In the 13th century, Moscow's princes held back Mongol invaders. Not quite 200 years ago, Russians burned the city to give Napoleon a pyrrhic victory. Nazi Panzers were at the outskirts of Moscow 60 years ago. On the streets, men in business suits talk on cell phones. Young women, who stunningly demolish the unflattering stereotype of Russian femininity, look like they stepped out of the pages of Vogue.
Fashionable restaurants offer more than borscht and blinis at New York prices.
Fifth Avenue it isn't. The pathetic mingles with the prosperous. Old ladies beg in the streets. Once, the state cared for all of their needs. While much in evidence in its capital city, Russia's prosperity is currently confined to a thin crust of the population.