Moscow 2013 Datasheet
09-03-2013, 05:17 PM
Given the amount of attention Moscow has received I thought I’d throw in some info on my experience there.
Ok folks, my two year stint in Moscow has thankfully ended. No point reinventing the wheel, so I’m going to put this as an add on to the above data sheet. I have become very jaded here towards Russia/Muscovites due to the poor treatment that nonwhite people receive, but I’ll try to be as objective as possible for everyone else, and I’ve commented extensively on the racism in other threads, but I’ll still comment on it here a bit. This report will largely focus on Moscow, but I’ll talk about the average Russian when appropriate. For reference, I’ve written previously on Mexico (did very decently there) and Central Asia (see Almaty and Bishkek reports). Also, for reference, I’ve been to Poland and the Baltics and had much better experiences there reception wise. I do great in NYC and ok in DC and Cali.
Having been back in the States for a month already, I think that in cities such as Vegas or NYC, the equivalent 7 is overall friendlier then in Moscow. The people here suck. Coming here only in the summer gives a warped perception of the friendliness.
The City/The Country
It would take an entire book to boil down the effect of the political and economic situation, but to keep it short, this is no longer the 1990’s. Before moving here in 2011, I last visited the country in 2001. It’s a dramatically transformed place. Russians (or at least Muscovites) have sufficient disposable income to travel, eat out, go clubbing, buy cars, etc. So, with the exception of immigrants from Central Asia, your average Russian you meet in Moscow is going to be doing ok economically and you won’t be able to wow them with your foreigner status or bankroll. Plus, foreigners are getting more and more common with cheap flights from Europe and a new visa regime.
The Women
There are tons of threads floating around about how Russia is hell for women and a paradise for men. Honestly, that’s not the vibe I’ve been getting here. Flakes are quite common, and women have multiple suitors. Natasha that you meet in the club has already been to at least Turkey in Egypt and has had dudes throw themselves at her left and right so she knows her value.
2 years here and I haven’t solved the psychology of how to interact with them as a nonwhite person so I’m going to pass on this.
Climate
There is one major constraint on day game: the weather sucks balls here from early November to mid April – it’s essentially solid snow cover. From December to February, there are weeks on end where it doesn’t get about 15 Fahrenheit. It’s tough and the people are much less friendly.
The summers are nice, though. May till late September it’s usually sunny and it doesn’t get disgustingly hot like in DC or NYC, though sometimes it can linger in the 90’s for a few days.
Day Game
Ok, so assuming you are coming in the summer, there are a few places for day game. The parks are great – Gorky Park, VDNK, and others. Gorky is great because along the riverside they have salsa and hiphop during the bright summer evenings, tons of people, some very attractive women. Have brought my dog to Gorky and gotten some numbers.
Old Arbat street is also a favorite, lots of tourist and Russian girls standing around any time of day that can be opened with English. I’ve gotten some numbers here. I have also approached on New Arbat street. Just a few days ago by speaking Russian with some of the salespeople (fed up with tourists) I got a number.
Red square also seems to have tons of people hanging out, though I never got a number here.
Night Game
There’s lots of options, but you HAVE to be mindful of face control. It can kill a night quite easily when someone in your group can’t get into a venue. The easiest thing to do is everyone together goes to a place and everyone gets in or no one gets in. Huge hassle. Get there early, dress well, try to avoid having ethnic or unattractive people in your group if possible. Some places are easy to get in, others are a minefield.
Spots:
He’s already hit on most of the clubs, so I’m going to focus on some places that are good for brown and black guys: salsa clubs. These are places where women are more open to nonwhite guys and you won’t get shafted by face control. Only problem, is that every other brown and black dude in the city also knows about it, so you’ll be competing with Cuban Jose who is fluent in Russian and knows salsa. And because you are ethnic, your identification as an American/European will not register with most girls.
One of my favorite places to start out a night (in the summer) is the plaza outside of Цум department store, lots of people outside drinking beer, very friendly vibe. Approach in English and you will easily get numbers.
Pancho Villa: Mexican Restaurant and bar, it is pretty hopping on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. A bit small and packed, 150 ruble cover, but decent crowd though occasionally a sausagefest. Some reggaeton and top 40, bachata, cumbia.
Old Havana: Hardcore salsa music in the evenings, then gets more reggaeton/top 40ish later at night, goes strong till 4am. Lots of numbers and a few makeouts from here. Lots of Turkish guys, and the guy at the door will give a bit of hassle if you aren’t white.
:
Papa Joes: This has a very fun vibe, though service at the bar is terrible. Have salsa dancing shows that gets the Russian women riled up.
Casa Agave: Come here for Friday happy hour and thank me later. Pound for pound the most attractive and approachable women earlier in the night – after 1am the quality definitely deteriorates. Not sure about Saturdays.
Tips for brown people: SPEAK ENGLISH! This will help distinguish you from the Turkish, Caucasian, and Central Asian guys. I often opened girls thinking my fluent Russian will help. Nope – English works better, because you have the advantage and it puts them on the defensive.
Another problem I had was that I kept trying to get them to identify me with my American nationality, though the Russian women kept focusing on my Indian background, which I barely identify with. That identity disconnect probably prevented the necessary emotional buttons being pressed and therefore cost me some bangs. Oh well, lesson learned.
If I had to do my two year stint in Moscow, I would have first learned salsa before I came, then I would have worn glasses more frequently, and put out the most sophisticated vibe possible (In terms of dress and grooming, etc) in order to set me apart the most from the Turkish and Arab guys. I would have worked hard on cultivating some sort of stereotypical image that would have appealed hard to a specific type of girl rather than try and mix images in terms of being brown, American, fun, and intellectual. Subtlety is often lost here.
It was an unhappy two years, and I have a mixture of regret and envy seeing others tear up this city, but to all you people saying race doesn’t matter, it does here! All those touting Moscow as a great destination are all white or perhaps olive skinned, but not darker then that I bet. Given the continuing crackdown on immigrants, I’m happy to be gone.
Happy hunting. I’d take Vegas, NYC, Poland, SE Asia, Baltics, Mexico, Scandinavia any day over Moscow.