AUTUMN 2014
www.Moscowexpatlife.ru
The Polish Community in Moscow
Moscow Good Food Club Baltschug Kempinski & Chicago Prime
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Moscow’s premier Winter Golf challenge & networking opportunity
INDEX Community
3. Balls/Galas in Moscow 4. IWC winter bazaar 5-7. Community noticeboard 8. De Tulpen and SWEA 9. Moscow English Theatre 10. Social Movers 11. 153th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday 12. The Moscow Oratorio Society 14. IWC appoints new president 16. Who are the expats? 19. Mercedes Fashion Week Russia 20. A Day at the Races 22. Scottish dancing 23. Sophia Tupolev’s column 24. The mature English teachers
The Polish Community
Charity
36. Shereda Rehabilitation Centre
Travel
42. Riding home on horseback 44. Etnomir 47. Valaam
Sport
50. Moscow Softball League 52. Broomball 54. Yoga in Moscow 58. Winter Golf Tournament
Real Estate
60. Project White District
Business
64. Finding the right investment adviser 66. Funding our children’s higher education 68. Chris Weafer
Moscow Personalities 70. Andrew Pyner
AUTUMN 2014
27. The Polish Business Club 28. Peter Sobiecki 30. Karina Łosiewa 32. Outgoing Polish ambassador to Russia Wojciech Zajạczkowski 34. Karolina Skrobotowicz
Health 72. Diets
Retro 74. 1995
Moscow Good Food Club 76. Chicago Prime 78. Baltschug Grill
Bars, cafés and restaurants 80-88
Community Services 89. Business Clubs/Organisations 90. Women’s Clubs/Associations 91. List of charities
Essential Information 93-96. Essential information
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Editor’s Letter
I
n this issue, Moscow expat Life continues its mission, to present you with a collection of original articles about living and working in Moscow. We hope that this material provides you with some well-deserved respite from the turbulence that surrounds us. The International Women’s Club (IWC) now has a new president, Afrah Mohammed Alfaddaghi, and we are honoured to print an interview with her, and wish her every success in her important and difficult new role. At the same time, I am sorry to say goodbye to Izabella Zajączkowska who has done such a fantastic job for the IWC in Moscow over the last few years. On the get up and do something front, you have no doubt noticed that more and more foreigners and Russians alike are practicing yoga in Moscow! Maybe you are one of them, or would like to find out more about a form of exercise that was previously regarded as esoteric; in which case I hope you will enjoy our article about yoga in this issue. For those preferring a slightly less extraneous sport, we feature information about the winter golf tournament organised by Night Flight. Quite a large number of expats work at The White District office complex, which is currently home to three large consultancy companies. The area is also known for well established (and well frequented) drinking and eating establishments. As an introduction to a new series of working and residential environments for expats, we publish a four page special article on this district. A number of expats is employed in Moscow as teachers of English. Perhaps surprisingly, many used to work in business. In an article about them, Peter Hainsworth explains why and how they made the transition. Members of the Moscow Good Food Club, which continues to provide us with an opportunity to dine at Moscow’s best restaurants, have been busy over the last few months, with two fixtures; one at the Balchug Kempinski, and the second at Chicago Prime. Their culinary adventures are described in detail towards the end of this magazine. On the travel front, Ian Luyt concludes his enlightened wanderings with an article on Valaam. In our business section, Chris Weafer imparts some words of sanity, and Lucy Kenyon terrifies us all (joke) with advise on diet. Read on! I conclude this letter with the first line of an immortal song that we were reminded of during a special showing of the ‘Monty Python Show at O2 in London’ organised by the British Business Club in August. Always Look at the Bright Side of Life!
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Community
ts n e v E la a G / s l Bal w o c s o in M rovide ers to p d a e r ld in om ents he uests fr v q E e r la g a t of Followin n about Balls/G r, we print a lis ny a tio vite a he ye informa ghout t ut. We in eir u o o b r a h t w s of th Moscow ts that we kno it detail g issues. n m e b v u e s e min thos ions to forthco ganisat in r n o .ru t io a s p lu ex inc xpatlife r e o w f o s c u s to or@mo events to: edit e it r w Please
November/December MPC Harvest Ball Organised by MPC (Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy) Social Services, proceeds go to financing MPC’s charity activities. Contact: development@mpcss.org, http://mpcss.org/harvestball/
St. Andrew’s Ball The St. Andrew’s Night Ball is the highlight event of the year. Held at the beginning of winter, it has become one of the most enjoyable and well-attended events of the preChristmas season. In the past, the ball has raised a maximum of $50,000 for charity. This event is traditionally held at the end of November, beginning of December. For further information, please refer to: www.scottishmoscow.org/Ball.php
January/February Polish Carnival Gala Dinner The Polish Carnival Gala Dinner is held every year, and is the main social event of the year for the Polish community. Most of the participants are Polish. It is held at the beginning of the year, during the last weekend before the Easter fast begins. A Polish DJ is flown in especially from Poland, and guests dance the Polish national dance, the Polonaise, which is really lovely. For up to date details, contact: balpolski@gmail.com or Moskodoskop@gmail.com From November, more details can be found on: www.wielkamoskwa.ru
Moscow Dragon’s St. Valentine’s Ball In 2015, this will take place on the 14th of February. This annual event raises money for charity. At the moment the Moscow Dragons are working with the Kind Heart Foundation, which supports children with cerebral palsy. Last year MDRFC fundraised 250,000 roubles. Contact: committee@MDRFC.ru www.mdrfc.com
March Embassies of the World Dinner and Ball The Embassies of the World Dinner and Ball is a unique fundraising event, which consists of two parts. First, guests are invited to have dinner in one of the embassies or ambassadors’ residences in Moscow. Each Ambassador usually hosts 8 to 20 people. Afterwards, everybody gathers at a central location in the city for an unforgettable evening of dance, music and live entertainment. This year 2014 Hotel Metropol welcomed all guests in its beautiful Art Deco ballroom. Contact the IWC. http://www.iwcmoscow.ru
April Down Under Ball The Down Under Ball is a prestigious event on Moscow’s social calendar; entertaining honored heads of foreign Embassies in Moscow, accomplished industry leaders and distinguished guests. Organized by the Russian-Australian Business Association, the evening is an Aussie treat with great Australian cuisine, music and entertainment. All proceeds go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia child mentoring volunteers program, for at-risk children and adolescents. For further information please contact Gabriel at: gabriel@auscc.ru
June Diema’s Dream Gala Event Diema’s Dream annual auction raises funds for disabled orphans and children in Russia, and has been held for the past 16 years. The gala event is held in June, typically the first Saturday. If you are interested in attending, please email Debra Cockrel: debra@diemasdream.com.
w o c s o M www.
ru . e f i l t expa 5
Community
IWC Winter Bazaar Breaks a New Fundraising Record
W
ith help from over 60 embassies, the International Women’s Club of Moscow (IWC) organised its 25th annual Winter Bazaar at the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel in Moscow on November 30. IWC President, Ms. Izabella Zajączkowska, is very proud to announce that 2013 produced a record fundraising effort: “In total a record profit of 7,300,000 roubles was raised, a fantastic contribution for the charity projects supported and monitored by the IWC. This year embassies exceeded all expectations with the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Japan, Denmark, Slovakia and Ireland as the top 10 contributors.”
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“Thanks to the generous donations of numerous sponsors, all raffle tickets sold out quickly, contributing an impressive 400,000 roubles to the overall profit, another Winter Bazaar fundraising record. We would also like to express our gratitude to all companies that supported their embassy’s stand, and especially to GlavUpDK for their ongoing valuable partnership.” “The overall atmosphere of friendship and solidarity also inspired visitors: the winner of a large flat screen TV in the raffle generously donated it to Speransky Children’s Hospital.” Over the past 25 years, the number of supporters and visitors has grown steadily and this unique
concept of “Christmas shopping from around the world” currently attracts around 4,000 people. With distinctive gifts from all continents, a rich cultural program, festive food and authentic culinary delicacies, the IWC creates a wonderful international experience. The variety of people, both expats and locals, adds to the international flavour. The Winter Bazaar is a major contributor to the IWC’s fundraising efforts. This year, for its 35th anniversary, the IWC is planning many more events to support those in need. The next event, the annual Embassies of the World Dinner and Ball will take place on Saturday March 1st, 2014, at Hotel Metropol in Moscow.
Community Russian Girls Dance Awards 2014 (RGDA 2014) 25 October 20:00 Club ICON is the venue for the national competition for Russian dancers. Only the most beautiful, artistic/ charismatic professional dancers will compete for the title of the Best Dancer of Russia 2014. Only the best shows rmances, colourful can compete with spectacular perfo phy. eogra chor ive creat and costumes s, tv and radio The Jury consists of Russian pop star rs of Moscow Clubs. presenters, art-directors and owne Charisma and Marks are presented for Appearance, . nique Dance Tech s: Go-Go, High The dancers compete in the categorie ce and Best Gorl Heels, Strip Plastic, Freak Performan Team. nels:TNT, RGDA is supported by 5 federal tv chan 24. TV ow Mosc & Box Friday, U-TV, Music only present The Russian Go-Go Dance Awards not also create a but ers danc ted talen of on etiti comp a spectacular show. man, Owner & Presenter: Louis Gouend, Show nology. Party Maker &Director of Party Tech www.gogoawards.ru
E FREE JIVE DANC COW ! OS M IN S CLASSE
sh and ay held in Engli es every Saturd and other venues s Beginners’ class fÊ Ca The Esse Jazz rtner. Russian at the come with a pa to ial nt se es Not 3 558 71 35 or phone +7 90 oopjive.co.uk w.c ion at ww m Co-op Jive For more infor d at contact Richar m ume@gmail.co richardhume.h
On September 29th, we International University holding our third Fair. EIS (The English Interna tional School) East Campus are very exc ited about starting the new academ ic year with three BIG events happening in September and October. We have The Bri tish Football Coaches Company trainin g with our Secondary Students thr oughout Sept/ Oct. We are hosting our second Primary Football Tournament
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Community Flook’s gig in Moscow on November 21
the concert in Russia will be on November Legendary Irish band Flook’s first ever rn and mode of ure mixt a plays band The ts (ЦДХ). 21st at the Central House of Artis as being 6 200 in BBC the by Flook was recognised traditional Irish instrumental music. ted new album. Boris awai longa on ing work now is p grou the best folk-rock group. The hable by their t Flook: ‘Flook were always distinguis Grebeshnikov (Aquarium) wrote abou about ary ordin extra is What hms. modern rhyt original mixture of Irish folklore and ing the allow e, sens sixth of kind made from some them is that their music seems to be ’ level. athic telep a on 21. musicians to communicate are welcome at 7 pm on Friday, November All lovers of Irish music magic and drive Tickets are available online at http://ww office at Krymsky Val, 10.
MDRFC
Here are some of the highlights:
The Moscow Dragons has a full fixtu re season
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ticket
ahead.
MDRFC is one of the oldest amateur rugby clubs in Moscow, established in 1997 by expats and totally supported by Russians. The club has social and char ity events, and takes part in different tourname nts worldwide. Having a long history and managed by a committee elected yearl y, the club is more than just sport. This is a big family, and provides friends and supp ort. Once a Dragon, always a Dragon!
Dutch Club Moscow Meetings: The Last Thursday of every Month Location: Nacht Wacht Bar near Patriarch’s Pond For Dutch Citizens Only. www.nlclubMoscou.NL/
06.09.2014 Veterans tournament (35+) 4-6.12.2014. Dubai tour Moscow League September-October Tver Tournament September-October
w.cha.ru/events/382 and at the CHA
For more MDRFC (Moscow Dragons RFC) activities, please join our fb page: fb.com/mdrfc
Community ) the UK, every time I (Nikita Levchenko As a guide specialising in ale trails in enjoy we ale real of five) good pint (or come back to Moscow I really miss a ery visits with all fellow pub culture so much during our pub crawls and brew t National Winter Ales Festival in lates the enthusiasts. After returning from of the (very) few pubs serving cask one in Derby we sat down with some friends high time we finally arranged such was it ed agre sly imou unan and ale in Moscow ia. a festival here in Russ glory we have signed up 10 best To present real ales in Russia in all their val partners. They will be serving festi local British pubs all over Moscow as our . each during the week of 17th November 2 different hand-pulled ales or stouts from England, Scotland ery deliv ial spec a on e arriv will l 20 cask beers in tota of various styles and sizes, including and Wales, representing 10 breweries ative and microbreweries. some family-owned, traditional, innov of the weekend the festival and all rest the for and t 21s On Friday the e – The Kings pub in Tsaritsyno. This venu main the to the 20 beers will move le-decker bus converted into a bar will doub own fantastic pub boasting its very red tastings and pub games. tuto c, host a 3-day-long party with live musi event, supported by CAMRA al annu an me beco to cted expe is The festival Club. Participating breweries, ness Busi sh Briti the and (Campaign for Real Ale) will be announced in kers spea t gues and music bands visiting from the UK September. your Real Ale Festival in Moscow and tell So don’t miss the first ever British friends! write to: nikita.levtchenko@gmail.com
Real Ale Festival in Moscow 17-23 November
For more information
Russia Running
Join us: http://yaroslavlhalfmarathon.ru
On the 14th of September the first annual Yaroslavl Half Marathon will take place. If you have even considered travelling into Russia and running there, it is a great opportunity opened for you. This event, the premier race in the RussiaRunning Race Series, will take you past gold-domed churches, ancient narrow streets, and panoramic views of the Volga River. To feed the competitive fires of rising runners’ number, RussiaRunning will be holding five other races during the year in other cities along the Golden Ring. If you want to see Old Russia and look at the buildings, see the sights, enjoy the culture, and learn something new about a different country that you may not have visited, then THIS IS FOR YOU. This is going to be a remarkable race for both running and travel lovers.
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Community
New Presidents of De Tulpen
M
Olya Kalmykova (left), Desiree Dekker (right)
ariette Stijnen who has done a fantastic job in getting De Tulpen (otherwise known as the Dutch Women’s Association) has left Russia and has passed on the presidency to not one, but two charming Dutch women: Olya Kalmykova and Desiree Dekker. Moscow expat Life talked to Olya Kalmykova.
You and Desiree are taking over the presidency of De Tulpen, how are you going to split the responsibilities? We decided when we took over from Mariette that Desiree will handle the cultural and day activities, and I will cover the evening activities.
Dutch women working now than there used to be, so we are trying to cater for them as much as possible.
Do you have any new plans?
It has changed, hasn’t it? We are now seeing many more professional women in Moscow than before.
We can see that there are a lot of things to do in Moscow at the weekends, so we want to organize more visits and activities. I am letting Dutch people know about events and putting them onto our special facebook page. There are more and more Dutch women here with children, some mothers work during the day, some don’t. In general there are many more
Yes, we now have many Dutch women who come here to work, but really, we have a big bunch of different people doing different things. It goes without saying that the Dutch like to have fun! During the Sochi Olympics, the Orange House was the most fun place to be, the news about that spread all the way to Moscow!
Do you still meet at the De Nachtwacht (restaurant)? The De Nachtwacht is really just for the Dutch Club now, which we are part of, but we don’t necessarily go to all of their events. It is actually for Dutch men, so…! I would like to say to any Dutch women who don’t know about us, that you are very welcome to come and join! I would also like to say to people of other countries that the Dutch Club has two major events, the celebration of St. Nicholas’s birthday on December the 5th, and the celebration of King’s Day on the 26th of April. We would be happy to see anybody who wants to come at these events.
www.nlclubmoskou.nl Olya Kalmykova’s email: kalmykova.o.j@gmail.com
New President of SWEA (The Swedish Women’s Educational Association)
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he SWEA now has a new president, Ann Charlotte Norin, who has taken over from Anna Gustafson Bril. SWEA Moscow is part of a global network of Swedish/Scandinavian speaking ladies with approximately 7,500 members worldwide. In Moscow we frequently organise meetings, excursions and other activities for our members. Please read more on the SWEA web-site http://moskva.swea.org/
Ann Charlotte Norin, President SWEA Moscow Mobile: +7 916 230 68 76
Community Moscow English Theatre
M
oscow English Theatre (MET) return to the Mayakovsky Theatre on Bolshaya Nikitskaya in October for their fifth season of professional English theatre. This time around they present a comedy from one of the most prolific and certainly most frequently performed playwrights on the planet - Alan Ayckbourn! His show RELATIVELY SPEAKING will play from October 17-19. Written in 1965, it is a charming comedy set in an English country garden. But beneath the seeming order and calm of this idyllic scene emotions and passions run high. Packed full of laughs it is a show performed again and again around the world.
Again MET have assembled a professional cast from the UK with the show starring Luke Kempner (Les Miserables, Avenue Q & The Only Way is Downton) and Gavin Robertson (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest & Thunderbirds FAB) and directed by Artistic Director Jonathan Salway. Alongside this, there will be one performance of Gavin Robertson´s acclaimed one man show BOND, described as ‘an unauthorised parody’. A success at the Edinburgh, Kansas and Adelaide festivals MET are delighted to host it now in Moscow. BOND will play on October 18 at 9pm. Tickets go on sale for both shows on September 1 and are available from tickets@ moscowenglishtheatre.com, http:// www.nanobilet.ru/ and, of course, via the Mayakovsky Theatre Box Office.
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Community. Social Movers
Maria
Chris
F
A
Ushakova
ollowing a charming summer season full of marvelous events and unforgettable travels; I am ready to face an intellectual autumn and a wild winter. My social calendar looks like this. Thursday. I organize a pre-party session at Makoto bar and restaurant. We consume a lot of phosphour. It’s good for bone structure and keeps us in the ‘glow’ and in the ‘know’. After Makoto pre-party session, which may include an unusual master-class or a degustation, we gradually proceed to Liberty Club in Kitai Gorod to dance Salsa. On Friday, we hit Petrovich club, Moscow’s oldest expat ‘favourite’. On the last Friday of each month, I organise a special Retro Party at Petrovich. Actually, if you need a daytime history and culture fix, please join my regular town excursions on Saturdays, we depart at 16:30 from Trubnaya main square. If you wish to discover the real Russia and you don’t yet have any plans for New Year’s celebration, then join our cosmopolitan Trans-Siberian dream journey! Our ‘train of friendship’ departs from Moscow on the 30th of December. It will take us two weeks to reach our final destination – Vladivostok. Have a great time in Moscow, with Moscow expat life magazine!
Organising an event? Advertise for free at www.Moscowexpatlife.ru
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Helmbrecht utumn is one of Moscow’s main nightlife seasons and after the return of the travellers in Mid-Sept, the city’s nightlife picks up rapidly. Despite sanctions and a low rouble course, the elite party crowd will still head out and party. “They’d rather sell their car, than not show off anymore...” the manager of one of Moscow’s most exclusive clubs replied to my question, will the high life will all be over soon? So what’s hot an upcoming this autumn? Lets start with the losers. Ever since car traffic is blocked out of the Krasnye Oktybr island, it has become less popular and we can expect some very known places to close down there soon. Artel Bessonitza, Alexey Gorobys project on Icons roof is still a good place to listen to some good tech-house and see Moscow’s beautiful people dance. We’ll continue to run events there twice a month with a special guest list. Contact me for more info. Besides, the all-famous Jagger bar, is better then ever and filled with thousands of people each weekend. If you have to wait to get in, its not because of “face-control” issues, but because the bar is overfilled. Check next doors “Blacksmith” Irish Pup for a pint, while you wait. It also belongs to the owners of Jagger. Moscow’s Space, the Ibiza sister club, opened about a year ago and is still surprising us with monthly top acts, such as Carl Cox. Its Moscow’s largest club with a 7,000 people capacity, but only opened once or twice a month for high profile dj gigs with a great show. For all lovers of good electronic music, the deep and tech-house. I suggest ‘Mendeleev Bar’ and Simachev’s new project ‘LOL’. Moscow’s bar names seem recently to be inspired by social media. There is also a ‘Selfie’ restaurant, which has been opened by the producers of DJ Smash and super popular among the elite Moscovites. Have fun! And find me on Facebook. Feel free to ask more questions there...
Community
153th
Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’s Birthday at the Indian Embassy
I
ndian music spilled out from the Indian embassy onto Vorontsova streets in June, where a celebration was held to mark the 153rd anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday. Rabindranath, who was educated at University College, London and the university of Calcutta, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music in the early 19th and 20th centuries and is still held in high esteem in India. The Indian community put on a whole repertoire of songs, plays and recitals, watched closely by Indian Ambassador Mr. P.S. Raghavan, and a fairly large gathering of Indians living and working in Moscow, many of whom observed proudly as their own children performed on stage.
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Community
The Moscow Oratorio Society The Moscow Oratorio Society, founded in 1993, is the oldest international choir in Moscow, and extremely well respected. Moscow expat Life interviewed the Society’s administrator, Carol Sorrenti.
How did you get involved with the Moscow Oratorio? I came to live here as a student originally in the 1980s. Then I worked for PanAm for three years and returned to the States. I’ve been living in Russia since 1997, mostly working for airlines. When I got my present job, somebody in my office by chance had a spare ticket to go to a Christmas concert of the Moscow Oratorio. They were singing the Messiah, which is something I absolutely love. I called the number on the ticket and ever since then I’ve been involved with them.
What do you do for the Moscow Oratorio apart from sing in it? Right now I’m the administrator, and I’m involved in finding sponsors, organising halls, and hiring an orchestra if we have enough sponsorship. It’s a semi-professional organisation and it takes a lot of organising work.
Is it something that’s done for money or charity? Its main goal is to create beautiful music, and to donate any money remaining after meeting expenses to charity. In seasons where we have procured a lot of funding, we have been able to donate substantial sums to worthwhile causes. In past years we have had large sponsors such as Deutsche bank and Nestle, which were able to cover most of our costs, thereby raising a surplus for donations. Currently companies are cutting back on sponsorship, and we rely mostly on ticket sales.
What kind of people participate; are they mostly expats? It’s a mixture because expats are always coming and going. Embassy staff is usually only here for a couple of years, for example. We need to have a core of regular singers who are here all the time, and they are Russians, who are mostly very qualified, as they have graduated from musical schools, ensuring that their standard is pretty high. We do not have auditions, and we welcome
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male singers, particularly tenors – the most endangered species in any choral group. The ratio of expats to Russians is hard to calculate, because it changes all the time. Generally figures go up towards Christmas because many more expats want to join the choir to sing a Christmas repertoire. I remember a Swiss woman and a German who could not read music, but who wanted to sing so much they memorised it!
You mentioned Handle’s Messiah. What are your most popular pieces of music that you perform? We try to do different things each year although we concentrate on western music. We prefer 17th or 18th century music, and we try to work with an orchestra or an organist, depending on funding. Recently we found a wonderful composer, Viernes. I had never heard of him, and his music is really sublime.
Where are the rehearsals held? Right now at the Maimonides institute near Novokuznetsky metro stop, because our conductor Alexander Tsaliuk teaches in the music department there. We hold concerts twice a year, one in December and one in the spring. Then we have a long rehearsal period that gives people time to learn the music, so we start in September for the December concert. We rehearse on Wednesdays apart for the last few weeks before the concerts, when we rehearse on Saturdays as well.
Do people have to pay anything? Yes, we have to charge people 5,000 roubles a year at the moment to cover the cost of renting a room, hiring an accompanist, and the conductor. If anybody really wants to sing and they can’t pay the dues, we are always ready to make a deal for example they can do some administration work in lieu of payment. For further information, please contact Carol on: carolmoscow@gmail.com The Moscow Oratorio web site is: http://www.moscoworatorio.ru
Community Night Flight Executive chef Pierre Elofsson Night Flight executive chef Pierre Elofsson is leaving Moscow after an eight year stint in Moscow. A lot of us will miss him and his exquisite food. At a farewell party in July, Kim Waddoup asked him a few questions;
What brought you to Moscow in the first place? A vey straightforward reason. They called me and asked me if I wanted to work in Moscow. I am always looking for some challenges, and I thought: Moscow, Russia, now that’s a challenge!
What was Night Flight like when you came here 8 years ago? Well, the steaks were good then, and they still are. But it has changed, just like Moscow has changed, in
every way. Muscovites know what to ask for now, more or less, they understand food now. It’s not just sushi or Italian pizza. Everything has got better.
It’s really going to be a shame to see you leave. Maybe I’ll come back! But it would be good to go away for a year or two to get some new inspiration, and then come back.
Are you married? My only woman is my mom.
GLEN COLLIN’s Birthday Glen Collins celebrated his birthday recently, and in the evening came down to the Curry Club at the Aroma Indian restaurant. “Well thank you very much guys. It is times like this when you realise that you have got true friends, and true friends come along occasionally
in your life. But I am very lucky because everywhere I have gone I have made true friends. Today I have been inundated with birthday best wishes from Astana, Cyprus, Moscow, the UK, and tonight from you guys all the way from India (joke)! So thank you very much.”
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Community
Inter
view
hn by Jo
ison
Harr
International Women’s Club (IWC) Appoints New President
Afrah, how did you come to be living in Moscow and become the president of the IWC? I’m married to the Ambassador of Kuwait and he was posted to Russia. When I knew I was going to be coming here I looked up online and found out as much information as I could about Moscow and about things I could be involved in here. I like to stay busy although I already have a busy life, being the wife of the Ambassador, and a mother of three. I quickly heard about the IWC, and after I arrived I gave them a call to see if I could become a member. I loved the special, fantastic atmosphere at the IWC, and I think that all the ladies who are part of the club feel the same way. After I joined I discovered that here in Moscow, there are a large number of embassies, and that some of the ambassadors’ wives, although they are all honorary IWC members, don’t
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know each other. I was talking to Izabella the then president about this and I said ‘Why don’t we try to arrange meetings just for the ambassadors wives?’ Immediately I got a lot of support for this idea. Some people said that they had been thinking about the same idea for a long time but nobody had taken the actual step. So I was really happy to make it happen and to create a regular meeting especially for ambassadors’ wives. After Izabella saw how active I had been in organising this, she asked me if I’d like to be active for the whole of the IWC, and she offered me the presidency.
Will you have time for everything, because you’re also a mother of three and the wife of an ambassador? I see myself as a kind of book and I want to make the pages as
The IWC has a new president, Afrah Mohammed Alfaddaghi, the wife of The Ambassador of the State of Kuwait. Having made a fantastic success of being the president for the last 2 years, something that can be seen in the record charity fundraising activities, and the renewed connection that members felt with the IWC, Izabella Zajączkowska is now moving back to Poland with her husband. Moscow expat Life talks to Afrah Alfaddaghi about her motivation and plans. Sonia Michon Floc’hay the head of IWC PR, and Izabella Zajączkowska also joined the interview. interesting as possible. I want to fill it up with challenges. Each country I go to is another page in that book but at the same time I know that I have tremendous responsibilities as a mother, so it is not always easy. At first, I was not sure that I could handle everything. When I agree to do something, whatever it is, I have to make sure that I can do it very well. Otherwise it is better for me not to do it at all. So I said to Izabella that I’d like to think about it. I wanted to meet the ladies of the Steering Committee, because without their support I wouldn’t be up to do anything. When I first met the team I saw how they work and how professional and intelligent they are and I realised that with their support, this new
Community responsibility and role would definitely be possible.
Is there any particular direction that you want to take the IWC in or is everything perfect at the moment? Afrah: Nothing is ever perfect, everything can be improved. Sonia: Afrah said that she wanted to raise the bar. She has already started doing that with some new ideas such as how to involve the ambassadors’ wives much more in order to improve further our fundraising activities. The idea of getting more active support from the embassies, more support than we already have been getting over the years is, I think, a brilliant idea. The active support of the ambassadors’ wives generates a higher level of involvement of the community around them. This means more participating members for the IWC. It is a virtual circle.
Let’s move on to you personally the embassy dinner and ball was sold in Russia and your family. Do out, something that hasn’t happened you like it here? in years. This was only possible because we had a president who really wanted to make a difference. This is where her engagement with people really showed results and the international community responded very positively. It has been a very rewarding year for all the Steering Committee members of the IWC and we are extremely happy that we were able to support our charity projects accordingly.
Afrah: I like it a lot in Moscow, but I also know that some people are not quite so comfortable here. Sometimes you don’t have the choice of whether to come to a place or not. So you have to somehow find out how you can enjoy yourself. This is the same in any country. I find Moscow is a really interesting place that I can learn a lot from. This country has deep connections with many aspects of human activities and in particular with the arts.
How do you feel about passing the presidency on?
Izabella, how do you feel about leaving?
Izabella: I have two older children and one small child. When I think
Izabella: Working as the president of the IWC and also being the wife of
Izabella Zajączkowska
Afrah Mohammed Alfaddaghi
Sonia Michon Floc’hay
You have come at a very interesting time. We see this with the magazine. We try to be non-political but that is quite difficult. Afrah: It’s very clear that there are two sides to things, there is the political side, and there is a social side and we are definitely interested in the social side. There is so much to do! I’m thinking about the charity work in particular. Basically we want to help people in need. The IWC doesn’t have any identity or any nationality, we are just human beings.
an ambassador was a really wonderful time for me in my life. I was busy with the IWC every day, it was like a second life. From the beginning I felt that this work was very important and at the same time very useful for people. I felt that we have to do this work in the best possible way because our activities and our devotion can help other people. It is up to us to choose how to spend time, and we choose to spend our time in this way, building friendships, enjoying the international atmosphere and contributing to a great project. I set myself a goal last year; which I talked about in my interview with you and that goal was to ‘unify but not standardise.’ I believe that we did that. Sonia: Under Izabella we have reached new records in fundraising;
about my daughter I worry, because I have some problems with her. But when I think about my son in Hong Kong I am not worried at all. I have absolutely no worries when I think about the new president of the IWC. When I saw Afrah working with the group of ambassador’s wives, I knew immediately that she is the right person for the job. After a series of meetings with various people in our organization we all came to the agreement that she should take over. I’m very happy about it! May I take this opportunity on behalf of the staff and the readers of Moscow expat Life magazine to wish you, Afrah, every success in your new role. May I also take the opportunity to say to you Izabella: thank you very much for everything you’ve done for the IWC and for the expat community in general.
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Community
Who are expats? A research-based report by the ‘Khamovniki ison Harr sociological research fund’. n h Jo The ‘Khamovniki sociological research fund’ (Khamovniki) held a press conference in the Metropol hotel to present its findings on that mysterious group of people known as ‘expats’ in Russia. The following is a highly edited account of their presentation, the full report would take up all the pages in this issue. The conference and the research behind it is significant in that it is the first time that detailed research has ever been carried out on the subject of expats in Russia, although we have played and continue to play an important role in Russia’s development.
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n conditions of anonymity, Khamovniki interviewed 150 established expats living in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Khamovniki report that their respondents were from the USA, Europe, South America and South East Asia, and work in important jobs in ‘key sectors of the Russian economy’.
What according to ‘Khamovniki’ is an expat Khamovniki considers expats to be ‘foreign highly qualified specialists and managers working in Russia on contract,’ and refer to Rosstat for statistics, which states that there are over 100,000 specialists who fall into this category in Russia. Among these, 40,000 occupy senior management positions, according to Rosstat. The Khamovniki report does not include in its analysis the other 60% of expats who do not earn so much, do not work on contract, but who well may be highly qualified specialists. So the Khamovniki report could be renamed as a sociological report of highly paid foreign specialists, not of all expats. About one third of the target group of 40,000 people that Khamovniki researched live in Moscow, and
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14% in St. Petersburg. Their influence on the Russian economy is, according, to the research group, un-proportionally large. About one third of the turnover of goods and services in Russia is managed by organisations, which are controlled by foreign capital, although only 5% of the population work for such companies. However the number of expats has decreased dramatically from a peak in 2009, and is now just below what it was in 2000. According to government statistics, 1,800 Americans worked in Russia in 2000, and 800 in 2012. According to Rosstat, the number of citizens from EU countries ‘officially’ working in Russia has fallen from 35,300 to 7,800. There are a number of problems with Khamovniki definition of an expat as: a ‘foreign highly qualified specialists and managers working in Russia on contract.’ Is a millionaire expat who has no higher education an expat? If being an ‘expert’ really means being successful, and with an undisclosed section of the Russian economy still being ‘grey’, where do the figures come from? One participant at the conference at the Metropol asked whether an Azerbaidzhani could be an expat. “If not, why not?” Be this as it may, we see with the Khamovniki report, that the Russian administration as a whole is trying to come to terms
with the appearance of a new social class which although small in numbers is highly significant in terms of their contribution to the economy and possibly to the development of Russian society.
Rosstat There are a number of reasons that the number of expats has fallen so dramatically since 2009. After the crisis, many western companies could not (and still cannot) afford to send expatriates to Russia. Khamovniki point out that Russians have become far more professional, and it is a lot cheaper for a foreign company to hire them, than bringing in their own specialists. Companies still prefer to place their own top people, but second and third level managers are now more often than not Russians. In a bid to cut down on illegal immigration from countries of the former Soviet Union, the visa regime has tightened up a lot over the fast few years. The top level expats are granted a special kind of visa (Highly Qualified Specialist visa). This has had the effect of easing the visa situation for top level managers, but making it more difficult for everybody else, many of whom still exist on dubious ‘business visas’. Many foreigners will not go down the Residence Permit road because
Community this involves situations which they see as being compromising, such as giving blood tests for syphilis. Obtaining a working visa and residence permit, however, is no more difficult in Russia than it is in many other countries, this has not changed. What has changed is that as far as visas are concerned, unless you qualify for a Highly Qualified Specialist visa, you can no longer expect to be treated any differently than a citizen from Kazakhstan, for example, just because you happened to be born a western country. Khamovniki splits expats up into three groups: The ‘utilitarians’
lot of freedom as he or she was treated as a coloniser working in almost unknown territory, with almost unlimited choice and in some cases, expenses budgets.. Now, with Russian in the WTO and Russia’s (up to very recently) increasing integration into the global economy, more and more decisions are taken by head office, meaning that the kind of expat needed here is different. Those seeking an adventure are being replaced by those worried about paying their children’s school fees at one of Moscow’s top international schools.
the ability to handle stress and be patient, the ability to handle bureaucracy, and the ability not to dramatize situations. On the other hand, Russians respect the following qualities in their foreign colleagues: a belief in the possibility of success, ability to organise their time, diplomacy and political correctness, professionalism and ‘professional honesty.’ Amongst qualities that Russians have imbued from foreigners, Khamovniki note the following: an ability to concentrate on the job in hand, structural and systematic thinking, self-organisation, an ability to take
those who have come to Russia with one goal – to make as much money as possible, the ‘ideologists’ those who try to introduce western forms of management into Russia, and the ‘modernisers’, whose mission is to find common points of interest with Russian business culture, and create new effective work models. I personally find such segmentation rather dangerous, as yes, top level expats are definitely here for the money. Many of them, however, desperately wish to introduce western forms of management into Russia, and do so. Being a high earning expat does not exclude the possibility of being a reformer. Khamovnki did not mention the fact that the nature of expat jobs has itself changed. In the past, head office would give their Russian-based expatriate a
The idealists of the 1980s and 1990s are now quite hard to come by, as the cost of living and the difficulties of getting a visa make it more difficult to simply exist and enjoy Russian culture. Expats who come to Russia to find a wife/lover are here as well, and this can stop some expat families coming here. As one British expat mentioned: “an HR company discovered that a huge number of expats turn down their assignments to Russia because the beauty of Russian women threatens the existence of their families.” Khamovnki’s sociological findings are interesting. Their report states that foreigners value the following characteristics amongst Russians: inventiveness, an ability to think in non-standard ways, the ability to handle crisis situations,
on responsibility, ‘professional honesty’, and the ability to organise relationships with a company’s management diplomatically.
Integration of expats Khamovniki noticed that the employees of many top-level expats express no great desire for their own expat employees to become fully integrated with Russian society. The danger is, so expats interviewed said, that they would not be able to fulfil the directives of their companies. They would ‘lose their objectivity’ and thus become susceptible to the influence of Russian culture. This was particularly noticeable amongst diplomats. “An expat who is paid $2000 or more a week will serve the interests of his company or country first” said one British expat. Fair enough.
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Community What expats think of Russians As one can expect, the Khamovniki report covered a whole range of opinions about Russia and Russians, from the demonic to the angelic. No overall ‘rating’ was published in the report. Here are a few of the respondents’ comments: • “The majority of foreigners consider that Russians are good people (UK, magazine editor). • “Russians are similar to Japanese in their souls. Both Russians and Japanese favour deep relationships, real friendship. The difference is that Russians express their opinions directly, whereas Japanese wait until a suitable
occasion arises (Japan, head of department of an international trading company). • “I feel guilty if I don’t manage to complete a particular task in time, but that is not how my Russian colleagues relate to their work” (USA, editor in research department of Russian bank). • “If you ask somebody the way in Pakistan, they will show you where you need to go. Not the same thing here.” (Pakistan, sales manager in a trading company). • “Western Europeans have an easier time adapting here, because their economies have a larger state
sector” (UK, magazine editor). • “In Germany we are used to saving right up until we die. But here in Russia, people don’t think what is going to happen to them in 20-30 years (Germany, top-manager of a recruitment agency).” • “Information is often dissipated amongst a large number of people, at least that is the way it is my company. It is difficult to gather information. In other countries, it is possible to go up to a certain person, and he or she will collect the information for you. Here, horizontal organisation is very weak, and this doesn’t help cooperation between different people and parts of a company (USA, head of research in FMCG company).
On internal changes • “It’s not important how well you speak Russian, and it’s not important how integrated you are into Russian culture. You will always be a foreigner here. Whereas America is a constantly boiling liquid of different people from different cultures. Yes, I have become more Russian. I even have two pairs of shoes: I go to work in one pair, and walk about the office in another. I never used to go to the Banya, now I even enjoy it. I enjoy spending money a lot more than I did in Germany” (Germany, top-manager of recruitment agency).
BBBS concert at White Square On July 4, at White Square, Belorusskaya, John Delargy, Nash Albert and Dmitry Varenkin played an open-air concert to raise funds and awarenes s for the international mentoring program, Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was the second time that Delargy, a founding board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia, organised the concert, and they raised 51,000 rubles for the charity. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia focuses on helping at-risk children living in orphanages to assimilate social skills and responsibilities, preparing them for adulthood by matching each child with a caring mentor for at least one year. The program currently works in Moscow and St. Petersburg and supports 230 ‘matches’.
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Stephani Sherlock at The Commonwealth Games
Stephani Sherlock, the reigning English Rhythmic senior gymnastic champion recently competed in the Commonwealth Games representing England in Glasgow Scotland . Stephani, born in Moscow, finished 11th overall and 7th in the individual ball and hoop, her contribution helped the English team finish 4th in the competition.
Community
Mercedes Fashion Week Russia Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia (MBFW Russia) is the largest Fashion Week in Eastern Europe. MBFW Russia is held twice a year (March & October) and presents collections by Russian and foreign designers.
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he official venue of this event is The Central Exhibition Hall “Manage” located in the centre of Moscow close to the Kremlin and other historical sites. MBFW Russia is visited by more than 50,000 people each year including fashion journalists, celebrities, VIP guests and buyers. MBFW Russia is aimed to support and promote Russian designers, however it also provides runways for International Fashion Houses. Over the years, MBFW Russia has been represented by such designers as Tony Ward, Iceberg, Frankie Morello, Vivienne Westwood. Costume National, Pal Zileri, Ozwald Boateng, Giles, Fyodor Golan, Basso & Brooke, Marios Schwab and others.
All designers have an opportunity to present their collections in two different ways. Either as a show on a runway or as a presentation in a showroom. Alena Akhmadullina, Slava Zaitsev, Igor Gulyaev, Chapurin, Bessarion and Ruban and permanent participants of MBFW Russia. Each season, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week arranges the best venue, equipped to full international standards. No other European fashion event can compete. There are a regulated number of guests and the professionalism of the production exceeds International standards in many ways. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia is the most popular event
in the Russian fashion industry. Thousands of press revues in various languages are published as a result each season. MBFW Russia also provides a unique opportunity to view all fashion shows online. Event partners are represented by Mercedes-Benz, Mary Kay, Canon, L’Oreal Professional, ASUS, DHL and El Cortes Ingles.. MBFW Russia provides a unique marketing opportunity for creative promotion for the participating brands amongst the target audience through the mass media. The 29th Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia is held 22-26th October in ‘Manage’. Additional information at www.mercedesbenzfashionweek. ru contact info@artefact.ru
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ll itche M n Ia
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n June, Alexander Smirnov and friends held a Classic Car time trial out at the new Moscow Grand Prix Circuit near Volokolamsk.Alexander is the owner of Old-Time.ru which has what the largest collection of classic cars, in concours condition, in Russia. He buys and sells them, and restores them. But he also loves them and uses them, both for rallies in the Russian countryside and for events like this. He is in the process of starting a club specifically devoted to old British sports cars. Anyone interested should contact him through the website or at www.old-time.ru
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A Day at the Races
Community Text by Anna and Sergey Alferov. Photos by feisphotos.ru and Anna Alferova.
There’s naethin’ loch a Scottish reel!
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n June, it seemed as if Scottish dancing had become Moscow’s newest craze. The day started with a Highland dance competition in the open air and finished with a fun Scottish dance party in one of Moscow pubs. The competition was adjudicated by one of the top people in the world of Highland dancing, Mrs Delma Wilson (Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing judge and a dedicated teacher, whose students have become World Highland Dance Champions 17 times!). It was Delma’s third time in Moscow as a judge so she must be clearly enjoying the determination of Russian kids, teenagers and adults to master the art of Scottish solo dancing. The competition, organised by Moscow Scottish dance school ‘Shady Glen’, attracted dancers from Moscow, SaintPetersburg, Ufa, Orenburg and
Perm. Visitors of Bauman’s Garden watched in amazement as dancers in full highland outfits leaped to the sounds of traditional Scottish bagpipe played by Russia’s best bagpiper, Anatoly Isaev. After all winners got their trophies and were cheered by their peers, friends and general public, everyone moved to Youngs Pub, a cosy and spacious venue not far from the Tretyakov Gallery, where Anatoly Isaev had a break from playing his bagpipe, switching to a traditional Scottish button accordion. Accompanied by Vladimir Volkov on a fiddle, he played all evening at a dance party organised by Moscow school ‘Shady Glen’ and Moscow Branch of the Royal Scottish Dance Society with the support of the International Women’s Club of Moscow Ceilidh Dance Group. Social dances of Scotland were enjoyed by Russian connoisseurs of Scottish dancing together with expats from Scotland, England, the US and even Serbia! The guests of the pub who had never seen Scottish dancing before joined in the fun. What a night!
Community
Five Key Russian Words to Unlock the Russian Soul Sophia Tupolev Sophia Tupolev is a Russian-American who splits her time between Central West Moscow, Central Park West, and the rest of the world. A seasoned expat in Moscow, Sophia leads the Russian Conversation Club, which she founded in 2009, and is now sponsored by RT. She is the Russia Representative for American Citizens Abroad, an advocacy group for American expats’ rights and is an active member of several community organizations such as the American Women’s Organization and the International Jewish Community. Sophia currently is the Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor to the Editor-In-Chief at RT. She can be reached at www.asksophie.ru
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hese commonly used Russian words have simple translations but a hidden level of meaning which hold the key to understanding some of the values that define the Russian soul. Ремонт (pronounced rehmont) means ‘renovations.’ The word flutters on banners on the sides of residential buildings and is de rigueur in any kind of real estate listing. Indeed, the sounds of ongoing renovations seem to be unrelenting in Moscow. Remont in a flat can be ‘European,’ ‘Modern,’ ‘Classic,’ or non-existent - bez remonta. The Russian penchant for remont is a manifestation of a core belief that tomorrow will be a better day, and a feeling that one can bring about positive changes in life via physically improving one’s surroundings. Завтра (pronounced zavtra) means ‘tomorrow.’ Since tomorrow is generally perceived as a better day, it naturally becomes the optimal time to accomplish things that don’t seem to be working out today. This includes both personal and professional tasks, which are often relegated to ‘zavtra,’ which is a concept, rather than the actual next day. ‘By tomorrow’ can be used to
mean ‘by the end of the week,’ while ‘by next week’ often becomes by the end of the month. Можно (pronounced mozhno) means ‘May I’ or ‘You may.’ This word is arguably one of the most useful words in Russian. Used in combination with hand gestures, one must only wait for a mozhno in reply for permission to do or take something, order a beverage, or enter an office. Russians use phrases like ‘would you be so kind…’ and ‘May I…’ even when ordering a croissant. This feature of the language reflects the refined imperial past, a sense of which lives on in the modern Russian soul through the built-in politeness of the language. While there were many more niceties in common usage a century ago, the word mozhno is now a stand in for the more complex phrases of yore. Дача (pronounced dacha) means ‘country house.’ Most citydwelling Russians, irrespective of age or socio-economic standing, have a place out of town. Come late April, Friday night and Saturday morning traffic goes one way: to the countryside. Dachas are for relaxing with family and friends, enjoying the fresh summer forest air, and of course, grilling shashlik (kebab) on
an open flame. Mushroom-picking, light gardening and landscaping are national weekend pastimes. Dacha homes are the common thread that weaves in and out of generations. Despite a love of modern conveniences and well-renovated urban landscapes, the dacha is where Russians get back in touch with the land cultivated by their grandparents, a place that is not only a physical state but an essential part of the national consciousness. Maмa (pronounced mahmah) Not just the woman who brought you into this world, but the woman who will be the undeniable authority and a true matriarch for your own children for life. Many Russians live with or near their parents, even after they get married, for as long as possible. Later in life, parents often move in with their children. Partly, this is due to a disproportionate ratio of salary to home prices, but it goes far beyond that. Mama is the one who guides you through life until marriage, helps raise your children while you work, and God forbid you think of putting her in a home for the elderly. Irrespective of logistical or material challenges, Мама is an irrevocable part of Russian life.
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Community
The Mature English teachers There was a time when teachers of English as a foreign language were looked down on as people who couldn’t get a ‘proper’ job. Those days have long gone, and Moscow’s colourful business club events all now have a contingent of English teachers enjoying their friends’ company. But there is another reasons why such institutions are so erudite. Many teachers were once business people themselves, but for one reason or another; be it a ‘crisis’ which Russia had its fair share of, or a desire to enjoy the freedom and satisfaction that teaching can give, swapped their high-pressure business careers for the simplicity of offering conversational English classes. To many their decisions look crazy: to swap regular hours, money and holidays for a way of life that looks from the outside as being irregular, badly paid and a lot of hard work? But nothing in Moscow is what it seems. This article is not about the qualified, dedicated teachers who work in private secondary schools in Russia, or is it about the many younger, professional teachers who come here to work. These two groups are worthy of separate articles.
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hy do people with business careers start teaching English? Simon Green, who has been living in Russia since 2002 told his story: “I came here to work for a Russian office equipment company because they needed people to knock on the doors of international companies, that a Russian account manager simply couldn’t get into. I did that job for nearly three and a half years, which is longer than any other expat they’ve employed. Then the company predictably went bankrupt (nothing to do with me I might add). I didn’t know what to do, so I moved into real estate, and then started working for a relocation company. I also tried executive search, but the trouble with that was that the money wasn’t regular; high spots and dry spots would sum it up. None of these occupations really worked for me. I thought I can’t go on like this, I knew somebody who was teaching and he said you’d be great at teaching. I said that ‘I’ve never done it’, he replied: ‘neither have most people here.’ So I started my first lesson very nervous, I
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“...I was very nervous when I started my first lesson, I didn’t know what the students would think of me, whether they’d spit me out alive! But suddenly I found myself really enjoying it. I’ve been doing this for almost three years now, and I’ve got almost more clients than I can handle, which is a lovely position to be in, long may it continue.”
Simon Green didn’t know what the students would think of me, whether they’d spit me out alive! But suddenly I found myself really enjoying it. I’ve been doing this for almost three years now, and I’ve got almost more clients than I can handle, which is a lovely position to be in, long may it continue.” Mike Winn, another Brit, has an interesting story: “I came to Moscow as a banker, working in a high level post for a German bank. I resigned from that post in 2006, when the economy was booming to form a new company. At
the time there was a lot of demand for financial services, corporate financial restructuring, advisory services etc. We were doing OK and were starting to make some progress when BANG, the crisis happened. Coming from a poor background, a big part of my motivation was simply to earn some money. The other part was a genuine desire and interest.” Can anybody teach English? All teaching needs an outgoing personality. Timid English teachers don’t last very long. Beyond that, in Russia, where there are so many opportunities that it is still possible to reinvent yourself every few years, being a native speaker and having a degree – any degree –
Community are the only basic qualifications necessary. Because most expat native speaker teachers teach spoken conversational English, a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) qualification does not seem to be necessary. As Simon Green commented: “I teach business English; how to write business letters, that sort of thing, and general conversational English. Because of my rather limited Russian, my audience is from preintermediate level upwards. I can just about teach elementary, but beginners, certainly not. The truth of the matter is that a Russian grammar teacher will explain things so much better than an English person can.” Mike Winn said: “I invested in an online TEFL course, I received the certificate, but it was of very limited use. I don’t think they really teach you the essential skills, particularly at the level I wanted to teach at, which was upper intermediate and advanced. Also, I wanted to bring into play business skills and things I’ve learned on my MBA and other courses I’ve been on. Whilst still in London I taught Russian for three years and had already developed my own teaching style. I had been bitten by the teaching bug.” Interestingly, it is the qualified teachers who have previously taught younger children who think they need a TEFL qualification. James Martin is an American with a degree in sociology and a licensed teacher who taught in the US, before leaving to ‘see the world’. First stop: Azerbaijan. That was 17 years ago. James, whose favourite course at university was Linguistics 101 has taught adults and children in Moscow for 2 years. James commented: “previously I had been teaching mostly elementary students at general schools when I signed up for a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course in Moscow, in September 2012. Because of visa problems, I didn’t take the course until the following January. The language school I was contracted to teach at after completing my course let me teach without the qualification, so it
turned out that I didn’t really need it. But it was a fantastic course, it helped me a lot. As a native speaker, I knew WHAT to say, but not WHY. Things are not so mysterious now. I know that there’s a rule for just about everything, and where to find the rule.” There is much debate as to whether it is better to teach in a language school or strike out on your own. Most teachers started at schools and established their own basis of private students, however the visa, and who pays for it, is a crucial issue. Russia’s visa system is tightening up, but still allows just enough room for individuals to work here on a private basis. James Martin commented: “All the time I was here, I worked for language schools because they sponsored my visa. Last year, I received a tolerable salary. This year, my boss said I have two options: work 30 hours per week for the school, and they would pay for my
advantages. With schools, you get regular money and, you are protected if the students cancel, which they do tend to do a lot. The cancellation rate can be as much as 30%. At first it might seem a big risk branching out on your own, but you can get to a stage where you have almost too many clients. I get my students almost entirely from recommendation, so I don’t have to go looking for clients anymore, and that’s nice.” A few teachers go straight into teaching private students. Mike Winn commented: “All my students came from contacts, one was a friend of mine who was the managing director of a leasing company.” Working in a school is clearly a lot easier on the travel front. You don’t have to travel all over Moscow. Private students means teaching in apartments and if you are lucky, on a company’s premises. If a class is arranged within the company, there will be fewer cancellations. But travelling between locations can take hours each day, as much as the actual teaching. This can seriously eat into “...It’s only when you work in a foreign environment do you realise how truly far reaching and powerful the English language is. All the sales and communications at Bank Austria for example, were in English; I think that’s a worldwide phenomenon. When you have a truly international organisation, you don’t have the time to translate everything, English has taken over.”
Mike Winn visa; or work 20 hours and pay for the visa myself. I took the 20-hour option because over and beyond the school hours, my time was my own. I filled the remaining hours with private students who are much more profitable. I ended up working for six different entities this year. Teaching English in Moscow has been rewarding both financially and professionally. It’s also been fun.” Simon Green commented: “I started teaching at a language school, and obviously there are
hourly rates. But seasoned teachers say that teaching privately, especially at the ‘nouveau riche’ level is worth it, as rates for individual students range from can from 1500-3500 roubles an hour, as compared to 600-1,000 roubles an hour in a school. Going private means no paid holidays, but paid holidays are not exactly common in language schools either. For newcomers, getting a job in a language school is clearly the way to go. The successful English teachers all say that they enjoy teaching, that
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Community “...People ask me: ‘who do you like to teach more, kids or adults?’ I’m not avoiding the question when I say: both. With children, it is easier to get them to like you, but it is easier not to make progress in the lessons, because the children won’t know it.”
James Martin is, those who don’t quickly move into other areas of communicationorientated employment. Teaching on a private level appears to appeal to people who enjoy their freedom, and provides room for creativity in the form of lesson content and materials. Time management skills and a basic business sense; to make sure you are actually paid are vital, and these are skills this group of expat teachers have already attained in their previous occupations. Teaching has one other key benefit. It allows one to do other things. Once a teacher has hit the private student circuit he or she can shift work hours around to provide time for other things, like setting up a new business, reading books and/or writing. Most English teachers say that it is becoming easier and not more difficult to find students. There are a large number of Russians and Russian companies who realise that to succeed they have to speak good colloquial English, despite reports by some international observers that
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Russia is becoming cut off from the rest of the world. Mike Winn who used to work at a senior level in a large German bank commented: “When I came here, I was working for a 100% German bank in Moscow, but the working languages were Russian and English, not German. It’s only when you work in a foreign environment do you realise how truly far reaching and powerful the English language is. All the sales and communications at Bank Austria for example, were in English; I think that’s a worldwide phenomenon. When you have a truly international organisation, you don’t have the time to translate everything, English has taken over.” The fact that there are fewer expats working for Russian companies only plays in the teachers’ favour. Apart from business people, English native speakers are in demand to teach a sizeable group of children and spouses of the Russian nouveau riche. Parents are prepared to pay well, in some cases very well, in the hope that their children will speak English without a heavy Russian accent if they start young. In a flip to pre-revolutionary practices of hiring servants, many well-to-do Russian families now hire live-in nannies, helps and private tutors to look after their children. However there are fewer private tutors being hired and more nannies, and one of their many tasks will be teaching English to their wards.
It is possible to save up a large pile of cash in a short time, as most positions involve a live-in situation, expenses are paid and the salaries are good. Mature English teachers welcome the relatively unregulated Russian EFL market. But how does this reflect on teaching standards, particularly when teaching adults? James Martin commented: “People ask me: ‘who do you like to teach more, kids or adults?’ I’m not avoiding the question when I say: both. With children, it is easier to get them to like you, but it is easier not to make progress in the lessons, because the children won’t know it. With adults it is harder to make them like you, but you can talk about really interesting stuff, that you are interested in yourself. It’s so great when students do like you, they’ll remember you and spread your name around, it’s really nice.” Mature students are often highly educated and may know a lot more about history, for example than the teachers. Such students are difficult to teach, although they appreciate simply being able to talk with a native speaker. However keeping such students is not easy, as they complain that they are not really learning much. Classroom situations present their own problems, such as mixed ability classes. Lack of consistency of classes makes it very difficult for the teacher to move things forward. What do established English teachers do after years, or in some cases, decades of teaching? Most carry on doing the same thing, which says something about job satisfaction, or that it is a rut, which is difficult to get out of. Some venture into ‘educational consultancy;’ helping arrange visas and courses for their students abroad. The increasingly inhospitable visa departments of some countries only make the services of such people more important. Others open up their own schools, or prefer to run courses for companies without facing the hassle of state educational regulations. They, in turn, employ some of the many new, younger expats who come here in there twenties and thirties. For the foreseeable future, the going looks good for teachers of English as a foreign language.
Polish Community
The Polish Business Club “The Polish Business Club was created 15 years ago to develop contacts between Polish and Russian companies, and to provide business support; such as help in renting an apartment, how to get medical help and advice on where to go in your free time. The Club’s main mission is business development in Russia. “Representatives of Polish businesses operating in Russia, and also citizens of Poland who work in Russian and multinational
companies in Russia can join the Club. The Club unites now about 60 Polish companies. “Members of the Club receive support in terms of business contacts and business consultations. There is also an opportunity to use the club’s activities, as a platform for the development of their business.” Alexander Janeczek, Head of the Polish Business Club
Robert Knights COO Work Service S.A. Vice-President I have been working for Work Service, a Polish company, for the last 8 years here in Moscow. I also sit on the board of directors for the company in Poland and regularly visit the beautiful city or Wrolcaw for board meetings at our head office. Our company is like many Polish companies. Vibrant, dynamic, youthful and professional and I guess that sums up my impression of the Polish business community both here and in Poland. Many other companies in Russia that are not Polish employ Polish managers for these reasons and one more specific one, Polish managers have a very good understanding of Russian culture, business mentality and
language. Polish management plays in a key role in many businesses in Russia Polish people are a pleasure to work with . We have many Polish customers and I appreciate their straight forward approach , when we are on track they tell us and when we have an issue they tell us and the methodology for resolution is always the same , calm , professional and result orientated. The Polish business community and is full of characters and they know how to have a good time. We are fortunate as Work Service to be heavily involved in the Polish Business Club in Russia, and we thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere and exchange of news and ideas.
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Polish Community
Peter Sobiecki, Board Member of th The Polish Business swor n i a er H y Pet b w Club in Moscow. vie Inter Peter Sobiecki is a well known and highly active member of the Polish business community. Apart from being the business development officer of Altezza Communications here in Moscow, he is also on the board of the Polish Business Club in Moscow. What made you come to Russia?
What does the business club try to do?
I was born in Moscow and lived more than half of my life here, with the rest spent in Poland, USA and Australia. I graduated from the Department of Journalism of Moscow State University, with specialization in TV Journalism, but never made it to work on TV. I have worked for the largest international companies such as Allianz, SAP; I was head of the media relations department at Philip Morris. I have my family here – two lovely kids and a Russian Korean wife.
The main focus is to foster relationships between Polish business people in Russia. For example, if you are a newcomer, you can come along to some of our meetings free of charge and get some advice from people working in your trade, from embassy people, from people working in small companies and also some very large companies. You can speak to people who have been working here for 5, 10 or even 30 years. Our key tasks now are to increase the number and variety of our activities and to increase the membership. We cannot compete with AmCham or AEB both in membership strength or lobbying power. But we want to become a mini AmCham or AEB for Polish companies doing business in Russia, or wanting to.
Peter, what’s your official position within the Polish Business Club? I am a member of the board. There is a Chairman, Mr. Aleksander Janeczek and several other members of the board.
How long has the Polish Business Club existed for? The Polish Business Club was established back in 1999. There was always a group of people who helped organise networking events for Polish business people, and the commercial department of the Polish embassy has always played a role in this. I have noticed that recently there has been a tremendous desire for business people to come together to help each other.
What about Russian companies wanting to do business in Poland? We’re now discussing the possibility of opening membership to people from different countries. For example, we have one British man who wants to join the club and his membership application is pending at the moment. All of our decisions are taken by members of the board, and members collectively.
Running event organised for charity, summer 2014 Guests at the Polish Celebration of 10 years in the EU and marking 25 years from the end of communism
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Polish Community How many members have you got now? We have about 60 active member companies and over 100 ‘supporters.’ Living and working in Moscow is, as you know complex and not everybody can find the time to come to all of our meetings.
How do you finance your meetings? We have agreed that our club should be noncommercial. The club charges a membership fee of 6,000 roubles a year, which we consider to be a modest fee. We stage several major events each year. Recently, we had an event in June to mark 10 years of Poland joining the EU, another one in July – organised jointly with AEB. Such joint events are very good, because there are a number of Poles who work for non-Polish international companies, and we like to include them in our activities. However, we welcomed many Russian and European business partners at these events.
Are your meetings social events or do you have lectures conferences? We organised seminars on various business-related subjects (taxation, doing business in Russia and similar). A company that specialises in this field comes and does a presentation, and shares its knowledge with members, and also benefits from making new contacts. We will continue with such seminars. As I said, our main goal is to foster networking, grow our membership, to invite people to speak at our seminars and to organise joint events with other organisations.
And you are able to pay all your bills from the membership fees? We also helped by the embassy, they let us use the embassy building, support the logistics, and recently provided genuine Polish alcohol and food, which goes down very well! We are a small organisation, and a little help goes along way.
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Polish Community
Karina Łosiewa Marketing and PR specialist at CROPP & SiNSAY, MGIMO graduate student
How long have you been living in Russia? I grew up in Poland, in the beautiful city Gdynia. My parents got divorced, and in 2001 I moved to Russia with mother (my father is Polish, my mother – Russian). I went to the Polish school, which was attached to the Polish embassy. Then I got enrolled in MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), which is one of the best universities in Russia. I graduated from MGIMO in 2012 and then took a year off. Completely out of the blue, I got a phone call from the HR department of the Russian branch of LPP S.A., Poland’s leading fashion retailer. They needed a translator for two weeks, and I ended up almost moving in! I have been here ever since. In September of last year I started a postgraduate course at the Diplomatic Academy, and decided to study International Security. I study part-time, in the
Lottery during the joint evening of the Polish Business Club and the AEB on the premises of the Polish embassy in July 2014
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In Moscow you don’t have a problem with what to do in the evenings. I like this crazy rhythm of life; I feel that I am living. evenings, so I am kind of busy, as I work from 10 am to 6 pm, then attend lectures from 7 pm until 10 pm, 4 days a week. But I really enjoy it. I think that it’s important to live not only your work, but also widen horizons and meet new interesting people. Even after lessons, I don’t always go home, but meet my friends and have fun. In Moscow you don’t have a problem with what to do in the evenings. I like this crazy rhythm of life; I feel that I am living.
Do you consider yourself to be Russian or Polish? I love Poland, and Moscow, but of course I’m Polish and my heart belongs to Poland. Although Poles and Russians share the same Slavic culture, I was brought up in a Polish home, and of course this is different
from growing up in Russia. I didn’t speak Russian, for example, until I came to study here. At MGIMO I studied as a Polish student, and identified with the other international students.
Do you have more Russian than Polish friends? Most of my friends are Polish and I am friends with other foreigners who I studied with at university. I carried on my friendship with them after graduating, and I meet up with them at various social events. Also I help organize the Polish Social Club – for Poles in Moscow. This club has been operating for many years now, and it’s really useful, especially for people who just arrive here; they have a thousand practical questions, like how and where to arrange childcare etc.
Polish Community media its perfect work for me – I like spending time on the Internet and its great as they pay me money for that. I think that if I get bored it will not be difficult finding a new job here. I really love my motherland, but I have a feeling that all talented and intelligent people moved abroad. When I come to Poland to visit my family I start getting bored after less a week. People in Poland have fun in a different way than in Moscow – they prefer home parties, they are much more calm than young Muscovites. As I have just said; there are great opportunities, a lot of job offers, like nowhere else I think.
Are you going home when you finish your studies? Going home wouldn’t be the best decision to take right now. Moscow is a place of great opportunities. Also, I really enjoyed my work – the promotion of our brands in social
More opportunities than in Warsaw? Yes of course, many more. But I see two types of Poles here – first, people from small Polish cities, who do not feel so good in this big megapolis which is Moscow. Second, ambitions people who are not afraid of anything, and they are successful. Moscow is a perfect
place for working, for partying, for having fun. Where in the world can you gather together a group of friends at very short notice, go to a bar and have a really good talk. And you can do this every evening, if you have time, not to mention the weekends. Bachelorette party on Thursday? Its not a challenge for Moscow, you can arrange it in a few minutes and it will be legendary. Only in Moscow. Of course you should remember that if you want to live this kind of life in Moscow, you should get used to spend a lot of money easily. The city has changed a lot over the time I have lived here, basically it’s got a lot better; there are now hundreds of places to go. So right now, I don’t really want to leave Moscow at all. Maybe in 10 years or so, when I want to have a family, when different priorities appear, then I will go back home, but not right now. The ecology in Moscow is not so good, so maybe when that time comes, I will go home. But for young people, Moscow is the place to be!
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Polish Community Outgoing Polish ambassador to Russia, Wojciech Zajączkowski Ambassador, you’re just about to leave Russia, what’s it like leaving a country where you have lived for four years? I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I’m happy that I can go back home. I have been abroad now for six years, four years here and two years in another country and this is a long time. I feel the need to go back home and recharge my batteries. On the other hand, when diplomats leave a country where they have been working, they leave a part of their lives behind them. In professional terns, it is a piece of their professional career, but it is also something emotional. Emotions may be negative or positive, it doesn’t matter, but they all make up a chapter in one’s life, and this concerns any country.
What are the main cultural differences between Poland and Russia? I think that two basic cultural differences should be mentioned. The first dates from the 10th century when Poland joined the western church. This led to a profound cultural difference between Russia and Poland. The other big cultural difference that I have noticed whilst living in Russia, is Russians’ perception of communism. In Poland. communism lasted 45 years and had a relatively mild effect. In Russia communism lasted for over 70 years and Russian society was devastated. The 1930s and the 1940s were the worst. These two elements are pretty decisive when we talk about cultural perceptions.
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The fact that I come from Poland has worked in my favour. When I say that I am a Pole, most people reacted in a positive way. If I had told them that I am from a western country a long way away, they would simply have been indifferent.
Do you think that these cultural differences have come out onto the surface now? They have always been there. Of course there have been moments when Russia made an attempt to impose its political will on Poland; in the second half of the 19th century, and to some extent in the 20th century as well. Poles made a similar attempt in the 17th century. All these attempts failed.
How many Poles live in Russia at the moment? It’s hard to say. Officially I think about 50,000. There are a lot of people of Polish descent living here. They are Russians, but at the same time they recognise openly that they have Polish roots. The biggest centre is in St Petersburg, because at the beginning of the 20th century, the Polish community in Russia’s capital exceeded 100,000. There is also a sizeable community in Moscow, not as big and active as in St Petersburg, and in the eastern and southern part of Russia such centres as Tumen, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkurtsk, Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Krasnodar and Rostov-onDon. In all these cities there are Polish organisations, which are quite active. Historically, you can see that there are quite a few Poles who
n, rriso a H John 14. w by June 20 e i v r Inte orded in rec
played a major part in Russian history. One only has to mention Malevich, Tchaikovsky, Nizhinsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, there are a lot of such examples.
How many Polish expats live here; that is Poles who come here for a short period of time to work, like you? This is an even harder question, because in the case of Polish citizens, there is no requirement to register with the embassy. But on the basis of the number of people who attend different events, the number of children who attend the Polish school and so on, we can say that in Moscow there are around 600 Polish expats, if you don’t take into account the embassy. There are also other expats in St Petersburg, in the Volga region, and in Siberia. Some of them represent Polish companies, but I think the majority represent international companies.
I suppose it works the other way around; there are a number of Russian business people in Poland? There are not so many Russians in Poland as there are Poles in Russia.
Being a Polish expat in Russia is probably an advantage, because you are close to Russian culture and can understand Russians? In cultural terms it is easier because it is not too difficult for Poles to learn the language, and
Polish Community In cultural terms it is easier [for us] because it is not too difficult for Poles to learn the language, and this is an advantage. If you start to speak and understand Russian, you start to function in a different way, it becomes easier to do business here. Russians know something about Poland, and Poles know something about Russia, so people who come here are not surprised by the way life is organised, it makes is easier to do things here, at least in the beginning.
this is an advantage. If you start to speak and understand Russian, you start to function in a different way, it becomes easier to do business here. Russians know something about Poland, and Poles know something about Russia, so people who come here are not surprised by the way life is organised, it makes is easier to do things here, at least in the beginning.
Are the activities that Poles are involved in here in Russia different from what they were involved in, say 20 years ago? There has been a significant change in the roles that Polish expats play. 20 years ago, the Polish expat community was dominated by people who worked for state-owned companies. Today we have no stateowned companies represented in Russia. There are also a lot of Polish specialists working for international companies and Russian organisations.
So Poles are now more entrepreneurial than they used to be? We have always been entrepreneurial, but conditions were different.
Good point. What advice would you give any Pole coming here to work? In Russia or in Moscow?
Let’s take Moscow. First of all I would recommend taking a close look at the practical side of the contract that you sign. Moscow is huge and as a matter of fact rather unfriendly for people in general, and I’m not just talking about expats. So if you are coming with children, you have to take into account the problem of schooling. You have to calculate how much you, or your company is ready to pay for schooling; you have to think about transportation to school and back. Are you ready to let your children travel alone? If you don’t take this into account, your life, at least at the beginning, can be very difficult, especially as the English language schools are all located a long way out of the centre.
Has your family enjoyed living in Russia? I think yes, firstly because my wife found her place in the International Women’s Club, where she presided for two years, and I think she has done a great job. One of my sons has attended the Anglo American school, and studying in Moscow has given him some important experience. My younger son went to a Russian kindergarten, and I think he actually learned something.
Lottery during the joint evening of the Polish Business Club and the AEB on the premises of the Polish embassy in July 2014
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Polish Community
Karolina Skrobotowicz, owner of the Unique Estate Company.
How long have you been in Russia? We have been here for seven years, although it feels like a really short time. Time seems to have gone very quickly.
Why did you come here? Like almost all expat women, it was my husband who got a job here. Three years ago I started a real estate company, which specialises in renting apartments and houses for expats. I work mostly with Polish and French clients as I have dual nationality.
Do you like it here? It was quite tough at the beginning when I saw that not so many people are smiling, but I met some foreigners who have lived here for a long time and they said the same thing about the Polish when they went to Poland! There are little things; one of the things I personally find difficult is that you don’t find any local airlines. Easyjet is coming but I don’t think that €250 is an awful lot off the ordinary fare. The other thing is that it’s not easy to send things here. For example, I wanted to send a new carpet here but I couldn’t because it’s so
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It was quite tough at the beginning when I saw that not so many people are smiling, but I met some foreigners who have lived here for a long time and they said the same thing about the Polish when they went to Poland! expensive. But in general I am fine here, I like it.
Is the weather very different from in Poland? Here the winter is longer. In Poland we usually have a really long Indian summer, which can last until the end of October or the beginning of November. Here at the end of August suddenly you’re coming into long periods of rain. So for us, it is really a must to go for a long vacation during the winter, and then everything is okay.
You have had children here? We have had two children; one of them was born here. I was a bit afraid of having my oldest child here, so I went to Paris for the birth. I was encouraged by my friends to have my daughter here, and frankly speaking it was wonderful. It was also very expensive.
Do you feel that you’ve changed living in Russia so long? I think I’ve changed a bit, I’ve become a little bit more global in the way that I think. I have started
to think not only about myself, but also about how to do good for other people. Of course my business is not a charity, but I have decided that I really want to help to create better communication between Polish people who live here. I found that it was quite easy to do that because the Poles living here are quite homogenous. So with a little effort from a few of us, we managed to create something worthwhile quite easily.
What’s sort of things do you organise? We have our business club, which I was the president of for two years. I had to stop doing that when I started my own business because of lack of time. Now, I help organise a Polish Social Club with some friends. Basically we get together on the last Friday of each month and have a few beers. Then I created a Polish language Internet site called: www.wielkamoskwa. ru, which is full of practical information like how to find a hairdresser, a plumber, ideas for gifts, lists of events and so on.
Polish Community
For the past 6 months, we have been holding meetings for Polish women, which we hold in the mornings. We have a facebook page and we meet every month. We then started holding business meetings for polish girls also once a month. This has been going really well and we have 40 or 50 participants. We also organize our own carnival gala dinner every year, which is our main social event of the year. Most of the participants are Polish. We have already held four such events. It’s always at the beginning of the year, during the last weekend before the Easter fast begins. We always have a Polish DJ who comes from Poland, and we dance our national dance, the Polonaise, which is really lovely. Your heart sings when you see 60 couples dancing the Polanaise, it’s wonderful! Many of these events and many others have been organised with the help of our embassy. All of the people around the ambassador
and his wife, who are unfortunately leaving Moscow, have been really wonderful.
How many Polish expats do you think there are now in Russia? The Polish embassy does not hold such records so I can’t tell you officially, but I can say from my Internet page, that there are about 1,000 Poles living here who you could call expats. Poland is only a two-hour flight away, so there are a lot of other people – I think about 500 – who come here for a few days and then go back.
Is there a Polish school in Moscow? We used to have a full-time Polish school, now we have a parttime school where they teach Polish, history and religion; as 90% of Poles are Catholics.
Polish Ball in February 2014 in the Marriot Tverskaya
Is there a Polish church in Moscow? There is a Catholic cathedral on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya, there are two services on Sundays in Polish.
How do you see the future working out for Poles in Moscow? I think the political relationship between Poland and Russia is quite tough but on a social level things are fine. As a Polish girl, I have never had any negative reaction from Russians. They are very nice, and they say I have a very cool accent when I speak Russian. I think it’s a pity that there aren’t so many Polish companies coming here but there are reasons such as the costs involved in opening a company here.
Links: www.wielkamoskwa.ru Karolina’s web page www.polskibiznes.ru
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Charity
R A
D E ER ion
SH abilitat h e R r e t Cen
F
For more information about possible opportunities of help you can write us via info@sheredar.ru or contact us +7-499-372-15-53 or +7-903-177-64-92. Help us to help!
rom the 22nd-29th of May, the charitable foundation Sheredar, which is in Sosnovy Bor, 95 kilometres east of Moscow, organized its eighth rehabilitation program for children who have suffered from cancer. More than two hundred fortunate children have participated in these eight Sheredar rehabilitation programmes. This time, 25 children participated. They came from all over Russia; from Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ryazan, Samara, and St. Petersburg. Every child who comes to Sheredar has his or her own history of struggle with this terrible disease.
One child just completed a course of chemotherapy, another has just had a bone marrow transplantation, others have to relearn how to walk, talk, see in the dark and in the bright sun, believe in life and feel themselves to be carefree children once again. All of them have a huge problem with communicating with their peers. Many experience heightened feelings of isolation, increased anxiety and uncertainty of their own abilities.
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Charity “Sherada’s programs are based on the therapeutic methods of the International Association of Rehabilitation Camps ‘Serious Fun Children’s Network’. Professional standards are applied. “Participation in the programs is completely free of charge for children and their parents. We were fortunate to have benefited from having 25 volunteers with us on the May programme. They are students of psychological, pedagogical and medical universities; experienced staff of Russian children’s cancer funds, and just caring people. All of them were selected on a competitive basis, and then trained specially by Terry Dignan and teams of volunteers who had worked on previous Sheredar programmes.
“During the May program, the children were able to take part in exciting outdoor activities as well as taking part in various studio workshops and clubs. Horse-riding and archery lessons turned out to be the most favourite activities. During the eighth program our first kayaking activities were held, which were conducted by our friends – professional athletes from the Russian Association of Rowing Sports. “Many workshops such as jewellery, candle-decorating, soapmaking, ceramics and fabrics-colouring were held. Every evening the children experienced unforgettable evening events, one of which was a magnificent concert held on the summer stage of the Sheredar camp for the first time.
Terry Dignan (Ireland), head of the rehabilitation programs Sheredar mentioned: “A child who has survived a serious illness has lost a part of his childhood. Our program gives them back the inner feeling that they lost whilst at hospital. They recover their self-confidence and self-esteem. “The main aim of Sheredar is to help a child to overcome these challenges gradually and painlessly. Over eight days, the children are coached to handle their fears, to find new friends, to discover their inner potential which was blocked by their cancer, and finally, to understand that each of them has the right and the power to live a full, active and amazing life; just like any healthy person.
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Charity
“On the final day of the May programme, the children were able to demonstrate to themselves and their friends some of the skills they had learnt on their course. Individual and team performances, songs and dances, a photo exhibition – this is just a small list of what happened in Sheredar that day.
“The main goal of all the rehabilitation sessions is to help children realize their capabilities and understand they can be successful in almost any sphere and direction! Some of the children will be back at Sheredar in September, others already feel confident enough not to need us any longer. But there are still many, many other children who have a real need for this kind of rehabilitation, and are not getting what they need.” According to estimates, there are 15,000 Russian children under the age of eighteen who need to participate in a specially designed program of therapeutic recreation. The next rehabilitation program will be held at the end of September and we hope to invite sixty children aged 7-13.
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Travel
W
hen I came to the realization that having hit 40, it was time for me to take a break from the very stimulating but somewhat overfull life that I lead in Moscow, I simply could not imagine being back in London after a 4 hour flight from Moscow. So I started to think about other ways to return to the UK. I had long been interested by slow travel and I had some pretty good examples, one of which was my friend James Galitzine, who returned to Russia, following in reverse, the path that his grandfather had taken when he left after the revolution. This route was Istanbul, Crimea, through to Russia. I decided to ride home. Making the trip happen took some organizing and provided an interesting insight into the mentality of the people in the countries I would be riding through. Romania and Ukraine basically organized themselves, whereas in Russia, I was initially told that it be practically impossible to make such a journey and that I’d probably go mad during the process, so it would be best not to bother! But with perseverance, it all started to come together. I was greatly assisted by friends and am particularly thankfully to Anna Jackson-Stevens and her contacts at La Roche Posay, who provided great encouragement and litres of top quality sun-cream, which has allowed me to remain for hours in the saddle without getting burnt. In Belarus, I even used the suncream on my horse, as he had a very pale nose and without it, burnt quite badly. I am also very grateful to David Siuykaev, my trainer at Planet Fitness, who pushed me pretty hard before the ride, and this meant that I have hardly had any aches and pains during the ride. It is very heartening after hitting 40 and having spent so many years in a sedentary job, when you are able to rise to such a demanding challenge. So, the ride? Having to look after the horses and the riding team immediately puts you into a different pace of life. In contrast to office life, you have to respect the weather (the heat is as hard for the horses as it is for us, rain is easier for the horses, but hard for us), the surroundings (bogs are deadly dangerous and there are lots of them in Russia and Belarus), the horses, and once you remember that you are doing this ride purely for your own pleasure and interest, if you find an interesting place or meet some people you want to spend longer with, it is simply a question of deciding to do exactly just that.
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Michael Pugh Riding Halfway Home – the singular luxury of slow travel
One of the most incredible aspects of the trip has been the people I have met along the way. Horses are a complete magnet for people of all ages and riding through the villages and countryside, people stop to ask about the journey, invite me for coffee, and to offer stabling for the horses. We’ve given children rides on the horses in certain villages, and some of the older people look back with great nostalgia to times when everyone had a horse, whereas now their villages are becoming empty as the young are leaving for the cities, and the old die young. Providence has also played a large role in the trip and this has meant that I have been able to witness some amazing events, such as the birthday party of Viktor Kulakov at the Gribodeov museum that he restored (Khmelita). We arrived at the elegant mansion at Khmelita to large tables in the ballroom creaking with fine plates of smoked meats, fish, caviar, vodka, champagne and cherry juice. The great and the good of Russia’s museum world had gathered at Khmelita to celebrate not only Viktor Kulikov’s 70th birthday, but the restoration of a crumbling wreck of one of Russia’s great poets into an elegant mansion, reconstructing tiled stoves based on fragments of tiles found in the rubble. This is a wonderful, but rare, example of restoration work in Russia. I hope it will be repeated. Russia’s famous hospitality was at its best and in addition to being invited to join the celebratory feast, we were given a guided tour in English of the museum by Viktor Kulikov’s grandson (also Viktor). Also by chance, we were able to enjoy the Ivana Kupala celebrations (St John’s Eve) of a Belarussian village. The lady running the event was the curator of a local museum and clearly had a strong desire to invest in the future and the youth of the country by reviving
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old traditions. The night sky was lit up by huge bonfires, shooting sparks high into the sky, and as dawn drew near, a thick summer mist rolled off the lake into the fields. The atmosphere was electric and the lady in charge, like a high priestess, with a wave of her hand, ushered in bands and girls wearing garlands of flowers performing traditional dances and singing eerily discordant and pagan-sounding songs. As dawn rose, all danced hand in hand around the bonfires before throwing everything off to plunge into the cool waters of the lake. Njasvizh, the cradle of the Radzivill dynasty was absolutely incredible. One of only 4 UNESCO sites in Belarus, it is just beautiful – it was designed by the Italian architect Bernadoni. There are at least 72 coffins in the family crypt and while it is pretty impressive to visit, it is not the kind of place you’d want to lose your way. At the start of the journey outside Moscow, I was joined by a dog who we called “Friday”. This provided great entertainment during the Russian chapter, as Friday turned out to be quite a character, quick at making friends (or foes) with villagers, naughtily chasing hens and cows, guarding the camp at night and rolling in mud straight after being washed. She is now back in the village where she joined us. It didn’t seem right to take her further through areas of wolves and bears. I stayed in Ukraine until the 10th of August and from there I will head South to Bucovina and Transylvania. More friends and family are joining to ride in Romania and we plan to have a big celebratory dinner when we finish in Sighisoara at the end of August. Western Ukraine is very beautiful and there are some great castles. It is tough for the locals as they are saying goodbye to fathers and sons who are being conscripted to the war effort in Eastern Ukraine. We all want peace and I hope it will come soon. I am very grateful to my friend Nick Denny for suggesting that I use the ride as way to raise money for charity. Having seen the amazing achievements of paralympians at Sochi earlier this year, I plumped to raise money for paralympic sport and am raising money for the British and Romanian Paralympic Committees, respectively. I am also raising money for St Andrew’s Moscow, which was a wonderful sanctuary during my time in Moscow. Details
of how to donate to the British Paralympic Association are at justgiving.com/michaelpughnew and my blog at http://www.ridinghalfwayhome.com/make-a-donation contains details of how to give to the other charities I am supporting. My cousin Liz Bligh, who will join the ride in Transylvania is raising money for the Heart of Kent Hospice in Kent where she is a trustee: justgiving.com/LizBligh Our sponsors and supporters have been great and in addition to La Roche Posay and its fantastic sun-cream, I am very grateful to Anna Jackson-Stevens of Coast Magazine, my former firm of 14 years (Hogan Lovells), the Russo British Chamber of Commerce, and all the rider support teams and guides who have helped me to get this show on the road.
More details of Michael’s journey can be found at ridinghalfwayhome.com
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Travel
Quiet When It’s Not Loud.
Etnomir an multi-ethnic place of recreation and an exciting music venue
a Helen Borodin
I
t’s on the border of the Moscow and Kaluga region, seemingly in the middle of nowhere – but even the red-bearded English hit maker Alex Claire found it. It’s quiet there when it’s not loud. It’s a vast mixture of forest and plane, where you can visit India, Indonesia, Yakutia, Ukraine, Nepal – all within minutes. It may at first seem to get hard to get to, but in fact it’s pretty easy. And it’s well worth it. It’s Etnomir, the cultural and educational centre
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and ethnography museum in the open air. A friend mentioned it to me, sharing videos of the Irish Sinead O’Connor and the Russian legendary rock band ‘Aquarium’ performing as headliners of the ‘Wild Mint’ music festival 2013. As I watched, I knew that I wasn’t going to miss Wild Mint 2014 for the world. Along with a chance of spending three days in the hectic, musical, crowded, colourful, agitated and lively atmosphere of Etnomir.
Ethnic World 140 hectares of land. 90 kilometres from Moscow. Started in 2006, Etnomir is growing, offering its visitors more exciting events, stylish hotels, souvenirs to take home, new friends to make, walks to take, and new impressions every year and all year around. It’s an amazing journey you can join any day of the week, any season of the year. Events vary, representing different aspects of different cultures. Each week has a theme, and whatever weekend you decide to escape to Etnomir from the busy city life – you are sure to love it. The first question, quite logically, would be – OK, the place sounds interesting, but where do you stay
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Of course, there’s more – those are just my picks. I’m sure you will have a great time, whichever of these events you choose to attend, especially if you choose to share the experience with your Russian friends. Unless you like to explore on your own and/or you communicate in Russian on a decent level (or your Russian friends don’t like adventures). To learn more about Etnomir, visit its official website: http://ethnomir.ru/etno/what-is-etnomir/
The Fun You Can Have
and what do you eat when you’re there? You have to make sure these things are in place before you hang out with music and culture lovers. If you like camping, you can stay in a tent or in your mobile home. And bring lots of snacks with you. But you might just as well choose to stay in one of Etnomir’s hotels. I don’t know of any other place where a hotel is so much fun to choose. You go on Etnomir’s site, and browse. Where do you want to stay? India? Indonesia? A Russian merchant’s palace, in a ‘terem,’ a Ukrainian hut – you name it! The prices are quite affordable, and the peaceful aura of the place ads to all the modern
conveniences of the small but cozy rooms of the hotels. And of course, one of the most important features of any country is its food. Etnomir’s cafes are changing too, but the tendency is obvious – the Russian, Ukrainian, European, Eastern, vegetarian – the list goes on. In short – I brought snacks, but when I got there, I knew I shouldn’t have bothered. And, as any coffee-lover would, I rejoiced as I discovered a lovely coffee bar (that asked its visitors not to use computers… but they kindly let me, as I had to record my impressions there and then). Naturally there’s free Internet there, too.
Of all the things Etnomir is, in the first place is, -- it’s entertaining and enjoyable. As soon as you walk out of the free parking area, and head to the entrance, you are in for an adventure. The entrance is the beginning of Ulitsa Mira (World Street). It’s a long building that would probably remind you of one of Moscow’s ‘passage’ type of malls (like GUM). Only instead of leading designer brand shops you will find rooms styled as different countries and times; souvenir stands (nothing like what you see in Arbat and the Red Square), cafes and a small stage for shows and games. And then, you walk out the door and find yourself on the other side – in Etnomir itself. You find your hotel, rest, and then go on a quest. What you will find depends in part on the type of event happening there. But you can always take a boat, try your hand at archery, ride in a cart and enjoy the view, or buy amazingly tasty freshly baked pies from a huge Russian oven (that claims to be the biggest in the world!)…
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Wild Mint and Other Events What can be more fun than a music festival with two stages, performers from 12 countries, and games, snacks, movies, gigs, workshops in between, before, after or alongside with the shows? Nothing really. Not if you love music, like discovering new stuff, and enjoy live shows in the open air. All of these are a passion to me, a passion I follow without questioning. Among the countless bands and artists performing at Wild Mint 2014, I knew very few, so to me, the festival was full of surprises, making me want to tell the world that good music definitely didn’t die in the late 1960s, like sceptics say, but it lives on. Good traditions take new forms all the time. The absolute headliner, the very last one to hit the stage, as you probably already guessed, was Alex Claire, who absolutely blew everyone’s minds. But to the expat eager to learn more about the country he or she is experiencing (probably going as far as actually learning the Russian language), I suggest you check out the following bands and artists: Olya Bravina, ‘My Sister’s Band’, ‘Therr Maitz’, ‘Gerineldo Melkiades’, Nina Carlson, Maata, Iva Nova, the Keith Frank Band, the Toobes. You might see them play in one of Moscow’s, Saint Petersburg’s or even Minsk’s clubs – and you’ll have a great time. And in the summer 2015, you make a plan to attend the Wild Mint Festival!
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And until that happens, if you think Etnomir sounds like a place you’d like to visit, here are some events you might want to attend: September 13 -14 – Spanish Fiesta September 20-21 – 3rd annual international fair September 27-28 – International Tourism Day October 4-5 – European Culture Days October 18-19 – the unofficial English holiday Apple Day, observed since 1990, comes to Etnomir! October 25-26 – the Indian holiday Divali, a celebration of light triumphing over darkness and good overcoming evil
November 1 will mark the beginning of a long weekend, with the celebration of Russia Day on the 4th. There’ll be a lot going on, with a focus on Russian traditional dance, games and food November 15-16 is a weekend to explore tea traditions and learn about tea ceremonies. November 29-30 is a weekend of light. As winter sets in and it gets dark early, make your world brighter. You will learn all about lamps, candles and torches, see fireworks, and get to do lots of exciting things
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VALAAM
os phot d n a t Text Ian Luy by
– a pilgrimage for the soul
I
t’s a beautiful late summer morning as the ferry pulls away from the pier at Sortavala on the north shore of Lake Ladoga. The ferry is a Meteor, a Soviet-designed hydrofoil, built in the 1960s and widely used in these waters. Most of the passengers are women on day trips to Valaam. The tour guides have made sure their clients board first and the women rush to fill up the popular seats at the front of the ferry. I pay the captain and ask for a ticket. Потом, (later) he says. After a week of travelling in Karelia I’m beginning to understand this is a paperless society. The hydrofoil moves slowly to the open water before lifting up and accelerating across the lake. The passage between the front and back sections is open to the air and filled with backpackers, cyclists, and photographers. The air is cool and exhilarating, and the view, spectacular. We are the first to cut the waters today.
We’re heading to the monastery on Valaam, the largest island in an archipelago of about 50 islands in Lake Ladoga. We had arrived the night before in Sortavala (pop. 19,235) from Petrozavodsk, a fourhour bus journey. The town was Finnish before the Soviet Union annexed the Karelian Isthmus in 1944, following an earlier attempt in 1941. Indeed, the name Valaam comes from the Finno-Ugric word ‘valamo’, which means the ‘high, mountainous land’. The islands have a ‘back-andforth’ history of control. The area was ruled in early times from Novgorod. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the monastery was attacked and burnt down by the Lutheran Swedes, taking advantage of the Time of Troubles. Russia recaptured the islands about one hundred years later. An extensive renovation of the monastery started in 1715 with the blessing of Peter the Great. Valaam flourished, and among extensive
developments of churches, chapels, forests and orchards, the monastery became one of the largest centers of printing in Russia. Historians have no single view of the date of the monastery’s establishment. Church tradition asserts that its antiquity dates back to the spread of Christianity in Russia, in the 10th century. The official website is emphatic about this: ‘The Valaam monastery headed by a Abbot was established soon after the adoption of Christianity in Russia’. Other scholarly consensus points towards a later period at the end of the 14th century. In 1812, the islands became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland, at that time an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Revolution, Valaam went along with newly independent Finland and was the most important monastery of the Finnish Orthodox Church. The ferry trip takes about 50 minutes. The Meteor slows and lowers into the water as we approach the quay below the
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monastery. The pilgrims disembark and immediately bow and cross themselves in front of the small chapel on the pier. The chapel commemorates a visit in 1896 by Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, uncle to Tsar Nicholas II, and greatgrandfather to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, resident of Spain, and the current claimant to the Romanov throne. We head up the stone staircase to the monastery to find accommodation. The majestic blue and white Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior is the centerpiece of the monastery. Commissioned in 1896, it is swathed in scaffolding and undergoing restoration. The women check their outfits before entering. No photographs are allowed within the Cathedral property. The Soviet authorities shut down the monastery in 1944. Centuries of monastic prayer are silenced for almost 50 years. The monks were evacuated earlier, in 1940, taking the most valuable artifacts with them to form a new monastery at Heinävesi in Finland. The Cathedral became a storage shed for vegetables grown on island’s collective farm. The altar became a
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counter in the local shop. Gravestones were willfully smashed in the monk’s cemetery (a current initiative is using ancient records to restore the grave sites). Between 1952 and 1984 Valaam was run as a rehabilitation center for invalids. In the 1960s, recognition is given to the history of the monastery, and the island was opened to tourists arriving on cruise ships. We find lodging in the Igumenskaya Hotel, a renovated section of the old monk’s quarters. The walls and floors are polished red brick and the rooms are simply furnished. There is a communal bathroom. It’s rather like living as a monk, only with lights and hot water. The dining hall has however closed for the year. Some of the pilgrims move into the Hotel Mansadra, where there are up to 16 beds in each room, men and women residing separately. There are few dining options on Valaam. The café on the pier offers a range of local foods, blini, borsch and similar fare. There is a dining hall serving meals to visitors and workers in the monastery, and a bakery that offers fresh-baked bread. Valaam prides itself on its apples and farm-raised trout.
I am woken at 4.30 am the following day by a loud rhythmical knocking on wood. My first thought is of the builders starting up early, in good monastic tradition. It turns out to be an ancient ritual, the call for the Midnight Office, part of the cycle of daily worship and which summons the monks to prayer. Another tradition revived by the monks is a sacred chant, Znamenny, the ‘chant of signs’, specific to Valaam, and lost for years. It’s aimed at recovering the ‘heart and essence’ of Valaam, along with the physical restoration of the structures. We attend a recital by a group of four worshippers. As we leave there’s a stir at the door to buy CD recordings. “It’s also on YouTube,” one of the pilgrims tells me. There are several hundred people resident on Valaam during summer, including monks, guides, volunteers, and locals. There is a school and a medical center. The monastery has reportedly gained significant legal power over the island, in endeavors to return to a state of spiritual seclusion. Local residents are dwindling and those remaining have no official administrative status. Rather, they
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are registered in Sortavala. Most live in a decaying red brick apartment block across from an equally dilapidated football field. We take a taxi to the cruise ship pier, in Bolshoi Nikonovsky Bay, about 6 kilometers away at the opposite end of the island. It lies next to the Red Skete, one of about a dozen sketes, or hermitages, on the island. Not all of them are accessible to outsiders.
Tourists pass through a souvenir bazaar before being shuttled onto a tour of the monastery. The driver tells us he has lived on Valaam for years. “We have no problems living here,” he says, “It’s a good life.” That evening we walk out to the St Nicholas Skete. The sunset lasts for ages and the light changes constantly. A woodpecker pecks away at the top of a tree. A group of women stand on the edge of the water and sing together. It’s a beautiful, serene ambience. Valaam is a walker’s paradise. Pine forests cover most of the island. There are more than 480 other plant species recorded here. One afternoon we stroll down the row of tall pines to the Igumenskij church where the abbots (‘igumens’) and senior monks are buried. A monk is ringing the bells, immersed in conducting an array of cords, and oblivious to visitors. On the way back we pass rows of hothouses, the dairy farm, workshops, and even a helipad, a sign of modern times. After two days on the island we depart Valaam, this time in the
opposite direction, westwards to Priozersk. It’s a more direct route to St Petersburg. The pilgrim’s office informs us that the ferries are running. “The ferries don’t always run,” we’re told, “They leave Priozersk only if there are enough passengers coming to Valaam.” There is no way to buy tickets in advance so we get to the ferry departure point early to be sure of seats. As usual, the pilgrims board first, then those anointed by the crew, before the rest of the waiting crowd are attended to. The views on leaving Valaam are magnificent, a mix of blues, greens and golds. The passengers sit quietly. Winter is approaching and the inaccessibility of the island will again provide the monastery with a spiritual solitude. For many, the journey to Valaam is a pilgrimage for the soul, an opportunity to absorb and enjoy the quiet and tranquility of the monastery, and the outstanding natural beauty that surrounds it. Ferries to Valaam leave from Sortavala and Priozersk 2 to 3 times a day during summer months, weather conditions permitting. VKontakte has a useful site which lists daily lake conditions and ferry departures (see ‘Валаамский причал’ г. Сортавала). Sortavala offers a wide range of accommodation. The official site of Valaam Monastery is well presented and provides information about accommodation on the island (www.valaam.ru). Details on pilgrimages are available from Valaamski Palomnik (www.vp.valaam.ru). The Karelia tourist portal (www.ticrk.ru) provides useful information on travel in the region.
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Sport
Moscow va Popo
Softball League G Julia
eoffrey Moskowitz has loved softball for as long as he can remember. It was his passion for the sport that moved him to join the Moscow Softball League in Russia after arriving in Moscow in 1998. Now he is managing it. I met Geoffrey in Park Druzhba, near Rechnoy Vokzal metro station where the Moscow softball league plays every Saturday from May to September. The league currently has 15 member teams. Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago as an indoor game. Softball is played with two teams. There are typically ten players in the softball team: a pitcher, a catcher, a batter, infielders and outfielders. Hardly had I caught up with Geoffrey, when I found myself one of his team players. This was going to be a ‘hands-on’ interview. Geoffrey’s team, the ‘Tip Top Tigers’, were playing against ‘Chainiky’. The ‘Tip Top Tigers’ is a mixture of Russian and American players. ‘Chainiky’ is a Russian team. “People all over the world join the Moscow Softball League. We have a whole team of Japanese players. There are Cuban and American teams. Of course the biggest nationality is Russians,” Geoffrey said during one of the short breaks during the match. Each match consists of seven innings. An inning is complete when both teams have batted and fielded. I joined the ‘Tip Top Tigers’ as the catcher. I was hopeless in throwing the ball. The members of both teams did their best to teach me how to put power into my throw. Next inning I was a batter. Luckily, I hit one pitch but I was slow in running to the base. No points for that! Each position demands particular skills. Catchers have to be fast off the mark and willing to get down and take some
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bruises once in a while. The batter needs very fast reactions. The infielders have to be very mobile, and need to cover a lot of the ground. The outfielders need to get the ability to read where the ball is heading right after the batter hits it. That evening the ‘Tip Top Tigers’ lost to ‘Chainiky’, but this was not the only game, and the teams still have several shots at becoming this season’s winners. “There are 15 teams which play 16 games each. We divide the teams into two leagues of 7-8 teams and two divisions of 3-4 team inside of each. They play against each other during the summer. The best ten take part in a one-day final tournament,” Geoffrey explained. All ages and levels can play softball. “If you have a team of ten people, bring them here and join the league. If you are alone and have a great desire to play, send me an email and I’ll help you to find a team to play on. Every team has to pay a fee of 20,000 roubles per year and has its own policy. We spend this money on development of the league. It helps us to fix problems, which occasionally arise with the field, as the land owners aren’t interested in developing this facility. We hold different teambuilding parties. The league supports the teams with basic equipment like balls and bases,” Geoffrey explained. Geoffrey clearly enjoys his job, and under his leadership the league has grown from 5 to 15 teams. “You are a part of community. You help to bring people together. Sometimes it is challenging. Over the years I tried to develop the group of people who help me. Right now I have six key members who run events, keep track of the equipment and schedule games.” To join the league please write Geoffrey Moskowitz on the following email address: commish@ moscowsoftball.ru
Sport
Broomba B
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Julia Popova
ll
roomball is one of the many sports in Moscow that you have to do some searching to find out about. To find out the who, where and how, I went to the Anglo-American
school of Moscow where some of the players of the Canadian Broomball team work. It was Bryn Will, a cute young lady with long curly hair who invited me to meet her co-Broomball players. She has been living in Moscow for seven years and playing broomball for one year. Last winter was also the first broomball season for Nathan DeSouza who has been in Moscow for a year. Positive and stylish Canadian Jennifer Delane has played for the team for two years. Cindi Hogwood, a sport-loving lady with big blue eyes knows a lot about the history of Moscow Broomball as she has been playing it for 6 years. They are all keen on Broomball because it gives them the opportunity to get out during the dark winter, meet new people and make friends outside the work bubble. Broomball is an ice game originating in Canada. It is played in a hockey rink, either indoors or outdoors. There are two teams, each consisting of six players: a goaltender and five others. Tactics and rules are similar to those used in ice hockey and roller hockey. Moscow Broomball was founded approximately 60 years ago right after the end of World War II when countries were establishing their diplomatic missions here. Diplomats and their families from the British and the German Embassies created the Moscow Broomball League to keep fit, and meet other diplomatic expats in Moscow. For many decades no one but foreigners played Moscow Broomball. Only within the past two years has each team been allowed to have two Russians. The Moscow broomball league consists of 10 men’s teams and 5 women’s, with matches held every winter from the end of December onwards. At the moment, Broomball is played on a tennis court on the territory of the German Embassy. The court is flooded with water
Sport
Jennifer Delane
Cindi Hogwood
and allowed to freeze. Snow that falls on the court is pushed to the sides to create a bank that helps to contain the ball. Moscow broomball differs from the way the game is played in other countries. “The markings of the court are not the same as a standard broomball rink size. The court is much smaller in Moscow. Broomball sticks are made by hand from the straw brushes. They are shorter than regular broomball sticks. A wrist loop is also attached to the stem of the stick to avoid losing it,” Jennifer explains. Bryn says that the rules of the game in Moscow also differ a little. In Moscow, broomball players have more ice contact. “The stick is shorter and the ice-rink is smaller, so players get down more than in regular broomball,” Bryn adds. These peculiarities bring more fun to the game. The team-members are open to newcomers. It is not necessarily to be a huge sports fanatic to play broomball. Cindi says that to join the team you only need to call one of the team captains. The list of the phone numbers is on the site: www.moscowbroomball.org. You don’t have to be a diplomat to play with us. Most of the players are not from an Embassy,” Cindi added. Broomball equipment is similar to that used in ice hockey. Padded shorts, elbow pads and leg guards are a must and no one is allowed onto the ice without a helmet. Second in importance are special broomball shoes. It is not obligatory to buy all the equipment at once. Different teams have different policies. The best way to learn what you need for a game is to contact one of the captains. Cindi adds that each team has its own traditions. “We bring a bottle of champagne with us, to toast and laugh after the game. We are competitive when we want to be but most of the time it is about having fun and not talking about work. We enjoy ourselves. Broomball is actually something I look forward to when the winter comes,” Cindi says. The Moscow Broomball league has a number of parties throughout the year. “There is an October festival at the German Embassy. It’s a carnival party right before the winter begins. There is also a ball at the end of April or May. These events are done within the league. Individual teams also have parties. For example the Canadian women’s team had a stick making party,” Jennifer continues.
Bryn Will
Sandy, Jennifer, Bryn and Nathan find that the Moscow expat community has done a good job coming up with a kind of competitive but refined way to play sports. “There are over 30 sport leagues in Moscow. This is a well developed infrastructure with great opportunities for the newcomers to meet people outside and socialize,” Cindi concludes. If you want to play Broomball in Moscow, contact one of the team captains, details can be found on the broomball site: www.moscowbroomball.org
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Sport
Yoga in Russia
Linnea Ahlgren
W
rth
o Peter Hainsw
In the 1990s, everybody was far too busy making money hen a beerto even contemplate taking up yoga. Nowadays, people are snorkelling, burger even busier chasing after less money, but yet somehow Russia; munching expat friend well Moscow and St. Petersburg at least; has joined the yoga in Moscow suddenly movement. Ironically, in Russia, this is being spearheaded by mentioned that he now does yoga, my first business people, some of them are foreigners, not by people reaction was to say: “tell us another one, the next we stereotyped (perhaps mistakenly) as pot heads. You may be round’s on me.” But he then proceeded to lose surprised to find that your boss has been practicing yoga for weight, stopped drinking beer, and even started some time, and even more surprised to find out that he or she being picky and choosy about food. Strangely is not embarrassed in any way about this, and is happy to tell enough, he actually looked healthy. I presumed that you about it! How big is yoga in Russia? What kind of yoga is he was living a life of great denial, and had basically practiced here in Russia? Who practices it, and where can you gone off his rocker. But then I looked around a room find a teacher? of expats and saw the same thing happening to, well, not a majority, but a growing minority. These yoga exercises can be found in people look – dare I say it – happy. I realised that many magazines, are everywhere. Who practices yoga in Russia? something is going on around here, Russians who travel abroad can’t and I don’t know what it is. help becoming acquainted with yoga, Classifying people who practice and this has all worked to lift people yoga is a dangerous as there are so beyond their stereotypes. It is not many different types of yoga. Linnea How big is yoga in Russia? anything like as popular here as it is Ahlgren, a highly intelligent Swede in the States for example, where a who got into yoga as a means of Evgeny Trufanov, the founder reported 8% of the population does dealing with stress and now teaches of ‘Yoga People’, an umbrella yoga, but the number of Russians yoga in Moscow at the NYM yoga organisation that links different getting into yoga right now is growing studio (which also has a sister studio yoga organisations together, counts exponentially. The majority of my Park Yoga by Nym in Gorky Park) and at least 200 yoga clubs in Moscow students are people from the world to English and Swedish speaking alone, and 1,200 ‘yoga spots’, the of business, because they have a expats said. “The students are of all latter being places such as book colossal psychological burden, and shapes and sizes! In the open classes shops and restaurants where people many of them never had the time, over [in yoga schools] you find more young can find out about yoga. Yoga places, the course of many years, to get fit. to middle aged people, because the according to Evgeny are bubbling Suddenly something happens to their exercises can be quite rigorous, but away in St. Petersburg as well, but health or they just feel that they are there are lots of exceptions. The oldest not so elsewhere in Russia. capable of more, and this gives them yoga teacher in our practice is 92, and I Anita Burger, a Russian yoga real motivation to take up yoga. In an can’t even do some of her movements! teacher who teaches mostly to interesting sign of the way in which I have private students who are above private students commented: ‘Yoga’s things are going here, Russian doctors middle age. When somebody is young popularity does of course have have now started referring patients and energetic, they have a mind that something to do with it being in to yoga clinics, so yoga appears to be is running a lot, and they need to fashion at the moment. Articles about becoming accepted by the Russian focus that energy somewhere, and the yoga, many of which contain specific establishment.” easiest way for them to be able to do
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Sport Why did you get into yoga?
Kim Waddoup
that is to keep moving. In the same way, somebody coming home from a day in the office, will be in a different mental state. In an individual class it is possible to tailor the teaching accordingly.”
What kind of yoga is practiced in Moscow? Yoga encompasses a huge variety of practices, all of which strive to ‘yoke together’ the mind and the body, using physical, mental and spiritual practices, which mostly originate from India. Because yoga has developed over thousands of years, and is still developing, it is not necessarily linked with any one Indian school of philosophy or religion, and as such covers a vast array of practices, from meditating on one’s ‘life energy’ as in Kundolina Yoga, for example, to concentrating on physical yoga, as in Hatha Yoga. Evgeny Trufanov pointed out: “ancient yoga has 8 steps. In India, where yoga has been taught for thousands of years, many teachers do not even start with physical side of yoga until the student has mastered the first two levels; the ‘Yama’ and ‘Niyama’ levels, which are concerned with ethics.” The kind of yoga taught in the west, and Moscow is in this sense part of the west, falls more on the Hatha yoga side rather than the meditation side, although there are successful schools and teachers who specialise in the more spiritual side in Moscow. There are, however, exceptions, and the type of yoga that Linnea Ahlgren teaches; Jivamukti Yoga (Jiva = individual soul, mukti = liberation) is one of them, as she seeks to combine both the physical and
I’m a classic example. I’m not getting any younger, I work hard, sitting in an office in front of a computer all the time. If a pen fell on the floor, I realised that it was an insurmountable challenge bending that far down to pick it up. I understood I needed to get into some form of fitness activity. I was getting fed up, and heard various people talking about yoga, but I dismissed it as being for crazy people, from back in the whacky tobacco days. Nevertheless, I decided to try it, and I’m very happy that I did.
How do you practice yoga? I’m a very busy person. I don’t have time to go to the classes, so I have a private teacher, and we practice in the privacy of my apartment. In the very first lesson, she said I that I should sit cross-legged on the floor. I said: ‘I can’t’, and if I do, I am not sure that I will be able to get back up!’ I’m not very strict on myself, I don’t roll the mat out and practice yoga on my own. But I have found that I can do the exercises everywhere. For example, there is one exercise to do with how you stand on your feet. So when I am standing in the Metro, I get up onto the balls of my feet, and I can practice there! Yoga has a lot to do with breathing correctly, and this is something I do actively before I go to sleep, it helps me relax.
What benefits have you received from practicing yoga? Tremendous benefits. Yoga has affected my daily life. I can’t say that it has changed my life, but now I can stretch, I can move. It has certainly made my body much more flexible, if a pen falls on the floor, no problem at all now with picking it up. I’m going to try ‘couple yoga,’ something that is just being introduced into Russia, as a way that two people can enjoy yoga together, not for the erotic, but as a way that you can share something with somebody special. If I had time, I’d go on a yoga seminar somewhere, or go to India for two weeks and just do the spiritual. yoga, and concentrate on my diet as well. You can do so “The founders much to the body without using any medicines. of the method that I The only equipment you need is a mat. teach felt that they want
to bring back the spiritual aspects of yoga, many of which have been lost in the west,” she said. Anita Berger commented: “When I started to practice yoga in 2003, there weren’t very many centres around, I was invited to the Iyengar Yoga centre in Moscow, where the yoga methods of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar are taught. This kind of yoga is centred on the physical, Hatha kind of yoga. For a while this was the only kind of yoga I practiced, but I found that this did not give me everything that I needed. There is very little room for mediation under this method, and very little attention is paid to pranayama (breathing). So I continued my studies and studied various other types of yoga including Ayur yoga which concentrates on meditation and has as its goal the ‘synergy of body, energy,
mind, intellect and soul through ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and techniques of Yoga combined with contemporary scientific knowledge’, as quoted from the site: http://www.ayuryoga.in .
Anita Berger
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Sport
Evgeny Trufanov
Who teaches yoga? If you do decide to take up yoga, how do you find a teacher? Well, the simple answer is – like many things in Russia – by recommendation. Your teacher will hopefully have a yoga qualification, but
there is no standard Yoga Board which authorizes courses here, or throughout the world for that matter. Linnea Ahlgren mentioned: “sometimes it is quite difficult to tell how qualified a teacher is, because the courses for teachers can be quite short. Teacher training is a way for yoga studios to make more money, and this can be the focus instead of really preparing the potential teacher to teach in an ethical way; to teach from a place not involving the ego of the teacher, but from a place of service. I graduated from a 300 hour teacher training course, at school called Diva Mucki Yoga.”
Why did you get into yoga?
Hugh Mc Enaney
I first started practicing yoga in 2001 in Ireland by which time I had already met a number of Buddhists and had even lived in a Buddhist community in the south west of Ireland. I loved the practice of Hatha and the focus on the breathing and generally getting back into the moment or the now. We all know the power of the present but seldom stop to appreciate it. After I had learned and attended a number of Hatha sessions, I contacted a super lady in Dublin called Emma Stafford who had learnt and honed her craft in the US many years back. She was running classes in Ashtanga a few times a week and I did my best to attend these as often as time allowed. She, herself, is a cancer survivor and a shining light to everyone she meets with her positivity and her super outlook on life and focusing on the body and what it can do as it is such an incredible instrument.
How do you practice yoga? In 2003, I met the founder of laughter yoga in Ireland - Dr Madan Kataria - and started
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practicing this unique type of yoga as well as continuing to attend Ashtanga classes. I trained as a laughologist and started to spread the good word through laughter yoga workshops all over Ireland. When I am asked what exactly laughter yoga is, I simply reply that it is 90% laughter and 10% yoga mainly focussing on the breathing/ cantering techniques known as Pranayama.
What benefits have you received from practicing yoga? As someone who is not a fan of regular exercise and has a crazy typical Moscow schedule, often working 14 hours a day, it is hard to find the time for any type of practice such as meditation or yoga. Only recently, I restarted practicing yoga with my wife at home. I find that I am sleeping better and waking earlier and full of energy. I would love to get more time to practice this amazing craft, which has been around for thousands of years. I know people who have cured many ailments including heart complaints and weight loss and even survived cancer. It may not work miracles but it certainly comes close. The health benefits of some laughter yoga include managing stress and strengthening the immune system which leads to help with migraines, allergies, diabetes, asthma and backache. All of this can be achieved whilst developing the optimism muscle and acting like a typical child, who, research shows, laughs over 100 times a day.
Sport
consist of basic poses, principles of stretching, movement, breath and posture, yoga philosophy and simple relaxation.
Natalia Zaboltina
Why did you get into yoga? I started going to yoga twice a week at a yoga studio near my house last year in order to learn to ‘quieten my mind.’ Also if you spend too much time at a computer at work or home and can’t take away yourself from the keyboard, yoga is necessary for relaxation and keeping good health. Finding a true yoga teacher, not an aerobics instructor is very important! Proper instruction is what makes it work.
How do you practice yoga? I am doing Yoga in the Balance Club studio near my house. The studio itself is quite nice, with light spacious rooms. They also Where have a nice changing room and a can you shower. A session lasts 1,5 hours, practice? I am taking sessions twice a week. Classes are well The big taught and advantage of yoga is
that it can be practiced more or less anywhere, however not all yoga students do their homework and practice for the prescribed 10-20 minutes a day, which makes attending classes all the more important. Linnea Ahlgren mentioned: “I know from practicing yoga that it takes a long time before somebody feels confident that they can do this without a teacher being present. But ideally, students should practice at home, maybe just for 10 minutes before going to work. I would be the happiest teacher in the world if that is what my students did.” So although special equipment is not needed, being able to attend a class once or twice a week, or have regular private lessons is necessary. In Moscow, unlike the situation in some other countries such as Sweden, where you have to sign up for a course, most group classes are open. People drop in when they want to, although dedicated courses such as ‘pre-natal yoga’ are common in Moscow.
What benefits have you received from practicing yoga? I can already feel how much it is helping me cope with the everyday stresses of life. I love the feeling you have right after a workout -- it is amazing!!! I enjoy Yoga, its benefits extend far beyond the physical. It is good for my mind, body and spirit. It helps me in reducing stress, increase flexibility, strengthen the joints etc. Practicing yoga, I get more energy, improved mood, better sleep and weight control. If you just want to get fit in a daily busy routine life, yoga is a better of any of this. option for you. Little did I know that I happen to it would become a passion. Now I be an Orthodox encourage everyone who I know believer myself to try it... Take a leap of faith and wear a cross and go for it! all the time.” On the
Could there be a conflict between yoga and Russian Orthodox Christianity? As an outsider I am quizzical to know if rapidly spreading yoga practice could one day be outlawed in Russia because it could be a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church. Anita Berger mentioned: “The church, as far as I know, is against meditation, not against yoga. There are many different kinds of meditation, and the kind of mediation which I practice and which is associated with yoga is really a kind of psychotherapy, which is not a threat to any religion. This is nothing to do with attempts to leave the body or make contact with some other being or force, I personally am not an advocate
general question of yoga and spirituality Linnea Ahlgren mentioned: “I believe that Russians have a longer tradition of having a relationship with the mysticism of the divine, and there is also a Buddhist influence in Russia. But I believe that the same thing is happening in the west as well, you are allowed now to talk about the divine and the greater meaning of things. But it is important to remember that yoga is not a religion, yoga is a philosophy that proves itself through practice. There are religious elements in the way the yoga teachings are connected to the Hindu texts, but there more important are very practical manuals like the Yoga Sutra which we use all the time.” When the bombs both real and metaphorical fall, maybe it is time to cast the stereotypes aside and find a little peace – inside? Yoga is a philosophy that proves itself through practice.
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Real Estate
T
hose of us who have lived in Moscow in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s will probably not remember the area opposite the Belorusskaya station, known then as ‘Tverskoi Zastavi’. It was typical of many parts of Moscow at the time; run down, with non-descript class B or C office buildings and narrow scruffy streets leading off from Lesnaya Street. The one resounding landmark of the area was, and is, the small, but harmonious Nikolay Chuotvortsa church, one of the few remaining Old Believers churches in Moscow, and even this was in need of major repair work.
Project White District John Harrison
The White Square complex, which consists of three large office blocks was 100% pre-let when it opened.
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Enter developers AIG/Lincoln who together with Coalco, a Russian development company, transformed the area with construction of a massive two-phase construction project. The first phase, called White Square is a massive 76,465 square meters, class A office complex with 840 underground parking spaces, and was fully opened in 2009. This complex, which consists of three main office blocks was 100% pre-let when it opened, which goes to say just how bubbly the Moscow office market was at the time. The offices were taken over en block, literally, by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and McKinsey & Company. Having accomplished what they set out to do, and more, AIG/Lincoln sold the whole White Square complex to Russian investment company O1 Properties in 2013 for a reported $1 billion, making it one of the biggest real estate transactions ever completed in Moscow. White Square is still fully occupied but the major tenants have subleased/looking to sublease about 15,000 square meters of their office space, according to CBRE. AIG/Lincoln continued to build, and have just finished the second phase of their project ‘White Gardens’. These buildings have been constructed within the same overall design concept on the north side of the White Square complex. The two projects look similar and are clearly designed to function together as
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Real Estate Thomas Hodgkinson, a director in CBRE Moscow’s Industrial and warehouse division
Elena Denisova, Director, Head of Office Agency of CBRE Moscow
one large business centre. White Gardens was sold to Roman Abramovich’s company Millhouse for another whopping $800 million last year, and consists of 64,000 square meters of office space. The offices are about 30% full. Baker and McKenzie have moved as anchor tenant alongside Dentons, Microsoft, Baring Vostok Capital Partners, which will only further the journey which this business centre
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is making, to become a de facto financial centre. However it seems unlikely that the offices are going to be let out with the same gusto as those in White Square, and the reason for this is not hard to see. There is a glut of class A office space on the market and we are heading South in this particular commercial real estate cycle. Elena Denisova, Director, Head of Office Agency of CBRE Moscow commented: “White
Gardens is pretty successful taken market conditions, but they will need some more time to fill it up. The market is cyclical; White Square was let at the peak of the market when clients were taking up 30,000 square meters of space in one go. White Gardens is probably even better than White Square; it was AIG’s second try on the White Square district. Lobbies are bigger and tenant facilities are a good addition to WS, it’s a beautiful place all together.” The architects, APA Wojciechowski, seem to have done an incredible job. The church and the office buildings seem to complement each other. Lanes between the office blocks, which are all pedestrian walk ways
Real Estate
in the White Square part of the development, radiate out from the central building – the church, making it visible from all parts of the complex.This is one of Moscow’s only successful attempts to actually harmonise the old and the new, without demolishing the old. Whilst sipping coffee at Starbucks or eating Italian food at Osteria Bianca you enjoy pretty striking views of the church and a square, complete with a fountain, created between the church and the office buildings. In the evenings, people stroll about the square or visit one or more of the restaurants or bars. The place has a western European vibe about it, and has become a magnet for both expats and Russians. An exit of the Metro pops up inside the complex, next to the church, which makes this a Moscow centre, not just a great business centre near Belorusskaya Station. The place feels like an island as it is surrounded with not so brilliant office and residential buildings. The community feeling is enhanced by various concerts and events, which O1 Properties organises throughout the year. The buildings are BREEAM certified (meaning that they have attained certain European standards in sustainability, the BREEAM standards measure the amount of energy a building uses, so it is energy-
efficient, and gives additional points if construction has been carried out in an energy-conserving way). Some dismiss this as a fad, but BREEAM and LEEDS certification means a lot in office leasing these days, particularly when major foreign tenants are involved; who are used to these kind of buildings back home. The offices themselves will have a longer usable life. It also means that the lease rates will be a little higher than the norm, but that is a price such companies are prepared to pay. I don’t like to write real estate articles without finding any major negatives, but in this case, criticism is hardly justified. The retail tenant mix seems to have been achieved with care, with due attention paid to the overall concept, and whether or not there are any similar shops or restaurants in the surround area. Elena Denisova commented: “They [AIG/Lincoln] were very choosy about the retail outlets. If there was a similar kind of restaurant in the area, they didn’t want it. If a restaurant applied to join the scheme, the whole leasing team of AIG would visit that restaurant and that chain, they checked several locations, they would have lunch or dinner there themselves, to make sure that this was really something they wanted to have. That’s why the eateries they have, are good. They didn’t have to have too many because there is already a choice of restaurants in Belorusskaya vicinity.” The Hudson Bar is well known in the Moscow expat community, and the concept was created specially for the White Square development.
As Hudson Bar manager Eric Withers commented: “Me and my brother developed the concept specially after White Square had already been developed. I think we got it about right.” Eric mentioned that the bar is doing well, “at least compared to many of the other bars on Moscow. Our client base is mixed, about 50% Russians, and 50% expats. On the Russian side, most of them are upper middle class, fairly well-off. Most of them are English-speaking, people who have travelled extensively, and enjoy the overall experience they have at the bar. We have a good base of clients who come from the offices here, but it’s a lot less than what most people think. The location is what drives the business, and of course it is very important that it’s close to the Metro. So expats who are living around the city can use the Metro to get here, and it’s easy to get home using a taxi.” Being right next to the main Moscow-Sheremetyevo transportation route also has advantages. As Thomas Hodgkinson, a director in CBRE Moscow’s Industrial and warehouse division commented: “Working here means that I very often have the chance to welcome clients to Russia, because they tend to fly in and out of Moscow from Sheremetyevo. I invite them for a cup of coffee, and provide them with free internet. Offices are a tool, and if you know how to use it properly, then that really helps do the job.” Parking is a problem as it is throughout Moscow, and paid parking has just been introduced in the vicinity of the business centre, making the situation worse. This has caused some angst amongst tenants, but the building managers have the spirit of the times on their side, that is, the move away from driving to work altogether, which is fine for those who live near the office buildings but not for those who don’t. If there was a Moscow expat Life building rating system, then this development would get a 5 out of 5.
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Business
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any wealthy individuals in Russia and expats working here would really like to use a professional financial adviser but they are either scared by the industry reputation or have suffered a bad experience. This is often exacerbated by friends sharing their own sometimes unfortunate and exaggerated past experiences. In reality the industry has a number of unwanted people who ruin the reputation of the true professionals. This has become more apparent in countries where there are
no formal regulations leaving it open to the “cowboys” who were once ‘used car salesmen’ and electrician types before they spent a week on an intensive course to become a full blown independent financial adviser (IFA). Little wonder these relative few spoil it all for the majority of serious advisers who really struggle to uphold their own reputation in this climate and keep their own business operations working well. So, what should you look for in an IFA? How do you go about trying to find someone who is going to give you genuine professional advice and top drawer service?
How Do You Find The Right Investment Adviser
n, Brian Johnso l cia n a n Platinum Fi ional at rn Services Inte
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The answer is not easy and this results in many being either confused or undecided. They find it too hard and end up not doing anything. This is sad because it will often result in individuals not actually achieving their lifetime financial goals when they could have done so with professional help. I also hear the sceptics amongst you saying that the IFA is capable of having a similar affect. This has some truth but if you select your adviser carefully and know that he is a true professional you will not suffer from the pitfalls which exist amongst the unethical faction. First you need to find some candidate adviser firms to qualify in order to progress the selection. This is not a difficult task, the trick being to try and get the right ones. Perhaps recommendations from friends or colleagues may help. It is also going to be worthwhile to look for advisers who are clearly stable, visible and well known. If in the public eye for lengthy periods of time they are usually of high reputation. If on the other hand a random Google search shows up a less that glittering reputation then it would be wise to give them a wide berth. Remember also that one of the keys is going to be the personal relationship you have with the individual consultant within the firm you choose. That relationship must work for you and you will need to be totally comfortable with the individual who is looking after you. Only upon meeting such candidates will you be able to judge this. One of the other factors which could be very relevant to you is the performance result you are looking for. Do you feel you would benefit more from a dynamic fast moving firm which keeps up with
Business developments; or a more traditional organisation which is rather stayed and much slower but conservative? Those with the flexibility to move in either direction might be best if you would prefer to start walking before you allow any running to commence. In creating an evaluation you may wish to follow a similar pattern to the following assessment which has been used by some expats in Moscow in the
past. This creates a marking system to pitch different organisations to your personal preference: Using this type of scoring system will allow you to make a start looking at possible options open for you. Many possibilities exist to amend the categories shown in the chart and the way you personally mark them. It is thus more feasible you are able to select a good quality adviser based on your true personal evaluation and
Candidate Other Local European IFA IFA IFA Organisation 5 5 1 4 4 3 2 1 4 1 1 5 12 11 13 Team Quality
Local Office Independence Self Regulated Regulated
Qualified 4 Advisers Substantial Research 1 Team Bespoke Research 3 8 Personal Service Monthly Meeting
5 5 10
Bespoke Tailoring Bespoke Reports Bespoke Analysis Standard reports Wider Flexibility
4 4 4 3 4 19
Holding Choice Refer for Instruction Active Management Passive Mgt
4 4 4 4 16
Past performance Response time View quality/depth Continuity danger Market reaction time
2 4 3 2
Grand total
Key:
USA IFA
Int’l Bank
Max Possible
2 2 4 5 13
2 2 4 5 13
5 5 5 5 20
4
5
5
5
5
1
5
5
5
5
1 11
1 11
5 15
3 1 4
3 1 4
5 5 10
3 2 2 4 2 13
1 2 3 5 2 13
5 5 5 5 5 25
2 1 3 4 10
2 1 3 4 10
5 5 5 5 20
5 2 5 5
4 3 5 5
5 5 5 5
2 7
2 12 Service 4 3 3 1 7 4 Portfolio 4 3 3 2 3 4 3 4 3 4 16 17 Investment Management 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 14 14 Intangibles 3 3 4 3 3 4 2 4
3
3
3
2
2
5
14 79 69%
15 70 61%
17 77 67%
19 70 61%
19 70 61%
25 115 100%
1= Excellent 4= Poor
2= Good 5=V. poor
3= Fair
opinion of what is important. One of the difficulties in the industry these days is the fact that regulations are very stringent in some countries yet pretty nonexistent, if they exist at all, in others. This results in the creation of unwanted advisers in some areas. A key area to consider is whether your potential adviser firm is regulated. If there are no specific local regulations, such as those laid down in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK, ask whether any other regulations are voluntarily followed. A positive answer will at least give you the comfort that the firm you are talking to is serious about giving true professional advice. Ask yourself whether the adviser you are engaging in discussions is well versed in expatriate affairs and if he or she has decent life experience. Perhaps someone with some time under his belt will be a better bet for you than a smart young person who is very keen to lay out products in front of you for the sake of simply enhancing his own reputation as a skilled salesman in his firm. Good advice is available but you need to be careful to ensure you choose it properly. One positive thing to point out is that clients don’t have to live with their choices of IFA firm forever. If the relationship, quality of service or investment performance ends up falling short of expectations you are able to get a second, often more candid opinion. Ultimately you are quite within your rights to change investment servicing rights to a new choice adviser. The exercise of getting a second opinion very often proves useful and costs nothing so what are you waiting for? To keep your existing adviser on their toes or to seek alternative opinions take time out to review your choices and make sure you have the adviser you deserve. Questions to the author can be directed to PFS International on +7 495 6608887 or email to Brianjohnson@fsplatinum.com
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Business The Underlying Costs to get them to adulthood
HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY LOVE YOUR CHILDREN? on
ohns
C
hildren are expensive. We hear this all the time from any parent of any child. There is no getting away from the fact that if you start a family your entire life changes in almost every way. For many, their uppermost thoughts are the facts that their social life will transform to something new; there will be sleepless nights, whilst changing diapers and feeding become seemingly 24/7 tasks which quickly turn into tiresome chores. Then there is the constant care a family require from toddler stage when they need help to walk, through the first school, first night away, secondary school, first boyfriend/girlfriend, leaving home for university or just to be independent. During the earlier years parents seem to concentrate on the near term when looking forward, for perhaps no more than a year or two.
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J Brian
They lose sight of the far distance and the possible serious difficulties they may face jointly with their children in the future. Some recent newspaper articles have mentioned the cost of tertiary education for children of expats. There were also questions and comments about other issues children face and where parents often find themselves helpless. These include getting onto the property ladder or setting up home and having a family of their own. This has created some questions on how to best forward plan for university costs as well as these other issues. Most parents want the best there is for their children. If they have the means they will often assist their children as much as they can, even when it is done in a sensible way and the children are very appreciative. We all know that the harder we work for something of our own the more we sincerely
appreciate it. Thus when children of the modern parent participate jointly with their parents in plans for the future they surely learn how to appreciate and value this. ... Many parents do not think as far as tertiary education when the children are young and often allow the children to miss the boat in that they simply do not have the means to contribute to the costs of university when the time comes. But if you start early it is amazing just how much you can contribute to this important phase of their lives.
Business The cost of education is climbing higher all the time with inflation. But did you know that these costs are generally inflating at accelerated rates compared with the general cost of living? Currently education costs are rising between 7% and 10% per annum.
Today typical tertiary education costs for students in Europe or USA will total around $35,000 per annum including basic living costs. Thus with inflation when your child of say one year gets to the point where he or she will start university, in seventeen years’ time, the costs will be somewhere above $115,000 per year. By saving around $1,250 per month, or $15,000 pa you can achieve enough money to cover the costs of a four year university education programme for your one year old. This can be completed via a structured savings plan which will give you access to global financial markets whilst allowing you to benefit from dollar cost averaging as well as compound growth. These two factors combined can bring you superior returns on regular contribution savings plans. However, there are pitfalls to these plans so if you decide to
embark on one carefully look at the terms and conditions to make sure they suit you and your own circumstances. If any adviser tells you that after an initial period you can “do anything you like with the proceeds” the chances are you are getting the wrong advice. Used properly these plans work very well. There are other dilemmas parents think of and these include not only succession planning when they would prefer to leave a legacy for their children, but also such important aspects of a young adult life like the purchasing of a property. This is always a struggle for many young people but these days it seems to have been made even worse since the 2008 financial crash. Institutes which lend against property, in order for young people to mortgage and purchase their home, are applying very stringent rules these days. This has created a situation where the proportion of finance available, the loan to value ratio (LTV), has become lower against the now ever increasing capital cost of purchasing a property. Looking at a practical situation the purchase price of property is now as much as five to seven times the annual salary of a young career person. Thirty years ago the average was somewhere around three times salary. Today the amount required as a deposit is usually 25%-30% of the purchase price, compared with around 10% thirty years ago. This creates a dilemma for youngsters as they struggle to save sufficient funds to afford the deposit to buy their own home. As a parent it would be only natural for you to want to assist your child in attaining this goal. Many will want repayment of a ‘loan’ they make to their children but this will
certainly help get them onto the property ladder. If this were to happen to your children do you have the means by which you could assist? If you start to think about this carefully when your children are young you may be in a position where you could ensure you can help them. Of course for those with larger families this can be multiplied into a very daunting task. Many expats have the relative luxury of being able to plan provisions in more than one way. A different view of property looks at using property as an asset for you as the parent to assist your children to achieve tertiary education and create a succession plan for them when you pass away. A possible downside to this solution is the capital required from you to set up an initial property purchase. However, once you have done this it is usually plain sailing. If you are able to afford this solution and create a structured savings plan as well you have the best of both worlds as the savings plan will give you far better access to liquidity once it reaches or gets nearer to maturity. By starting early you can assist your children in more ways than you perhaps have imagined. This could enable them to have a better life than they would have and they can learn to appreciate this as they can participate along with the plans so that they feel part of the overall strategy. As the children become older the problem just gets bigger and more expensive to solve. As a responsible loving parent don’t you have a duty to start dealing with this now? Have you started a life plan for your child or are you still drifting along in blissful ignorance? Questions to the author can be directed to PFS International on +7 495 660 8887 or email to Russia@fsplatinum.com P.F.S. International’s office in Moscow is at Office 1909, Imperia Tower, Presnenskaya Naberezhnaya 6, Moscow City International Business Centre, Moscow 123317
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Business
Five Hits but Greater Self-Sufficiency Brings Opportunities
er Weaf Chris
T
here is no doubt that economic sanctions are no good for anybody, especially if the target country has the ability to strike back. The first round of Russia retaliatory sanctions is already hurting some individual exporters of food products and regions in the EU, which had built up capacity to serve the large and growing Russian market. Additional sanctions would broaden the impact to other industries and increase the cost to western countries. Whether that happens or not will be as a result of currently unpredictable military and political actions. But the retaliatory marker has now been firmly planted and is now part of the equation for the EU in particular. So much for the local commercial. The fact is, despite some sharing of the pain, sanctions are already weighing on the local economy and the situation will continue to deteriorate until they are lifted. That is not to say that Russia is in any danger of economic collapse or defaulting on debt. It is not. Even the rouble, historically very sensitive to any hint
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of economic turmoil, looks relatively immune from a further significant devaluation. Fiscally Russia is in good shape to ride out the sanctions period, i.e., making the three assumptions that the sanctions period does not last much beyond a 12-24 month period; the government does not waste all of its accumulated savings in ill-advised investment or support operations; the price of oil does not collapse below $85-$90 per barrel. But while supported with a good balance sheet, the pace of economic growth will not be able to avoid further weakness over the next 6-12 months. Sanctions hits growth in five main categories; the first hit is to the domestic credit market. Because of the restrictions placed on state banks accessing western debt markets, which we know has been extended by most western institutions to most Russian enterprises on a voluntary basis, the local debt market is already tightening and interest rates are rising. It means that businesses are focusing on debt management rather than investment and households are spending a larger share of income on debt servicing. The second hit is to inflation and
inventories. The ban on imported food items will lead to higher prices this autumn and winter. We have already seen this with the ban placed on imported pork earlier this year; domestic prices rose sharply and the product is hard to find in restaurants and on super-market shelves. We will see that effect replicated across more food items in the coming months, as alternative supply sources will take months to be integrated. Rising inflation will also force the Central Bank to keep its Key Rate high and maybe even to raise it further by year-end. That will exacerbate the first problem mentioned. The third hit is to the supply-chain serving domestic manufacturers. Sanctions, and the anecdotal evidence of widespread self-sanctions as western suppliers and risk managers adopt a cautious approach to all Russia exposure, could seriously disrupt the supply of key parts to local industry. For example, auto-manufacturers import almost 50 per cent of the components needed to build a new car. The problem is that these have to be ordered well in
Business advance so any disruption today may have a legacy impact lasting beyond the sanctions period. The fourth hit to the economy is from declining domestic confidence. It is no surprise that a majority of people have reacted to sanctions with defiance. But as prices rise and some items become scarce, the reaction will inevitably become more cautious. That means preserving cash and avoiding new expensive debt. In July, sales of new vehicles, one of the main discretionary purchases, fell by more than one-fifth compared to the same month last year. The fifth hit is to inward investment, which has almost dried up as investors wait to see what happens next ‘on the ground’ and to get a better assessment of the sanctions impact. The longer this avoidance of Russia risk lasts the longer, and deeper, will be the damage to long-term growth prospects. That’s the bad news. And before we talk ourselves into a spiral of depression, let’s look at the positives. The first point to make is that if ever there was a good time for a period of sanctions, it is now. The country has $180 billion of ‘reasonably’ disposable cash split between the Reserve and Wellbeing funds. That money may be used to substitute for the block on access to western capital markets and to support banks and industrial groups as they seek alternatives in Asia. Some of the money may also be used to cover additional budget spending, which the government is expected to announce later this year to try and stimulate investment
spending and raise demand for domestic goods. Russia’s key advantage is the high price of oil which, in combination with the Central Bank’s flexible rouble exchange rate policy, meant that the federal budget reported a surplus equal to 1.9% of GDP for the first half of this year. Given the legacy of wars in Libya and Iraq, it certainly does not seem as if the risk premium in the oil price is in danger of falling any time soon. A well-worn cliché states that every crisis is also an opportunity. Russia is the largest country on the planet and yet it still imports almost 20 per cent of its food. The country is a net importer of most meat and, for example, only produces three out of every four carrots sold in supermarkets and restaurants. That is a result of a couple of decades of under-investment and neglect. President Putin complained about this at the time of the disastrous draught in August 2010 and one can’t help but make the connection that focusing Russia’s initial sanctions response in this industry may also be partly motivated by a wish to force investment into agriculture and food production. And by no means is this the only sector of the economy which used to be, and is theoretically capable of, being self-sufficient. Time and time again we see that policy planning in Russia translates very slowly into meaningful actions. This is, of course, not unique to this country but is a common trait across most emerging economies. More often it requires a crisis to focus resources and effort to fixing a problem. Sanctions present that opportunity. There is no question that, for the reasons already mentioned, Russia is facing a period of hardship in the economy. But if that is paralleled with a serious effort towards greater self-sufficiency in such industries as food, pharmaceuticals, machinery and
technologies, then what started out as a crisis may become a long overdue turning point. Foreign companies willing and able to make the transition from suppliers into Russia to investors in Russia will be the best placed to not only survive but thrive.
Fiscally Russia is in good shape to ride out the sanctions period, i.e., making the three assumptions that the sanctions period does not last much beyond a 12-24 month period; the government does not waste all of its accumulated savings in ill-advised investment or support operations; the price of oil does not collapse below $85-$90 per barrel.
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Moscow Personalities
Andrew Pyner, has worked in Russia for decades, and knows a lot about the travel industry, and even more about Russia. Moscow expat Life caught up with him and asked him about his life in Russia.
Andrew Pyner Chief revenue officer at Ostrovok.ru How did you end up in Russia? That’s a story that goes back quite some time. As a schoolboy I was very passionate about learning foreign languages, namely French and German, which were the two languages that we learned in those days. I chose French, but I wanted to try something new. The choice was: Mandarin, Russian or Arabic. The university of Bradford won, and I got onto a course to be a translator and interpreter in French and Russian. At the time, it wasn’t that I had a passion for Russian, which came a little later, it was a practical thing. I wanted to do something unusual, and therefore useful. I started that course in 1986, and first set foot on the territory of the Soviet Union in 1988, when I was 19 or 20. I was studying in Moscow and St. Petersburg. That was the time when it was all happening. The world was in love with Gorby, but the Soviet people weren’t in love with Gorbachev. There was no sugar in the shops, he was trying to stop the vodka drinking, it was an incredible time to be in Russia. I decided as a young student that I was going to speak Russian properly, live like a Russian, as a young, politically convinced, dare I say it, Marxist. But although a part of me loved it here, it was all a massive
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culture shock and I was grateful to leave, that first time. You read Dr Zhivago, Dead Souls, the Gogol stories, and you get this romantic story of what Russia is. At the time I was this firebrand of the left, but the reality in Russia was rather different.
So then you went back home to finish your studies, but you came out here to work, what happened? When I first graduated I was one of those linguists who didn’t know what to do. I went into teaching which is something that I really enjoyed doing and taught Russian and French for two or three years. As a linguist, if you have taken enough time to learn a language like Russian, you have to get back into the swing of things. I figured out that Russia would have to develop as some kind of tourist destination, so I got myself into the wholesale travel business. Eastern Europe was my chosen destination, and that was where it was all happening in those days, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The opportunities which opened up for me were amazing, and by that time I had got over my initial culture shock., and I have been working intensively and living periodically in Russia for the last 20 years.
on
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H John y b view Inter
What are the main differences in the way that Russian and Western business people operate? Russian business people have changed. The way that I do business in Russia has changed massively over the past 15 years. In the hotel business you had a choice between going to one central supplier who knows all the hotels, or going to each hotel separately. If you went to the central supplier, you had an easier time, because they were very keen to facilitate the growth of business, and they made things relatively easy. But there was a cost to that. I decided that I was going to take the bull-by-the-horns and visit each of these hotels one by one and try and slug it out. I was working at the time for the world’s largest hotel wholesaler. So I did my best to explain, time and time again to chain smoking, seasoned negotiators what we were doing. Half way through the negotiations they would tell jokes and I would think: ‘Oh No!’ I understood all the words, but then the punch line came, I simply could not understand why the joke was funny. Then there were the dreaded words: ‘Do you fancy a spot of lunch Andrew?’ Heavy drinking to seal a toast was unavoidable. The evening sessions were even worse. That was then. Now, with the younger people who are coming in, the drink and smoking culture is not
Moscow Personalities there, not within business. Once you have closed the deal, you might have a little celebration, but it’s not the hard-core supersonic drinking that it used to be. People in Moscow and St. Petersburg are outward looking, they are interested in understanding how business is done in other ways. But there are still echoes left of the old system, and after all, Russia, like all countries, has a set of rules that governs the way that business is done here. These are comprehensible by the Russians, but not by all westerners.
What are the main differences on a personal level? Obviously the cultures are completely different. The English, for example, are nice to people when they want something. Therefore it’s quite easy to form superficial relationships. In Russia it’s not like that at all. People who are not familiar with this culture will say that Russians are miserable, they will rush you out of the way and so on. For them, there is no reason why they shouldn’t. If I am in a shop, I’m serving you, I’m not here to be your friend. It’s very transactional, and that’s quite challenging. Any kind of relationship above the transactional level takes a long time to develop here, especially if you are a foreigner. There is a whole code system, which – even after living here for such a long time – I still don’t fully get. Are you resilient enough to accept this friendship etc..? You should never say: ‘next time you’re in London, drop in!’ Because they will. Having said that, the hospitality that you experience in this part of the world once you are accepted, is quite spectacular. If you are invited round to anybody’s house, you will be treated like a King. In my own culture, if you invite anybody round, you are going to look after them, you are going to make sure that they’re fed and watered. But it is nothing to the extent that the Russian host will treat you. We will have lots of diner parties in the UK for people we know tangentially; people from work, our
bosses and so on. Not so in Russia, if you get invited, you are going to have a good night. You probably won’t remember much of it, but you will have a fantastic night.
Are you able to satisfy your culinary desires here? The problem that I have here is that I don’t have the time to cook in the way that I want to. You can go into any supermarket here and find what you would expect to find at home. With one big difference. The prices vary much more here than they do in somewhere like London. There are very large seasonal fluctuations, and you have to buy things quickly, because the produce won’t hang around as long as it does in other countries. Russians like strong flavours; the fish counters are not for the faint hearted. It’s nonsense to think that you can’t get products here, because you can. You can eat well and eat healthily.
For example, Russians can think two or three different things at the same time, and all versions are correct.
That’s confusing for us mono-thinking people! But I’ve been here for so long, and I have become accustomed to all this. It is true, that I have to close my eyes to certain things, things that I would never dream of closing my eyes to at home. Sometimes I wonder: have I changed my value system? Well it’s not my value system to judge. I chose to live here, I am not here to impose my value system on Russians, I am here to accept and live within the value system that Russia and Russians have.
What don’t you like about Russia? Russia is the biggest country in the world. It is a massive flat country. You don’t have to look too far into the history of the world to understand that this massive country with poorly defended borders has suffered all sorts of unwanted and unexpected visitations from other people. Russians have suffered a lot from that. Therefore it makes sense to have a very strong central government. Russians are not westerners, but they aren’t easterners either, they are Slavic. This strength of identity is much stronger than anything I’ve seen in Europe and it can be quite intransigent. In Western Europe where the whole movement of society these days is to be quite inclusive, the idea is: we can respect any kind of opinions as long as you don’t interfere with me. But that’s not the automatic Russian way, and I find that sometimes tough to deal with. On an individual level, there is a cognitive difference, that’s another challenge for westerners.
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Health
In this issue, Specialist Public Health Nurse Lucy Kenyon SCPHN, M.Med.Sci., RGN, examines the lifestyle issue of diet in the Background: context of expat In the 1970s, fibre was the buzz word health risks. and the F plan diet all the rage. Fibre alone as a weight loss tactic against the new processed foods didn’t Eating to improve work, and the diet industry was your health: born. WeightWatchers was bought by Heinz in 1978, who in turn sold the company in 1999 to investment firm Artal for $735 million. By the 1990s, NHS costs related to obesity were spiraling out of control and continue to do so to this day. In fact there is an ongoing project in the EU to obtain disability status for obesity. The British Government has brought in health experts and the food industry to consult and advise on what cam be done. One might argue that, armed with this insider information, the diet industry Before the introduction of should have continued to develop convenience and processed foods, and grow. Slimfast, a liquid meal obesity was virtually unheard of. replacement was bought in 2000 So cooking with raw ingredients by Unilever, which also owns from scratch is definitely an easy the Ben & Jerry brand and Wall’s way to manage your consumption sausages. Jenny Craig diet was of calories. If you don’t know how bought by Swiss multinational to cook – learn. There are so many Nestlé, which also sells chocolate ways to learn – courses in a group, and ice-cream. In 2011, Nestlé was online, for example step by step on listed in Fortune’s Global 500 as the YouTube, via TV chefs, etc., there world’s most profitable company. really is no excuse.
Expat health
matters – diets
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e all know about weight and dieting. Our general health and weight has been deteriorating since the 1960s, which saw the introduction of instant mashed potato, polyunsaturated margarine and meat tenderisation enzymes. By1980 nearly 50% of households had a freezer, meaning that prepackaged foods and ready meals could be bought and reheated; further reducing the need to cook from fresh. Are you doing the 5:2, the Atkins, Hairy Bikers’ or the Dukan? Do you belong to Slimming World, WeightWatchers, you know who Jenny Craig is? If the answer is yes to any of these, then you are buying into big business. Britain’s diet industry alone is worth £2 billion. As I discussed in my first article in MeL in December 2012, the key health issues affecting expats are back pain, respiratory/chest infections, gastrointestinal/digestive problems and stress. In this article I have tried to create a new spin on diet, targeted specifically at expats, with the key expat health risks and Moscow particularly in mind.
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Health Back health:
The spine is made up of joints, just like the rest of the body. If you are carrying excess weight, the
Lung health:
Pollution in big cities carries air-borne exposure to chemicals and heavy metals. Airborne heavy metals such as lead and arsenic bind themselves to LDL cholesterol (LDL is the one that carries the increased risk of heart disease). Ensure that
curves of the spine, in particular the neck and lumbar areas where the spine moves horizontally as well as vertically, will carry the pressure. Because the nerves travel between the spine and discs, abnormal pressure can cause pain and damage to them. In addition to losing weight, consider increasing the following vitamins and minerals that boost nerve function: • Magnesium, which helps muscles and nerves function properly, steadies heart rhythm,
maintains bone strength, and helps the body create energy and make proteins, is found in whole grain products, leafy green vegetables, almonds, Brazil nuts, soybeans, halibut, peanuts, hazelnuts, lima beans, black-eyed peas, avocados, bananas, kiwifruit, and shrimp. • B vitamins • Omega 3 fatty acids • The Indian spice curcumin has also been explored in a study at UCLA. It is said to aid tissue repair – so enjoy your low fat/salt curries!
you have enough Vitamin C in your diet, as this is known to protect against absorption of lead which poisons your body. A small amount of fat in your diet is important as it provides certain vitamins. These vitamins are: • vitamins A and E, which are important in fighting infections • vitamin D for healthy, strong bones • vitamin K, which regulates blood clotting and helps heal wounds The two key factors for the new or returning expat here are unfamiliar bugs (pathogens) and pollution. Combine these with the
detrimental effects of stress on the immune system and you have a recipe for lung problems. Dairy foods such as milk and cheese are especially important for people with a lung condition. This is because they are a good source of proteins, vitamins and minerals. It stands to reason then that these form an important part of the expat daily diet. One important mineral is calcium. You need calcium, along with Vitamin D, to keep your bones healthy. This is very important if you have lung problems, are less active, or need to take steroids to treat a long term condition such as asthma.
Digestion and gastrointestinal health:
B Vitamins are key here with the natural raw sources listed below: • B1 is found in whole-grains. It helps the body process carbohydrates and some protein. • B-2 (Riboflavin) is in milk, almonds, asparagus, dark meat chicken, and cooked beef. It converts food into energy. • B-3 (Niacin) is found in poultry, fish, meat and whole grains. It aids digestion. • B6 foods are baked potatoes with skin, bananas, light-meat chicken and turkey, eggs, and spinach. It helps the body break down proteins and stored sugar.
Stress – brain function
Do you notice that your memory or concentration is worse than usual? When we are under stress, for example dealing with an unfamiliar culture or environment, the body puts itself into ‘fight or flight’ mode and short term memory and appetite, being the least necessary functions, are amongst the first to be affected. Omega-3 essential fatty acids, found in deep water oily fish, are essential for brain function. Fats that are good for you are found in other foods such as nuts, oily fish, avocado (a monounsaturated fat, which contributes to healthy blood flow) and sunflower and olive oils. Higher levels of vitamin E, found in nuts and seeds, correspond with less cognitive decline as you get older. Vitamin B12 in Beef, clams, mussels, crabs, salmon, poultry, soybeans is needed for creating red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the brain (all the vital organs) and general cell division.
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Health Stress – heart disease
Stress reactions cause an increase in adrenaline. Adrenaline was useful in prehistoric times to make the blood stickier, making it less likely that humans bled to death when faced with a wild animal. Today a high adrenalin count puts us at increased risk of heart disease, as the heart has to work harder to push thick sticky blood round the body and filter it through the kidneys. All this increases blood pressure within the arteries and veins. Avocados, along with whole grains, such as oatmeal, whole-grain breads, and brown rice, can reduce the risk for heart disease also lower blood pressure. A study in 2012 of 93,000 women found that participants who ate three or more portions of blueberries (containing vitamin K) and strawberries a week had a 32% lower risk of a heart attack compared with those who ate berries once a month or less. Nuts and seeds are good sources of vitamin E, particularly walnuts, which are one of the best-studied nuts, and it’s been shown they contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
Meanwhile at the Indonesian Embassy MeL was invited to a garden party at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia on the 17th of August, to commemorate its 69th anniversary of independence. Many extraordinarily good things happened at that party, including a beautiful rendition of the song ‘Sio Mama’ (Song for Mama) by His Excellency Djauhari Oratmangun.
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Summary
• Drink water first and fruit juice second. Even unsweetened fruit juice is sugary, so try not to let your kids drink more than 150ml a day. • Prepare and eat food from fresh ingredients. • Avoid processed and preserved foods as these contain a lot of salt, sugar and other carbohydrate bulking agents. • Follow what I call ‘the 80:20 rule,’ to improve your chances of sticking to the lifestyle change. This means that if you follow a health plan 80% of the time the health benefits will still show through. • Above all – make your diet a lifestyle choice, so you can enjoy it and maintain it. • Remember – the diet industry is a business, not a healthcare system.
Retro
THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND
T
he Year started badly. During the previous December, Moscow in response to Dhokar Dudayev’s declaration of Independence for Chechnya had begun to bombard Grozny, initially from the air and then by ground assault. Some of the first Russian troops into the combat were the 131st Maikop Motor Rifle Brigade. Conscripted, young and poorly trained they endured horrific casualties against the well organised guerilla tactics of the embedded rebels. Come January, Russia upped the intensity of the bombing and shelling particularly after the death of one of its front line leaders Major General Vorobyov. The city was gradually pulverized and reports of large numbers of civilian casualties began to emerge, ironically many of them from the large Russian community that existed at the time (reliable estimates put the final total of civilian deaths at 30,000). Eventually the rebel soldiers withdrew to their mountain strongholds as they had done on previous occasions when defending against invading Russian armies. The world looked on, with many Western Governments condemning the severity of the Russian actions. What few know is that during that January against this backdrop of violence an incident occurred that almost resulted in the unthinkable, the end of civilisation as we know it. The ‘Black Brandt’ rocket incident arose from a series of events that occurred with such speed that the world was moments from catastrophe due to a simple human error; a level of incompetence that would be amusing had it not been so serious. The Rocket base at Adnoy island off the north coast of Norway had existed since the early sixties and had made over
h kovic c i r e Fred
1,200 launches. The main purpose of the base was to launch low orbit satellites and instruments with lightweight rockets for the study of the atmosphere above the arctic. On January 25th 1995, a particular mission was underway by a joint American-Norwegian team to launch a more powerful four-stage Black Brandt XII rocket to position instruments to observe the aurora borealis over Svalbard. As was normal for such missions, notifications were issued well ahead of time to all neighbouring governments and space agencies including Russia to warn of the rocket’s launch and planned trajectory. Unfortunately on this occasion the notice of the launch was not conveyed internally to that agency of the Russian Ministry of Defence responsible for early radar detection. The Olenogorsk station in Murmansk Oblast duly picked up the rocket’s launch which due to its proximity to the sea gave the appearance that it could have in fact been from a submarine. Even today, Trident missiles represent a grave threat to Russia’s security being mobile and with their ability to be launched close to the continent so reducing the time for detection and interception. The situation worsened because as the radar station computed the rocket’s trajectory it appeared that its flight path was becoming coincidental with that which would be taken in the event of an attack by Minuteman III ICBM’s stationed in Dakota and aimed at Moscow. As the stages fell away the craft more and more resembled a Trident. Russia’s air defences were already highly sensitive to intrusion, the Minister of Defence and the Head of the Air Defence Force having been dismissed years earlier when
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Mattias Rust humiliated the nation by piloting his Cessna unchallenged from Finland and landing on the bridge next to St. Basil’s. Moscow was notified and the nuclear briefcase or ‘Cheget’ in Russian was armed ready for launch against America and bought to President Yeltsin with the warning that potential impact was 10 minutes away. The initial fear was that the missile might be intended as a pre-emptive electromagnetic blast above Moscow that would render further detection and missile defences inoperable, leaving Moscow open to attack by ICBM’s and unable to launch a retaliatory strike. No-one can be sure of the thought processes, conversations and communications that took place during those critical minutes on a cold and wintry January morning, but Russia did not retaliate and the Black Brandt rocket eventually altered course as planned and finally fell into the sea. Some days later a spokesman for the Russian Government issued a brief statement confirming that an incident had indeed occurred. The bloodshed in Chechnya continued that year famously spilling over when the rebel leader Shamil Basayev lead a convoy of fighters into Russia to Buddyanovsk in neighbouring Stavropol Krai and raided various government buildings before holing up in the city’s main hospital and taking around 1,500 hostages. After days of attack by Government forces followed by negotiation and hostage exchange, Basayev’s men largely made it back to their mountain stronghold. Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, who had stepped in to negotiate personally and end the bloodshed famously summed it up ‘we tried for the best, but it turned out as usual’.
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Moscow Good Food Club
Kim Waddoup
Chicago Prime Aggregate MGFC food scores (out of 10): Food Quality: 9 Quality and suitability of the drinks: 9 Service Standards: 9.5 General rating of the meal: 9
T
he aim of the Moscow Good Food Club is not only to visit new restaurants in our adopted city but also to return to well-established institutions that have built credible reputations for their services and quality. It was therefore with great expectations that august members of the Moscow Good Food Club made their way through the hallowed doors (and up the escalator) to Chicago Prime Steakhouse & Bar. I don’t believe that this was a first time for any of us at Chicago Prime, but we all entered on this occasion as restaurant critics, so we monitored our reactions closely. I remember the first time that I rode that escalator and was greeted by the wide smile of the lovely hostess. We all noted that this tradition has continued from the early days of Chicago Prime. A big smile and a warm welcome create a great start to a culinary experience. As our members arrived we were offered a choice of cocktails, each freshly prepared for us, refills were also proffered and gratefully accepted, creating the warm ambience that we much appreciate from Chicago
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Prime. After talking to old friends and making some new acquaintances, it was time to take to our tables, excited at the prospects of the special menu created by Executive Chef Igor Korneev just for the Moscow Good Food Club. The starter of Salmon Tartar with scallop, pineapple, melon and kiwi was a bold and creative dish designed to prepare us for more food experience during the meal. Healthy portions of this tartar were succulent, refreshing and the rather unique combinations were perfectly suited to a warm summer evening. A light and fruity Geyser Peak Chardonnay from Alexander Valley, USA, accompanied this dish. This was an excellent pairing with both the dish and the wine complimenting each other superbly. This was followed by the Watermelon Caprese with Balsamic Onions, buffalo mozzarella and basil. The initial observation was of a vast and multi-coloured skyscraper of cheese and watermelon. The presentation was rather ‘masculine’ and could have been subtler, however the mixture of the flavours of the mozzarella and watermelon were compelling and so well compromised
Moscow Good Food Club by the balsamic onions. All agreed, after their initial surprise that this was an amazing dish again suited to the warm evening. The Cote de Provence Rose from France did its best to compliment the refreshing tastes but maybe this delicate wine was slightly overpowered by the melon/cheese/onion concoction. At this point we were given a little time to reflect on our surroundings, our dinner partners and of course the service. As one has to come to expect from Chicago Prime the service was perfect. Professional yet friendly with the waiters often joking (in perfect English) with the guests at the tables. Such an achievement in a city where service is regrettably either poor or hostile or both! Chicago Prime has found wonderful staff and they really help any meal
to be a more than enjoyable experience. No visit to Chicago Prime would be complete without it’s award winning beef, and members of the Moscow Good Food Club were not disappointed when the Grilled Beef Filet with Asparagus, Kamchatka Crab and Béarnaise sauce were served. The steaks were grilled to absolute perfection and beautifully highlighted by the light and delicate Kamchatka crab. The Béarnaise sauce, whilst excellent was thought by many to have been rather too powerful for the crab and possibly should have been serviced on the side. The asparagus was fresh and crispy providing a refreshing balance to the meat/crab combination. The main course was paired with a superb Geyser Peak Merlot, again from Alexander Valley, USA. A bold, multi-flavoured wine that in turn brought out the perfect combinations of the meat and crab. An excellent and most enjoyable choice! The desert was also of skyscraper size. Daintily described as a Raspberry Feuilette, this was a veritable tower of a dessert and had many reaching to their waistlines. However on tasting we found that this was light, exquisitely flavoured and delicate. Perfectly paired with a delicious Les Premieres Grives, dessert wine from France this was a perfect end to a perfect meal.
Full and more than satisfied by the achievements of Executive Chef Igor Korneev, our courageous members relaxed and prepared their critiques which are an essential part of the Moscow Good Food Club gatherings. All diners have different priorities and preferences and we provide an opportunity to learn from each other. One will say, ‘I don’t like this or that’ and another will reply ‘but consider the mix of the ingredients and the pairing of the wine’, discussions continue and then the table spokespeople and asked to present their table’s opinion. Completely full and satisfied after an amazing meal, some members decided to take their leave. Others remembered the excellent cocktail bar and were rumoured to have been there until the wee hours. Congratulations to the management and staff of Chicago Prime. Ken Frost and his team organised a most enjoyable evening of superb, food and wine with amazing service. Chef Igor Korneev and his team in the kitchen prepared an amazing meal that tantalised our taste buds and left us all happy & most satisfied, keeping alive the tradition of Good Food, Good Wine
and especially Good Company! As always at the Moscow Good Food Club we asked our, by then, slightly inebriated members to comment on some questions posed for them. This evening the subject was ‘Moscow enjoys a thriving and multi-cultural expat community with a range of Business and Social organisations/clubs. Is anything missing? What expat groups/clubs/organisations would you like to see emerge.’ Asking such questions at the end of a superb dinner accompanied by cocktails and wines generally brings some ‘entertaining’ replies and this evening was no exception. Suggestions included: A Russian cookery club, an outdoor hiking club, an expat tennis club, a non-wives club(!), an honourable cider society, an expat baby club (we guessed that parents are allowed), a juggling club, a beekeeping and gardening club. One learned member lectured us that we need a Good Food Club and was gently reminded by his wife that we already have one! On receiving this correction he stated that the Moscow Good Food Club should get bigger and greater. Long live the Moscow Good Food Club!
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Moscow Good Food Club
John Harrison
Restaurant Baltschug Grill, Baltschug Kempinski Aggregate MGFC food scores (out of 10): Food Quality: 9.5 Quality and suitability of the drinks: 10 Service Standards: 9 General rating of the meal: 9
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embers of the Moscow Good Food Club (MGFC) are fortunate to be able to dine in some amazing venues, and the Baltschug Kempinski is certainly a war-horse of a venue. Executive Chef Holger Jackish and his staff at the Baltschug Grill worked hard to prepare a meal that was neither exotic nor bland, but saturated with the subtle hinterland of mid-European taste ranges. After a welcoming glass of champagne we were faced with an opening rally of pan seared scallops, rucala, radish and
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sweet onions. This was matched beautifully with Riesling Vom Berg Birgit Eichinger 2011. Next onto our culinary horizons charged green pea soup, foie gras and parsley, washed down with the rather sweet Regaleali Bianco Tasca d’Almerita 2008. When British people are served green pea soup, as one of the guests, Mr Pyner, commented, they think of mushy peas, fog, and eating something to make you feel a little bit warmer. But this particular soup, with the foie gras and the parsley, summoned up completely different associations, and was absolutely superb. A
number of guests commented on the high quality of something that we rarely notice: the bread. “The bread and the condiments complimented each other extremely well…” The big-gun main meal was an original combination of pan roasted cod, asparagus, baby beets, fennel and spring onions complimented with spring onions, star anise nage, cress and spinach puree. Several people from one of our four tables table felt that there was only one thing wrong with this; the plates could have been a little bit warmer. Generally, guests felt that
Moscow Good Food Club
this dish was superb. The Pouilly Fuise La Mure Verget 2005, was as good as the food. “Which culinary experience makes the heavenly choir go off in your head? This main course was one of those occasions,” somebody said. The desert – rhubarb compote, bitter chocolate wafer, pistachio ice cream, chocolate macaroon, white coffee ganache and strawberry couli was another heavenly choir experience. The white coffee ganache seemed to finally flatten all sceptics. As one guest mentioned: “the desert was so petite, I took a photograph of it, I’ve never tasted
a square cube of something that was on my fork, then in my mouth, and it exploded. It was fantastic”. The accompanying wine; Pacherenc dy Vic-Bilh, Domaine Laffont 2008, was “something unusual which one doesn’t find every day, something that will leave impressions with all of us,” another guest mentioned. The salt came out on one of the tables during the main meal, despite MGFC club rules, which forbid its use, as salt tends to overpower the real taste of the food. This led the speaker from that table to mention that perhaps something was missing from the main course. Despite that,
the same speaker praised the chef and his team for preparing a really brilliant meal and providing impeccable service and friendly ambience. On this memorable night, members were asked to come up with a list of Russian Personalities that they they would like to invite to a MGFC meeting in the future. Here they are; Mikhail Gorbachev (3 votes) Vladimir Pozner (2 votes) Vladimir Ryzhkov Alexei Kudrin Sergey Kirienko Yevgeny Kafelnikov Anatoly Chubais Timati
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Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Moscow now offers so many wonderful restaurants and great bars. Our aim is to provide you with Moscow’s most extensive listings of Restaurants and Bars. In this issue it is an A-Z format Also Available on: –
www.Moscowexpatlife.ru Our wonderful researchers continue to work hard to produce this list, however if your restaurant/bar is not listed, please contact us, and you will be in the next issue. 02 Lounge
Abricol
Alenky Tsvetochek
Amigo Migel
Annenfeld
1-2-3 Cafe
Academia Cafe & Pizzeria
Alioli
Amstel
Annyushka Traktir
3 Tverskaya The RitzCarlton Moscow M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Japanese, $$$$ Multiple Locations M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, $
1001 night
31 kor.1, Bratislavskaya ul. M. Maryino Cuisine: European, Azerbaijan, $
11/1 Burger Bar
15/2, Lubyansky Proezd M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: American, $$
Lipeckaya 7a M. Tsaritsyno Cuisine: European, Russian,Mixed, $$
2/1, Kamergersky Pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Academy
Building 2, 23 1st Shchipkovskii Per. M. Dobryninskaya Cuisine: Caucasian, European, Japanese, Seafood, $$
Accenti
10/2 str.2b,Nikolskaya M. Lubyanka Cuisine: American, $
7, Kropotkinsky per. M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Author’s cuisine, Italian, Japanese, $$$
3 Rooms
Acienda
1920
84/32 kor.1, Profsoyuznaya St. M. Kaluzhskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Japanese, $$
39 Vavilova St. M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Brazilian, Spanish, Cuban, Latin American, Mexican, Portuguese, $$$
32.05
Africa
3 Karetniy ryad M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, $
7 sisters
18/1 Olimpiyskiy pr. (Hotel Renessans) M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, $
A la fourchette
11/7, Sormovsky proezd M. Ryazansky Prospekt Cuisine: European, $$$
A&B Cafe
8, Tulskaya bol. M. Tulskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
A. F. Koni
9/1 Novaya Basmannaya St. M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: Russian, European, $$
A.V.E.N.U.E.
8 km of RublyovoUspenskoye Shosse,Barvikha Luxury Village M. Molodyozhnaya Cuisine: French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, $$$$
10, 2nd Vladimirskaya St. M. Perovo Cuisine: African, Georgian, Mediterranean, $$
Ahtuba
6/5 Kostyakova St. M. Dmitrovskaya Cuisine: Jewish, European, $$
Ulitsa Neglinaya, 8/10 M. Lubyanka Cuisine: Spanish, $$
All-Time Bar
7/5 bld.2, Bolshaya Dmitrovka M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Allegro
Building 8, 52 Kosmodamianskaya Nab. M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: European, French, $$$
Aloha Bar
38 bld.1, Myasnitskaya M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, $$
Alrosa
4, 1st Kazachii Per. M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: European, Seafood, Vegetarian, $$
Alter Ego
Profsoyuznaya St. 152/2 M. Tyoply Stan Cuisine: Caucasian, European, Russian, $$
1a Nijegorodskaya St. M. Rimskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, $
Alye Parusa
Aiko
Amarcord
24 Frunzenskaya Nab. (Embankment) M. Park Kultury Cuisine: European, Japanese, Seafood, $$$
Aist
8/1, Malaya Bronnaya M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Russian, $$$
Akademicheskiy 1 Donskaya St. M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, $$
Alazani
11/15 Volochaevskaya St. M. Rimskaya Cuisine: European, Georgian, $$
66 Aviatsionnaya St. M. Shchukinskaya Cuisine: European, $$ 6 Pokrovka St. M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Italian, $$
American Bar and Grill
14, Kirovogradskaya M. Yuzhnaya Cuisine: American, $$
American Bar and Grill
2 bld.1, 1st TverskayaYamskaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: American, $$
AMG cafe dj bar
13a Vavilova St. M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: European, Italian, Japanese, $
Would you like to have your restaurant/bar featured in one of our future issues? Please contact us for details editor@moscowexpatlife.ru
82
47 Leningradskiy prospekt M. Aeroport Cuisine: Mexican, American, $$ 2, Kievskiy vokzal square (Evropeyskiy) M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, $
Amstel Bar
2, Dnepropetrovskaya ul (Yujniy) M. Yuzhnaya Cuisine: European, $
Amsterdam 4, Ilinka M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Dutch, European, $$$
Ananas (Pineapple)
17 Uralskiy St. M. Shcholkovskaya Cuisine: European, Azerbaijan, East, $ Chistoprudny Bulvar M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: Russian, $$$
ANT-25
24 Rusakovskaya St.(Holiday Inn Moscow Sokolniki ,25 floor) M. Sokolniki Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
Antaliya
29/1, Proezd Dezhneva M. Otradnoye Cuisine: Turkish, $$
Aozora
11 Generala Beloborodova St. M. Tushinskaya Cuisine: Jewish, $$
Leninsky Pr 38 M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Japanese, $$$
AnderSon
12/6 Savvinskiy Bol. per M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
74 bld.8, Leningradsky Prospect M. Sokol Cuisine: European, Confectionery, $$
Apartment
Apple Bar & Restaurant
10 N.Maslovka M. Savyolovskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Japanese, $
11 Malaya Dmitrovka (Hotel Golden Apple) M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Japanese, $$$
Andreas
Apropos
Andiamo
Kutuzovsky Prospekt 12 M. Kutuzovskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Anfilada
Olympic Ave, 16, M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, Russian,Mixed, $$$
Angello
60-letiya Oktyabrya Prospekt 3 M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Mediterranean, Japanese, European, Italian, $$$
Anna Mons
3 Krasnokazarmennaya St. M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Fish, $$
2 Frolov Per. M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, European, $$$
Aquarelle
36 Krasnaya Presnya St. M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: European, $
Ararat Park Hyatt
4 Neglinnaya ul., Ararat Park Khayat Moskva Hotel, 10th floor M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: Caucasian, European, $$$
Arbat
12 Plotnikov Per. M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, European, Russian, $$
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants AROMASS INDIAN RESTAURANT Krizhizanovskovo 20/30 M. Profsoyuznaya Cuisine: Indian, $ www.aromass.ru +7 499 125 6276 “The most authentic and best Indian food in Moscow. Delivery service also available”
Argo
19 Melnikova St. M. Volgogradsky Prospekt Cuisine: Caucasian, European, Georgian, Russian, $$
Argument cafe
41, Kutuzovsky Prospekt M. Kutuzovskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Aristocrat
6 bld.2, Lokomotivny Proezd M. PetrovskoRazumovskaya Cuisine: Armenian, Georgian, Caucasian, Mexican, European, $$
Arkhitektor
20 M. Nikitskaya St. M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Seafood, Vegetarian, $$$
Asia
Krasnogorsk district, 65/66-y km Ring Road, TVK M. Strogino Cuisine: Chinese, Japanese, Seafood, $$$$
Assambleya (President-hotel)
24 Bolshaya Yakimanka St. M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Oriental, Italian, French, $$$$
AST-Mayak
Avocado
12/2 Chistoprudny boulevard M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: Vegetarian, European, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, $$
Azon
Korpus 1, 28 Narodnogo Opolcheniya St. M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: European, $
B-52
7 Litovskii Bulvar M. Yasenevo Cuisine: European, Italian, Russian, $$$
B-69
69 Vavilova St. M. Profsoyuznaya Cuisine: Seafood, $$
B2
8/1 Bolshaya Sadovaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, Russian, Seafood, $$$
25/1 Bolshaya Filevskaya Street M. Bagrationovskaya Cuisine: Azeri, European, Russian, $
Baan Thai
Asteroid
Baba Marta
10 Krylatskaya St. M. Molodyozhnaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, Russian, $$
Astoria
11, Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Thai, $$ 8 Gogolevskiy bulvar M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Bulgarian, $$
Bagrationi
152/2 bld.2, Profsoyuznaya M. Tyoply Stan Cuisine: Azeri, Fusion, $$
57, Trifonovskaya street M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, Russian, $
1/7 Spartakovskaya pl. M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: Caucasian, European, Georgian, $$$
Art-Cafe Etre
At Pirosmani’s
Bakinskiy Dvorik
Arshin Mal Alan
2/14, Lopukhinsky Pereulok M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, $
Artefact
11 Konstantina Fedina St. M. Shcholkovskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Japanese, $
Artist Gallery
19, Prechistenka Street M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: French, Fusion, Italian, Japanese, $$$
Artplay
11 bld.34, Timura Frunze M. Park Kultury Cuisine: European, $
Art’s Palace
3, bld.4 Uspensky Pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Armenian, Azeri, European, Fusion, Georgian, Russian, Seafood, $$$
Aruba
4 Narodnaya St. M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Cuban, Spanish, $$$
Asakhi
118 Prospekt Mira M. Alexeyevskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$
4, Novodevichiy proezd M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Atlantic
2/1 Kutuzovskii Prospekt M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Atlantis
Balaclava Avenue, 7 M. Chertanovskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Japanese, $$$
Aurora
12 Startovaya St. M. Medvedkovo Cuisine: European, mixed, $$$
Aurora - Restaurant Cruiser 1st Rank 10 Krasnopresnenskaya Nab. M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Mediterranean, European, Russian, $$$
Aurora Yacht Club
Moskovksaya oblast, 6th KM from MKAD on Dmitrovskii Shosse M. Rechnoi Vokzal Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, Seafood, $$$
6 Stomynka St. M. Sokolniki Cuisine: Caucasian, Seafood, $$$$
Balcon
8 Novinskiy bulvar Lotte plaza M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Japaneese, $$$$
Balikoti
13/9 B. Ordynka M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: Italian, European, $$
Baltschug
1 Balchug, Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
Bamboo Bar
Presnenskaya Naberezhnaya 8 M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: Asian, Japanese, Chineese, $$$$
Bank
1/15 Kotelnicheskaya Embankment M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, $$
Bar 1920
10/2, Nikolskaya M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Barashka
20/1, Petrovka M. Trubnaya Cuisine: Azerbaijani, $$$
Barbados
5, Bolshoy Putinkovsky pereulok M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, Indian, Spanish, Thai, $
Barbontempi
8a str.1 Nikitskiy bul. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Barista Bar
47 bld.2, Leningradskiy Prospect M. Aeroport Cuisine: Italian, $$
Baron Munchausen 11 Mikluho-Maklay M. Yugo-Zapadnaya Cuisine: European, Georgian, $$$
Barracuda Tavern 24/27 SadovayaKudrinskaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: European, Seafood, $$
Barry White
1/2 Glubokiy per. M. Krasnopresnenskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Bavarius
21/10, Komsomolskiy Prospekt M. Frunzenskaya Cuisine: German Beer Restaurants, $$$
BBcafe
13 Skatertniy per. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Beavers
Ulitsa Lyublinskaya 171 M. Maryino Cuisine: European, $$
Bed Cafe
6 Presnenskay Val. bldg.2 M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Japaneese, $$$
Bedouin
57 Leninsky prospect M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: East, $
Beef Bar
13 Prechistinskaya Naberezhnaya, bld. 1 M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Beef Reef
Beer & Loga
23 Autumn Avenue (Osenniy bulvar) Bisness Center M. Krylatskoye Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, European, German, Japaneese, $$
Beer House
2/12 Kozitsky Maly pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Austrian, German, $$
Belaya Rus
14 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ul. M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Belarussian, $$
Bellagio
8 Mosfilmovskaya M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Belochka Bar
1/2, Lesnaya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Europeane, Russian, $$
Beloe solnce pustyni 29, Neglinnaya M. Trubnaya Cuisine: Azerbaijiani, Chinese, Uzbek, $$$
Beloye Solntse Pustyni
29 Neglinnaya Ul. M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Arabic, Uzbek, Chineese, $$$
Bericony
11 bld.6, Volxonka M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Georgian, European, $$$
Beverly Hills Diner 1, Sretenka M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Beverly Hills Diner 10, Nikolskaya M. Lubyanka Cuisine: American, $$
Beverly Hills Diner
White Gardens Business Centre, Lesnaya 9 M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Big Buffalo Bar & Grill Sushchevskaya St., 19/7 M. Mendeleyevskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Blackberry cafe
10, Akademika Sakharova Prospect M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: European, Asian, $$
Bo
20, Malaya Dmitrovka M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Steakhouse, $$$
6/1 str.1, Sretenskiy bul. M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: Italian, Corean, Russian, $$
Beeftro
Bobby Dazzler
26, Tsvetnoi Boulevard M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: American, $
7/13 Kostiansky pereulok M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, European, $$
83
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Bobry & Utki
1A, Chistoprudnii Bulvar M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Italian, Thai, $
Bocconcino
7, Strastnoi Bulvar M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Italian, Tuscany, $$$
Bochka
2, 1905 Goda M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, European, $$$
Bolshoi
Bread and wine
27, Bolshaya Polyanka M. Polyanka Cuisine: Italian , Russian, $$
Brichmula
Cappuccino Express
Briz (ship Alexander Blok)
Capri
12a Krasnopresnenskaya Nab. (Embankment) M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Seafood, $$$
Brussels
Bon
Bublik
Bontempi bar
8A bld.1, Nikitsky Boulevard M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Bontempi Restaurant 12 bld.1, Bersenevskaya Nabereznaya M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Booze Pub
10/12 Timiryazevskaya M. Dmitrovskaya Cuisine: Belgian, $$$ 24, Tverskoi Boulevard M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Ñonfectionery, $
Bungalow Bar
6/1 Zemlyanoi Val M. Kurskaya Cuisine: African, $$$
Cafe Bellissima
23 Olhovskaya St. (Hotel Mandarin Moscow) M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
Cafe Brocard
Potapovsky Per 5 M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: International, $$
36/1 Bol. Novodmitrovskaya St. M. Dmitrovskaya Cuisine: European, $
Bora Bora cafe
Cafe Gotty
14/3 Orehoviy bul. M. Domodedovskaya Cuisine: Italian, Japanese, $
Bora-Bora Grill
1 Semyonovskaya square M. Semyonovskaya Cuisine: Italian, European, $$
Bosco Bar
19, Novy Arbat St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, $
Bosco Café
3, Red Square M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Bosfor
47/23 Stary Arbat St. (Old Arbat St.) M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Turkish, $$
Boston Seafood & Bar 7 Lesnaya Ul M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Fish, $$
BottleBar.ru
2 Pyatnitskiy per. M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: European, Thai, Asian, $
Bouillabaisse
37, Leninskyi bulvar M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Seafood, $$$
84
24 Tverskaya St. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Cafe Loft
25 Nikolskaya, shopping center “Nautilus,” 6th floor M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, French, $$$
Cafe Manon
2, 1905 Goda M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Asian, $$$
Cafe Margarita
28, Malaya Bronnaya M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$
Cafe Pushkin
26a, Tverskoi Bulvar M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$$
Cafe Swiss
25/6 Kosmodamianskaya nab. M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Rusian, Swiss, $
Calvados
23 Leninsky Pr. M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: European, $$$$
CHEKHONTE
20, Denezhny Pereulok M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Italian, tuscan, $$$$
3,19 Starovagankovsky Bystreet M. Alexandrovsky Sad Cuisine: Uzbek, $$$
3/6 bld.2, Petrovka M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: French, Russian, $$$$ 4/4 bld.1, Yakimanskaya Nabereznaya M. Polyanka Cuisine: International, $$$
Cantinetta Antinori
Carabas
18, Lva Tolstogo M. Park Kultury Cuisine: French, $$$
Caribe cafe club
18/18 Pokrovka St. M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: Mexican, Brazilian, European, Italian, Cuban, Latin American, $$
Casa Agave
Bolshoy Cherkasskiy Per.17 M. Lubyanka Cuisine: Mexican , $$
Casa Bella
29 Pr. Vernadskogo St. M. Prospekt Vernadskogo Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Casa di Famiglia
7/18 Metallurgov St. M. Perovo Cuisine: Italian, $$
Casta Diva
26, Tverskoi Bulvar M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Castle Grill Bar
4 Komsomolskiy Pr. M. Park Kultury Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
CDL Club & Restaurant
50, Povarskaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Russian, Italian, $$$$
Central Park Cafe
14a Prospect Vernadskogo M. Prospekt Vernadskogo Cuisine: American, Italian, $$
Chaika
7, Marksistskaya M. Marksistskaya Cuisine: French, Georgian, International, Italian, Mediterranean, $$$$
Chaikhana Kishmish Multiple Cuisine: Uzbek, East, $
Good Food
Club
22, Tverskaya M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$$
26 Bolshaya Polyanka St. M. Polyanka Cuisine: Italian, $$ 7 Academika Sakharova M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, $$$$
Moscow
“Casual but elegant restaurant offering an entertaining gastronomic experience”
Chateau de Fleurs
29 bld.3, Lomonosovsky Prospekt M. Universitet Cuisine: European, $$$$
Che
10/2, Nikolskaya M. Lubyanka Cuisine: Latin American, $$
Chekhonte
Intercontinental Hotel M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Fusion, $$$
Chemodan
Gogol Boulevard, Bldg 25, M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$
Cherdak
7, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: European, $$
Chesterfield
Building 1, 19 Novy Arbat St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: American, European, $$$
China Club
21, Krasina M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Author, Pan-Asian, $$$
China Town
25/12 Lubyanka Proezd M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Chinese, Seafood, Vegetarian, $$$
City Club International
23a Taras Shevchenko Embankment M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: International, $$
Correa’s
32 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Ul., M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: American, $$
Correa’s
32, Bolshaya Gruzniskaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Corsa
78 Mira Prospect M. Rizhskaya Cuisine: Italian, $
Courschevel
7, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Panasian, French, $$$$
Courvoisier
Malaya Sukharevskaya Sq. Bldg.8 M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Coyote Ugly
6/3 bld.3, Kuznetskiy Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Coctails, $$
Crab House
Chito Grito
6 Tverskaya Ul. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: American, Mediterranean, Seafood, $$$
Chocolate
Crazy Hunter
11 Trubnikovsky pereulok M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Geogian, $$ Multiple locations Cuisine: European, $$
Cicila
2g Minskaya M. Park Pobedy Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Cipollino
7 Soimonovskiy prospekt, building 1 M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$$$
8 Dovatora St. M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
Da Cicco
13/12 Profsoyuznaya M. Profsoyuznaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Dacha na Pokrovke 18/4 bld.16, Pokrovsky Bulevard M. Kurskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Chaikhona ¹1
4 Lodochnaya St. M. Tushinskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, Mediterranean, $$
Chalet
7á Elektrolitny proezd M. Nagornaya Cuisine: European, French, Italian, Swiss, $$
CHICAGO PRIME:
STEAKHOUSE & BAR
Moscow Good Food
Club
Strastnoy Blvd. 8a M. Tverskaya Cuisine: American, $$ Moscow’s most popular steakhouse & bar. Top steaks, efficient service and large wine list
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Darbars
38 Leninsky Pr. 16 Fl Hotel Sputnik M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Indian, $$$
Darling, I’ll call you back ..
7, Bolshoy Strochenovsky M. Serpukhovskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
Das Kapital
Building 1, 6/9/20 Rozhdestvenka St. M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: European, German, $$
De Marco
Multiple Cuisine: European, International, Seafood, $$$
Ded Pihto
37/3 Myasnitskaya ulica M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$$
DeFAQto
30/2 str.1, Bol.Lubyanka M. Trubnaya Cuisine: American, European, Indian, $$$
Denis Simachev
12 Stoleshnikov Per. Bldg.2 M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, $$$
Dim Sum
3, Smolenskaya Square M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Chinese, $$$
Dioskuria
2, Merzlyakovsky Pereulok M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $
Dissident
25 Nikolskaya str, Nautilus Shopping Center, 5th floor M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, $$$
Divas
Don Pedro
9 Spiridonievsky lane M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, $$$$
Don’t Tell Mama
5, Putnikovskiy bol. per M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Donna Klara
21/13, Malaya Bronnaya M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Donna Margarita 2 bld.1, 1905 Goda M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Home, Italian, $$$
Doolin house
20 Arbat St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, $
Dorian Gray
6/1 Kadashevskaya nab. M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Italian, $$
Doucet X.O.
31 Novinsky boulevard, Trading Center ’Novinsky’ M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: European, French, $$
Druzhba
4, Novoslobodskaya M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Chinese, $$$
Dukhan Alaverdy
23-25/2 Gruzinsky Val. M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$
Duma
10 Yaroslavskoe shosse M. VDNKh Cuisine: European, Russian, Italian, $$
Don Macaron
53, Lusinovskaya M. Serpukhovskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Frendys
Multiple locations M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Japaese, $$
Eva
31 Marshala Rokossovskogo bulvar M. Ulitsa Podbelskogo Cuisine: European, Russian, Medeterian, Italian, French, Japanese, $
Extra Lounge
15, Kosygina M. Vorobyovy Gory Cuisine: European, $$$
Multiple Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, Russian, $$ 11, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Indian, $$
Eat & Talk
Ecle
5 Oktyabrskaya St. M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: European, French, $$
El Gauchito
48, Kutuzovskiy pr. M. Slavyansky Bulvar, $$$
Elky-Palki
Multiple Cuisine: Russian, $
Emporio Armani Caffe
3, Red Square M. Ploshchad Revolyutsii Cuisine: European, Italian, $$
= Menu in English
Golicin
Fusion Plaza
Good Beef
G Graf
Goodman Steak House
18, Kozijinsky per. M. Tverskaya Cuisine: American, Italian, $$
12, Krasnopresnenskaya nab. M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Indian, $$$
Galereya
Filini Bar & Restaurant
Gallery
Five Spices
27 Petrovka M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: European, Seafood, $$$ 27, Petrovka M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Author’s, Asian, European, Italian, Russian, French, Japanese, $$$
3/18, Sivtsev Vrazhek Pereulok M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Chinese, Indian, Thai, $$
Gandhara
Flat Iron Roadhouse
1/4 bld.2, Smolensky Pereulok M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Armenian, $$
8 bld.2, Lyalin Pereulok M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Farm products, Home, $$
Focaccia
3 Kozitsky per. M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Chinese, Indian, $$
Fonda
2 str.90 Ugreshskaya St. M. Dubrovka Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$$
Free Bar
21-23 bld.1, Pokrovka M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Tex-mex, $$$
Free Bar People
26/1 Trubnaya St. M. Trubnaya Cuisine: European, $
French Cafe
3 Smolenskaya Pl. M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, French, Japanese, $$$
Gogol-Mogol
Friends Forever
Favorite Pub
26, 3 ulica Yamskogo polya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
5/1, Teatralnaya Square M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Russian, $$$ 6 Gagarinsky Per. M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
2/1 Kutuzovskiy prospect M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Iranian, $$$ 24, Spiridonovka M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: American, $$$
Godunov
28/6 bld.3, Pokrovka M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: American, $
8, 4th Dobryninsky Pereulok M. Dobryninskaya Cuisine: Italian, European, $$$$
Farsi
Flei
7 Mohovaya St. M. Borovitskaya Cuisine: European, $
Don Ivan
Etaj
Durdin
Dolls
6 Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$$
41a Vyatskaya ul. M. Dmitrovskaya Cuisine: European, $
15-17 Bolshoi Cherkasskii Per. M. Lubyanka Cuisine: French, $$$
7 Voznesensky Per. Hotel Courtyard M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, $$
Dzhagannat
Dom Karlo
French cheese hole
11 bld 3b, Mokhovaya M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, $$
10 Strastnoy Boulevard, Building 2 M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: European, French, Russian, International, $$ 23b Krasnaya Presnya, Building 1 M. Krasnopresnenskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, Seafood, $$$$
Esperanto Lounge Bar
15 bldg.7, Rochdelskaya M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Pakistani, $$$
Gayane’s
Genatsvale
11 bld.2, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Genatsvale
12/1, Ostozhenka M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Georgian, $$
Giardino di pino
30/1 str.1 Obrucheva St. M. Kaluzhskaya Cuisine: Italian, $
Gin-no Taki
6 Tverskaya St. M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$
Ginkgo by Seiji
bld. 4, 15 Staraya Basmannaya M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: Russian, $$ 15-17 bld1, Bolshoi Cherkassky Pereulok M. Lubyanka Cuisine: Steaks, $$
Multiple locations M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Steakhouse, $$$
GQ Bar
5, Balchug M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: Asian, european, russian trend, $$$
Grand Cru
8 bld.1, Presnenskaya Nabereznaya M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Seafood, $$$
Greenwich Pub
52/5, Kosmodamianskaya Nabereznaya M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Pub Food, $$
Gusyatnikoff
2a Aleksandra Soljenicina St. M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$$
Hachapuri
2/1 Shluzovaya Nab., bld. 7 M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Hachapuri
10 Bolshoy Gnezdnikovskiy Per. M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $
Hachapuri
7 Ukrainskiy Bul. M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Hamon and Wine 4, Sytinsky Pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Spanish, $$
3 Tverskaya, The Ritz-Carlton M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, $$$$
Happiness
Giovedi Cafe
Happiness
26, Ozerkovskaya Nabereznaya M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
5, Bolshoi Putinkovsky Pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Ñonfectionery, $$ 3, Kamergersky pereulok M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: Confectionery, $$
85
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Kamchatka
HUDSON BAR 10, Butirsky Val M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: American, European, $$
Il Patio
7 Saharova Pr. M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
Karaoke Boom
Kitaisky Kvartal
Kuhmeister
12 bldg.1, Prospect Mira M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Chinese, $$$
Build.1, 47 Piatnitskaia M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: French, Fusion, $$
Karetny Dvor
Kitaisky Letchik Jao Da
Kult
Multiple Cuisine: Italian, $$
Help Bar
20/2 Pyatnickaya ul. M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $
52/1, Povarskaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Azeri, Caucasian, Georgian, $
Illarion
Karma Bar
Hiro
bld. 32, 31 Dolgorukovskaya M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, $$
Hugo
39, Bolshaya Yakimanka M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: French, $$$
Hunter
Golovinskoe shosse 1a M. Vodny Stadion Cuisine: European, $$
Huntsman’s House and Safari Lodge 32 Pokrovka M. Kurskaya Cuisine: German, $$$
I Like Bar
21, Shukhova St. M. Shabolovskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Ichiban Boshi
Multiple locations Cuisine: Japanese, Seafood, $$
IL Camino
4B bld.4, Kozlovskiy Pereulok M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: European, Italian, French, $$$
Il Capriccio
Building 4, 92 Lobachevskogo St. M. Prospekt Vernadskogo Cuisine: Italian, $$$
IL Forno
3/14 Ostojenka ul. M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Illarion
119 Mira prospect, pav.67 VVC M. Botanichesky Sad Cuisine: Georgian, $
Indabar
24, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Uzbek, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, $
Insolito
7/5, Pushechnaya M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Italian, $$
Isola
23 A Tarasa Shevhenko Emb., Bashnya M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$
John Bull Pub
2/9 Smolenskaya Ploshchad M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: International, $$
Ju-Ju
15, Smolenskiy Boulevard M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Author’s, Home, draw-heavy oven, $$$
Jukovka
41/1 Marshala Jukova pr. M. Polezhayevskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian, European, $$$
Kabanchik
27 Krasina St. M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Georgian, European, $
Kalina Cafe
17 Prechistenskaya Nab. M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Russian, $$
3 Pushechnaya St. M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Japanese, $$$
Kasbar
Building 5, 3 Turchaninov Per. M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Arabic, European, French, International, Japanese, Seafood, $$
36, Prospect Mira M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Kebab City
5 Kamergersky Pereulok M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Azeri, European, Japanese, $$
Ketama Bar
5/6 str.5 Bolshaya Dmitrovka M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, Moroccan, $$
Khajuraho
14, Shmitovsky Pereulok M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Indian, $
Khinkalnaya
15, Neglinnaya M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Georgian, $$
Khlestakov-Traktir
Build.1, 9 3rd Frunzenskaya St. M. Frunzenskaya Cuisine: French, Fusion, Russian, $$
Kish-Mish
28, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Uzbek, $$
IL Kamino
4 Bld.4, Bolshoi Kozlovsky Pereulok M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: European, Swiss, $$$
86
ITALIANETS
25, Lubyansky Proezd M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Asian, Russian, $$$
Kitchenette
Presnenskaya Nab., 2, Afimall City , 5th floor Metro Vystavochnaya, M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: Brasserie, $$
Kitchenette
Kamergersky Per.6 M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Brasserie, $$
Kitezh
Kavkazskaya Plennitsa
IL Forno
8/10 Neglinnaya ul. M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Italian, $$
Genuine Irish pub with great beer, food and atmosphere
46 Novoslobodskaya M. Mendeleyevskaya Cuisine: Italian, Japanese, Russian, $$$
44, Arbat M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: American, $$ 27 bld1, TverskayaYamskaya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: European, Tex-mex, $$
Groholsky Per 25, Bldg 5 M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Irish, $$
Kapri
Lively bar with good food, superb cocktails, great atmosphere & excellent service
Hard Rock Cafe
KATIE O SHEA’S
7, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: European, Russian, $
Moscow Good Food
Club
13, Samotechnaya Ul, m. Trubnaya, Cuisine Italian, English menu price $$$
True Italian cuisine from Executive Chef Giuseppe Todisco
23/10 Petrovka St. M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Russian, $
Kleopatra
2a 1905 Goda Ul., Bldg. 2 M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: International, $$$
Knyaz Bagration 58 Pluscgikha M. Park Kultury Cuisine: European, Georgian, $$$
Kogo Fragola
12a Suzdalskaya St. M. Novogireyevo Cuisine: European, Japanese, $
Kolbassoff
Multiple M. Oktyabrskoye Pole Cuisine: Russian, $$
5 Yauzskaya emb. M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Spanish, $$$$
Kuznetsky Most 20 20, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: European, $
Kvas
20 SadovayaChernogryazskaya St. M. Kurskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$
La Bottega
5B, Lesnaya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
La Bottega Siciliana 2, Okhotny Ryad M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Italian, $$
La Cantina
5/6, Tverskaya M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Mexican, American, $$
La Delizia
56a Sevastopolskiy prospect M. Belyayevo Cuisine: European, Italian, Caucasian, $$$
La Gourmet
1/3 Bolshaya Polyanka St. M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: Caucasian, $$$
La Luna
1/1 Leningradsky Pr. M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Georgian, $$
69 Sadovnichevskaya nab. M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: European, International, Japanese, $$
Konigs Platz
La Maree
1a str.2 Kozitskiy per. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, German, $$
Malaya Gruzinskaya ul., 23 M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$
Koonjoot
La Stazione
Kolkhi
36a Berejkovskaya nab. M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, Eastern, $$
18/1 Olympiysky Prospekt M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Italian, $$
Kruazh
1/15, Yauzskaya M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: vegetarian, $$$
4, Prechistenka M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$$
Kruzhka
15 Nikolskaya ulitsa M. Ploshchad Revolyutsii Cuisine: Beer Bar, $$
Latuk
Lavash
7 Tsvetnoi Bul. M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Armenian, $$$
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Lawson’s Bar
14/6, Bolshaya Sadovaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Lazzetti
4 Nogorniy bul. M. Nagornaya Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, $
Le Gateau
23, Tverskaya M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, French, $$
Le Gateau
2 bld.1, Paveletskaya Square M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: European, French, $
Lemonade
7 Kievskaya St. M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Leningrad
21/40 Kalanchevskaya St. M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Les Menus Par Pierre Gagnaire 8/2 Novinskiy bulvar M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: French, $$$$
Letto Club
33 str.1 Povarskaya St. M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Italian, Japanese, $
Life Pub
20 Fr. Engelsa M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Liga Pap
24, Bolshaya Lubyanskaya M. Sretensky Bulvar Cuisine: European, Italian, Spanish, $$
Lilit
2 Ohotniy Ryad St. (Moscow Hotel) M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, $
LiLu
Sireneviy bulvar 25a M. Shcholkovskaya Cuisine: Caucasian,European, Russian , $$
Los Bandidos
7 Bolshaya Ordynka St. M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: Seafood, Spanish, Vegetarian, $$$$
Louisiana Steak House
30 Pyatnitskaya, bldg.4 M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Luce
21, 1-ya TverskayaYamskaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Japanese, $$
Luch
27 bld.1, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: Coctails, $$
Luciano
3, Smolenskaya Square M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Italian, Author’s, $$
Ludi kak ludi
1/4, Solyansky Tupic M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Confectionary, $
Ludvig
3/1 Marshala Vasilevskogo St. M. Shchukinskaya Cuisine: Czech, European, German, Russian, $$
L’Albero
Delegatskaya Str., 7 M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
L’Altro Bosco Café 10 Petrovka St. M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Macaroni
62 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Ul. M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Madam Galife
Maison Elitaire
2 Mal. Cherkasskiy Per. M. Lubyanka Cuisine: Pan Asian, $
Market
18 bld.1, SadovayaSamotechnaya M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Seafood, Asian, Chineese, $$$
Marocana
1/15, Kotelnicheskaya Nabereznaya M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Moroccan, $
Martinez bar
1, Sretenka M. Turgenevskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Maxim bar
15, Tsvetnoy Bulvar M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: European, $$$
Mayak
19/3, Bolshaya Nikitskaya M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$
McDonald’s
Multiple Cuisine: American, $
Megu
8/2 Novinskiy bulvar M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$$$
Merkato
9, Krymskii Val M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Italian, $
Mestiere
Maharaja
Milk and Honey
Limonchello
4 Komsomolskii Prospekt M. Park Kultury Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
Lisya Nora
2 Dayev Per. M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: European, $$
38, Leninsky Prospect M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Italian, $$$ 38, Myasnitskaya M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, $$$
MUZEY RESTAURANT
Moscow Good Food
Club
Little Japan
Muzey, Kosmodimianskaya nab. 52/7 (next to Swisshotel) M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Italian, European, Pan-Asian, $$
Look In!
Extremely comfortable Italian restaurant serving high quality creative & traditional Italian cuisine, personally cooked by Chef Marco Lachetta
12a, Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$ 9 Bolshaya Dmitrovka St. M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: European, $$$
= Menu in English
Good Food
Club
“Superb food at sensible prices prepared by excellent chefs with friendly, efficient service”
Mario
17 Klimashkina Ul. M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Moscow
17 Tverskaya St M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Scandinavian, European, $$$ +7 495 629 4165 www.nightflight.ru
Mandarin
26/1, Prospect Mira M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Georgian, European, $$ 2/1 Pokrovka M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Indian, $$
NIGHT FLIGHT
1 A, 37/43 Bolshaya Pirogovskaya St. M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: French, Mediterranean, $$$
Moo-Moo
Oblaka
Mr. Lee
Oblomov
Multiple locations M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Russian, European, $ 7, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Panasian, Author’s, $$$
Myasnoy Club
19 str.1 Kuznetskiy Most St. M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, $$$$
Na Melnitse
24, Sadovaya-Spasskaya M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Nabi
48 Kutuzovskiy pr. M. Slavyansky Bulvar Cuisine: European, $$$$ 5, Monetchikovskyi 1-iy Pereulok M. Dobryninskaya Cuisine: Russian, European, $$$$
Octyabr
24, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Japanese, European, $
Ogonek
5/2, Potapovsky Pereulok M. Sretensky Bulvar Cuisine: European, Asian, $$
13, Prechistenskaya Nabereznaya M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Asian, $$$
Ogorod
Navarro’s Bar & Grill
Old Batum
News&More
Old Berlin
23, Shmitovskiy Proezd M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Mediterranean, Latin American, $$ 11 Novinskiy bul. M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: European, American, $$
Nobu
B.Dmitrovskaya 20/1 M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Japaneese, $$$$
Noev Kovcheg
9 Maly Ivanovsky pereulok M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Georgian, $$$
Nostalgie
12A, Chistoprudny Boulevard M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, French, Japanese, $$$
NYM yoga
4/5, Plotnikov Pereulok M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, Asian, Vegetarian, $
O2 Lounge
3, Tverskaya M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: International, $$$
30/2 Prospekt Mira M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, $$ 7, Academika Bochvara St., bld.1 M. Shchukinskaya Cuisine: Fusion, $$ 25 Arbat St. M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: German, $$
Old China
5/6 bld.4, Kamergersky Pereulok M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Chinese, $$
Old Havana
Talalihina St. 28/1 M. Volgogradsky Prospekt Cuisine: Cuban, $$
Old Man Muller
Multiple Cuisine: German, $$$
Old School Pub
15, Bol. Cherkasskiy M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Olimp
24 Luznetskaya Embankment M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: Armenian, Azeri, European, Russian, $$
Oliva
3/5, Smolensky Boulevard M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Middle Eastern, $$
87
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants OSTERIA DELLA PIAZZA BIANCA
Moscow Good Food
Club
Lesnaya street 5a M. Belarusskaya Cuisine: Italian $$$$ Typical Italian traditions for food and hospitality. Food care is the most important aspect, with freshness and simplicity as the main characteristics. Feel and breath Italian culture and true Italian cuisine.
Om Cafe
Palazzo Ducale
15/1 Novy Arbat Ul. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Thai, $$
3 Tverskoy Boulevard M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Onegin
Paluba
12/2 Prechistenka St. M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
8 Berezhkovskaya nab. M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Armenian, Azeri, Turkish, $$$
Orange Cow’s House
Pancho Villa
18 Pavlovskaya St. M. Tulskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
52, Bolshaya Yakimanka M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Mexican, $$
Oriental Tale
38 Bldg 1. Myasnitskaya M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: Italian, $$$
22 D Frunzenskaya Embankment M. Frunzenskaya Cuisine: Azeri, Russian, $
Osteria Da Cicco 3, Banniy Pereulok M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, $$
Osteria Montiroli
Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 60 M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Pane & Olio Pizzeria
Pane & Olio Trattoria 22, Timura Frunze M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Panorama
5 Smolenskaya St. (Hotel Golden Ring,2st floor) M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, $$$$
Papa Joe’s
Pattaiya
14, Bol. Sukharevskaya Square M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, $$
Pavilion
7 bld.1, Bolshoy Patriarshiy Pereulok M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$$
Pechki-Lavochki
10 Nizhnyaya Radishchevskaya Street M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Russian, $
Peking Duck
17, Petrovka M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Peshi
10 Kutuzovsky Prospekt M. Kutuzovskaya Cuisine: Seafood, $$$
Petrovich
24/3, Myasnitskaya M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: Russian, $$
Piccolino
11 1st Kolobovsky Pereulok M. Trubnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Pink Cadillac
4-6, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya ulitsa M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: American, $$
Papa John’s
Pizza Hut
40/1 Ostojenka ul. M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Russian, $$$
ul. Nikol’skaya 10 M. Lubyanka Cuisine: American, International, $$
Otkrity Mir
Paparazzi
18, Pavlovskaya M. Tulskaya Cuisine: European, Indian, $
Oñakbasi
10 str.2 Kozjevnicheskaya St. M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: European, Turkish, East, $$
Pacha
Papa’s Place
3 Pyatnitskaya St. M. Novokuznetskaya Cuisine: European, American, $$
Paper Moon
Build. 1, 17 Petrovka St. M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Italian, Vegetarian, $$$
Parisienne
4 Pokrovka M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: East, European, Caucasus, $$$
31/9, Leningradsky Pr. M. Dinamo Cuisine: French, European, $$$$
Pachito Bar
Pasta Mama
10, Nikolskaya street M. Lubyanka Cuisine: American, European, $$
88
12/9, Spiridonevsky Pereulok M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$$
Porto Chervo
24, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Italian, $
Porto Maltese
Osteria Numero Uno
Ostozhye
20 Arkhitektora Vlasova St. M. Novye Cheryomushki Cuisine: European, $$$
Peperoni
9, Krymskiy Val M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Italian, $
Multiple Cuisine: American, $
Porter House
Porto Maltese
Pinocchio
2, Tsvetnoy Boulevard M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Italian, $$
Tamanskaya 46 M. Polezhayevskaya Cuisine: American, Caucasian, European, French, Italian, Mediterranean, Seafood, Spanish, Vegetarian, $$$
24 Tverskaya St. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Chinese, Vegetarian, $$$
Building 26, 1A Nikoloyamskaya St. M. Taganskaya Cuisine: American, Latin American, Mexican, $$
Osteria nel Parco
Pomest’e
23 A Naberejnaya Trasa Shevhenko M. Mezhdunarodnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$ 17 Tsvetnoy Bulvar M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: American, Italian, $$$
Pizzeria il Pomodoro
54 bld.2, Sadovnicheskaya M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$
Planet Sushi
Multiple Cuisine: Japanese, $$$
Plotnikov Pub
Plotinikov pereulok 22/16 M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Pochtmeyster
47/23, Arbat M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, German, $
Polo Club
11/12, Petrovka M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, $$$$
3 Varvarka Ul. M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Seafood, $$$$ 21 Pravda St. M. Savyolovskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$$
Porto Maltese
11 Leninsky Prospect St. M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$$
Porto Maltese
31 A Leningradsky Prospect St. M. Dinamo Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$$$
Porutshik Rzhevsky Build. 4, 4 Bolshoy Tolmachevsky Pereulok M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: Fusion, Russian, Vegetarian, $$
Pravda 21
21/1 Pravdy St. M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Russian, European, $$
Radio City Bar & Grill 5, Boshaya Sadovaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: International, $$
Ragout
16, bld.5, Olimpiisky Prospect M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, $$$
Rakhat Lukum
9 Bol. Dmitrovka M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Uzbek, $$$
Razguliay
11 Spartakovskaya St. M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: Russian, $$
Real Food Restaurant 12, Krasnopresnenskaya nab.(Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre) M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
Red & White
15 Lesnaya St. (Hotel Holiday Inn) M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, $$$
Red Lion
12 Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: British, $$
Red Point
7 Autumn Avenue (Osenny bulvar) M. Krylatskoye Cuisine: European, French, Japanese, Seafood, $$
Red Sails
Prego Pizza & Pasta 6, Dolgorukovskaya M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Presnya Cafe
7, Stolyarniy Pereulok M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Caucasian, $$
Prime Star
66 Aviationnaya Street M. Shchukinskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Red Square
1 Krasnaya ploschad M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Russian, $
Reka
6 bld.2, Bersenenskaya Nabereznaya M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$
77 bld.2, Sadovnicheskaya naberezhnaya (Aurora) M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: European, Russian,Mixed, $$
Restaurant Moschoice
Prospektbar
Revolutsiya
42 str.2a, Shepkina ul. M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: European, $$
15 Kosygina St. M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: European, $ 40, Novokuznetskaya M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: Home, $$$
REAL FOOD RESTAURANT
Moscow Good Food
Club
Crowne Plaza Hotel/WTC Krasnopresenskaya Nab 12. Full a la Carte menu incorporating healthy dishes made from organic ingredients. Open kitchen and excellent food & wine
Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Rialto
9/11 Bolshoy Fakelny Lane M. Marksistskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$
Ribny Bazaar
Ryba
10/2, Tryokhprudny Pereulok M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Seafood, European, $$$
Rytsarsky Club
Richard Lion Heart
Sahara
29 Michurinsky Prospekt M. Universitet Cuisine: European, $$$
Rio-Grande
No.19 Zeleny Prospekt M. Perovo Cuisine: Armenian, Azeri, European, Georgian, Mexican, $
Rio-Rio
16 Krasnopresnenskaya Emb. M. Kutuzovskaya Cuisine: Brazilian, European, $$$$
River Side
10 Mantulinskaya St. M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: European, Chineese, Japaneese, International, $$$
Riverside cafe
29, Serebryanicheskaya Nabereznaya M. Kurskaya Cuisine: european, $$
Riviere
4, Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: French, $$$
Roberto
20 Rozhdestvenskii Bulvar M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Roll Hole
3 Holodilnyy Per. M. Tulskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, Vegetarian, $
Romanov
17/1 Neglinnaya ulitsa M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, Russian, European, $$
Roni
20/1, Petrovka M. Trubnaya Cuisine: Asian grill, $$$
Rosemary
26 Nikoloyamskaya M. Taganskaya Cuisine: French, International, Italian, $
Royal Family
15 Ul. Kosygina (Hotel Orlyonok) M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: Korean, $
Royale
21/1 Begovaya St. (in the Hippodrome building) M. Begovaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Russian, $ = Menu in English
SILVERS IRISH PUB
4 Nashekinsky Per. M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Seafood, $
5/6, Nikitsky Pereulok M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: Pub food, $$
Sky Lounge
39 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya ul. M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Vietnamese, $
Shashlichnaya #1
Smotra Bar & Restaurant
Sakhili
Shatush
Saigon
6 Bolshoi Karetny Per Bldg 1 M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Sanduny
14 str.4, Neglinnaya M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Chinese, Russian, Uzbek, $$
Saperavi
27, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: Gerogian, $$$
Sayani
Ural’skaya 5 M. Shcholkovskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Scotland Yard
34 bld.1, Petrovka M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Pub Food, $$$
Seiji
5/2, Komsomolsky Prospect M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Japanese, $$$$
Seven Fridays
6, Vorontsovskaya M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Russian, French, $$$
Shamrock bar
11 str.1 Noviy Arbat St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, Irland, $$
Shanti
2/1 Myasnitsky Proyesd M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: Vietnamese, $$$
Shantil
57, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
41 Gastello St. M. Sokolniki Cuisine: Armenian, Azeri, European, Georgian, $$
Sushi-Bar Kiot Sharabara
1 Shcholkovskoe shosse M. Shcholkovskaya Cuisine: European, Caucasian, $$
42/2 Bol. Polyanka M. Polyanka Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
Super Mario
“Traditional Irish hospitality with great pub food and excellent beers”
28 Kosygina M. Vorobyovy Gory Cuisine: European, $$$$
Suliko
29/3 Lomonosovskiy pr. M. Prospekt Vernadskogo Cuisine: Eastern, European, $$ 2, Ryazansky Pereulok M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: European, $ 17, Gogolevsky Boulevard M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Chinese, European, Japanese, Tai,, $$$$
Shinok
2, 1905 Goda M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Ukrainian, $$$
Shore House
Crocus City (66 km MKAD) M. Myakinino Cuisine: European, Japanese, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, $$$
Shvarcvald
Multiple Cuisine: European, $$$
Sindbad
32a Leninskiy Pr. M. Leninsky Prospekt Cuisine: European, Japanese, $$
66 Leningradskiy pr. M. Aeroport Cuisine: European, Japanese, $
SOHO Rooms
Krymsky val, 10 M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: Chinese, Japanese, $$
Sweet Home Cafe
14/2 str.1, Myasnitskaya M. Lubyanka Cuisine: European, $$
T-Bone
Pyatnitskaya Ul. 52, bldg. 2 M. Polyanka Cuisine: Steaks, $$
12/8 Bolshoi Savvinsky Nab. M. Sportivnaya Cuisine: International, $$$$
T.G.I. Friday’s
Soup Cafe
25 Khoroshevskoye Shosse M. Polezhayevskaya Cuisine: Thai, $$$
62/25 1st Brestskaya, bldg.3 M. Belorusskaya Cuisine: European, $$
SQUARE
60 str.1 Brestkaya 1st St. M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, English, $
Stariki
13 str.2, Bol.Lubyanka M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: European, $$
Multiple location Cuisine: American, $$
Taisky Slon
Takasa
2/1 bld.1, Kutuzovsky prospect M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$$
Talavera
2 Europe squar (RadIsson Slavyanskaya Hotel) M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Taliesin
14, Nikitsky Boulevard M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern, $$
Starlite Diner
6, Vernadskogo Pr M. Universitet Cuisine: American, $$
26 Valovaya M. Paveletskaya Cuisine: European, $$$$
Sirena Restaurant
Starlite Diner
Tancy
15, Bolshaya Spasskaya M. Sukharevskaya Cuisine: Seafood, $$$$
Sisters Grimm
11, Stoleshnikov Pereulok M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Author, European, $$
Sixties diners
16/2 str.2 Noviy Arbat St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, American, $
Skazka
56 Profsoyuznaya St. M. Novye Cheryomushki Cuisine: European, $
SCANDINAVIA 7 Maliy Palanshevskiy Per. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, Skandinavian, $$ “Comfortable, calm restaurant with high quality cuisine offering many Scandinavian specialities”
9a, Korovy Val M. Oktyabrskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Starlite Diner
11, Nicolskaya M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, Italian, $$
16/5, Bolotnaya Square M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Tanuki
Starlite Diner
Tapa De Comida
16 Bolshaya Sadova M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: American, $$
Steyks
21 Verkhnyaya Radishchevskaya St. M. Taganskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Strelka
14/5 Bersenevskaya naberejnaya M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Multiple Cuisine: Japanese, $$ 20/2 Trubnaya St. M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Spanish, $$$$
Tapa’rillas Tapas Bar 4/3 bld.3, Strasnoy Boulevard M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: Spanish , $$
Taras Bulba
Multiple Cuisine: Ukrainian, $$
STARLITE DINER 8a, Strasnow Bulevard M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: American, $$ Moscow’s original diners still serving our favourite food
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Moscow’s Bars, Clubs, Cafés and Restaurants Tatler club
2/1, Kutuzovsky Prospekt M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$$
Tavern Admiral Benbau
Building A, 52 Sudostroitelnaya St. M. Kolomenskaya Cuisine: Fusion, $$
Tchaikovsky
31/4, Triumfalnaya Squqre M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Russian, $$
Tel Aviv
30/1, Tsvetnoy Boulevard M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Israeli, $$$
Temple Bar
Multiple M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, $$
Tequila Bar & Boom 4, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Mexican, $
Terrace
13 Uglichskaja St. M. Altufyevo Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Thai Elephant
25 bld,1, Horoshevskoe shosse M. Polezhayevskaya Cuisine: Eastern, European. Thai, $$$
The Standard
Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Per.9 M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: American, International, $$
Tonino Lamborghini Boutique Caffe 19 bld.1, Kuznetsky Most M. Kuznetsky Most Cuisine: Author’s, Home, European, Italian, $$$
Trattoria Venezia
9 bld.3, Stoleshnikov Pereulok M. Chekhovskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Trattoria Venezia
4/3 bld.3, Strastnoi Bulevard M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Trattoria Venezia
17, Shabolovka M. Shabolovskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Trubadur
2/1 bld.1, Kutuzovsky prospect M. Kiyevskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Truffaldino
20 Marksistskaya Ul., bldg 1 M. Taganskaya Cuisine: Italian, Seafood, $$
Tsar’s Hunt
186a Zhukovka, Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse, 9 kilometers from MKAD M. Krylatskoye Cuisine: Russian, $$$$
Tsimmis
3, Novoslobodskaya M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Jewish, $$$
Tunnel
32 bld.2, Ostozhenka M. Park Kultury Cuisine: Georgian, $$$
7 Lubyansky Proezd M. Lubyanka Cuisine: American, European, International, Japanese, $
Time Out Bar
Tutto Bene
Tiflis
5, Sadovaya ulitsa Hotel pekin M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Timeterria LiPeople 4, 2nd Shemilovsky pereulok M. Novoslobodskaya Cuisine: Pizzeria, $
Tinkoff
11, Protochny Pereulok M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, German, $$$
Tommy D Gastro Bar 1, Tretyakovsky Proyezd M. Lubyanka Cuisine: International, $$$
8, Presnenskaya nab., bld.1 M. Vystavochnaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Tverbul
24 Tverskoy bul. M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, $$$$
Tyrandot
26/5, Tverskoy bulvar M. Tverskaya Cuisine: European, Chinese, Japanese, $$$$
U Shveika
2, Barrikadnaya M. Barrikadnaya Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, Czech, European, $$
TORRO GRILL Multiple M. Taganskaya Cuisine: European, $$$ Some of the best steaks in Moscow. Great service, great drinks and great prices
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Uilliam’s
WINE RELIGION
20 Mal. Bronnaya M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Moscow Good Food
Club
Michurinsky Pr.16 M. Universitet Cuisine: European Bistro $$$
Unicum
10 2nd TverskayaYamskaya St. M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: French, $$$
New style of European bistro with creative food and a large wine selection.
Uzbehka
23/10 Petrovka St. M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: Mediterranean, $$
Uzbekistan
29/14 Neglinnaya Ul. M. Trubnaya Cuisine: Arabic, Azeri, Chinese, Uzbek, $$$
Vanil
Viskonti
28a Shipilovskaya St. M. Domodedovskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Vivace
7 SadovayaSamotechnaya St. M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Italian, $$$
1, Ostozhenka M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Russian, French, Japanese, $$$
Vizavi
Vanilla Sky
Vodny
Build.3, 11-13 Nikolskaya St. M. Okhotny Ryad Cuisine: European, Russian, $$
Vapiano
26/1 Prospekt mira M. Prospekt Mira Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Venice
16 Spartakovskaja Square M. Baumanskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Mixed, $$$
Veranda u Dachi
70, Zhukovka village, Rublevo-Uspenskoye shosse Cuisine: Italian, Uzbek, Japanese, $$$
Vesna
19, Novy Arbat M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: Author’s, Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, $$$
Veterok
24, Gorki-2 village, Rublevo-Uspenskoye shosse Cuisine: Home cooking from Arkady Novikov, $$$
Vinil
13 str.2 SadovayaSpasskaya St. M. Krasnye Vorota Cuisine: European, Russian, Japanese, $$$
Vinosyr
6, Maly Palashevsky Pereulok M. Pushkinskaya Cuisine: European, $$
Vinyl
4 Pevcheskiy Per. M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: European, $$
Vision Cocktail Hall
11 Noviy Arbat St., bld. 1 M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, Japaneese, $$$
6 Serpukhovskoy Val M. Tulskaya Cuisine: European, $$ 39 bld.6, Leningradskoye Shosse M. Vodny Stadion Cuisine: Italian, Uzbek, Japanese, $$$
Vogue Cafe
7/9, Kuznetsky Most M. Teatralnaya Cuisine: European, $$$
White Cafe
36/9, Novy Arbat M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, $$$
White clouds
4, Pokrovka M. Chistye Prudy Cuisine: European, Asian, Vegetarian, Mexican, $
White Rabbit
3 Smolenskaya Pl. M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: European, Italian, Russian, $$$
Who is Who (Karaoke)
15a Oruzjeyniy per. M. Mayakovskaya Cuisine: European, Japanese, $$$
William Bass
9 Malaya Yakimanka St. M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: European, $$$
Wok Express
26 Bolshaya Nikitskaya St. M. Arbatskaya Cuisine: European, Asian, $$
X.O.
25 str.1 Rusanova pr. M. Sviblovo Cuisine: European, Caucasian, $
Yan Pen
3/7, Pokrovka M. Kitay-gorod Cuisine: Korean, $$$
Yapona Mama
4 Smolensky Bulvar. M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$
Yar
32/2, Leningradsky Prospect M. Dinamo Cuisine: French, Russian, $$$$
Yasniy Perec
51/23 Pervomaysky St. M. Pervomaiskaya Cuisine: Russian, International, $$
Yasumi
61a Profsoyaznaya ul. M. Kaluzhskaya Cuisine: Japanese, $$
Yoko
5, Soimonovskiy prospekt M. Kropotkinskaya Cuisine: Japanese, Author’s, $$$$
Yolki Palki
Multiple M. Tretyakovskaya Cuisine: Russian, $
Yujung
12, Krasnopresnenskaya Nabereznaya M. Ulitsa 1905 Goda Cuisine: Asian, Japanese, Korean, $$
Z-Lounge
3 SadovayaSamotechnaya St. M. Tsvetnoy Bulvar Cuisine: Italian, $$$
Zafferano
8/10, Novinsky Bulevard M. Smolenskaya Cuisine: Azeri, European, Japanese, $$$
Zolotaya Vobla
9 Sushchevsky Val Ul. M. Savyolovskaya Cuisine: Beer Restaurants, $$
Zolotoi Drakon
15a Kalanchevskaya M. Komsomolskaya Cuisine: Chinese, $$
Zolotoi Kupol
10/2, 10-Gorky township, Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse M. Molodyozhnaya Cuisine: European, Russian, Caucasian, $$$
Zolotoy Dar
154 Profsoyuznaya St. M. Tyoply Stan Cuisine: European, Russian, $$$
Zucker
12/2, Bolshoy Kozikhinsky Pereulok M. Tverskaya Cuisine: Moroccan, Lebanese, Syrian, Persian, Bukharan, $$$
Community Services Business Clubs/Organisations
British Business Club President: Don Scott Web site: www.britishclub.ru
Today, the British Business Club supports more than 600 British or affiliated people and companies with regular meetings and charitable events. We have strong local contacts and help where we can, if not directly, then at least with a guiding hand to a person, organisation or ministry. Russia continues to offer massive opportunities to British businesses, but it takes stamina to see them through. The BBC offers a small sanctuary of Britain to help in these times.
The French-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is aimed at developing economic cooperation between Russia and France. We organise a large variety of different events for our members to meet each other, such as sector committees, business presentations, B2B meetings, cultural events. We also provide our members with specific ‘technical’ services, such French-Russian as Russian and French business Chamber of Commerce language lessons or delivery and Industry (CCIFR) General Director: Pavel Chinsky of work permits for foreign Web site: http://www.ccifr.ru employees as fast as possible.
Italian Business Club (ITAM) President: Giovanni Stornante
We organise social and professional events for the Italian community. We bring Italians together, help their integration when they move to the big city, facilitate the exchange of ideas, experience and opportunities between the Italian and other business communities. Any organisations and individual in Moscow that are either Italian or focus their business on Italy can join the club.
The Irish Business Club Chairperson: Avril Conway Web site: www.moscowirishclub.ru
The members of the Irish Business Club are a mix of both Russian and Irish professional people and private individuals. It takes some time to understand the Russian culture and to make friends. Russian people are very well educated and I truly believe our role is to transfer knowledge and understanding. This is sometimes a challenge for people. We try and help in these respects as much as we can.
The Association of European Business (AEB) CEO: Dr. Frank Schauff Web site: www.aebrus.ru
AEB is an active community of about 630 members, providing a network for sharing opinion and experience. The AEB is an advocate of its members’ opinions, generated in 40 industrial and crosssectorial committees, sub- committees and working groups. We develop cooperation between Moscow and European business circles through high profile conferences, briefings, round tables and other business events.
The Danish Business Club in Moscow Chairman: Kasper Ditlevsen Daytime job: Commercial Director – Uhrenholt Russia & CIS Web site: www.dbcmoscow.camp9.org
The Danish Business Club has both corporate and private members, almost all of whom are based in or doing business in Moscow. About 80% of our subscribing members are Danish, but that doesn’t mean that 80% of all participants at all events are Danish. The club holds business events and also social events, such as the Stambord at the Restaurant Skandinavia once a month.
The Wirtschaftsclub Russland is an umbrella organisation for German- speaking business people in Russia. We created it because we saw approximately 5 years ago that there was a need to bring Germans, Swiss and Austrian business people together with the Russian business community in an informal way. We hold events throughout the year, our last one being ‘Building European Bridges’ on the 1st of April, when we invited Olympic Medalists Alexander Schachner and Wolfgang Fasching. Wirtschaftsclub Russland CEO: Dr Karin von Bismark www.wirtschaftsclubrussland.org
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Community Services Women’s Clubs/Associations International Women’s Club of Moscow (IWC)
The Swedish Women’s Educational Association (SWEA)
President: Ann Charlotte Norin Web Site: www.moskva.swea.org
The International Women’s Club of Moscow is a not-forprofit organisation which exists to promote friendship and cooperation between women and men of all nationalities. Explore our website to find out more about our events, how to join, and the charities we support. President: Afrah Mohammed Alfaddaghi, the wife of The Ambassador of the State of Kuwait. Web Site: www.iwcmoscow.ru
The German’s Women’s Group
This is a new German-speaking group which organises meetings for German and Austrian women. Meetings are held every second Wednesday. The group supports newcomers and those who have been here longer. Founder: Susanne van Alphen Email: vanalphen@hotmail.de
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De Tulpen
Presidents: Olya Kalmykova and Desiree Dekker Web Site: www.nlclubmoskou.nl
The British Women’s Club (BWC)
Chairwoman: Fiona Johnston Web Site: www.bwcmoscow.org.uk
SWEA is an international organisation, with 7,500 members in 34 countries all over the world. The fact that the 90-member strong Moscow chapter fits into a large international organisation, has many advantages. The main purpose of the SWEA in Moscow is to act as a network for members, to support Swedish culture and Swedish languages. The majority of SWEA’s 90 members in Russia are accompanying spouses, even though the trend is that more and more women come here by themselves for career reasons working for Swedish companies.
The Main goal of the Tulips is to provide a social platform for the Dutch speaking ladies in Moscow, do things of interest together and have fun! When you are abroad, one’s own culture becomes so much more important. If anybody wants to connect with us, please find us on the Dutch Cub web site. If people want to go and visit museums, they can do that one their own. But if they want to speak their mother tongue with other people here in Moscow, then here we are.
BWC was set up in 2000. When British women arrive here they may need help and support from each other to understand basic things like where to shop for food, information about schools and to get to know other Brits. Mainly it is a help group, because it can be quite a shock settling here if you don’t speak Russian. Women generally introduce themselves before they move to Moscow. And we let the ladies know on what is going on in the city. As long as you have a British passport yourself or you married to somebody who holds a British passport you can become the member of BWC. We have quite a few Russian wives who are members. Once a month we hold our monthly meeting at the British embassy. We have a committee with ten members. We meet once a month and make decisions about what we are going to do during the months ahead.
Community Services List of Charities Below is an incomplete list of Charities operating in Moscow which foreigners are known to be involved with. If you wish to list a charity in future issues, please write to: editor@moscowexpatlife.ru Kidsave Contact: Alexander Mzhelsky, +7 985 970 9019, a.mzhelsky@kidsave.org Kidsave® is a non-profit organization working in Russia since 1999. Our programs create strong and lasting connections between children and adults, with the goal of giving orphans and young people graduating from institutions opportunities to develop the skills necessary for a successful future. ________________________
Downside Up Contact: Elena Lubovina, Tel. +7 499 367 1000, +7 499 165 5536, lubovina@downsideup.org About 2,500 children with Down syndrome are born in Russia annually. In 85% of such births, parents give their children up to maternity homes, often following doctors’ advice. The abandoned children are sent to state institutions with no chance of ever leaving them. But there is an alternative! The children can live in their families and join early
Diema’s Dream
Contact: info@metopenart. com, www.metopenart.com
Contact: Katya Gurkina, +7 916 975 1603, kitezhcentre@ yandex.ru, www.kitezh.org/ en/index.php Kitezh is a network of therapeutic communities that give children from orphanages loving foster families. The aim is to create a developing environment for the education and care of orphans and children in crisis. The first Kitezh village is in Kaluga Region, 300 km south west of Moscow, and the second village, Kitezh-Orion, is located 60 km in the same direction. ________________________
Contact: +7 495 942 4003, sa5557@yandex.ru, sergey@ddfund.ru Diema’s Dream was established in 1998 to provide financial, medical, and educational support for both physically and mentally disabled children in Russia. The larger goal is to support changes in society and legislation in order to create social and medical support programs, which would allow parents to raise their children at home rather than living in institutions. Who We Support: • Charity House, a Russian non-governmental organization (NGO) in Moscow. Charity House is the first and only one of its kind in Russia. The Moscow City government considers their work with disabled orphans to be a model for orphanage reform. Unfortunately, lack of funding has made it impossible for the government to apply the Charity House standards of child care to other orphanages • Association of Down’s Syndrome (ADS) program in Moscow. ________________________
Open Art was created in September 2001 for people with learning disabilities. Open Art is based on a unique combination of different art forms and directions: • Music • Dramatic art • Choreography • Art Design • Poetry • Dramatic improvisation • Ethnic art The Musical Experimental Theatre Open Art is open for participants from Moscow and Moscow region. Open Art has developed methods which are being used in rehabilitation centres and institutions for people with learning disabilities. Open Art also organizes courses and seminars for specialists in Moscow. ________________________
Kitezh
Kittens to give away?
Musical Experimental Theatre ‘Open Art’
intervention and education programmes. They develop and learn under a guidance of special education professionals, and they can go on learning at pre-schools and schools. Children with Down syndrome, no matter how different, have a vast learning potential. Downside Up invites you to help make life better for people with Down syndrome ________________________
www.Mosco
ise t r e v d A at e e r f r o f
wexpatlife.ru
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Community Services List of Charities Moscow Animals
Contact: info@ moscowanimals.org, www. moscowanimals.org Moscow Animals – devoted to the welfare of homeless animals. To adopt a dog or cat or if you would like to help local animal shelters by making a donation or volunteering your time, please visit the Moscow Animal Website or email. ________________________
United Way
MPC Social Services
Nastenka
Web Site: www.mpcss.org
MPC Social Services is one of the longest serving charitable organizations in Moscow. It is a registered Russian charitable organization and an established 501(c)3 non-profit in the United States that addresses poverty and hunger, and provides medical care and education for Moscow’s poor, including women, children, families, pensioners, economic migrants, and refugees. ________________________
Contact: + 7 (495) 780 9718, info@unitedway.ru
Big Brothers Big Sisters
The Fund supports charities offering programs aimed to meet the social needs of the following sections of society: • children at risk • disabled (children and adults) • refugees and homeless • elderly people Our mission is to foster responsible philanthropy in Russia by supporting local charity programs aimed at solving the most critical problems. The Fund is a permanent source of financing for efficient charitable organizations. Charities receiving funding have to demonstrate financial transparency to the highest possible degree. In turn, we guarantee to the donors full adherence by the foundation to Russian legislature and provide full financial and activity reports. ________________________
Contact: +7 (495) 500 40 42, www.nastavniki.org/ru Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia is a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters International, one of the most efficient mentoring programs for children. In Moscow BBBS helps children living in institutional care (orphanages) and disadvantaged children. A volunteer becomes a Big Brother or a Big Sister to a child, visits him or her once a week for at least one year. Studies show that children who have a mentor have higher self-esteem, are more stable emotionally, have better motivation to study and show more initiative. Currently there are 162 matches in Moscow. Please keep in mind that you need a good knowledge of Russian to become a Big Brother or Big Sister because the children don’t speak English very well. ________________________
Contact: +7 (495) 980-5377, +7 (495) 585-41-01, www.nastenka.ru The charitable foundation helping children with cancer ‘Nastenka’ was founded in 2002. The main objective of the foundation is to increase the quality of diagnostics and treatment of children with oncological diseases, as well as to revive the tradition of charity in Russia. For 11 years, the foundation has helped thousands of sick children and purchased large number of expensive modern medical equipment for a hospital: two ventilators, an x-ray machine, a dialysis machine, blood separator and much more. ________________________
Overcoming
Contact: Hugh Mc Earney, Secretary of the Irish Business Club via www. moscowirishclub.ru This charity, which has been helping children for 20 years, uses horses as part of its therapy. Artem Ivanov, who is in charge of physiotherapy at the centre, and semiparalyzed himself from the waist down, explains: “To control the movements of a horse as it moves means that the rider has to be able to control all the main muscle groups in his [the rider’s] legs, as well as his hands. This creates a training base for riders with any kind of movement problems. A horse’s temperature is two degrees warmer
Organising an event? Advertise for free at 94
than ours, and because of this, the rider’s muscles warm up and relax. All this has a tremendously positive effect on the rider’s coordination and balance. ________________________
To Russia With Love Contact: www. torussiawithlove.ie
The very best of institutions, orphanages, large childrens homes, are likely to harm children and leave them ill prepared for life in the outside world. Ideally, all of these institutions should be phased out as soon as possible by means of extended family support, fostering, the provision of small family units, and lastly, adoption. However due to the number of children in State care in Russia, our immediate goal is to secure for each child, a long term stable solution whilst working side by side with the local administration. To Russia With Love is privileged to be allowed act as a guardian to many children without parents, who live in these very institutions. We work to build children’s self confidence, assist them to reach their full potential to become strong adults, successful parents, thus breaking the cycle of abandonment and in turn go forward as role models in society.
fe.ru
xpatli e w o c s o .M www
Essential Information
Emergency Phone Numbers
Fire fighters 01 Police 02 Ambulance 03 Emergency Gas Service 04 Intercity phone calls 07 Information 09 Time (automatic clock) 100 Emergency rescue service 937-9911 _________________________________
fighters, the police, or an ambulance, make sure that all family members can correctly pronounce your complete address in Russian. Post a piece of paper with your full address details and phone numbers in Russian and translation into your native language on the wall next to your phone. Also make sure that your children know how to reach you or another adult you trust in case they get lost or have an emergency. Note that in Russia there is difference between the police (militsiya) and the traffic police (GIBDD, formerly GAI). The police are not responsible for regulating traffic or handling car accidents, and the traffic police do not handle criminal offences that are unrelated to traffic.
Finding a pharmacy in Moscow is definitely not a problem. In fact, quite a number of them are open 24/7. The prices vary from one pharmacy to another, but the difference is not very significant.
Medical help
International SOS (The Moscow Clinic, 24 hour service to its clients)
+7 495 937 6477
(24 hours service) +7 495 933 7700
European Medical Center
(French, British and American experts) +7 495 510 54 14 International crisis Line Tel: +7 926 1133373 This is a free English-speaking telephone counseling service for expatriates in distress. Available 08:00-23:00 daily. In case you ever have to call the fire
Important:
For ease of processing we recommend that the police report states that your documents were lost, not stolen.
Taxi Services in Moscow
Pharmacies (Apteki)
What to do if you lose your passport
American Medical Centers
not have a return ticket, you will have to buy one before you are issued a new visa) and the police form to the company that issued your visa support documents. If you have a copy of your lost visa, you should also provide it. If the agency refuses to help you (although it is their legal obligation to do so), then your consulate should tell you what to do.
Your first step should be to contact the nearest consular department for your country of origin. You will also have to go to a police station in order to obtain an official form confirming the loss or theft of your travel documents. We recommend, however, that you contact your embassy or consulate first, as they may be able to help non-Russian speakers with the necessary paperwork. In the case of a child’s lost passport, both parents must appear with the child. Once you have a new passport, take it, along with your plane ticket (if you do
In Moscow any car is a taxi, and you will quickly notice how Muscovites get around by simply sticking out a hand and jumping into the first car that stops. If your Russian is up to the negotiations, you can try this for yourself, although you have to maintain an element of caution. Official taxis are more expensive, but still cheap by European standards unless, of course, you’re being ripped-off. The market is increasingly competitive, and a number of well-established firms now run large fleets of cars with regulated fares. Official taxis come in a variety of guises, some yellow markings and a yellow roof-light. Taximeters are not used in all cars, often the sum is defined at the order. Pre-booked transfers are the most comfortable and convenient way of getting from the airport to your final destination, and they don’t have to be expensive. More and more companies are offering discount transfer services in Moscow. So, if you don’t want the hassle of dealing with crowded public transport after a long flight, book a car and driver to meet you at the airport and take you directly to your hotel. Your hotel will be able to give you the numbers of Englishspeaking taxi companies.
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Essential Information Getting to Moscow’s Airports
M
oscow is served by three major airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo. You can get a taxi (fares range between 1,200 and 2,300 roubles, and generally, the service is good. The operators speak English, but the drivers may not. A taxi back can also be booked, and this saves a lot of hassle and possible agro when dealing with the taxi drivers at arrivals. All 3 airports are now served by ‘Aeroexpress’ shuttle trains. The service is good but not 24 hours a day. The three airports are: Sheremetyevo Airport http://www.svo.aero/en/ +7 495 578 6565 + 8 800 100 6565 + 7 495 956 4666 for flight information Sheremetyevo has become much more accessible thanks to the opening of the Aeroexpress from Byelorusskaya Station. Aeroexpress costs 320 roubles and they leave every half an from 05:30-00:30. Long term parking costs 250 roubles a day according to the airport web site. If you are getting a taxi or driving your own car there during the day it is advisable to leave a minimum of two hours to get there from the centre.
Domodedovo Airport
http://www.domodedovo.ru +7 495 720 6666 for flight information Getting there: The Aeroexpress train departs from the left hand side of Paveltskaya
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station. Single journey tickets come as flimsy paper receipts with bar codes in them. Don’t lose your ticket as you need it to get out of the station at the airport. Return tickets come as plastic cards. Tickets cost from 320 roubles. The journey takes 40-50 minutes, and they run reliably and regularly, every half an hour from 06:00-24:00. On the way home, this is a convenient way to beat the taxi mobs, however there is only the taxi if you arrive during the night. Leaving your car in the long-stay car park costs 600-700 roubles a day depending on the season, although information on the airport’s site is not clear on this score.
Vnukova Airport
http://www.vnukovo.ru/eng/ 8 (495) 937-55-55 Getting there: 1. By airport bus from Yugo Zapadnaya Metro. You need bus 611, 611с or 611ф, (611f ) (express). You need
to listen carefully to the pre-recorded stop announcements. Your stop is Airport Vnukovo. Busses run every 10 minutes or so the journey to the airport takes about 30 minutes. You can also get a ‘marshrutka’, (mini-van taxi service) route 45 which will take you to the airport faster. Fare is 100 roubles plus 10 roubles for each piece of extra luggage. 2. From Metro Oktyabrskaya (the Circle Line) (subway) Route 705m ‘marshrutka’ runs between Metro Oktyabrskaya (Circle Line) and the Vnukovo airport. They take 35-40 minutes, although Moscow traffic is Moscow traffic, so at peak time leave at least an hour. Fare is 130 roubles plus another RUB 10 for every extra item of baggage. 3. By Aeroexpress Train From Metro Kievskaya (Metro) (exit to Kievsky Train Station). Once out on the Train Station forecourt, go round the corner of the Station terminal building and a few yards down on your left-hand side you will see the entrance portico of the Vnukovo Aeroexpress Terminal. Tickets cost 320 roubles for standard fare, and can be bought on line, if you read Russian. The journey takes 40 minutes.
Essential Information Paying for your mobile telephone at a terminal There are many different makes and models of pay machines which handle mobile phone payments in use in Moscow, however most of them work in the same way.
Russian words: ‘ОПЛАТА УСЛУГ’ (payment for services) are what you want.
Step 2.
Identify the service you want:
Step 1.
Step 3.
Having identified your mobile telephone ‘operator’ by its logo, you will then be asked to key in your telephone number. Having done this, you hit
Identify the service you need:
The first ‘home’ screen will ask you what kind of services you want. The
signed up for. Fortunately, to keep things simple, the logos for the most popular mobile telephone companies are displayed on the top row.
You will be presented by an array of services which indicate the various services which the company operating the terminal has
the button which says ‘ВПЕРЕД’ (NEXT). On most terminals this is coloured orange, but make sure you don’t inadvertently press any other buttons which may download various entertainment programmes onto your phone.
Step 4.
Pay. You insert notes into the machine and the amount you have paid comes up on screen minus commission. You then hit the button: ОПЛАТИТЬ (PAY).
That’s it!
The Moscow Good Food Club has been created with intention to hold monthly dinners of high quality in some of Moscow’s better restaurants bringing together a diverse group of expats and Russians for a pleasant evening of excellent food, appropriate beverages and scintillating company! Attention Chefs/Restaurant Managers: Would you like to promote your skills and restaurant to our discerning members, please contact me for details! Kim@aigroup.ru
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Essential Information What do the numbers on the red number plates mean? They are Russian Diplomatic codes signifying countries. All vehicles registered with foreign embassies have to use them. 001 - Great Britain 002 - Germany 003 - Canada 004 - USA 005 - Japan 006 - Spain 007 - France 008 - Belgium 009 - Greece 010 - Denmark 011 - Italy 012 - Luxembourg 013 - Netherlands 014 - Norway 015 - Turkey 016 - Australia 017 - Austria 018 - Algeria 019 - Egypt 020 - Rwanda* 021 - Argentina 022 - Afghanistan 023 - Myanmar (the former Burma) 024 - Bolivia 025 - Brazil 026 - Burundi 027 - Ghana 028 - Bangladesh 029 - Guinea 030 - Zambia 031 - Peru 032 - India 033 - Indonesia 034 - Jordan 035 - Iraq 036 - Iran 037 - Ireland 038 - Iceland 039 - Cambodia (the former Kampuchea) 040 - Kenya 041 - Cyprus 042 - Congo 043 - Costa Rica 044 - Kuwait 045 - Laos 047 - Lebanon
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048 - Libya 049 - Mali 050 - Morocco 051 - Mexico 052 - Nepal 053 - Nigeria 054 - Venezuela 055 - New Zealand 056 - Pakistan 057 - Burkina Faso* 058 - Senegal* 059 - formerly Syria. Now code 133 is used. 060 - Somalia 061 - Sudan 062 - Sierra Leone 063 - Thailand 064 - Tanzania 065 - Tunisia 066 - Uganda 067 - Uruguay 068 - Philippines 069 - Finland 070 - Sri Lanka 071 - Chad 072 - Switzerland 073 - Sweden 074 - Ecuador 075 - Ethiopia 076 - Angola 077 - Democratic Republic of Congo (the former Republic Zaire) 078 - Colombia 079 - Cameroon 080 - Guinea-Bissau 081 - Portugal 082 - Bulgaria 083 - Hungary 084 - Vietnam 086 - Poland 087 - Korean People’s Democratic Republic (North Korea) 088 - Cuba 089 - Mongolia 090 - China 091 - Romania
092 - formerly Czechoslovakia (nowadays Czech Republic (148) and Slovakia (149)) 093 - Serbia 094 - Benin 095 - Gabon 096 - Guyana* 097 - Mauritania 098 - Madagascar* 099 - Malaysia 100 - Niger* 101 - Singapore 102 - Togo* 103 - Central African Republic (code 106 used earlier) 104 - Jamaica* 105 - Yemen 106 - formerly Central African Republic. Now code 103 is used. 107 - Palestine 108 - Nicaragua 109 - Mozambique 110 - Equatorial Guinea 111 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta (earlier code 111 belonged to Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon)) 112 - Malta 113 - Cape Verde 115 - Zimbabwe 116 - United Arab Emirates 117 - Côte d’Ivoire* 118 - Namibia 119 - formerly Republic of South Africa. Now code 137 is used. 120 - Oman 121 - Qatar 122 - formerly Arab League. Now code 503 is used 123 - formerly Liechtenstein 124 - South Korea 125 - Chile 126 - Panama (earlier code 126 belonged to UNESCO; see code 512)
127 - Israel 128 - FYR Macedonia (earlier code 128 belonged to EU) 129 - Albania 130 - formerly international organizations 131 - Holy See (Vatican) 132 - Lithuania 133 - Syria (code 059 used earlier) 134 - Estonia 135 - Latvia 136 - Bahrain 137 - Republic of South Africa (code 119 used earlier) 138 - Armenia 139 - formerly Georgia. Now code 158 is used. 140 - Saudi Arabia 141 - Slovenia 142 - Uzbekistan 143 - Kyrgyzstan 144 - Croatia 145 - Azerbaijan 146 - Ukraine 147 - Moldova 148 - Czech Republic 149 - Slovakia 150 - Belarus 151 - Tajikistan 152 - Turkmenistan 153 - Kazakhstan 154 - Guatemala 155 - Bosnia and Herzegovina 156 - Eritrea 157 - Paraguay* 158 - Georgia (code 139 used earlier) 159 - Brunei-Darussalam 160 - Gambia 161 - Vietnam 162 - Mauritius 163 - Dominican Republic 164 - Montenegro 165 - South Ossetia 166 - Abkhazia 167 - Djibouti