Moscow

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Not long ago, Moscow was the heart of the Wild East, notorious for oligarchs and droves of faceless pensioners, veterans, and ex-apparatchiks struggling to stay afloat. Today, the city not only has much, much more money¬—there are an estimated 40 billionaires in Moscow, rivaling the number in New York—it’s also far more confident, pumped up with a kind of teenage, testosterone glow that is at once amusing and unsettling: gleaming and powerful, propelled by sky-high oil prices, a strong ruble, and a president who embodies the toughness so many Russians crave. With a population of 10.4 million, Moscow is quickly becoming a real estate boomtown and a magnet for investment banks. Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers now compete with homegrown Renaissance Capital, Troika Dialog, and Alfa Bank as the biggest dealmakers in town.

Where to Sleep
The city is razing some of the Communist-era hotels within sight of the Kremlin and replacing them with five-star resorts. The top of the line, for now, is the Ritz-Carlton, a three-minute stroll from Red Square. Bathrooms include marble from the Altai Mountains, and the rooftop features the 02 Lounge, a glass-domed sushi bar run by celebrity chef Seiji Kusano. The hotel opened in the summer of 2007, so no one important has stayed there yet. But they will.

On the other side of the Moscow River, the Baltschug Kempinski, with its yellow neoclassical facade dating to Nicholas II, remains one of the city’s best hotels. The Kempinski embodies the old imperial style: It’s serious, looming, borderline stodgy. People who stay here¬¬—members of official delegations, titans of business, celebrities with a certain gravitas¬—do so to send a message: This place is rich, powerful, and utterly unconcerned with whatever the masses happen to like right now. Perhaps that’s why George Soros, Claudia Schiffer, and Robert De Niro have slept here.

Then there’s the Swiss Hotel Moscow, one of the city’s tallest buildings. For the height of luxury, spend a night in the twenty-eighth-floor presidential suite—1,679 square feet of earth tones and contemporary design with magnificent, dreamlike vistas of the imperial/Soviet/post-Soviet landscape. Guests here are less concerned with glitz than with proximity: It’s down the block from the Paveletzky office complex, home to many a Western corporation’s Moscow headquarters.

The Ararat Park Hyatt remains the destination of choice for the glitterati—Madonna checked in when she gave her controversial concert (replete with faux crucifixion) in the summer of 2006. Selling points include its proximity to the Bolshoi Theater, and access to the on-site Quantum Spa and Health Club, which features nine types of massage (including Swedish, Russian deep tissue, anti-cellulite) as well as yoga, Pilates, and many treatments.

Where to Eat
It used to be so easy, when Intourist officials told tour groups when and where they’d eat (except that food was terrible and often unavailable). Today, Moscow is a hodgepodge of wildly imaginative, wildly overpriced restaurants, brasseries, and cafés. Restaurateur Arkady Novikov has played the biggest role in transforming the dining scene. His company, Gorky 10, dominates the pantheon of high-end eateries: the black and beige GQ Bar, where New Russians sip strawberry mojitos and sample the Kamchatka crabmeat in the chef’s own spicy sauce; the art café Galereya, with its rotating exhibits; and Aist (Stork), famous for its exotic cuisine (by Sardinian chef Fabrizio Crespi) and its outlandish prices. For the next five minutes, Aist will probably be the toughest place in town to snag a table—oligarch sighting guaranteed. Café Pushkin, renowned for its detailed early-nineteenth-century decor and, next door, Turandot, which has the most delicious cuisine of any restaurant in the city, are also Moscow mainstays. For somewhat different dining experiences, consider Prichal (Pier), in a tony suburb where the super-rich loll about in the sun on weekends, and Dom Literatorov (made famous by Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita), where the ceilings are towering and dark and the food is rich Russian.

Where to See and Be Seen
Without a doubt, the two best places to spend an evening are Diaghilev, next to the Hermitage Theater, and Krysha Mira (Top of the World), the rooftop club/café overlooking the Moscow River. Both are tough to get into, which means all would-be club-goers need a (Russian) connection just to get on the guest list (or, if you’re staying at a top hotel, a call from the concierge). Bear in mind that the people who run the business world in Moscow tend to be younger than their counterparts the world over (almost everyone over 40 is an apparatchik at heart). They like hanging out in clubs and bars that moguls in places like New York or Tokyo might find a bit young. The new club Opera is a big draw for trendsetters.

Where to Close a Deal
Bar 30/7 is hip but serious, the kind of place where contracts are signed and alliances forged—while gorgeous girls from the provinces serve grapefruit juleps as DJs spin Latin, hip-hop, and world beat for a crowd that blends Russians and expats, oligarchs and (who knows?) small-arms dealers. Increasingly, business in Moscow takes place on the golf course. Bring a client to Le Meridien Moscow Country Club.

Local Codes
Russia under Putin is patriotic, full of Soviet mythologies and a deep desire for great-power status. Learn a few Russian catchphrases and review your Russian literature: Pushkin came before Tolstoy, and Pasternak’s best work is the poetry that comes at the end of Dr. Zhivago, not Dr. Zhivago. Many Russians assume that Westerners know little about Russia; exceeding expectations is not hard. When hailing a taxi, it’s best to find a Russian who can negotiate. Most cabs are unmarked Soviet-era Ladas owned by Armenians, Azeris, and Uzbeks trying to make ends meet. There are no meters. Traveling anywhere within the center should never cost more than 150 or 200 rubles. By the way, that girl at the bar who’s been eyeing you all night—she’s probably working.

Airport Intelligence
Sheremetyevo is Soviet, tacky, and drab. The café upstairs charges way too much for an espresso—avoid it. If at all possible, fly into Domodyedovo, which was recently renovated.

The Three-Hour Tour
Stroll up the Bulvar, the four-lane avenue split in two by a leafy park; stop at the pond at Chistiye Prudy; then head to Pokrovka, where you can take a cab to the Tretyakov Gallery. This is the best collection of Russian art in Moscow, and it’s an icon. Every Russian over 30 will ask if you went there. Following the Tretyakov, which could consume the whole day but needn’t, take another cab to Gorky Park and head toward the river, following the boardwalk to Neskuchny Sad (Not Boring Garden), which is definitely not boring—in fact, it’s one of the most beautiful walks in Moscow. Along the way, stop at the restaurant Chihana for a spot of plov, the Uzbek rice-and-meat dish that’s outstandingly delicious, and green tea.

–Peter Savodnik