Moscow in my eyes

The capital of the biggest country in the world and home for over 10 million people - this is Moscow, mysterious and beautiful place.

Each year more and more tourists are coming to see for themselves what Moscow has to offer. This is a city of contrasts. It can amaze during the day and get pretty dangerous during the night.

Wonderful pravolsavic churches, Red Square and Kremlin are contrasting with new built offices and huge billboards with perfumes, watches and other western products. Although the text on the advertisements must be written in Cyrillic alphabet, the western influences in Moscow are more and more visible.

One on the places to visit is astonishing metro which was opened in 1935. Moscow metro is known to be the fastest and the cheapest in the world. It is also a paradise for pickpockets! Handbags and pockets squashed in the train are very easy target. During the rush hours there are over 6 million people underground and trains are arriving even every thirty seconds. Everyone is running somewhere, the tempo is unbelievable!

Absolvent of the Moscow State University, Artem Rusakovich said: „Especially at night, in the metro or on the streets of Moscow, you should not stop. You should keep going reasonable quick and avoid eye contact with suspiciously looking strangers or police. Maybe it sounds drastically but they are just waiting for lost, non-Russian speaking tourists.”

He said: „If you get in trouble and the police is involved then it is very likely that you are guilty simply because the other person can explain that he or she is not.”

Moscow consists of two different worlds, the world of very rich and very poor people. They are passing each other on the streets but have hardly anything in common. Rich people love their Bentleys, Porsche and other expensive, often black cars with black windows. They drive very aggressively. Noise from tires on the streets of Moscow has no end. On the pavements girls like Paris Hilton, wearing expensive jewellery, with little dogs on their hands, are passing by homeless and hungry people.

On the first sight it may seem that in Moscow majority of people is fairly wealthy this is just wrong impression. In fact luxurious shops Salvatore Ferragmo, Estee Lauder, Christian Dior and Ferrari are only for a small number of people.

One of the things that strokes new arrivals to the city is manifestation of power. Governmental cars are going through the city with no end and no respect for any road rules. They drive very fast with blue sirens on the roof and the escort of police.

Since Vladimir Putin became president, Russians, in general, have become wealthier and Moscow is going through economic boom. The improvement of the economic situation in the country with endless pro-Kremlin propaganda makes Russians to be in favour of Putin’s regime.

A teacher, Nina Trufanova said: „I know he used to be a KGB agent. Everyone knows that. But, Russia is a huge country and needs a strong and consistent person in charge. And Putin is good at what he is doing. He is also taking care of our interests abroad. We are strong country, respected in the world. The situation in Russia is not ideal but it is better than it used to be.”

Not without a reason Russia is often called a police state. There are 5 policemen on every 95 people in the country. In Moscow itself the rate may be even higher. This is a world’s record! So when being in Moscow to meet a policeman is not difficult and often this is when trouble starts. However, Russians are used to it and they do not really care.

The police are asking for documents almost everyone on the street it is necessary to have passport and valid visa at all times. Mostly they are focusing on illegal immigrants from republics which used to be part of the USSR. There are about one and a half million illegal immigrants in Moscow itself. Russians hate them, police is hassling all the time, call them terrorists but also hey are a source of income for a vast number of corrupted police. They know where illegal immigrants work and often show up there on the day workers get their wages for obvious reasons.

One of places to go in Moscow is a former KGB building in Lubianka. Although it is impossible to get inside, the building itself is an attraction for tourists. Nowadays, it is headquarter of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Before, in the years of KGB there was one officer for every 428 citizens. In Putin’s Russia there is one officer for every 297 people...

Sometimes you can gat an impression that tourists in Moscow are not particularly welcomed. People on the streets are unlikely to help lost foreigners. They turn round, almost run away from you. If you do not speak Russian, buying a train ticket may be a real problem. Often a lady at the cash desk will hit the window with a note saying „break time” or say that simply there are no tickets left.