Economist.com Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing - November 2005

News this month

A fallen idol rises

The toppling of Feliz Dzerzhinsky’s statue outside Moscow’s KGB headquarters in 1991 was one of the iconic moments of the collapse of communism. But now Dzerzhinsky, a founder of the Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, is back in vogue. A bust of “Iron Felix”, also removed in 1991, has been restored to the courtyard of the Moscow police headquarters.

Though Dzerzhinsky is now widely regarded as a mass murderer, he is still revered by some of Moscow's retired police, who are said to have requested the bust’s return. They reportedly admire Dzerzhinsky’s kindness to orphans. Vladimir Pronin, the city’s police chief, said that veterans’ opinions ought to be respected, and praised the bust’s artistic merit. But liberals in Russia have interpreted the move as a sign of Soviet revanchism.

Disunity day

All the usual elements of a Moscow rally were on display near the Kitai Gorod (“Chinatown”) metro station on November 4th, including plenty of smoking riot police, rickety police buses and faulty metal detectors. Police were on hand for a demonstration held by various nationalist youth movements, who shouted xenophobic slogans, including “Sieg, heil!”, sometimes accompanied by Nazi salutes.

The Kremlin chose November 4th to be “People’s Unity Day”, a new public holiday to replace another, on November 7th, that celebrated the Bolshevik revolution. The original holiday was renamed by Boris Yeltsin and finally scrapped by Vladmir Putin, Mr Yeltsin’s successor as Russia’s president. The 4th is supposedly the day in 1612 when Moscow was liberated from occupying Poles (though Russian historians quibble with the date). There are various theories about why the Kremlin chose this event to celebrate. For some, it reflected a creeping nationalism in Russian politics—the most extreme version of which was evident at the Kitai Gorod demonstration. Russia’s communists, however, have not given up their old celebrations: around 10,000 of them staged a traditional November 7th parade.

Kremlinology

Winston Churchill once observed that Russian politics was “like watching dogs fighting under a carpet”. For many, this still rings true. Kremlinologists have been spinning conspiracy theories since Mr Putin announced a government reshuffle on November 14th. Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s defence minister long touted as Mr Putin’s possible successor as president, was made deputy prime minister; but so was Dmitry Medvedev, the less prominent head of the presidential administration. Both now look like candidates for anointment by Mr Putin in advance of the presidential elections in 2008. But other contenders may yet emerge—and despite his statements to the contrary, Mr Putin may decide to stay on.

Shop on

To reach the mega-malls that have sprung up outside Moscow, shoppers must first navigate the congested, dirty roads out of the city. But this may be about to change. Sunflower, an enterprising development consortium, wants to transform the retail business in Moscow by building a series of pedestrian overpasses that will double as shopping malls.

The $1 billion, three-year project will initially build four walkway-malls crossing major roads on the edge of the city; altogether, 24 such malls are planned, some of them in the city centre. The largest will incorporate a 20,000 square-metre hypermarket and a leisure centre. Critics argue that the intended sites do not have enough pedestrian traffic to make the novel concept work.

Crying wolf?

Compared with many other subway systems, Moscow’s metro is cheap and reliable. But, according to a union that represents some of its workers, it is also dangerous: the union claims that many of the metro’s cars and tracks are faulty, and that the safety of the 9m people who use the system every day is at risk. A union spokesperson alleged that metro staff had been instructed to paint over cracks in equipment.

The system’s management conceded that some of its equipment was ageing, but dismissed the accusations, claiming that the union was posturing to exert pressure in a wage dispute. Accidents on the system are rare.

Catch if you can

November 2005

The Great Moscow State Circus and the Old Circus

Through the winter

Moscow’s winter circus season is in full swing. The Great Moscow State Circus, just outside the central ring road, boasts a “Circus-whirligig” show featuring a series of trapeze artists, some accompanied by trained bears. These high jinks can attract a huge crowd: the auditorium holds up to 3,400 people. Its rival, over 100-years old and known fondly as the Old Circus, is officially named after Russia’s most famous clown, Yury Nikulin. This season’s extravaganza boasts horses, dressage dogs, acrobats and fire-eating.

Great Moscow State Circus, 7 Prospekt Vernadskogo. Visit the circus's website for further details. Tel: +7 (095) 930-0272. Nikulin Moscow Circus, 13 Tsvetnoy Boulevar. Tel: +7 (095) 200-0668. Visit the circus's website for further details.

More from the Moscow cultural calendar