It wasn't the malls or the molls, the casinos, the mirrored-glass office towers or the rebuilt churches that riveted Natan Sharansky's attention. The former Soviet dissident, exiled by the KGB only to return triumphantly as Israel's trade minister, could see it in the way Muscovites carry themselves, in the way they talk. In his place are multicultural masses and a teeming bazaar of a metropolis whose chaotic changes, warts and all, are on full polychrome display.
People enjoy life much more deeply and feel more security and confidence.
Strewn in the wake of Russia's upheaval are legions of beggars, orphans, homeless, jobless and impoverished elderly, confronting daily deprivation with scant hope for improvement. But swept up in the frenzy of a building boom that coincides with grandiose anniversary celebrations climaxing the weekend of Sept. 5-7, Muscovites seem to be walking a bit taller these days. Hurtling along with blue lights flashing, these bankers, businessmen and government luminaries enter a Moscow whose old outer shell remains intact. But changes are evident everywhere. Signs herald new restaurant or store openings daily.