This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/cities/live/2015/jun/08/guardian-moscow-week-live
The article has changed 20 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 18 | Version 19 |
|---|---|
| Guardian Moscow Week – what we've learned so far | Guardian Moscow Week – what we've learned so far |
| (5 months later) | |
| 5.18pm BST | |
| 17:18 | |
| Coming up in Guardian Moscow Week | Coming up in Guardian Moscow Week |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Thanks for being with us! The hashtag got hijacked, we sparked a controversy over whether Edward Snowden can be considered a Muscovite, heard from the city’s migrant workforce, met our Instagrammers for the week and had an emotional debate in the Moscow sunshine. And that was just day one. | Thanks for being with us! The hashtag got hijacked, we sparked a controversy over whether Edward Snowden can be considered a Muscovite, heard from the city’s migrant workforce, met our Instagrammers for the week and had an emotional debate in the Moscow sunshine. And that was just day one. |
| Tomorrow Shaun Walker goes inside TV Rain, Moscow’s only independent television channel. | Tomorrow Shaun Walker goes inside TV Rain, Moscow’s only independent television channel. |
| After a year in which the channel was almost bullied out of existence, and spent a month broadcasting from a studio apartment, the mood [at the fifth birthday party] was one of relief and perseverance as much as celebration. It was also a moment of vindication, and a sign that the channel had real support among Muscovites. “Nobody needs counter-propaganda,” said Mikhail Zygar, the editor-in-chief of the channel, a few weeks later at the station’s new studios, inside a renovated perfume factory in northern Moscow. “Our goal is not to fight anything, our goal is just to give people who don’t have real information the thing they don’t have.” | After a year in which the channel was almost bullied out of existence, and spent a month broadcasting from a studio apartment, the mood [at the fifth birthday party] was one of relief and perseverance as much as celebration. It was also a moment of vindication, and a sign that the channel had real support among Muscovites. “Nobody needs counter-propaganda,” said Mikhail Zygar, the editor-in-chief of the channel, a few weeks later at the station’s new studios, inside a renovated perfume factory in northern Moscow. “Our goal is not to fight anything, our goal is just to give people who don’t have real information the thing they don’t have.” |
| On Wednesday, Oliver Wainwright streams live from the Garage art gallery, and we hold a live Q+A with Petr “I nailed my scrotum to Red Square” Pavlensky, who’s part of the gallery’s exhibition of protest art. Maryam Omidi also explores the mixed messages for women in Moscow: | On Wednesday, Oliver Wainwright streams live from the Garage art gallery, and we hold a live Q+A with Petr “I nailed my scrotum to Red Square” Pavlensky, who’s part of the gallery’s exhibition of protest art. Maryam Omidi also explores the mixed messages for women in Moscow: |
| From officials arguing that middle-aged men should be able to marry teenagers because women are often “shrivelled” by the age of 27, to the recent launch of Tittygram, aka “Uber for boobs”, it seems that not a day goes by without a story in the Moscow media about sexism. And yet women in the capital are far from second-class citizens. | From officials arguing that middle-aged men should be able to marry teenagers because women are often “shrivelled” by the age of 27, to the recent launch of Tittygram, aka “Uber for boobs”, it seems that not a day goes by without a story in the Moscow media about sexism. And yet women in the capital are far from second-class citizens. |
| On Thursday, our cycling expert Nick Mead tells the struggle of the world’s most cycle-unfriendly city to embrace the bike, while Agata Pyzik discusses the deeper meanings of Moscow’s food revolution, which we’ll be following all week via one of our Instagrammers as well. And we also spoke to restaurant critic Anna Maslovskaya, who has this fairly hilarious point to make: | On Thursday, our cycling expert Nick Mead tells the struggle of the world’s most cycle-unfriendly city to embrace the bike, while Agata Pyzik discusses the deeper meanings of Moscow’s food revolution, which we’ll be following all week via one of our Instagrammers as well. And we also spoke to restaurant critic Anna Maslovskaya, who has this fairly hilarious point to make: |
| Then on Friday we look at Skolkovo, Moscow’s attempt to build a silicon valley from scratch, and flip today’s quiz on its head by getting Muscovites to test western audiences on their city. | Then on Friday we look at Skolkovo, Moscow’s attempt to build a silicon valley from scratch, and flip today’s quiz on its head by getting Muscovites to test western audiences on their city. |
| We’ll close the blog now, with some final thoughts from the people of Moscow. Thanks again, and stay with us as we go deeper into Russia’s capital starting tomorrow. | We’ll close the blog now, with some final thoughts from the people of Moscow. Thanks again, and stay with us as we go deeper into Russia’s capital starting tomorrow. |
| Updated | |
| at 11.31am BST | |
| 4.16pm BST | |
| 16:16 | |
| Of course central Moscow is only one half of the story - perhaps less. Most people (about 85%) live outside the garden ring, in the vast spray of suburbs that makes this the sixth-largest city in the world. | Of course central Moscow is only one half of the story - perhaps less. Most people (about 85%) live outside the garden ring, in the vast spray of suburbs that makes this the sixth-largest city in the world. |
| Coming up on Friday, Owen Hatherley will report on the architecture of the awe-inspiring Moscow suburbs, but in the meantime here’s Mark Rice-Oxley on the ground: | Coming up on Friday, Owen Hatherley will report on the architecture of the awe-inspiring Moscow suburbs, but in the meantime here’s Mark Rice-Oxley on the ground: |
| The first thing that strikes you about the suburbs is the SPACE. Because everyone lives up in the air, not cheek by jowl on the ground, there are huge open reaches that nobody seems to quite know what to do with. There are far fewer amenities like playgrounds, swimming pools, sports centres and even formal parks out here, which makes the suburbs seem a little unloved. | The first thing that strikes you about the suburbs is the SPACE. Because everyone lives up in the air, not cheek by jowl on the ground, there are huge open reaches that nobody seems to quite know what to do with. There are far fewer amenities like playgrounds, swimming pools, sports centres and even formal parks out here, which makes the suburbs seem a little unloved. |
| But there are two buts. The first is that the bulldozers and diggers are coming. In every suburb I went to in the past week, there were signs of huge construction activity. And secondly, I’d like to argue just for a minute that tower blocks aren’t all that bad. They may look ugly and tired in places, but they are energy efficient (important in a city which must keep 11 million people warm for six subzero months of the year); they encourage neighbourliness and a community spirit. They obviate loneliness. And they have these great rubbish chutes that you can use to dump your trash 22 stories down to the ground. | But there are two buts. The first is that the bulldozers and diggers are coming. In every suburb I went to in the past week, there were signs of huge construction activity. And secondly, I’d like to argue just for a minute that tower blocks aren’t all that bad. They may look ugly and tired in places, but they are energy efficient (important in a city which must keep 11 million people warm for six subzero months of the year); they encourage neighbourliness and a community spirit. They obviate loneliness. And they have these great rubbish chutes that you can use to dump your trash 22 stories down to the ground. |
| And Dolgoprudny resident Longponds says things are - finally - changing... | And Dolgoprudny resident Longponds says things are - finally - changing... |
| I live in the suburbs (Dolgoprudny) and have to say that in the last three years things have started to improve. Greener spaces, greater emphasis on people clearing up after themselves (one local park by the canal used to just resemble a rubbish tip, but now is a great place and hugely popular). Of course it's relative - the starting point was very low and there is still much that needs to be done. However, I have actually witnessed a change taking place. | I live in the suburbs (Dolgoprudny) and have to say that in the last three years things have started to improve. Greener spaces, greater emphasis on people clearing up after themselves (one local park by the canal used to just resemble a rubbish tip, but now is a great place and hugely popular). Of course it's relative - the starting point was very low and there is still much that needs to be done. However, I have actually witnessed a change taking place. |
| Updated | |
| at 4.55pm BST | |
| 3.10pm BST | |
| 15:10 | |
| Some of what you’ve been saying on Twitter and GuardianWitness about what it means to be a Muscovite, and whether the city is changing for better or worse. | Some of what you’ve been saying on Twitter and GuardianWitness about what it means to be a Muscovite, and whether the city is changing for better or worse. |
| Another initiative of the new government team is a website and app called “Active citizen”, billed as letting user “directly influence government decisions”. It asks users to choose names for new parks or the colour of new stadium seats, ignoring such important problems as widening of toll parking zones, closure of hospitals, toll city entrance for private transport, and the need for special car lanes for state lawmakers. And this is what the “new” Moscow is about. Behind opulent vegetation, new pavement and colorful stadium seats, there are problems which are getting worse as time goes on.” - Olga Platunova, over email | Another initiative of the new government team is a website and app called “Active citizen”, billed as letting user “directly influence government decisions”. It asks users to choose names for new parks or the colour of new stadium seats, ignoring such important problems as widening of toll parking zones, closure of hospitals, toll city entrance for private transport, and the need for special car lanes for state lawmakers. And this is what the “new” Moscow is about. Behind opulent vegetation, new pavement and colorful stadium seats, there are problems which are getting worse as time goes on.” - Olga Platunova, over email |
| @guardianworld Sure he can, but no evidence at all that he is "shaping the fabric and the future of Russia’s capital city," as per list. | @guardianworld Sure he can, but no evidence at all that he is "shaping the fabric and the future of Russia’s capital city," as per list. |
| I'm a born Muscovite, and to me the changes are at best incremental. In many places it's actually gotten worse. #guardianmoscow. | I'm a born Muscovite, and to me the changes are at best incremental. In many places it's actually gotten worse. #guardianmoscow. |
| It takes 3-5 generations to become a #Muscovite. I've lived there for 22 yrs and will never be one. #guardianmoscow | It takes 3-5 generations to become a #Muscovite. I've lived there for 22 yrs and will never be one. #guardianmoscow |
| Better on the Surface, Still Has Inclusion and Institutional Issues | Better on the Surface, Still Has Inclusion and Institutional Issues |
| What do I mean? | What do I mean? |
| I mean that no one really asked us, Moscow residents, about the changes being made in the city (although a really welcome a big part of them). | I mean that no one really asked us, Moscow residents, about the changes being made in the city (although a really welcome a big part of them). |
| Starting from the very first days of his mayorship Mr. Sobyanin has been showing us that he is a true pillar of so-called "power vertical" and while acting as one is not going to provide for any citizens' inclusion in decision making process. And lack of inclusion and mutual trust between the residents is in the end the main problem of Moscow as a city and a community (in my opinion). | Starting from the very first days of his mayorship Mr. Sobyanin has been showing us that he is a true pillar of so-called "power vertical" and while acting as one is not going to provide for any citizens' inclusion in decision making process. And lack of inclusion and mutual trust between the residents is in the end the main problem of Moscow as a city and a community (in my opinion). |
| You can build as much fancy stuff as the money allows you to (and Moscow budget is comperable to some of the European countries') but if the moscovites do not trust each other and don't consider this city to truly belong to them, it will never become a real city and will continue to exist as "a big village" with fancy parks, craft beer and bycicle service. | You can build as much fancy stuff as the money allows you to (and Moscow budget is comperable to some of the European countries') but if the moscovites do not trust each other and don't consider this city to truly belong to them, it will never become a real city and will continue to exist as "a big village" with fancy parks, craft beer and bycicle service. |
| I will be happy to elaborate on that and provide lots of examples if you contact me | I will be happy to elaborate on that and provide lots of examples if you contact me |
| Sent via Guardian Witness | Sent via Guardian Witness |
| By Sergey Kurakov | By Sergey Kurakov |
| 18 May 2015, 17:16 | 18 May 2015, 17:16 |
| And legal assistant Anastasiya Stepanova tells us her thoughts from the banks of the river: | And legal assistant Anastasiya Stepanova tells us her thoughts from the banks of the river: |
| Tell us your thoughts or tweet/Instagram using #GuardianMoscow | Tell us your thoughts or tweet/Instagram using #GuardianMoscow |
| Updated | |
| at 3.22pm BST | |
| 2.32pm BST | |
| 14:32 | |
| Why are Moscow's migrants leaving? | Why are Moscow's migrants leaving? |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Alec Luhn has filed a special report on the people who power Moscow’s huge economy - not the oligarchs but the Tajiks, Uzbeks and other migrants who work at the construction sites, shovel snow and drive the hordes of “gypsy cabs” that take Muscovites home at night. | Alec Luhn has filed a special report on the people who power Moscow’s huge economy - not the oligarchs but the Tajiks, Uzbeks and other migrants who work at the construction sites, shovel snow and drive the hordes of “gypsy cabs” that take Muscovites home at night. |
| But the mood has changed, and migrants are leaving in droves, he reports. | But the mood has changed, and migrants are leaving in droves, he reports. |
| The permit cost has worsened an already tough situation for migrant workers, who often face discrimination and persecution by crooked employers, officials and landlords. A quick search of rental announcements in Moscow will reveal that most listings are for Russian or “Slavic” people only. | The permit cost has worsened an already tough situation for migrant workers, who often face discrimination and persecution by crooked employers, officials and landlords. A quick search of rental announcements in Moscow will reveal that most listings are for Russian or “Slavic” people only. |
| Is the wonder that any migrants are staying in Moscow? Read it here. | Is the wonder that any migrants are staying in Moscow? Read it here. |
| 2.00pm BST | |
| 14:00 | |
| Calling on Muscovites to help us set a quiz for the rest of the world, tapping into the secrets of your city. Please email suggestions to moscow.week@theguardian.com with Quiz in the subject line. (Now that we’re clear on who qualifies as a Muscovite). | Calling on Muscovites to help us set a quiz for the rest of the world, tapping into the secrets of your city. Please email suggestions to moscow.week@theguardian.com with Quiz in the subject line. (Now that we’re clear on who qualifies as a Muscovite). |
| 1.22pm BST | |
| 13:22 | |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| What does it mean to be a Muscovite? | What does it mean to be a Muscovite? |
| The inclusion of Edward Snowden in our young power list has sparked a heated debate about what it means to be a Moskvich. | The inclusion of Edward Snowden in our young power list has sparked a heated debate about what it means to be a Moskvich. |
| According to the dictionary, a “Muscovite is an inhabitant or native of a city”. So does someone who’s lived here for two years make the grade? Or is a long-term emotional investment in the city required? Are you only ever a true Muscovite if you were born here ... or can the title be earned? | According to the dictionary, a “Muscovite is an inhabitant or native of a city”. So does someone who’s lived here for two years make the grade? Or is a long-term emotional investment in the city required? Are you only ever a true Muscovite if you were born here ... or can the title be earned? |
| Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter using #guardianmoscow | Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter using #guardianmoscow |
| Updated | |
| at 1.25pm BST | |
| 1.11pm BST | |
| 13:11 | |
| Moscow Instagram takeovers | Moscow Instagram takeovers |
| Francesca Perry | Francesca Perry |
| We’ve teamed up with some of Moscow’s best Instagrammers this week as well. First up, we have a takeover on @guardiancities from Evgeniya Muravyeva (@evmsk): here’s her first picture of the week. | We’ve teamed up with some of Moscow’s best Instagrammers this week as well. First up, we have a takeover on @guardiancities from Evgeniya Muravyeva (@evmsk): here’s her first picture of the week. |
| We’ve also got other great Instagrammers capturing different aspects of the city: | We’ve also got other great Instagrammers capturing different aspects of the city: |
| Follow #GuardianMoscow on Instagram to see all the photos, and if you live in the city contribute your own pictures of how Moscow is changing. We’ll round up some of the images in a gallery on Friday. | Follow #GuardianMoscow on Instagram to see all the photos, and if you live in the city contribute your own pictures of how Moscow is changing. We’ll round up some of the images in a gallery on Friday. |
| 12.49pm BST | |
| 12:49 | |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Our very heated - and very hot - debate in the Moscow sunshine ended up lasting two hours, and featured some excellent instances of passion, finger-pointing and tears. Well, no tears. Is bottom-up organising horribly naive (or worse, a waste of time) when it’s only by gaining access to power that you can actually get stuff done? What’s the point of building a flower garden when the city council paves it over the next day? Should New Moscow - a cash cow for developers - just be scrapped? Where are Moscow’s neighbourhoods? And yes, Muscovites might be engaged like never before - but getting anyone to listen might be a whole other story. | Our very heated - and very hot - debate in the Moscow sunshine ended up lasting two hours, and featured some excellent instances of passion, finger-pointing and tears. Well, no tears. Is bottom-up organising horribly naive (or worse, a waste of time) when it’s only by gaining access to power that you can actually get stuff done? What’s the point of building a flower garden when the city council paves it over the next day? Should New Moscow - a cash cow for developers - just be scrapped? Where are Moscow’s neighbourhoods? And yes, Muscovites might be engaged like never before - but getting anyone to listen might be a whole other story. |
| Novikov with bold idea: Cancel Greater/New Moscow city expansion, a cash cow for developers #guardianmoscow pic.twitter.com/grRYMRcbCq | Novikov with bold idea: Cancel Greater/New Moscow city expansion, a cash cow for developers #guardianmoscow pic.twitter.com/grRYMRcbCq |
| Meanwhile, with #guardianmoscow trending, the hashtag has been hijacked by chancers posting random nonsense. (“Christiano Ronaldo’s mother has been arrested for money laundering #guardianmoscow”). But you can still check out the Twitter highlights below. In the meantime, we also chatted to city planner Kuba Snopek, who touched on a few of the themes of the debate: | Meanwhile, with #guardianmoscow trending, the hashtag has been hijacked by chancers posting random nonsense. (“Christiano Ronaldo’s mother has been arrested for money laundering #guardianmoscow”). But you can still check out the Twitter highlights below. In the meantime, we also chatted to city planner Kuba Snopek, who touched on a few of the themes of the debate: |
| 12.32pm BST | |
| 12:32 | |
| Judith Soal | Judith Soal |
| Try our Moscow quiz for some light relief after a very serious debate about the city. Sample question: What are Moscow mules - illegal taxi drivers, drug smugglers, vodka cocktails or swarms of midges? | Try our Moscow quiz for some light relief after a very serious debate about the city. Sample question: What are Moscow mules - illegal taxi drivers, drug smugglers, vodka cocktails or swarms of midges? |
| Updated | |
| at 12.48pm BST | |
| 9.58am BST | |
| 09:58 | |
| Is the Moscow experiment over? – live debate | Is the Moscow experiment over? – live debate |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Follow live Twitter commentary below. And if you have a question or comment for the panel, ask using #guardianmoscow | Follow live Twitter commentary below. And if you have a question or comment for the panel, ask using #guardianmoscow |
| Champions League final: take it or leave it. #guardianmoscow debate is the one not to miss. Starting in an hour! pic.twitter.com/CzZAVjdzzo | Champions League final: take it or leave it. #guardianmoscow debate is the one not to miss. Starting in an hour! pic.twitter.com/CzZAVjdzzo |
| Ignore Shaun... it actually starts in T-minus five minutes - or probably more like 15. “It” is our debate at the Strelka institute in the heart of Moscow, asking: “Is the Moscow Experiment over?” | Ignore Shaun... it actually starts in T-minus five minutes - or probably more like 15. “It” is our debate at the Strelka institute in the heart of Moscow, asking: “Is the Moscow Experiment over?” |
| Updated | |
| at 11.52am BST | |
| 9.39am BST | |
| 09:39 | |
| Moscow's 30 Under 30 | Moscow's 30 Under 30 |
| Judith Soal | Judith Soal |
| Wondering about the younger generation shaping the future of Moscow? We’ve profiled 30 residents under 30 - from the poker player who used his winnings to run for office, to the hipsters making their mark on the city centre and the tech entrepreneurs capturing the online imagination with their digital art. | Wondering about the younger generation shaping the future of Moscow? We’ve profiled 30 residents under 30 - from the poker player who used his winnings to run for office, to the hipsters making their mark on the city centre and the tech entrepreneurs capturing the online imagination with their digital art. |
| Updated | |
| at 9.40am BST | |
| 9.09am BST | |
| 09:09 | |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| It’s hoverboards and classical music at Gorky Park, what else? T-journal report on a project attempting to turn the regenerated park into a “studio without borders”. Stage one: musician Denis Matsuev taking to his grand piano in the middle of the Golitsyn pond, as dancers on water-jet hoverboards swooshed around his head. | It’s hoverboards and classical music at Gorky Park, what else? T-journal report on a project attempting to turn the regenerated park into a “studio without borders”. Stage one: musician Denis Matsuev taking to his grand piano in the middle of the Golitsyn pond, as dancers on water-jet hoverboards swooshed around his head. |
| The performance was recorded for the TV series Park, which aired on Channel One over the weekend, and was captured by passerby on Instagram. | The performance was recorded for the TV series Park, which aired on Channel One over the weekend, and was captured by passerby on Instagram. |
| Updated | |
| at 9.45am BST | |
| 8.30am BST | |
| 08:30 | |
| Quiz: How much do you know about Moscow? | Quiz: How much do you know about Moscow? |
| Mark Rice-Oxley | Mark Rice-Oxley |
| Was the film Gorky Park set in Moscow? What’s a Moscow mule? And what statue of Vladimir is set to be erected overlooking the city? Test how much you really know about the Russian capital by taking our quiz. And let us know your scores using #guardianmoscow - disappointingly non-monetary acknowledgments to the best results. | Was the film Gorky Park set in Moscow? What’s a Moscow mule? And what statue of Vladimir is set to be erected overlooking the city? Test how much you really know about the Russian capital by taking our quiz. And let us know your scores using #guardianmoscow - disappointingly non-monetary acknowledgments to the best results. |
| Meanwhile, some quick news snippets from Moscow on a quiet, sky-blue June Monday morning: | Meanwhile, some quick news snippets from Moscow on a quiet, sky-blue June Monday morning: |
| @MedvedevRussiaE in rare carefree selfie moment with first graduates of Moscow's Skolkovo hi-tech college pic.twitter.com/urM0mIIJ0D | @MedvedevRussiaE in rare carefree selfie moment with first graduates of Moscow's Skolkovo hi-tech college pic.twitter.com/urM0mIIJ0D |
| As ever, though, you need to look a bit further afield in Russia for the daftest news story of the day. In Siberia, a drunk man destroyed a statue of Lenin while taking a selfie. There are, of course, pictures. | As ever, though, you need to look a bit further afield in Russia for the daftest news story of the day. In Siberia, a drunk man destroyed a statue of Lenin while taking a selfie. There are, of course, pictures. |
| Updated | |
| at 8.43am BST | |
| 8.00am BST | |
| 08:00 | |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Our social affairs reporter Amelia Gentleman (a one-time Moscow correspondent herself) asked four very different Muscovites - an ex-TV producer, a surgeon, a retired couple and a former Mrs Russia - for their thoughts on Moscow life under sanctions. | Our social affairs reporter Amelia Gentleman (a one-time Moscow correspondent herself) asked four very different Muscovites - an ex-TV producer, a surgeon, a retired couple and a former Mrs Russia - for their thoughts on Moscow life under sanctions. |
| She got, not surprisingly, four very different types of answers from across the political spectrum. But there’s one thing everyone in Moscow agrees on: | She got, not surprisingly, four very different types of answers from across the political spectrum. But there’s one thing everyone in Moscow agrees on: |
| Absurd as it sounds, I miss the cheeses. In Soviet Russia there were no specialist cheeses, there was really just one type. It wasn’t even really cheese – something similar to cheese, but not quite cheese – so when you got these cheeses in the 1990s, when people tried them … cheese came to symbolise the range of things you could have in a post-Soviet state. Even poorer people could choose between five and 10 imported varieties and it was quite affordable,” Evgeny adds, laughing about the amount of attention cheese consumption has attracted since sanctions were introduced. “You can still find them in some shops, but the prices are exorbitant.” | Absurd as it sounds, I miss the cheeses. In Soviet Russia there were no specialist cheeses, there was really just one type. It wasn’t even really cheese – something similar to cheese, but not quite cheese – so when you got these cheeses in the 1990s, when people tried them … cheese came to symbolise the range of things you could have in a post-Soviet state. Even poorer people could choose between five and 10 imported varieties and it was quite affordable,” Evgeny adds, laughing about the amount of attention cheese consumption has attracted since sanctions were introduced. “You can still find them in some shops, but the prices are exorbitant.” |
| That’s coming up tomorrow. In the meantime, we stopped to chat with Andrey and Svetlana, psychotherapists who have some incisive comments about bike lanes ... and booze. | That’s coming up tomorrow. In the meantime, we stopped to chat with Andrey and Svetlana, psychotherapists who have some incisive comments about bike lanes ... and booze. |
| 7.44am BST | |
| 07:44 | |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Mark Rice-Oxley is a former Moscow correspondent who is back in the city after 10 years - and shocked by the changes since he last lived here. | Mark Rice-Oxley is a former Moscow correspondent who is back in the city after 10 years - and shocked by the changes since he last lived here. |
| The short story is Moscow has changed beyond all recognition in the past generation. Twenty years ago there were few spaces in which to stroll agreeably. Now the entire historic centre is a pedestrianised wanderfest. Fountains, trees (does Moscow have more trees than any other big city?), cafes ... the city appears to have moved psychologically at least 1,000km west, to be situated in central Europe somewhere. In fact, perhaps it has changed more than any other major world metropolis. Dhaka, Shanghai and Dubai might have something to say about that. You might as well.” | The short story is Moscow has changed beyond all recognition in the past generation. Twenty years ago there were few spaces in which to stroll agreeably. Now the entire historic centre is a pedestrianised wanderfest. Fountains, trees (does Moscow have more trees than any other big city?), cafes ... the city appears to have moved psychologically at least 1,000km west, to be situated in central Europe somewhere. In fact, perhaps it has changed more than any other major world metropolis. Dhaka, Shanghai and Dubai might have something to say about that. You might as well.” |
| Muscovite Kate Mikhaleynko does. She tells us via GuardianWitness: | Muscovite Kate Mikhaleynko does. She tells us via GuardianWitness: |
| I can definitely see improvement in the capital: public transport operates better, local government services are better organised, the streets are cleaner... in my old neighbourhood (a very working-class, high-immigrant community), there are more ‘high-street’ shops appearing, less potholes on the roads, new playgrounds, new trees being planted and even the occasional fountain being built. These things may seem little and shallow, but I can certainly see improvement in this sense, at least.” | I can definitely see improvement in the capital: public transport operates better, local government services are better organised, the streets are cleaner... in my old neighbourhood (a very working-class, high-immigrant community), there are more ‘high-street’ shops appearing, less potholes on the roads, new playgrounds, new trees being planted and even the occasional fountain being built. These things may seem little and shallow, but I can certainly see improvement in this sense, at least.” |
| One of the people responsible for some of these changes is Gorky Park director Olga Zakharova, who we caught up with earlier. She points out that giving people what they want is not rocket science: | One of the people responsible for some of these changes is Gorky Park director Olga Zakharova, who we caught up with earlier. She points out that giving people what they want is not rocket science: |
| Is Moscow changing for better or worse? That’s the question we’re asking today - share your thoughts with GuardianWitness or using the hashtag #guardianmoscow | Is Moscow changing for better or worse? That’s the question we’re asking today - share your thoughts with GuardianWitness or using the hashtag #guardianmoscow |
| Updated | |
| at 7.45am BST | |
| 7.32am BST | |
| 07:32 | |
| The Insider’s Cultural Guide to Moscow | The Insider’s Cultural Guide to Moscow |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| From space-travelling babushkas to grainy electronic music, the Russian capital has come a very long way since the legendary 1991 rock concert that drew an audience 16 times bigger than Glastonbury’s. | From space-travelling babushkas to grainy electronic music, the Russian capital has come a very long way since the legendary 1991 rock concert that drew an audience 16 times bigger than Glastonbury’s. |
| Igor Zinatulin brings us up to date with an insider’s guide to Moscow’s cultural scene, featuring a bit of coding, a lot of concrete, and a new craze called Coub. | Igor Zinatulin brings us up to date with an insider’s guide to Moscow’s cultural scene, featuring a bit of coding, a lot of concrete, and a new craze called Coub. |
| There is a coub for anything on the internet. Created by designer Igor Gladkoborov, Coub is an online service for editing and sharing looped videos. Since its launch, it has become a new web cult for its users in Russia, with thousands of witty snippets thrown on to social media every day – such as the one above, which sends an unsuspecting babushka on the Moscow metro into outer space. Coub is a testament to the success of Moscow’s remix culture, whereby new artworks are constantly being derived from old material (or recent Game of Thrones episodes)” | There is a coub for anything on the internet. Created by designer Igor Gladkoborov, Coub is an online service for editing and sharing looped videos. Since its launch, it has become a new web cult for its users in Russia, with thousands of witty snippets thrown on to social media every day – such as the one above, which sends an unsuspecting babushka on the Moscow metro into outer space. Coub is a testament to the success of Moscow’s remix culture, whereby new artworks are constantly being derived from old material (or recent Game of Thrones episodes)” |
| Read the Insider’s Cultural Guide to Moscow here. | Read the Insider’s Cultural Guide to Moscow here. |
| Updated | |
| at 7.35am BST | |
| 7.15am BST | |
| 07:15 | |
| Is the 'Moscow Experiment' over? | Is the 'Moscow Experiment' over? |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| Russia’s capital has begun a “liveable city” transformation – pedestrianisation, new parks, cycle lanes. But as Shaun Walker writes, western sanctions and falling oil prices have changed the political climate in the country, and many are wondering if Moscow’s “experiment” is about to end. | Russia’s capital has begun a “liveable city” transformation – pedestrianisation, new parks, cycle lanes. But as Shaun Walker writes, western sanctions and falling oil prices have changed the political climate in the country, and many are wondering if Moscow’s “experiment” is about to end. |
| Among the Muscovites Shaun spoke to was Alexei Navalny, the charismatic opposition leader who ran for mayor and who has his own strong ideas on the “Moscow Experiment”: | Among the Muscovites Shaun spoke to was Alexei Navalny, the charismatic opposition leader who ran for mayor and who has his own strong ideas on the “Moscow Experiment”: |
| Of course you can’t deny the improvements, they are there. But basically, what has happened is there was a huge gap in quality of life between Moscow and most normal western cities, and we’ve closed that gap slightly. I don’t think there’s any correlation between bicycle lanes and political activity. If you think falsifying elections is bad, no amount of bicycles are going to help you.” Alexei Navalny | Of course you can’t deny the improvements, they are there. But basically, what has happened is there was a huge gap in quality of life between Moscow and most normal western cities, and we’ve closed that gap slightly. I don’t think there’s any correlation between bicycle lanes and political activity. If you think falsifying elections is bad, no amount of bicycles are going to help you.” Alexei Navalny |
| Read the whole piece. | Read the whole piece. |
| Are you a Muscovite? How has life in Moscow really changed for you? And how do you feel about the future: is your city changing for better or worse? Share your thoughts with GuardianWitness or tweet us any time this week using #guardianmoscow | Are you a Muscovite? How has life in Moscow really changed for you? And how do you feel about the future: is your city changing for better or worse? Share your thoughts with GuardianWitness or tweet us any time this week using #guardianmoscow |
| We’ll also be out on the streets of Moscow today talking to people. Here is architect Vladimir Dudin, in the park with his daughter, who had this to say about what it’s like trying to raise a family in Moscow: | We’ll also be out on the streets of Moscow today talking to people. Here is architect Vladimir Dudin, in the park with his daughter, who had this to say about what it’s like trying to raise a family in Moscow: |
| Updated | |
| at 7.16am BST | |
| 6.47am BST | |
| 06:47 | |
| Welcome to Guardian Moscow Week / Московская неделя Guardian! | Welcome to Guardian Moscow Week / Московская неделя Guardian! |
| Chris Michael | Chris Michael |
| What’s that sound? | What’s that sound? |
| Yes, it’s the great roar of the Russian capital ... the 10-lane symphony that is Moscow traffic. And it’s a fitting backdrop to day one of our weeklong exploration of all things Muscovite. | Yes, it’s the great roar of the Russian capital ... the 10-lane symphony that is Moscow traffic. And it’s a fitting backdrop to day one of our weeklong exploration of all things Muscovite. |
| With relations between Russia and the west growing tenser, we’re spending a week in the Russian capital, exploring the realities of life in this remarkable city. From cycling to sanctions, media to gentrification, the Cities desk and New East network have joined forces with the Guardian’s international newsdesk to look beyond the headlines (and the inevitable hipsters) and ask Muscovites what they really think. | With relations between Russia and the west growing tenser, we’re spending a week in the Russian capital, exploring the realities of life in this remarkable city. From cycling to sanctions, media to gentrification, the Cities desk and New East network have joined forces with the Guardian’s international newsdesk to look beyond the headlines (and the inevitable hipsters) and ask Muscovites what they really think. |
| We’ll be using video, live debates and social media – in both English and Russian – in an effort to seek a wider perspective and deeper understanding of modern life in Moscow. The key to this whole project will be hearing from you: you can tweet using the hashtag #guardianmoscow and of course leave comments under our articles. To comment in Russian, email moscow.week@theguardian.com. | We’ll be using video, live debates and social media – in both English and Russian – in an effort to seek a wider perspective and deeper understanding of modern life in Moscow. The key to this whole project will be hearing from you: you can tweet using the hashtag #guardianmoscow and of course leave comments under our articles. To comment in Russian, email moscow.week@theguardian.com. |
| We kick off with a special report. The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Shaun Walker, is asking whether the “Moscow Experiment” – the project to open up the waterfront, encourage cycling and green space, and generally liven up the city – is about to come to a crashing halt. | We kick off with a special report. The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Shaun Walker, is asking whether the “Moscow Experiment” – the project to open up the waterfront, encourage cycling and green space, and generally liven up the city – is about to come to a crashing halt. |
| Then at 12pm noon Moscow time (10am in the UK), Shaun will host a live debate at the Strelka Institute in the heart of Moscow - which is also doubling as Guardian Moscow HQ - asking the very same question: Is the Moscow Experiment over? | Then at 12pm noon Moscow time (10am in the UK), Shaun will host a live debate at the Strelka Institute in the heart of Moscow - which is also doubling as Guardian Moscow HQ - asking the very same question: Is the Moscow Experiment over? |
| pic.twitter.com/6LhW5PoY2U | pic.twitter.com/6LhW5PoY2U |
| Also today: Alec Luhn’s exploration of why Moscow’s migrants are fleeing the capital, our insider’s cultural guide to Moscow, and the piece everyone in Moscow is already talking about even though we haven’t launched it yet ... who made the cut of our 30 Under 30 list of Moscow’s young movers and shakers? | Also today: Alec Luhn’s exploration of why Moscow’s migrants are fleeing the capital, our insider’s cultural guide to Moscow, and the piece everyone in Moscow is already talking about even though we haven’t launched it yet ... who made the cut of our 30 Under 30 list of Moscow’s young movers and shakers? |
| Our crack Guardian Moscow squad - Judith Soal, Maeve Shearlaw, Mark Rice-Oxley and myself - will be out taking the pulse of the capital. We’ve already doorstepped Roman Abramovich, so things are off to a promising beginning. | Our crack Guardian Moscow squad - Judith Soal, Maeve Shearlaw, Mark Rice-Oxley and myself - will be out taking the pulse of the capital. We’ve already doorstepped Roman Abramovich, so things are off to a promising beginning. |
| Bumping into Roman Abramovich at Strelka, Moscow. Hard for an Arsenal fan... pic.twitter.com/pZIZa5l5rv | Bumping into Roman Abramovich at Strelka, Moscow. Hard for an Arsenal fan... pic.twitter.com/pZIZa5l5rv |
| He wished us well before security intervened. | He wished us well before security intervened. |
| In the meantime, however, take a hard look at yourself and ask: how much do you REALLY know about the Russian capital? Take our quiz and tell us how you did. Best result gets a non-monetary prize that is almost certain to be disappointing. What’s that hashtag again? That’s right it’s #guardianmoscow | In the meantime, however, take a hard look at yourself and ask: how much do you REALLY know about the Russian capital? Take our quiz and tell us how you did. Best result gets a non-monetary prize that is almost certain to be disappointing. What’s that hashtag again? That’s right it’s #guardianmoscow |
| Thanks for joining us and stay tuned for lots more: we’re live from Moscow all day. | Thanks for joining us and stay tuned for lots more: we’re live from Moscow all day. |
| Updated | |
| at 8.25am BST |