Modern Moscow's come a long way from its staid Soviet days, flinging itself into the future with a sort of brashness that would do Putin proud. While you can still relive the glory days of czars and princes past, today's oilgarchs and aristocrats prefer pricey nightspots, chic shops and glitzy hotels to meet the Muscovite need for unabashed opulence.
But Moscow's soul isn't spirited away behind velvet ropes or buried beneath the beluga. This city's charm has as much to do with a bit of borscht, a good soak, and a long night of debating Dostoevsky till dawn. Sure, you can run through a roll of rubles trying to impress the bevy of beauties by the bar, but it's the simple pleasures that make Russian life so regal.
A sentiment we can all raise a drink to.
