Recently I visited Moscow after five years away. The city, which looked different and strange, impressed me by its ability to change. My days back in Russia were divided between official meetings, hours wasted in traffic jams, and nights spent with old friends who tried to show me the best of Moscow nightlife.
On my first free evening, I was invited to a place called “Shinok.” The restaurant had many of the traits found in ethnic restaurants everywhere. Different bits of kitsch, this time Ukrainian, were richly represented. But the interior decoration had one unique element – an artificial wall with windows separating a part of the restaurant hall. Behind the wall was a stage set of a village yard.
A real cow, as well as chickens and geese populated that ersatz farmyard. At times an old woman in traditional dress appeared to feed the animals. Visitors enjoying borscht and pirogi observed her efforts with satisfaction. “She works for the restaurant,” my acquaintance explained. “She feeds animals and sits in the yard to create the rustic ambiance.”
To continue reading, register now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.
The banking system we take for granted is unfixable. The good news is that we no longer need to rely on any private, rent-seeking, socially destabilizing network of banks, at least not the way we have so far.
shows why the current private system is unfixable – and why we don’t need to tolerate it anymore.
Like Vladimir Putin, China's leader is so steeped in a narrative of victimhood and fearful of appearing weak that it is hard to imagine him ever leading China out of the mess he has created. He could well be remembered as the leader who squandered history's most remarkable economic success story.
about the country's increasingly worrisome trajectory, both at home and abroad.
Artificial IdiocyFrank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
Recently I visited Moscow after five years away. The city, which looked different and strange, impressed me by its ability to change. My days back in Russia were divided between official meetings, hours wasted in traffic jams, and nights spent with old friends who tried to show me the best of Moscow nightlife.
On my first free evening, I was invited to a place called “Shinok.” The restaurant had many of the traits found in ethnic restaurants everywhere. Different bits of kitsch, this time Ukrainian, were richly represented. But the interior decoration had one unique element – an artificial wall with windows separating a part of the restaurant hall. Behind the wall was a stage set of a village yard.
A real cow, as well as chickens and geese populated that ersatz farmyard. At times an old woman in traditional dress appeared to feed the animals. Visitors enjoying borscht and pirogi observed her efforts with satisfaction. “She works for the restaurant,” my acquaintance explained. “She feeds animals and sits in the yard to create the rustic ambiance.”
To continue reading, register now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.
Subscribe
As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.
Register
Already have an account? Log in