Economist.com Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing - August 2005

News this month

Moscow's gamblers

Many first-time visitors to Moscow are struck by the preponderance of Las Vegas-style casinos, which have mushroomed in the city centre in the last five years. Casinos are big business in Moscow. Russian psychologists claim that locals, beguiled by the boom in speculative investing since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and spurred on by a sense of economic fatalism, are increasingly turning to gambling.

But some deputies in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, are wary of gambling's impact on the nation’s morals. On July 5th, a group of deputies proposed new restrictions on the gaming industry, arguing that gambling was a vice equal to “alcoholism, drug addiction and prostitution”. Storm International, one of the leading operators of Moscow’s 50,000 slot machines, promptly announced that it will invest $25,000 in a programme for gambling addicts that will include a telephone hotline, website and support centre.

Explosive remains

Construction workers dismantling the remains of the Moskva hotel, a large, Soviet-era landmark near the Kremlin, were alarmed to discover evidence of another bygone age in the building's foundation: a cache of explosives dating from the second world war. Some 58 boxes, containing more than a ton of TNT, were removed from the site. The explosives had been stored without detonators, thus ruling out accidental explosions.

Historians said the stash might have been part of the Soviet Army’s plan to blow up hundreds of buildings had the Nazis captured the city. Yuri Krotov, a civilian who has claimed his father worked for the NKVD (the KGB's predecessor), told a newspaper that explosives had also been placed in a foreign ministry building.

Bad for your health

In the sweaty heat of a Moscow summer, poor air quality above ground can make the city’s streets unbearable. So it is unsurprising that conditions below ground are notably worse. A report published by the Federal Service for the Supervision of Consumer Rights has warned that Moscow’s metro can be bad for your health. Tests conducted for the report indicated that dust, noise, grime and noxious gases exceeded permissible levels in many stations during the first six months of 2005. Some older, central stations (such as Pushkinskaya in the city centre) have levels of nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide up to 40% higher than permitted, although newer stations (which do not have air vents opening onto traffic arteries) enjoy better air quality.

Dirty river

Pollution isn't limited to Moscow's streets and metro. In July, the director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Water Problems issued dire warnings about the ailing Moskva river, which flows through the heart of the city. Boosted by raw effluent, petroleum products and partially treated waste, the river leaves the city several times bigger than when it entered. Scientists describe the biological life in the water as “extremely polluted” and have called on city authorities to set new standards for industrial waste treatment. The news does not appear to have deterred the city’s enthusiastic anglers.

Armed attack

A daring—and fatal—armed robbery took place in Moscow on July 13th. At 9.20am on Olsufyevsky Pereulok, a busy street in the centre, two men in ski masks opened fire on an armoured van delivering money to a branch of Vneshprombank, a small Russian bank. After shooting a guard dead, the men seized more than $1m in cash and fled in a waiting black Volga, driven by a third masked man. A second guard was hospitalised. Witnesses described a scene of mayhem and gunfire. This is the second armed attack on an armoured vehicle in Moscow in as many months. A police spokesperson commented that the operation appeared to have been meticulously planned.

Catch if you can

August 2005

“Five Continents”

Until September 10th 2005

With Moscow’s two main circuses closed for the summer, a tented interloper is doing a roaring trade in a suburban Moscow park. The two-hour “Five Continents” spectacular showcases 130 animals from around the world, including a trained hairy yak, African ostriches, snakes, sea lions, talking parrots and llamas. Giya Erazde, the circus's 26-year-old owner, tours with his animals and tents all over the former Soviet Union. Business is good enough to keep Mr Erazde and his menagerie in groceries: the sea lions alone are said to eat 80kg of fish a day. And there are expansion plans, with the acquisition of a zebra at the top of the bestial wish-list.

5, Flotskaya Ulitsa, in a park between Rechnoi Vokzal and Vodny Stadion metro stations. Performances: Wed, Sat and Sun. Call for show times: +7 (903) 770-5239.

More from the Moscow cultural calendar