The ruble crashed and bounced back, heads rolled in the government, tensions mounted in the Gulf, but in that far-flung corner of empire at 14 Sofiskaya Naberezhnaya, such matters faded into the background behind a frenzy of anticipation and preparation for the Big Event.


At the British Embassy in Moscow, no efforts are being spared to ensure that next week's visit by HM -- Her Majesty, that is -- Queen Elizabeth II, goes off without a hitch.


The queen's arrival Monday marks the first time a reigning British sovereign has ever set foot on Russian soil. Moscow will never get a second chance to make a first impression on the world's most famous monarch, and the prospect has the city slightly on edge.


"We're beavering away like mad," said Ian Hay-Campbell, the new head of press and public affairs at the British Embassy, where earlier in the week spokespeople had begun to show a distinct lack of patience for journalistic queries. "It's obviously very hectic, because the organization of a state visit like this involves a huge amount of work and preparation, but it's coming along well."


The four-day visit, which will take the queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, from Moscow to St. Petersburg before they sail home aboard the royal yacht Britannia on Thursday evening, has meant months of preparation for the Russian government as well as local embassies. Everyone from Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin to Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has been coached for prime performance -- no touching the queen beyond a brief introductory handshake, for example.


"There's usually an understanding that you don't touch the queen when you're talking to her," Hay-Campbell said. "Like grabbing her elbow -- that would be considered totally inappropriate."


When meeting the queen, he explained, curtseys and slight bows are the rule, but only for subjects -- citizens of any of the 50 Commonwealth nations. In other instances a handshake is sufficient, along with the suitable address. Queen Elizabeth is always "your Majesty" the first time around, and "ma'am" every time after. Prince Philip is traditionally addressed as "Sir," or, for a more formal touch, "your Highness," Hay-Campbell said.


"It's very American to call him 'Duke.' We try to discourage that," he added.


As everyone practices their addresses and handshakes, Moscow itself is enjoying a thorough, albeit selective, cleanup. Mayoral spokesperson Igor Zverev said several sites where the queen has been scheduled to appear have been given the royal Moscow ***remont*** treatment, and that Luzhkov himself had spent Wednesday inspecting the repair work on pertinent buildings, greenery and roads. The results were at least partly satisfactory -- David Griffin, a royal chauffeur for the past 27 years, said Moscow driving was considerably smoother than he had been led to expect.


"The roads aren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be," said Griffin at a Thursday press conference, showing off the pair of sumptuous 1960 and 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI limousines that the queen and Prince Philip will be using during their stay. "There's been nothing that would give us an uncomfortable ride."


A mayoral delegation, however, probably felt a few bumps Wednesday afternoon during an inspection of School No. 20, where workers were feverishly laying down asphalt in anticipation of one of the queen's few ventures beyond the city center. The delegation was forced to drive up onto the sidewalk to avoid waist-high piles of concrete, and ended up picking their way through the litter-strewn courtyard opposite the school. The road itself had been stripped Monday and was due to be finished by the end of the week, workers said.


"We are working no faster and no slower than we always work," said Georgy, a worker who refused to give his last name. "We are always efficient."


Nikolai, another worker, laughed. "We're being especially efficient for the queen," he said.


Inside, teachers and students at the school were so preoccupied by preparations that they were "barely able to work," said Nadezhda Sviridova, assistant director of the school. Maintenance work consisted mainly of painting, she said. "When you invite guests, what do you do? When I invite guests, I clean the apartment, change the curtains, clean the windows," she said. "It's natural."


"Russians have a fine understanding of diplomatic protocol. But we also have an ancient tradition of hospitality that we had during the Romanov dynasty and that we have to this day," said Alexander Chumikov, a spokesperson for the Majority Party, which supports the re-establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Russia. "I'm sure that if the queen suddenly appeared tomorrow in someone's house or apartment in Moscow, the people would spend their last rubles to make her feel comfortable."


*** Ellen Barry contributed to this story.***