Is it a Mercedes dealership? No, just a parking lot by a new 5-star hotel in downtown Moscow...
"View from a Car Window" is the second part in the "Night Drive through Moscow" series of posts featuring photos taken during my four hour drive through the city on January 6, 2007. While the first part "Where Tourists Go" portrayed places which are well-known and generally attractive, this part will present you the Moscow you might have not seen yet; the photos were taken literally from a car window. Again, the only reason I could visit this many places in such a short amount of time is because the city was nearly empty due to Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday.
Moscow is a mixture of Paris, Washington D.C., New York and Las Vegas, with over 2,770 gambling establishments, 63,000 slot machines and 330,000 fairly high-stakes gamblers (data accurate as of beginning of 2006). A large latte in a regular Moscow coffee shop goes for $7 U.S. these days, while a shot of espresso with a glass of water will cost you $20 at a nice bar. A small margarita in a bar with a view of the city will cost you $35. Unlike in the 1990s, Russian restaurants only accept plastic or rubles now, not dollars.
You rarely see Russian-made automobiles in the streets of Moscow these days; people pay enormous customs duties to purchase the vehicle of their dreams. A brand new 2007 Acura MDX goes for $80,000, a Hyundai Santa Fe -- $45,000, a Mitsubishi Lancer in the best price range costs you only $16,000. New office buildings, skyscrapers, and endless construction cranes are visible everywhere you go. Moscow's night life is just as busy as the business day; all restaurants, clubs and most coffee shops have a policy of "open until the last customer" and "open with the first customer" which means around the clock. Many Muscovites grab their second dinner at 1 a.m. and roll over to the coffee shop at 3 a.m.
I won't get into the argument here about whether all this new wealth is the result of smart government policies, a healthy economy, or just high oil prices. I want you to enjoy the photos of the views you could expect to see from a car window while driving through the amazing city of Moscow...
Starting out in a twilight on Kutuzovsky Prospekt - one of the many major thoroughfares through Moscow
T-90 tank- this is how Putin maintains his dictatorship... just joking...this is Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow's main memorial to World War II
This is one of the newer mosques in Moscow, built in the 1990s as part of the WWII memorial along with a Russian Orthodox church and a synagogue. Muslims and Christians have peacefully co-existed in Russia since the 16th century and Islamic-Christian relations are returning to "normal" with the end of the Chechen War.
Further down Kutuzovsky Prospekt - that's where Napoleon entered Moscow in 1812
Moscow's streets are much wider than in European or American cities - a legacy of Soviet urban planning.
The sign on top of the building on the left is for Vneshtorbank. VTB is planning an IPO for later this year.
The Russian White House on the left serves as an administrative building for the executive branch; a few hundred feet from here Kutuzovsky Prospekt becomes Novy Arbat Street
Entering one of the hotspots for Moscow nightlife - Novy Arbat Street
Popular actor Vladimir Vdovichenkov looking down from a poster for the new action movie Paragraph 78
Ad for a kids store next to a Dolce & Gabbana ad
Casino Korona with a Land Rover which you apparently can win if you're lucky enough
Parking by Casino Metelitsa
Entrance to Casino Metelitsa (Metelitsa means a mild wind in winter which picks up swirls of snow)
A parking lot
Casino Time
Another view of Arbat Street, with an billboard for the epic Russian fantasy film Volkodav on the left
Advertisement for the United Russia party next to casino video screens
Banner advertising the new romantic comedy film Zhara ( Heat)
"2007" written on the condo buildings
A BIG seven
Stary Arbat - a popular pedestrian street for buying art and jewelry in downtown Moscow
One of the older city streets, not far from the Kremlin
Is it a Mercedes dealership? No, just a parking lot by a new 5-star hotel in downtown Moscow...
Tverskaya Street from a distance - another hot spot for Moscow night life. The banner hanging over the street reads, "Happy New Year!"
A fairly large Rolex ad, only a few hundred feet away from the Kremlin
Another Rolex ad, this one on Tverskaya Street
Driving Tverskaya
View of the Kremlin in the distance from Tverskaya
Casino Shanghai on the Pushkinskaya Square
This street turns into Lubyanka with the former KGB headquarters on the left only a few hundred feet away
Gazprom sign in the distance
Another parking lot
A street
Another street
All the photos were taken with Nikon Coolpix L1 digital camera without tripod on a "landscape/architecture" or "no flash" settings. Reference to Russia Blog required when photos reposted.
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