The City of Vanity

At first I could not think of anything to write about Moscow. Just like the faces of so many we've come in contact with here, totally expressionless. We realized that it's only when they feel a personal connection with another person that their facial expressions relax and their stone facade cracks into a smile. The only exception was the driver who welcomed us at the Moscow airport. His friendly smile was a relief to us, but then again, an American firm is his employer.

So, what can I write about this city? One of the things we first noticed was the decaying infrastructure of the socialist era, most of which are left as-is, at least for now. Another is the new development that replaces the old infrastructure. Fashion houses, like Prada, line the major streets, and the advertisements of world famous designer goods are taking over the sides of typically huge buildings. The monument of Lenin in Red Square now ironically faces Estee Lauder, Louis Vuitton and Moschino housed in the once Soviet owned State Department Store. Russian icons of Jesus located at the main entrances guard these high-end shops.

Fashion among the people of Moscow is following the flow of this new era. The standard, especially among women, is to deck out in designer products (the more famous, the better) with bright color coordination, such as pink shoes, pink handbag, and a coordinated pink outfit. Six-inch high-heels are not rare, and four-inch are standard fare. It looks really difficult to walk through the cobblestone-covered Red Square in those, especially in the driving rain!

There are no alternatives to this fashion trend. There is no casual fashion like we saw in Amsterdam or Berlin. Perhaps it's the rebound effect from the long bitter years under rigid socialism. Or it can be master marketing. While people may live in small, cramped apartments with limited facilities, their disposable income is invested in their outer image.

The visual arts, as we have been following in Europe, are non-existent. Only the traditional forms of performance arts, such as ballet, theater, and music concerts are visible. We, by chance, found a young man showing his friends his art school portfolio at a café, and we asked him where we might find some art galleries. He gave us a name of one, and he said, "It is very difficult to find visual art in Moscow." Probably that's why he is studying in London.

Many people gave us advice and warnings for our visit to Russia. They said "Russia is a dangerous place, don't show anything valuable." We had even heard that there have been bandits attacking trains with gas and that they would take everything from you, leaving the naked tourists behind. Fortunately for us, we found none of these true and in fact saw many digital and video cameras in use, not to mention all the designer shoes and handbags in abundance.

There is so much construction going on in this city. Hotel Moscow's proud structure is being demolished. Hotel Rossya, where we stayed, which occupies a whole Russian-size street block and having nearly three thousand rooms, is also slated for destruction in August of this year. New buildings are being built everywhere. In this era when globalization has reached every corner of the globe, Moscow is going through an enormous makeover. We just wonder, when there would be creative activities out of this consumption-only society and if the art might blossom.