TODAY’S Moscow is probably unrecognisable to those of us
who are still steeped in the old Communist imagery of red stars and
bread queues.
Russia’s capitalist economy flourished in the early 1990s
after the collapse of Communism, and Moscow began to shed its
dreary façade as flashy hotels, restaurants and designer shops
opened to cater for the city’s newly wealthy inhabitants.
These days the stars your clients are more likely to see in the
Russian capital are Hollywood actors and ratings for deluxe
hotels.
Some Russian entrepreneurs made huge profits from privatisation
deals after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Last year, a survey by US business magazine Forbes reported
Moscow was home to more billionaires than any other city in the
world. Perhaps the most famous of these is Chelsea Football Club
owner Roman Abramovich, who Forbes claims is one of the 50 richest
people in the world.
Now clients visiting Moscow can follow in the footsteps of these
self-made moguls. The city has a different lure to the traditional
charm of St Petersburg, combining the buzz of one of the
world’s most cosmopolitan cities with the lingering flavour
of the old Communist days.
Although expensive, Moscow’s nightlife is cheaper than in
London – although to live like a super-rich Russian clients
will have to spend around £500 per night.
Fine dining is the most ‘de rigueur’ activity for
Moscow’s fashionistas, with the latest trend being Italian
food. “Tuscan restaurant Cantinetta Antinori was an instant
success from the moment it opened last year,” said Cox and
Kings Eastern Europe product manager Angela Bailey. “The
narrow Denezhny Pereulok road, where the restaurant is located, is
always clogged with Mercedes,” she added.
Bailey also recommends the over-the-top opulence of Kinema
restaurant on Orlikov Pereulok, where everything from the walls to
the chairs are plated in real gold, and the eye-popping menu offers
oysters, foie gras, caviar and truffles. At around £480 a
bottle, Crystale Rose Champagne is the beverage of choice for the
Russian elite.
To get a feel for the level of ostentation on offer in Moscow,
clients should pay a visit to Palazzo Ducale restaurant on Tverskoi
Bulvar, which is designed as a replica of the ornate buildings in
Venice – complete with a gondola for a bar. Vying for the
trendy crowd is Café Pushkin on Tverskoi Boulevard which,
despite being only five years old, fools diners into thinking
it’s a classic with its décor resembling a 19th century
pharmacy.
Looking good is right up there with eating well for
Russia’s new rich generation. Jean Paul Gaultier and Gucci
have both opened shops in Moscow in the past couple of months.
Tretiakovsky Proezd, a side street near Hotel Metropol, is often
referred to as Moscow’s Bond Street and jewellery shops in
the plush suburb of Barvikha are now open 24 hours a day for
after-hours shopping sprees.
Long before they were buying Jimmy Choos, Russians were known
for their ability to party – an activity the nouveau riche
take very seriously. The theme of the Zona Night Club on Leninskaya
Sloboda is ‘prison life’. Guests at the club are
welcomed by guards with patrol dogs and the waiters wear prison
robes.
Over at the Zeppelin on Prospekt Mira, VIP clubbers can relax in
a turquoise and fur-lined lounge. Celebrity spotting is the chief
pastime at Autumn Project, with regulars including supermodels and
the ‘it’ girl daughters of Russian millionaires.
Worn out from too much credit card action, even the fiercest
tycoon lets it all hang out at a traditional Russian bath, or
banya. The Sandunovskiye Baths are the city’s oldest, and
steeped in faded grandeur.
And if you spot helicopters overhead when you emerge from the
sauna, don’t be alarmed – it’s just the upper
crust heading off to their weekend retreats.
