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. With 30 percent of all the world's resources, Russians have the per-capita purchasing power of Guatemalans. It will take decades to undo the work of Lenin and his successors. Still, the city bustles and Muscovites seem to be enjoying themselves, without being entirely sure of where their nation is headed or why.