There are clubs in Moscow, which seem to be pretty clean. While I worked at Pacha for example, I saw the “zero tolerance policy” of the clubs owner on various occasions. While he can’t avoid that some people lock themselves into a toilet and snort a line or two, he was very much against drugs and made sure that the security spots drug dealers and kicks them out, but also prevents open drug use inside the club. We are family, another (long closed) club, was much more lax with its policies. Some of the bartenders even sold drugs over the counter openly. That’s why the club was closed after 3 raids, where the police found a good amount of it.

Most of the Moscow drugs seem to be cocaine and cannabis, but also ecstasy and speed seem to be popular. In summer and autumn, some people go to the woods to pick magic mushrooms, which are also pretty popular over here. MDMA and other chemical drugs seem not to be so easy to get your hands on. Heroin must be wide spread, but its rare you see an addict somewhere on the cities centers streets. I heard you’ll find more of them in the suburbs and the Russian regions. And of course there is this new ugly drug, called crocodile, which kills most of its addicts within 2 years. Its a chemical drug and apparently it all starts with foul skin, which looks like crocodile skin and that’s where the name comes from. Meth should also be easy to get your hands on, since the cold medicine is sold freely over the counter and often still includes ingredients, which are long prohibited in other countries, but I’ve never seen it around.

The price of cocaine and cannabis is almost double of what you’d pay in Europe, but apparently the quality is pretty good and the price is so high, since as the consumer you’ll also have to pay for the complicated transport into the country and all of the bribes, which are involved to get the product into the city. Supply is not steady and while my friends in New York or Berlin, just have to call a dealer or his messenger to get their product, there are long dry periods in Moscow, where product is in high demand, but supply very limited.

That’s my 5 cents. A piece of advice for foreigners. Stay away from any drugs, while you are here (if you can). The people who sell them to you, will hand you out to the authorities in a heartbeat, if they get caught themselves. Because in that case, they won’t have to pay the bribe to stay free, but you’ll pay for them and you. Being a foreigner, you’ll probably have a much higher income and more to lose. Typically this will cost you anywhere from $1000 to 10 000 and more, depending on how bad your situation is. I heard lots of stories from people who got caught in the past years and I also heard from a kilo of cocaine being planted in a guys car, because they had no other way to get to him, since he was clean when they decided to check on him. Keep that in mind, next time you’ll dig a line of coke or a joint for relaxation. Russia is a bit different in that sense as well.

Also, and that is a different story, but I feel its appropiate to warn you here as well, be careful when you are in a club. Especially the afterhour clubs are known for shady girls and guys, who will put some drugs in your drink to be able to rob you. but it can also happen in a place like Imperia Lounge, which is one of the best clubs in town (that’s where they drugged a friend of mine). It happened to many of my friends, even to myself and unfortunately not only once. Always keep your drink close to you and be aware, especially if you talk to people you don’t know. If you feel strange, try to find a friend immediatly and ask them to take you home or at least watch you. You won’t be able to make it alone and THEY are just waiting for you somewhere to take you out and rob you. If you are unlucky it can even cost your life. A Kuweity diplomat was drugged in a restaurant last year (on a Sunday). Apparently he was with a girl and she must have given him the drugs. The guy (I used to know him and I was shocked when I read about it) was found dead next to the tracks of a Moscow trainstation. His car, a $150 000 Porsche Carrera, was missing and he had no more belongings on him. Probably (I didn’t get any info on that), his apartment was cleared as well. Rumor is that he was drugged and overdosed by accident.

If they have protection, it seems the dealers can even openly sell drugs, which this video from Novosibirsk is showing. The two guys drive to a known spot, where dealers hang out. The film everything and they are not happy that even young kids can easily go there and buy their fix. The conclusion is that the dealers even have some protection and don’t have to worry about being busted, or they are just some idiots, which don’t care, if they get caught or not. You can find idiots everywhere on this planet.

Apparently the government is more prepared this year. What does it mean? Did they get more firemen? I doubt it. I heard they bought a few more firefighting aircraft and probably our authorities (I say our, since I live here as well) will be less surprised, if it will happen during their summer holidays again.

Nevertheless we had an unusually dry and hot springtime, which raised the fears of fires. Luckily, its raining a lot right now. Its nothing out of the ordinary. Just a the typical humid Moscow summer, as I know it from the past years. Nevertheless this article from Bloomberg says that there are wildfires burning just outside of Moscow. Yes, there were days in the past weeks, where you could smell the burned wood during the morning hours in Moscows center already, bringing back bad memories, but of course it was far from being the smog of last summer.

Here is the Bloomberg article…

Is lightning striking twice in the same place? Kommersant has sounded the tocsin, warning that once again peat bogs around Moscow are burning: “According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, on Sunday in the region around Moscow sixteen wildfires broke out simultaneously.”

Authorities said that the fires have been extinguished, but Kommersant quoted Grigory Kuksin, of Greenpeace Russia, who refuted the good news. “In the Gus-Khrustalny district alone, five fires are burning,” Kuksin said. “The situation in the region is bad. There aren’t enough resources to put out fires or even contain them.”

The bogs currently ablaze may prefigure a return of the catastrophic wildfires that last summer coincided with a record-shattering heat wave and raged for weeks, generating lethal smog that blanketed the capital, wrought billions of dollars worth of damage and, at least indirectly, caused tens of thousands of deaths.

Disaster may well hit again. Zhivoy Zhurnal published a photo of a grim poster of unknown provenance that has mysteriously been turning up in the capital’s elevators. The poster states: “In accordance with predictions of an emergency in 2011, the threat of wildfires in the Moscow region continues.”

For now, rains are holding the smog at bay. Alarmed Muscovites may take additional comfort in the (reportedly air-conditioned) “anti-smog” centers to be established at the mayor’s orders in each district of the capital, according to Russkaya Sluzhba Novostey. But will such facilities really manage to accommodate many of Moscow’s 12 million residents? Don’t count on it.

In my opinion we’ll probably smell a bit of fire this summer, but it won’t get as bad as last year. Hopefully we’ll keep the typical Moscow summer with its daily Thunderstorms and downpours and that should keep things halfway under control, even though the authorities seemed not to have learned out of their mistakes (which comes to no surprise to anyone knowing Russia) and improved the equipment of the firefights, but more important re-establishing the local forest workers and firefighters, they’ve kicked out recently in an attempt to save money.

Todays Spiegel.de, the website of Germanys most reputated political journal, posted this Putin Comic today. Their Moscow correspondent interviewed the makers and they say that its supposed to be satiric and not some Kremlin made propaganda, which some Moscovites claim these days. Among all arguments the final one in the article is the most striking. One of the comics authors, Sergej Kalenik (25), says: “If our comic would be a brainchild of Kremlin, it would be boring and dull”. I guess he is right. Point taken.

Anyway, here is the Comic.

English version

Russian version

They say, there is more to come. Hopefully Putin sees this one as a joke and doesn’t take it to serious. Otherwise we’ll never see a sequel. But keep in mind, that Putin got pissed off about less important things already. Or at least people around him thought so and took action, trying to protect their super hero.

Nevertheless, there are also some good Moscow moments and I am not talking about hooking up with a girl in one of the clubs. I went shopping today and only took cash. Somehow I must have mis-calculated my basket, because at the end I have been 250 Rub short. The register said 1750 Rub ($62) and I only had 1500 Rub with me. I apologied and ask what item I should return to make it within my budget. The cashier smiled and said, she’d give me “some” discount to make it work.  I don’t know, if she was too lazy for the storno or she recognized me as a frequent shopper. Nevertheless she gave me a 250 Rub ($9) discount and I went home with a smile and all of my goods. That’s what I call customer service! … and it was my small neighbourhood store, not one of these big chains.

Shopping for groceries can proof difficult in Moscow. Basically you have these choices:

The market

You can go to a market to buy fresh local veggies or meat, for a very low price. Most Russians go to the markets, since the products there are considered to have a better price / value. There are a few large markets, but usually there is also one in each neighbourhood. Usually the small ones are only on weekends. You can also use kiosks next to the metro stations to buy local vegetables and fruits. Usually theirs are better, than what you’d find in a supermarket.

The supermarkets (Russians call it “Magazin”)

There are various chains of supermarkets in all sizes. Besides, you typically have your local small shop, which is somewhere close to your house, supplying what Russians need for daily life. The larger chains are Spar, Perekryostok / Перекрёсток (middle class), Auchan (middle class), Metro – if you are elegible for a card (middle class, but good quality products), 7th Continent / Седьмой континент (upper class, expensive, good quality products) and Azbuka Vkusa / Азбука вкуса (upper class, expensive). And of course many more other brands, local and international.

And of course there are a few very beautiful, but expensive, delicatess stores with a good selection of Russian and international goods.

Eliseyevsky Gastronom is a refurbished version of an elite 19th-century food emporium that now offers Russia’s most expensive chocolates, premium vodkas, and smaller and more affordable treats such as tasty Russian tea cookies and salted herring. You can find it on Tverskaya, between Pushkinskaya Square and the Dolgaruki Statue, across the city hall.

There is a nicely designed delicatess store on Ul. Pokrovka, just across the Belarussian Embassy (turquise building). Sorry, I forgot the name. This is what I am used to from New York, just that the prices are higher, but its worth while going now and then.

And there is the new Tsvetnoi Blvd Mall (next to Tsvetnoi Metro station), which is widely known for its great selection of designer clothes for European prices. But check their food market, where they sell local fresh products, which are delivered daily. If you’re hungry, you can also take your fresh steak upstairs to the food court and they’ll cook it for you.

When you go to a Russian supermarket, don’t expect our Western standards from home. The layouts are different, the staff is unfriendly and usually not very helpful, don’t even get me started about the quality of the products and the prices you pay for them. Its always a pleasure to be back home and shop in a clean supermarket with a good seclection of quality products with (almost) nothing rotten and a friendly staff. Unfortunately its the opposite in Moscow in most markets.

Usually I buy my daily products in my neighbourhood market. Once a month I do big shopping at Auchan or Metro, where the goods are cheaper. I stock up on all kinds of groceries and even freeze meat, veggies and bread. If I need something special and in a better quality, for a dinner for example, I visit one of the high class markets, like 7th Continent. In that case I prefer 7th Continent over Azbuka Vkusa, since its slightly cheaper and has a better selection. At Azbuka Vkusa, you can find tomatos with a kilogram price of $100 and that can be a nasty surprise when paying. And of course, I try to buy my fruits and veggies at the small local Saturday market nearby.

Attention!!! No matter, where you go shopping. Carefully check the prices and more important the expiry date. In the beginning I bought so many expired, foul and rotten products, including meat, and I only realized when it was too late at home. Also, prices (for the exact same product!) can vary daily and be double as high as yesterday. Also check frozen goods carefully. Suppliers have huge problems to keep the cooling chain and unfrozen goods, like Pizza, but even fish and meat, are just frozen again, after they have been standing in the summer sun for a while, waiting for transfer to another truck or the coolhouse.

A word about the sales people. They are typically unfriendly and you need to get used to it. The clerks are unwilling to help, move slow and love to bark at you. I believe its some baggage from the soviet times, when people went to the stores only to find empty shelfs and they needed to kiss ass of sales clerks to get their hands on some good products. This attitude is still wide spread in Russia. No matter, if its in your unfriendly neighbourhood store or a large supermarket.

Ordering Groceries online

And if you are sick or you don’t feel like going outside (especially in the winter), you now can even order your groceries on the Internet from 7th Continent: http://dostavka.7cont.ru – unfortunately, they discontinued their ENG version of this site.

Coming back to my nice experience in my neighborhood market. It weighs even more, if something like this happens to you in an environmet like Moscow.

Have fun shopping and please share your favorite markets and supermarkets with us in the comments section. Its so hard to find all you need for a good dinner (like fresh basil for example), so I am sure everybody will be thankful for your tips.

The Airport

One of them are Taxis. It already starts at the airport on arrival. How do you get to your hotel the best and cheapest way? There are literally hundreds of (fake) taxi drivers standing next to the arrivals exit. They have signs of some official looking taxi companies and they directly ask you, if you need a taxi. A few of them even speak English. I have only one advice for you: STAY AWAY FROM THEM. They are overpriced, you can’t trust them and sometimes they are even criminal, who drop you somewhere in the suburbs, driving off with your wallet and luggage. Every of us foreigners living here has his share of experiences with these drivers. Typically they are double the price than any official taxi and often, they even ask for more.

If you have contacts in Moscow, ask them to order you an official taxi and make out a defined meeting point. Usually it’s some cafe, next to the arrival exit, right after customs. And make sure they will write your name in Latin characters and not Cyrillic on the sign they hold up. Hey, I have seen it all. The normal price to go into the center from all Moscow airports, it can be more or less, depending on how many people you are and what car was ordered, is around 1200-1500 Rub ($43-54). The price can be higher if you go from Sheremetyevo airport, due to the notorious traffic jams, or if your hotel is on the other side of the city. Note, that pickups from the airports are more expensive, than driving from the center to the airport. Typically you have to pay for the parking, which is between 100-300 Rub ($3,50 to 10), depending, if your flight was on time and how long he had to wait for you.

Here are some taxi companies I had good experiences with, but even they failed on me and none of their dispatchers speaks English:

Prestige Taxi +7 (495) 514 0101
Moscow Taxi +7 (495) 956-8956

Failed you ask? Yes, taxi service is not reliable in Moscow. It can be that your car just doesn’t show up and you’ll have to wait forever for another one to pick you up. Another is that your driver gets lost or takes you to the wrong airport. Another is that his car breaks down on the highway outside the center and he is more concerned about his car, than getting you to your flight in time. Man, I have seen it all and even worse.

Important: When going to the airport and the taxi picks you up, make sure that he knows to which of the 3 Moscow airports he is driving you. I ended up at the wrong airport before.

If you don’t know anyone, you can also look for the «official» taxi booth. Its typically somewhere next to the arrivals exit. Be aware that on your way to it, you’ll be approached by the illegal taxi drivers and they’ll promise you heaven to go with them. Don’t do it! The official taxi may be a bit more expensive. It’s around 1600-2000 Rub ($57 to 70) into the center right now.

The Alternative: Aeroexpress

Depending on the time of the day (rush hours), it will take you between 1 hour and more, into the center. A comfortable and cheap alternative, is always to take the Aeroexpress train to one of the city’s main train stations and go from there with a taxi or by metro. Especially during rush hours the Aeroexpress is the best way to go. It’s about 300 Rub ($10), or more, depending on the airport and class, and the ride is about 45 min. Trains go every 30 min, but there are longer intervals during lunch time and at night, so better check the schedule. Here is some more information: http://aeroexpress.ru/en/

Taxi’s in the city

A word of advice upfront. You are a foreigner and no matter, if you speak Russian or you don’t understand a word, as soon as the drivers understand you are not from Moscow, you are (usually, there are exceptions) subject to abuse. That means, they charge you 3 to 4 times more, than they would charge a local. Also stay away from very good looking cars, such as Mercedes, Hummer or Porsche Cayenne Taxis. They can cost from $100 to 300 a ride, even if it’s only a short distance. Never stop a taxi infront of a club, a busy known restaurant or your hotel. Walk 5 min and you get a better fare.

Stay away from official taxis, which you find on the road. Also stay away from any hotel taxi’s or limousine services. They are usually 3 times as expensive as the local taxi.

The Alternative:
If you’re in a hotel, ask your receptionist to call you a taxi from one of the numbers above. Insist that they use one of these numbers and not their own. Be aware that these taxi services are usually busy during rush hours and on peak times, like Friday or Saturday night (people going out). The usual wait for your taxi to come is (hold your breath)… 45 min, meaning, you need to plan ahead and call 45 min before to get your taxi. If you need one earlier, try. Sometimes they can make it in 30 min.

Gipsy Taxis / Gipsy Cabs

Moscovites use these private drivers on a daily basis. Its semi legal and works quiet well. They are usually cheap, but you have to watch out for a few things, otherwise you get lost, ripped off, or you end up in a fight with the driver.

To get a Gipsy Cab, just go to the street (a busy one preferably) and hold your arm out. It will only take a few seconds, until a Lada or a Volga will stop and the driver will open the door or the window to start negotiations. Nowadays it can be any car, I even rode with an ambulance (going against a one way street), the police, in an army jeep, the driver of a politician (with blue light and with 180 KM/h) and other exotic rides.

Again, don’t take any driver infront of a busy club, bar or restaurant. Also don’t stop anyone just infront of your hotel. Also be aware of drivers parking next to metro stations or tourist places. Don’t take them, but stop a car on the street.

In 80% of the cases, the drivers are not from Moscow, but here to make some money. They are Tajik, Usbek, Kazak or from the Caucasus. And if they are new, they don’t know the city and rely on you to tell them where to go. So unless you see a functioning GPS inside the car, or the driver makes you understand that he knows the way, stay away from dark Turkish looking guys and wave another car, until you get a Russian or Moscovite.

So first you check the car and the driver. Check if the guy is alone (never get in  a car, if there are more people, than the driver). Also check, if he looks trustworthy. And of course, check, if he knows the way. Usually you start with telling him, where you want to go, naming the street and the nearby metro station. In some cases, it’s not his way and he will tell you to get another car. Otherwise he nods and it’s time for the 2nd question: Skolka Stoit?, which means as much as: How much does it cost? It’s very important, that you negotiate the price upfront, before you get into the car. 200 Rub = Twestie or 300 Rub = Trista. You can also use your fingers, just make sure he is not talking about thousands, while you are showing hundreds.

After you negotiated, get in the car. Never take the front seat, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Some drivers are experts in checking the insides of your pockets, while they keep you entertained with small talk. Make sure (upfront) you have the negotiated fare in cash without the need for change. Usually these drivers don’t carry much money or change with them. Before you get out of the car, check all of your belongings. Everything there? Pay only at the end, just before leaving the car. Never give the driver the money upfront.

At no time, try to argue or fight with the driver. In the worst case jump out of the car and run for your life, but make sure he can’t follow you with his car. All of these drivers have seen hell, even the good guys and all of them have weapons. Anything from baseball bats to tasers to guns. Especially the Caucasus drivers are very passionate about fighting and they can easily lose it. In the past 8 years, I had a few fights with drivers. Usually it started with them trying to rip me off and wanting more money, than the originally negotiated. Sometimes they tried to rob me (especially when I was drunk). Thank God, I got out of it without getting hurt, but I had to push a few times and I had fist-fights involving steel pipes and tasers.

Sounds adventurous? Yes, it is indeed, but in 8 years I had about 5 bad incidents and I take these Gipsy Taxis daily. I think that speaks for itself. If you are unsure about it, try it during the day or in the early evening and rely on a official taxi at night. I also had lots of nice chats and met great people. Besides, running red lights with the siren and blue light in a fat black BMW, which drops me, on my birthday, just in front of the city’s most busy terrace for only 300 Rub, is a great experience.

One last advice. Take the Metro during rush hour times from 8-11 AM and 4 to 7 PM. There is no point sitting in the car for hours caught in the typical Moscow traffic jam chaos, while you can do the same distance in the overcrowded and overheated metro within 30 min.

Today Mc Donalds has more than 180 restaurants in Moscow alone and the company is one of the largest land owners in Russia. You wouldn’t find a metro station in Moscow without a nearby McD. In the early days, Mc Donalds was considered a delicacy. One would take his date there for a romantic dinner, I was old by my older Russian friends. Me, being grown up with Mc Donalds and its plastic furniture, I can’t imagine a romantic candellight dinner over a Big Mac.

Me personally, I am trying to stay away from fastfood. Good thing is that in Russia there is next to no fastfood culture yet. Other than McDonalds, you can find some fried chickens at Rostiks, which has a coop with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Burger King made its market entry recently and Subway is rolling up the market and establishing itself as well. Besides of this, you have some Pirogis, Grilled or Kebab stands, which usually don’t look very hygenic and I advise you to keep away from them. You just don’t have the stomack, as a Kirgisian worker or a Tajik gypsy taxi driver. Believe me, I speak from experience. Being a fan of street meat, I tried and I, not only once, paid the price.

Typically the service at the Mc Donalds is good, but usually you have to deal with long lines, pushy Russians and a not so fast staff. There are a few McD restaurants I stay away from, since their staff is just not friendly and efficiant enough. The quality of the food is usually OK, apart from the occasional rotten salad (Inside your burger. Did you ever open your’s to check?). Which makes sense, since these restaurants have such a high turnover, that I assume a lot of the supplies are gone, before they could get bad. That of course considering, that the cooling chain is held, while transport, which seems to be a huge problem in Russia in general (check all of your groceries carefully, especially when they need to be cooled or frozen during transport!).

Answers.com even has an answer, why McDonalds is so sucessful in Russia.

Here is a video from the old times:

And here is where you can find the first ever Mc Donalds in Russia and the fearful sign of capitalism conquering the East.

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Where the big A is!

Source: Petshealth.ru Note, that I checked this information against various sources, but I am not 100% sure, its correct. The fines are calculated based on the new min wage, which will be used from Jun 1st 2011. I find it interesting, that you pay 1380 Rub, when your dog bites a person and you’d pay 2300 Rub, if the dog attacks another animal. That, by the way, could be a cat or a rat as well (since its defined as a “animal”), I guess its depending on the cops judgement. From experience, I doubt, most cops know about this law, but you can be subject to these penalties, if you find one that knows. So shitting on the sidewalk and not cleaning up after, will cost you 690 Rub. Walking your dog without the leash, may cost you 230 Rub and taking your dog on the metro, a bus or a tram without a muzzle may even be 4600 Rub.

Having a dog does come with a lot of work and responsibility. Especially when you live in a dog unfriendly environment, such as the metropolis Moscow. There are not only the daily questions like, “Where do I walk my dog?”, “How can I find a good vet?” or “Where do I get all my supplies, like food and toys?”. There are also lots of regulations, such as how and where to walk your dog, how to take the metro, leaving the country with your dog or what to do with the stinky left behinds of your dog.

If one doesn’t know and has a question, he is looking on the Internet for answers. But what, if all of that is in Russian and your not sufficiant in it? Well, this section is about “Having a dog in Moscow”. Find answers, read about my own experiences and get some tips on how to hold your dog in Moscow.

But first meet my dog. His name is Muhackel. He is almost 5 months old now and fights with losing his milky teeth. I wanted a small dog and I was looking for a positive character. I also wanted a smart and active dog. Originally I looked atthe fashionable Jack Russel breed. I found a local breeder on Facebook and I already talked with her about taking one of her puppies. Needless to say, that she checked my facebook profile and started to ask the same questions as my friends.

Then one day, we are visiting the father of my friend Pasha in Ryzan. He owns a lovely female Smooth Foxterrier, which was exactly what I was looking for. I spent 2 days with my friends family and “Shelma”, the dog. When I told them, that I am in love with their dog and that I would like to get one like her, they smiled and told me that she is pregnant.

A few months later I went to pick up my 3 month old fox terrier puppy. They decided to give me their most beautiful and smart puppy, called “Watson”. He is a purebred with all certificates. Of course I changed his name to something more … my way: Muhackel – which is old Bavarian and means as much as a smart ass.

Now I am living since 2 months with Muhackel and even my friends stopped asking responsibility questions, rather checking how their new buddy is.

More to come soon. My first article will be about the dog rules in Moscow.

A few weeks ago the Bolshoi was shaken up by just another scandal. Someone hacked into the mailaccount of Gennadi Yanin, the interim and soon to be artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet and sent a link to a website, containing his resume and homosexual pornographic images of him in action, to more than 3800 people, including the culture minister of Russia. In addition the link was posted on various public sites and even appeared on Putins Twitter page. Someone must have really wanted to hurt him and they. The Bolshoi is (once again) in shock. Gennadin, was degraded to being a regular dancer and he was granted to be on stage for another year. Probably, his incident is forgotten by then or surpassed by another, so he can continue his carreer ambitions.

I’ll probably get a beating for posting this (public information) already, so I’ll shut my mouth only saying, that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The old stage will finally open at the end of October, after its renovation was way over budget. It is said to cost as much as half of an aircraft carrier. Hey, at least the government puts the money into culture and not some new weapon systems. After the renovation of the house, the organization Bolshoi seriously should be renovated as well. It needs to be restructured and brought to Western standards. Otherwise the Great Theatre and its infamous Ballet troupe, formerly considered, being the best in the world, will lose its status and world wide respect, continueing its downward spiral.

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. This all public information. I’m not giving away some insider secrets. Spiegel Magazine in Germany, also the LA Times and other international papers finally picked up on the Bolshoi’s crisis and report about it. Read yourself…

“Cultural Exchange: Tumultuous times at the Bolshoi Theatre

The resignation of the ballet troupe’s manager is the latest scandal to hit the Moscow institution, whose longtime reconstruction has caused quite a lot of drama all its own.”
by the LA Times … more

Yes, indeed. It took a while and I’m sorry I kept you waiting for so long. Most of the old stories are lost, but I will try to rewrite them if they are still actual. I also combined by personal blog with Moscow-Blog, which makes it easier for me and more interesting for you. So besides stories about Moscow, Russia and the Nightlife, expect some personal comments, favorites, remarks to movies I’ve seen, some of my and my friends DJ mixes and of course reports from my trips abroad.

But, this site is also interactive. You have the ability to comment on anything, share content with your friends on Facebook, vKontakte, Odnoklassiki or elsewhere and vote on clubs, bars and restaurants. I also added a GUIDE categorie and tag, which will include anything interesting for visitors or new arrivals to Moscow.

I will rarely comment on political issues. There are enough blogs out there, which do and I’ll add a few to my blogroll. I am just a guest in this country and I won’t stay forever. Surely I have my political opinions and views, but in the current climate I prefer to keep them private. That fact alone speaks for the situation in this country, but I chose to live here and so I comply.

You won’t find any contact information on this website, also for a good reason, ha ha. Leave a comment with your email address and if I want to, I will get back to you

Enjoy the new Moscow Blog. Thanks for viewing it. Spread the word, that its back online.