Social Movers – Summertime and the Living Is Easy

‘Pasha Facecontrol’, Moscows legendary top bouncer, finally opened his own place. Every weekend ‘Duran Bar’ collects Moscow’s finest and rich, from stars to models to oligarchs. It’s not easy to get inside as a normal person, but not impossible and worth trying, alone for the people watch.

Michel’s ‘Reka’ is not only a fine dining place, favored by politicians and oligarch wives, but its nightclub on the roof features various bands and live music (from Jazz to House) every weekend.

The owner and the team of Icon, Artel Bessonnitsa and Space (among many other clubs) is building a new super club, which supposedly costs… don’t fall of your chair… $33 million. Yes, you are reading right. My first question to them was ‘So, you’ll have golden toilet seats, right?’. Man, I would like to see the business-plan and ROI perspective on that one, but as you know, we are living in Russia and money seems to flow easily, even during these crisis days. I’ll check this new club and I will probably write about it in the next issue.

‘Rose Bar’, another rich peoples’ hangout, developed over the past months and is now worth a visit, if you want to see a real Russian party. Russian pop music, live performances of singers and artificial looking, long legged girls dancing. The bar was designed by the owner Emin Agalarov, businessman and pop-star, himself.
You’ll probably ask, where the underground is hanging out. The answer is not easy to find these days, but check ‘Simachevs’, ‘Power House’ and ‘Rodnya’ for hipsters and fashionists.

At ‘Rolling Stone Bar’, you will find Moscow’s youngsters (18-20) jumping and drinking to pop hits from their childhood. If you want to dig deeper into the down and dirty, you can check ‘Kamchatka’ and drink Russian beer for the lowest price in town. Or venture to the nearby ‘Coyote Ugly’ for the upgraded version of a drinking hole.

Also at Kuznetsky Most, you’ll find a new 20-30s themes bar with reasonable priced, but good, cocktails. ‘Dirty Blond’ has a lot of potential to become another Moscow party hot spot.

What about ‘Chateau de Fantomas’?, I am asked a lot these days. Well, this club was built around a closed society. My friend Yuri calls it a Swinger Club, but no worries, its just a meeting place, the action takes place at the members homes. ‘Fantomas’ features tech-house music and minimal.

And last, but not least, here are my tips for places to visit in Moscow. The hottest places in town. Just google the name + Moscow and you will find more information and the addresses:
SOHO Rooms, Artel Bessonnitsa, Krysha Mira, Duran Bar, Jagger, Gipsy, Mendeleev Bar, Simachevs, Rose Bar, Sibir, Buddha Bar

This summer has a been a bit disappointing as far as weather goes though August is looking good so far and if we are lucky we might be blessed with an Indian Summer. The closing of bars and restaurants in the Moscow area has taken out some of our favorite spots, including my bar ‘Donnie’s’ but the prospects of something new being on the horizon is promising.

Places like ‘Chicago Prime’, ‘Papa’s’, ‘Skandi’, and ‘Jack n Jim’s’ remain to be a favorite hangouts for Expats and locals alike. The parks are booming with life as people have taken to the outdoors this summer with the beautiful improvements being made by the local and Russian governments they make for a perfect day out.

September will see the opening of many new venues such as ‘The Pink Taco’ and hopefully we can once again pump up the live music scene in Moscow.
Follow me on Twitter @ DonCraig777 for more updates

I run ‘Moscow Amateur Theatre Club’, (partner – Moscow English Theatre), ‘Moscow Travel Club’ (partners www.wolfin.ru and www.engineer-history.ru), ‘Stand Up Comedy Club’ (partner, Steve Foreman). I also organise Kundalini yoga sessions in English Language, taking place each Tuesday evening. (Partners with Alexandra Kutepova).

Coolest ‘must go to’ events on your social calendar this fall: Maria’s Annual Charity ball (or Remembrance Ball) on the third Saturday of November, this time we have corporate sponsors, so, please expect an especially excellent evening, dedicated to raise funds to go to a charity organisation called ‘Cool Coz’ (Charity set up by a generous Russian French banker, philosopher and philanthropist, who wishes to remain anonymous). Another highly recommended pastime activity it’s a hybrid between an excursion, a game and a quest, of course in, called: ‘Become a Freemason for one day’.

Not many people know, but I am a UK trained psychotherapist, with ten years of experience working as addiction counsellor in both England and Russia. Recently, I decided to go back to my profession and focus on what I can do best- help people to help themselves. Apart from traditional counselling sessions, I also offer seminars, workshops and trainings related to corporate health and conflict resolution to Fortune 500 companies. If you are new to Moscow and require quick and smooth integration into local culture and/or onto a Russian market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and to the editor of this magazine. I am very thankful to Kim and his team to let me contribute to Moscow expat Life magazine on a regular basis, I believe this space is the best place to promote services and products directed at expat community in Russia. Back to organizing now! See you all very soon during our cool community events!