Economist.com Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing - June 2005

News this month

Convicted

Russia’s trial of the decade ended in late May, when Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former boss of the Yukos oil firm, and Platon Lebedev, his business partner, were found guilty of six charges of fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. Both were sentenced to nine years in prison.

Defence lawyers are appealing the verdict, which took three weeks to deliver. They claimed it was a verbatim recitation of the prosecution's case. Towards the end of the 11-month trial, pro-Khodorkovsky protesters, who argued that the trial was politically motivated, were scattered by police outside the courthouse, and unexplained roadworks made the building virtually inaccessible. Meanwhile, across town, “Drawings on Trial”, a collection of pencil and ink sketches of Mr Khodorkovsky, opened in the Central House of Artists. But as one of the defence lawyers said ruefully, “one thing you can’t see in any of these pictures is the absence of truth [and] honesty that has been the hallmark of this trial”. George Bush expressed concern that Mr Khodorkovsky was judged guilty even before his time in court.

Busy skies

It may not be a destination for the average holidaymaker, but air travel to Moscow is booming. In May, the Federal Air Transport Authority reported that traffic had soared for the fifth year in a row. This is due partly to the increased use of Moscow’s airports by foreign carriers. Russian airlines flew 34m passengers last year, an increase of 14% on 2003.

The recently renovated Domodedovo airport has been the main beneficiary of the boom. Iberia launched services to Domodedovo in March, and China Eastern plans to open operations there later this year. Continental Airlines will follow in 2006, with non-stop flights from Newark, New Jersey. There may be hope yet, however, for Sheremetyevo, Moscow's main international airport. After long deliberations, the airport has appointed a new general director, Mikhail Vasilenko. Extensive renovations and a new third terminal are planned. But visitors must still sprint after disembarking, to avoid the hour-long queues at passport control.

Lights out

A massive power cut struck Moscow and four nearby regions on May 25th. Some 2m people were affected by the black-out, along with thousands of shops, businesses, homes, hospitals and public-transport systems. The effect was chaos: traffic-lights failed; taxis ratcheted up their fares; the stockmarket was forced to suspend trading; and supermarkets reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods.

The cause of the disaster was unclear. Officials blamed a fire and a series of explosions in an electricity substation. Anatoly Chubais, head of Unified Energy Systems, Russia's electricity monopoly, was immediately summoned by prosecutors to explain the crisis. On May 27th Shamil Basayev, a Chechen terrorist commander, claimed responsibility for the power cut on a website. He boasted that saboteurs had conducted a special operation to bring down the power supply, but the authorities have ruled out sabotage.

Football victory

Football fever swept Moscow when one of its teams, CSKA, triumphed in the UEFA Cup, Europe’s second most important club competition. This is the first time that a Russian team has won a European trophy. About 50,000 euphoric fans took to the streets, clad in the blue and red colours of their team in the first morning hours of May 19th, to celebrate a 3-1 win in the final over Sporting Lisbon. The celebrations centred on Moscow’s main thoroughfare, Tverskaya, and were largely good-natured, with only 80 fans detained for drunkenness and public-order offences. The atmosphere was improved by the balmy temperatures of the city’s latest heat-wave.

Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow’s mayor, was characteristically upbeat about the victory, saying that the unique achievement augured well for the future development of Russian football. Upon their return, the victorious players received an audience with President Vladimir Putin at his home outside Moscow, where he demonstrated his ball skills and allegedly joined in the speculation of how much champagne the UEFA trophy would hold.

Unholy suspect

An unusually attired criminal has confounded Moscow’s police. Several reports of theft from across the city have identified a man dressed as a Roman Catholic priest as the chief suspect. He was spotted at the Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, lingering near the dressing room of Valery Gergiev, one of Russia’s leading conductors and artistic directors, from whom $18,000-worth of property was stolen. The suspect was also fingered by a choir director, who had the car he was selling stolen. Apparently the priest took it for a test drive and never returned. The man said he appeared to be “a nice, polite, affable person”.

Catch if you can

June 2005

Our Metro

Until June 14th 2005

Along with the Victory Day celebrations that dominated May in Moscow, last month saw the commemoration of another defining moment in Russia’s capital: the opening of the metro system 70 years ago. Although the city’s network of 165 stations is smaller than the metros of London or Paris, it serves up to 9m passengers a day—more than both combined—and is the biggest architectural triumph of the Stalinist era.

On May 15th, staff and drivers at Solniki station (whence the first-ever train departed) donned uniforms from the 1930s and embarked on a special train trip to Park Kultury, the end of the original red line. For those who missed this nostalgic jaunt, one of the longer-lasting events is an exhibition at the Polytechnical Museum that illustrates the history of the subway to the present day. The displays include interactive models that explain the underground’s fire safety and radio systems. Enthusiasts can also take the health test that modern drivers must pass before going on duty.

Polytechnical Museum, 3//4 Novaya Ploshad, Metro: Kitai-Gorod. Tel: +7 (095) 923-0756. See also our review of the Moscow metro.

More from the Moscow cultural calendar