My Apartment

Above are pictures from the windows of my apartment. I am living in a large apartment building from the Stalin era that currently serves as an apartment hotel. Long time ago, old Soviet generals use to live in this building, and currently there are plaques outside that attest to their memory. The building is right next to the Moscow River and a 3 minute walk from the Russian Parliament building where Putin resides. It is right next door to the British embassy and on the same street as a very serious restaurant visited by guys who have drivers wait for them in their expensive cars. The building is also very close to “Arbat,” which is a historic street with lots of pretty stores, restaurants, people trying to sell their paintings, and more. In fact, on this street, many famous Russian intellectuals lived, including Pushkin, who is considered to be Russia’s greatest writer.

Russia - Americanized?

Finally, after a week, I am getting around to blogging. Moscow is very different than I expected it to be. It feels very large and busy. While there are plenty of tourist attractions here, it does not at all feel touristy. Thus, it feels like New York City. Also, judging by the ads, stores, products, restaurants, and cars, it feels quite Americanized, more so than Prague, Vienna, and Budapest that I visited last year.

I was surprised to see very few drunk people on the streets. I have seen only one or two people who were messed up, comparable to NYC or any other city. Nonetheless, many men seem to be carrying beer here as if it was coke, and after buying souvenirs, the clerk girl gave me two shots of special vodka.

I found the women most surprising in Moscow. All the ones my age seem to be wearing high heels and are tall and skinny.

The people, culturally, are also different than in the U.S., but I am going to talk about that in another blog post.

I am rising senior at Princeton University majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with a certificate in Finance. I am doing my senior thesis research on Russia’s business environment and the high-technology sector. I will be flying to Moscow tomorrow, and will be staying there for three and a half weeks. I plan to write about my journey here.