskaya, tel. 241 68 39. Instructed in French and English and held in two rooms of a old Sports club on the Arbat. Special classes for the elderly and women. Getting a work permit? More than a few headaches are caused by changing visa and registration regulations. Generally the rules state that if foreigners want to work in Russia they need to have a work visa. A business or a commercial visa is no longer good enough as these visas only permit limited residency, for example 90 out of every 180 days. For long-term stays in Russia, foreigners need to obtain a work visa, be a family member of someone holding a work visa or have a study visa, a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit. Penalties for violation of visa regime rules are 5,000Rbl fine, or deportation, or denial of entry or a refusal of a new visa. Penalties for companies are especially severe from between 300,000 and 800,000Rbl. Prior to employing foreigners, companies must first obtain a document that gives them the right to do this, a process which can take three months or more. For more info, contact Bauke van der Meer C-6, Ul. Bol Yakimanka 31/18, off 203B, MPolyanka, tel. 935 76 21, www.bvdmeer.nl Izmailovskie Bani Ul. 6-ya Parkovaya 21, MPervomiaskaya, tel. 165 98 54. Q Open Tue - Sun 08:00 - 22:00. Closed Mon. Marina Club Leningradskoe Shosse 25a, MVoikovsOrange Fitness Konny per. 4, MOktyabryskaya, tel. Petrovka Sports 1st Kolbovsky per. 4, MPushkinskaya, tel. 933 87 00, petrovkasports@mtu-net.ru, www.petrovkasports.ru. Planet Fitness Ul. Malaya Dmitrovka 6, MChekhovskaya, tel. 933 11 24, beach@fitness.ru, www. fitness.ru. This award winning health club chain has over 17 outlets spread out all over Moscow and has another five more in construction. Presnenskie Bani Stolyarny per. 7, MUlitsa 1905 Goda, tel. 255 53 06. Q Open Wed - Sun 08:00 - 22:00, Tue 14:00 - 22:00. Moscow Animals www.moscowanimals.org. This organisation not only works to rehome street dogs and cats but also provides a range of services and advice on exporting and importing animals from Russia and veterinary recommendations. Rzhevskie Banny per. 3a, M Prospekt Mira, tel. 681 10 74. Q Open 09:00 - 22:00, Th 09:00 - 00:00. Sandunovskie Bani Ul. Neglinnaya 14, tel. 625 46 31, www.sanduny.ru. Movet Veterinary Clinic Ul. Vasilisy Kozhinoy 23, MFiliyevsky Park, tel. 142 01 05. Seleznevskie Bani Ul. Seleznevskaya 15, MNovoslobskaya, tel. 978 75 21. Q Open Tue - Sun 08:00 - 22:00. Closed Mon. World Class 2nd Spasnolivkovsky per. 7, MOkty- Vet Centre Tsvetnoy bul. 11, bldg 1, MTsvetnoy abryskaya, tel. 232 17 49, wclass@wclass.ru, www. worldclass.ru. Bulvar, tel. 621 65 65, www.vetcentr.ru.QOpen 24hrs. Moscow In Your Pocket November 2008 60 InTeRVIeW What does your present job involve? Business Development for the BBC. We have recently launched Live_Report, a citizen journalism community. It’s a joint project with LiveJournal. Basically we try to gather people with mobile phones who as they are going around happen to shoot a lot of interesting news events. You probably won’t see this stuff on regular news channels. It’s in Russian, but contains a lot of photo and video material. It’s quite interesting. What do you think about Russia’s future? I think that the future is bright. But the funny thing is the longer you are in Russia, the more difficult it seems to understand what is really going on. Under Putin, a lot of things became better but other things became worse, but in comparison to 1998, do we live worse? Definitely not. Do you have any tips for people moving to Russia? To speak Russian is important now. What I also noted is that not everyone is suited for the Moscow experience. With a lot of expats, usually between 3 and 6 months, something happens, either you go nuts and you start to hate this place or you fall in love with it. So give yourself some time to understand the country and the culture. If you can deal with all the ambiguity, then you will be fine. If not, then life can get pretty tough. Do you think you will stay in Russia for ever? Forever, I don’t know. To become old in this country, I am not sure difficult. But I’m planning to stay for quite a while. You’re married to a Russian. Is there any difference to have relationship with a western and a Russian woman? Yes, definitely. I think the roles in Russia are more traditional than in Europe. Lastly, could you tell us a tale from your time here? I was on my way to a party with a friend. We stopped a car. The guys says sit in the back because you can’t sit in the front. We sat in the back. Then we saw that on the passenger seat there was a huge rabbit, a really big one. The rabbit also had a name; Petya the Rabbit. I asked why was he driving around with a rabbit? The guy said, well I love rabbits. My wife hates them. She said as long as you are not home, you take your rabbit with you. It was a huge rabbit; brown, fluffy, a giant. He was sitting looking at us. The guy said, Say hi to Petya. We said hi to the rabbit while racing at 140 km/h on Moscow’s Garden-ring. MeTRO MAP InTeRVIeW 61 Dutchman Stephan Grootenboer first visited Russia while sourcing new flight destinations for KLM in 1996. He quickly became aware that Russia was the most exciting country to be in. So in the wild days of August 1998, two days before the financial crisis hit, he rocked up to work at Independent Media (IM). What has kept him in Russia since? In Your Pocket went to find out. by Jennifer Fell How did you come to live in Russia permanently? I had asked a friend in May of 98 who was working for IM if there were any opportunities. IM was then and still is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia, publishing among others Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health and the Moscow Times. Suddenly in the beginning of August, I got an email saying if you want, come and start tomorrow. I just came. At that time, I thought I was going to be on the next plane out because what was I going to do in a country that was financially collapsing. It turned out to be completely the opposite. What were your first impressions? I tell you, the first fifteen months were really an adventure, it was really something special. The crisis hit, the cash flows dried up. People owed the company money and it was my task to chase them. It was very interesting how every advertiser would develop their own strategy to avoid paying: some threatened me, some were extremely nice and some tried to bribe me. It was an extremely interesting way to get acquainted with what was going on then in Russian media. How long did you spend doing this? Around 15 months. Then I was sent to St. Petersburg where I lived for almost a year. IM owned a publishing business (St. Petersburg Times) there and it needed to be restructured. What did you think of St. Petersburg? I’m always surprised when I hear Muscovites being very negative about St. Petersburg and people from St. Petersburg being very negative about Moscow. I think both cities are great. I enjoyed living in St. Petersburg and still like to go there very much. No favourite then? I am more used to the faster pace of Moscow, there is more going on. From a business point of view, Moscow is probably a better place to be. After St. Petersburg, you returned to be the publisher of the Moscow Times, how was that? It was a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how a relatively small paper like the Moscow Times has a big impact. A lot of Muscovites know it and it is of course widely read among expats. So I did that for three or four years. Then about a year ago I moved to the BBC. Ring-road Racing Rabbit Favourite place in Moscow? What I really like is driving around Moscow at night; it’s a wonderful experience. Everything looks even more impressive. During the day time, of course it impossible to do this. If you weren’t living here, where would you live? I would love to live in Tokyo. I have never been to Japan but it seems so culturally different that is tempting to try it out; Japanese culture has always fascinated me. Describe yourself in three words: inspiring, active, level-headed. Best and Worst things about life in Moscow. To keep your shoes and clothes clean in Moscow is a challenge, both in summer and in winter. I like going to the dacha. I love to be in the city but I also like to be in the countryside and dacha life is really cool. Moscow In Your Pocket 66 Index A Akad. Sakharova pr. E-2 Al. Nevskogo per. A1 Arbat ul. A/B-4/5 Arbatskaya pl. B-4 Arbatsky Vorota pl. B-4 Armyansky per. E-3 Ashcheluev per. E-2 B Bakhrushina ul. E-6/7 Barashevsky per. F-4 Barykovsky per. A-5/B-6 Bernikovskaya nab. F-4 Birzhevaya pl. D-4 Bobrov per. E-2 Bogoyavlensky per. D-4 Bol Znamensky per. B-4 Bol. Afanasyefsky per. B-4 Bol. Bronnaya ul. B-2/3 Bol. Cherkassky per. D-3 Bol. Dmitrovka C-2/3 Bol. Golovin per. E-2 Bol. Gruzinskaya ul. A-1 Bol. Karetny per. C-1/2 Bol. Karetny per. C-1/2 Bol. Kazenny per. F-3 Bol. Kazenny per. F-4 Bol. Kiselny per. D-2 Bol. Kislovsky per. B-4 Bol. Kozikhinsky per. A-2 Bol. Kozlovsky per. F-2 Bol. Levshinsky per. A-5 Bol. Lubyanka ul. D-3 Bol. Nikitskaya ul. B-3/C-4 Bol. Ordynka ul. D-6/7 Bol. Patriarshy per. A-3 Bol. Pionerskaya ul. E-7 Bol. Polyanka ul.D-6, C-5 Bol. Putinkovsky per. B-2 Bol. Sadovaya ul. A-2 Bol. Spasskaya ul. E/F-1 Bol. Strochenovsky per.E-7 Bol. Sukharevsky per. E-2 Bol. Tatarskaya E-5/6 Bol. Vlasyevsky per. A-5 Bol. Vlasyevsky per. A-5 Bol. Yakimanka ul. C-6/7 Bol. Znamensky per. B-4 Bolotnaya pl. C-5 Bolotnaya ul. D-5 Borisoglebsky per. A-4 Borovitskaya pl. C-4 Boyarsky per. F-2 Brestskaya 1-ya ul. A-1 Brestskaya 2-ya ul. A-1 Brodnikov per. C-6 Bryusov per. B/C-3 Butikovsky per. B-6 C Chaplygina ul. F-2/3 Chernigovsky per. C-3 Chistoprudny bul. E-2 Chisty per. A-5 D Daev per. E-2 Delegatskaya ul. C-1 Denezhny per. A-5 Derbenevskaya ul. F-7 Dobryninsky 1-y per. D-7 Dobryninsky 4-y per. D-7 Dolgorukovskaya ul. B-1 Dubininskaya ul. E-7 Durova ul. E-1 E Eliseevsky per. Ermolaevsky per. Ermolaevsky per. Eropkinsky per. F Fadeeva ul. Faleevsky per. B/C-3 A-2/3 A-2/3 A-5/6 A/B-1 D-5 Filipovsky per. B-4/5 Frunzenskaya 1-ya ul.A-7 Frunzenskaya 2-ya ul. A-7 Frunzenskaya nab. A/B-7 Fucheka ul. A-2 Furmanny per. F-2/3 G Gagarinsky per. A-5 Gasheka ul A-2 Gazetny per. D-4 Georgievsky per. C-3 Giryarovskogo ul. E-1 Glazovsky per. A-5 Glinishchevsky per. C-3 Gogolevsky bul. B-4/5 Golutvinsky 1-y per. C-6 Golutvinsky 2-y per. C-6 Golutvinsky 3-y per. C-6 Golutvinsky 4-y per. C-6 Goncharnaya nab. F-6 Goncharnaya ul. F-6 Goncharny proezd F-6 Granatny per. A-3 I Ilyinka ul. Ipatyevsky per. Ivanovsky per. D-4 D/E-4 E-4 Lavrushinsky per. D-5 Lebyazhy per. C-5 Lenivka ul. C-5 Leontyevsky per. B-3 Lermontovskaya pl. F-2 Letnikovskaya ul. F-7 Lopukhinsky per. B-5 Lubyanskaya pl. D-3 Lubyansky proezd D/E-3 Luchnikov per. E-3 Lukov per. E-2 Lva Tolstogo ul. A-7 Lyapin per. F-3 M Makarenko ul. F-3 Mal. Bronnaya ul. B-2/3 Mal. Dimitrovka ul. B-1/2 Mal. Golovin per. E-2 Mal. Karetny per. C-1/2 Mal. Kazenny per. F-4 Mal. Kislovsky per. B-4 Mal. Kozikhinsky per. B-2 Mal. Levshinsky per. A-6 Mal. Likhov per. C-1/2 Mal. Lyubanka ul. D-3, Mal. Malchanovka ul. A-4 Mal. Nikitskaya A-3 Mal. Ordynka D-5/6/7 Mal. Patriarshy per. A-3 Mal. Polyanka ul. C-6 Mal. Poryvaemoy ul. F-1 Mal. Rzhevsky per. A-4 Mal. Sukharevskaya pl. E-1 Mal. Sukharevsky per. D-2 Mal. Tatarsky per. E-6 Mal. Tolmachevsky per. C-5 Mal. Vlasyevsky per. A-5 Mal. Yakimanka ul. C-5/6 Mal. Zlatoustinsky per. E-3 Mal. Znamensky per. B-4 Mamonovsky per. B-2 Manezhnaya ul. C-4 Mansurovsky per. A-5/6 Maronovsky per. C-7 Maroseyka ul. E-3 Mashkova ul. F-2/3 Meshchanskaya ul. D-1 Milyutinsky per. E-2/3 Mira pr. E-1 Mokhovaya ul. C-4 Molochny per. B-6 Moskvoretskaya ul. D-4 Myasnitskaya ul. E-3 Myasnitsky per. F-2 N Narodnaya ul. F-6 Neglinnaya ul. D-2/3 Nikitsky bul. B3/4 Nikitsky per. C-3/4 Nikitsky Vorota pl. B-3 Nikoloyamskaya ul. F-5 Nikolskaya ul. C/D-4 Nikolsky per. D-4 Nizh. Kiselny per. B-4 Nizh. Kislovsky per. B-4 Nov. Basmannaya ul. F-2 Novaya pl. D-3 Novinsky bul. A-5 Novokrymsky proezdA-6 Novokuznetskaya ul. E-6 Novy Arbat ul. A/B-4 O Obolensky per. A-7 Obydensky 1-y per. B-5 Obydensky 2-y per. B-5 Obydensky 3-y per. B-5 Ogorodny Slobody per. Okhotny Ryad ul. C-3 Olimpiysky pr. D-1 Orlikov per. F-1/2 Oruzheiny per. B-1/2 Ostozhenka ul. A-6/B-5 Ovchinnikovskaya nab. D-5 Ovchinnikovsky per. E-5 Ozerkovskaya nab.E-5/6 Ozerkovsky per. E-6 P Paveletskaya pl. E-7 Pechatnikov per. D/E-2 Petro-Pavlovsky per. F-4 Petrovka ul. C-2/3 Petrovsky bul. C/D-2 Petrovsky Vorota pl. C-2 Pevchesky per. F-4 Plotnikov per. A-5 Podgorskaya nab. E/F-5 Podkolokolny per. E/F-4 Podkopaevsky per. F-4 Podsosensky per. F-3/4 Pokrovka ul. E/F-3 Pokrovsky bul. F-3/4 Pokrovsky Vorota pl. F-3 Pomerantsev per. A-6 Posledny per. D-2 Potapovsky per. E-3 Povarskaya ul. A/B-4 Pozharsky per. B-5/6 Prechistenka ul. B-5 Prechistenskaya nab. C-5 Prechistensky per. A-5 Prechistensky Vorota. B-5 Prosvirin per. E-2 Pushkarev per. D-2 Pushkinskaya nab. B-7 Pushkinskaya pl. B-2 Pyatnitskaya ul. D-5/6/7 Pyzhevsky per. D-6 R Rakhmanovsky per. C-3 Raushskaya nab. D/E-5 Raushsky 1-y per. D-5 Raushsky 2-y per. E-5 Raushsky per. E-5 Revolutsy pl. C/D-3 Romanov per. C-3/4 Rozhdestvenka ul. D-2/3 Rozhdestvensky bul. D-2 Runovsky per. E-5 Rybnikov per. E-2 Rybny per. D-4 S Sadovaya-Karetnaya B-1 Sadovaya-KudrinskayaA-2 Sadovnicheskaya nab.D-5 Sadovnicheskaya ul. D-5 Sadovnichesky pr. E-5 Samotechnaya pl. D-1 Samotechny 1-y per. C-1 Samotechny 2-y per. C-1 Samotechny 3-y per. C-1 Sandunovsky per. D-3 Sechenovsky per. A-5/6 Seliverstov per. E-2 Serafimovicha ul. C-5 Serebryany per. F-4 Serpukhovskaya pl. D-7 Shchepkina ul. D-1 Shchetinsky per. D-7 Shchipok ul. D-7 Shlyuzovaya nab. F-7 Shvedsky tupik B-3 Sivtsev Vrazhek per. A-2 Skatertny per. A/B-4 Slavyanskaya pl. E-4 Smolenskaya ul. A-5 Sofiskaya nab. C/D-5 Solyanka ul. E/F-4 Solyansky proezd E-4 Spiridonovka ul. A-3 Spiridonovsky per. A-3 Sred. Karetny per. C-2 Sred. Kislovsly per. B-4 Sred. Ovchinnikovsky E-5 Sredn. Karetny per. C-2 Sretenka ul. E-1/2 Sretensky bul. E-2 Staraya pl. E-4 Starokonushenny per. A-4 Staromonetny per. C-5 Staropimenovsky per. B2 Starosadsky per. E-3/4 Starovaganikovsky B-4 Stoleshnikov per. C-3 Stolovy per. A-4 Strastnoy bul. C-2 Stremyanny per. E-7 T Teatralnaya pl. C-3 Teatralny proezd D-3 Timura Frunze ul. A-6/7 Trekhprudny per. A/B-2 Triumfalnaya pl. A-2 Troitskaya ul. D-1 Troitsky 1-y per. D-1 Troitsky 2-y per. D-1 Trubnaya pl. D-2 Trubnaya ul. D-2 Tsvetnoy bul. D-1/2 Turchaninov per. A/B-6 Turgenevskaya pl. E-2 Tverskaya pl. C-3 Tverskaya ul. B-2/3, C-3 Tverskoy bul. B-3 U Ulansky per. E/F-2 Uspensky per. B/C-2 Ustyinskaya nab. E-5 Ustyinsky proezd E-5 V Valovaya ul. D/E-7 Varvarka ul. D/E-4 Vasilyevskaya ul. A-1/2 Vasnetsova per. D-1 Vetoshny per. D-4 Vishnyakovsky per. D-6 Volkhonka ul. B/C-5 Volkonsky 1-y per. C/D-1 Volkonsky 2-y per. C/D-1 Vorontsova ul. F-4 Vorontsovo pole ul. F-4 Vospitatelny proezd E-4 Vozdvizhenka ul. B/C-4 Voznesensky per. B/C-3 Vsekhsvyatsky per. B-5 Vsevolozhsky per. A-5 Y Yakimanskaya nab. C-5 Yakimansky per. C-7 Yakovoapostolny per. F-3 Yauzskaya ul. F-4/5 Yauzsky bul. F-4 Z Zabelina ul. E-4 Zachyetevsky 1-y B-5 Zachyetevsky 2-y B-5 Zachyetevsky 3-y B-5 Zatsepa ul. D/E-7 Zatsepsky Val ul. E-7 Zhitnaya ul. C/D-7 Zhukovskogo ul. F-2/3 Znamenka ul. B/C-4 Zoologicheskaya ul. A-2 Zubovsky bul. A-6 Zubovsky proezd A-6 Zvonarsky per. D-2 Ul. – Ulitsa – Street Per. – Pereulok – Lane Pr. – Prospekt – Prospect Sq. – Ploschad – Square Dor. – Doroga – Road Bul. –Bulvar – Boulevard Al. – Alleya – Alley Rek. – Reka/i – River Nab. – Naberezhnaya Embankment K Kadyshevskaya nab. C-5 Kadyshevsky 1-y per. D-5 Kadyshevsky 2-y per. D-5 Kadyshevsky 3-y per. D-5 Kadyshevsky tupik D-5 Kalanchevsky tupik F1 Kalashny per. B-4 Kaloshin per. A-4/5 Kaluzhskaya pl. C-7 Kamergersky per. C-3 Karetny Ryad ul. C-1/2 Kazachy 1-y per. D-6 Kazachy 2-y per. D-7 Kazansky per. C-7 Khlebny per. A-4 Khokhlovskay pl. F-3 Khoromny tupik F-2 Khrushchevsky per.A/B-5 Khrustalny per. D-4 Khvostov 1-y per. C-6 Khvostov 2-y per. C-6 Kitaigorodsky proezd E-4 Klimentovsky per. D-5 Kolobovsky 1-y per. C-2 Kolobovsky 2-y per.C/D-2 Kolobovsky 3-y per. D-2 Kolokolnikov per. D/E-2 Kolymazhny ul. B-4/5 Komissariatsky per. E-5 Kompozitorskaya ul. A-4 Komsomolskaya pl. F-1 Komsomolsky pr. A-7 Koptelsky 1-y per. E-1 Korobeynikov per. B-6 Korovy Val ul. C/D-7 Kostyansky per. E-2 Kotelnicheskaya nab.F-6 Kozhevnicheskaya ul. F-7 Krapivensky per. C-2 Krasina per. F-7 Krasina ul. A-2 Krasno-Prudny per. F-1 Krasno-Vorot. pr. F-2 Krasny Vorota pl. F-2 Kremlevskaya nab. D-4 Krestovozdvizhensky B-4 Krestovozdvizhensky B-4 Krivoarbatsky per. A-4/5 Kropotkinsky per. A-6 Krymsky proezd A/B-6 Krymsky Val ul. B/C-7 Kursovoy per. B-5/6 Kuznetsky most ul. D-3 L Moscow In Your Pocket