CITY Issue 51

THE SCENE PAINT THE TOWN RED Tensions between the Kremlin and the White House may be flaring again, but in the new Moscow, the real powerbrokers are savoring the luxe life. David Kaufman reports from the world’s most expensive city. Dreaming of powder days and blue bird skies? From top gear and slopeside hotels to the best TTKTKK CITY’s downhilling aficianado Brian DeLeeuw offers up a complete guide to this winter’s ski season. IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT IN NEW-MONEYED MOSCOW AND THE hotties, hard-bodies, hipsters, and heavies are all making the scene at Denis Simachev, a bar-cum-lounge-cum-boutique in the heart of Stoleshnikov, one of the Russian capital’s (many) luxury retail corridors. The crowd is as breezy and balmy as the early August evening—thoroughly pan-sexual, and clad in the typical uniforms of the global urban elite: Carrie Bradshaw–worthy heels and DVF dresses for the ladies, premium jeans and T-shirts for the guys. Everyone seems to be some sort of luxury brand manager or media marketing exec, swapping stories from their latest jaunts to Paris or insider tips gleaned from the chic social networking website, A Small World. Though heavily accented, the English is free-flowing—as are the drinks at over $20 a pop. I’ve only been in Moscow for a few hours, but after some spoonfuls of caviar and a vodka shot (or three) I am already starting to get into the groove. Having battled for weeks with Russian authorities to secure a visa—still no easy feat even in these post-post-Soviet days—I was expecting Russians in Russia to be as uptight and uncool as their diplomats abroad. But here at Simachev—as well as throughout most of my earlyAugust visit—Moscow (and Muscovites) displayed a sense of effortless sophistication that was a welcome relief from the cliched overkill of similarly stylish scenes in London or New York. Sure, with some of the city’s most-coveted tables found at places with wannabe names such as Vogue Cafe and GQ Bar, Moscow still has some catching up to do. But one look through their windows at the canyon-pocketed oligarchs—and their ultra-expensive paramours—tucking in for tea, and you quickly realize that Moscow possesses the financial might to easily buy its way out of any current bad taste. Of course, with more than 500 years of history literally propping up its ego, it’s easy to understand Moscow’s new-found confidence. With the economy growing at some seven percent annually, Russia now has the economic clout to hold its own on the world stage. True, the West may be worried over an erosion in political and judicial transparency, but President Vladamir Putin’s grip on power has never seemed more secure as the country revs up for general elections next year. And even though relations with neighbors such as Georgia and the Ukraine continue to be fragile, Moscow still serves as the commercial hub for the entire former Soviet Union, a place where the quest for commerce triumphs over centuries-old ethnic and cultural rivalries. “Everyone just sort of gets 52 CITY

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 51

Contents Letter from CITY Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment The City Life Fast Food Fit Field Trip The Suite Life Paint the Town Red Fresh Tracks After the Sunset One City, Many Destinations The Winning Photographer The Entries By the Numbers The Finalists Expert Opinion Amateur Hour Meet the Finalists Nowhere Man Dune Raiders Just Go Where To Buy It Socials Icon

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