After years of a bloc-and-borscht lifestyle, a nightlife where the only party in town was the Communist one, and Friday nights spent in a giddy whirl of Marxist meetings and political study groups, Moscow  is putting on its glad rags and popping the champagne corks. Rococo vision of trumpeting angels, oversized statues and onion-domed cathedrals in marble, malachite and gold is tailor-made for such grand gestures. It's a city made for the senses.
Russia's turbulent path towards a market economy - with new oil firms growing large and service sector firms like travel agents and beauty salons emerging - is reflected in Moscow's lively night scene.