Economist.com Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing - November 2005

News this month

Red-handed

Oleg Alexeyev, a senior Moscow tax official, will have trouble talking his way out of this one. When police arrested him on October 17th, he was busy counting the $1m bribe he and his partner had received from a bank, down-payment on the full $5.3m they had reportedly demanded for dropping a $53m tax claim. As if this weren’t damning enough, Mr Alexeyev’s fingers were tainted by an invisible substance that had been spread over the cash earlier. Prosecutors have charged Mr Alexeyev and his collaborator, a Moscow Central Bank official, with bribery. If convicted, the two men could spend up to 12 years in jail.

Corruption is one of the biggest blights on Russia’s economy. Mr Alexeyev's prosecution is an anomaly, an exception to the rule that rule-benders are ignored, or even encouraged. The case may be a sign of new resolve to root out graft; the arrest coincided with reports that the government would try to stem bribery among judges. But cynics had another interpretation: Mr Alexeyev was arrested simply because he failed to share his spoils.

Roadkill

Contract killings, estimated at between 700 and several thousand each year, provide a dark underside to some of Russia's financial dealings. But Muscovites were still shocked by a particularly brutal killing in October, when an ex-banker and four of his travelling companions were murdered. Alexander Slesarev, the former owner of two banks, CreditTrust and Sodbiznesbank, was killed 30km from the capital as he drove to a monastery. His wife and daughter, as well as a nun and clergyman in the same convoy, also died as bullets were sprayed from a passing car.

Both Sodbiznesbank and CreditTrust lost their licences last year for suspected involvement in money-laundering and “irregularities” respectively. The Sodbiznesbank scandal triggered a crisis in Russian banking as many people hurried to withdraw their savings. The murders are thought to be connected to the banks’ collapse and may relate to sums of money owed by Mr Slesarev.

No show

A recent conference in Moscow underlined a diplomatic log jam: foreign speakers called for reform in Russia, and Russian officials went about business as usual. On October 17th, investors, businessmen, economists and politicians gathered in Moscow for a two-day conference on Russia, organised by the World Economic Forum. The meeting included the typical wish-list of economic reforms: more transparency, less corruption and fewer regulations (pleas echoed by Paul Wolfowitz, boss of the World Bank, who visited Moscow later that week).

While the Russian officials at the conference defended their record and promised reform, key ministers were absent. Many leaders scheduled to speak, including the energy minister and the prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov, failed to show up. By contrast, the 2003 conference was attended by Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. Russia's economy is relatively stable, perhaps making the forum's advice seem less urgent. But some economists at the conference warned against Russian complacency, arguing that high energy prices, rather than sound government policy, have boosted the nation’s finances.

Freedom fighter

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, is known as the man whose reforms led to communism’s collapse. But the less-famous Alexander Yakovlev, who died in Moscow on October 19th, aged 81, was another key architect of the perestroika and glasnost reforms of the 1980s.

As a young man, Mr Yakovlev almost died while fighting the Germans at Leningrad. After the second world war, he rose through the Communist ranks, though his denunciation of anti-Semitism and nationalism made him many enemies. He first met Mr Gorbachev while serving as ambassador to Canada in 1982, and later became a key member of Mr Gorbachev’s team, encouraging press and individual freedom. After communism fell, Mr Yakovlev devoted much of his time to the rehabilitation of victims of political repression. He was buried in Moscow on October 21st.

Homecoming queen

She may be Russia’s most famous daughter, but Maria Sharapova, a tennis star, had never played professionally in her birthplace—until October. Muscovites who saw her play at the Kremlin Cup cast off the common aversion towards Russians who have earned their fortunes abroad (Ms Sharapova moved to Florida when she was seven), and received her rapturously with cries of “Masha! Masha!”, the diminutive form of Maria.

In spite of this encouragement, “Masha” gave a lacklustre performance, winning her first match because her opponent forfeited, and losing her second. But Ms Sharapova did cheer fans by saying she would represent Russia in the Olympics, and that she had no plans to become an American citizen.

Catch if you can

November 2005

Music in Moscow

In most cities, catching good live music involves careful planning and quite a lot of money. Fortunately, this is not the case in Moscow, where cheerful, cheap music venues abound. Kitaisky Lyotchik (“The Chinese Pilot”), a dark cellar in the hip Kitai Gorod area, regularly hosts great live bands. For the more sedate, good jazz can be found at Le Club, a swish restaurant and cabaret which features sultry singers and big bands.

Kitaisky Lyotchik, 25 Lubyansky Proezd. Metro: Kitai Gorod. Tel: +7 (095) 924-5611. Le Club, 21 Verkhnyaya Radishchevskaya Ulitsa. Metro: Taganskaya. Tel: +7 (095) 915-1042.

More from the Moscow cultural calendar