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Sergei Polunin Takes Stage in 'Mayerling' in Moscow

One of the world's most exciting ballet dancers Sergei Polunin will take the stage Thursday as Crown-Prince Rudolf in Kenneth MacMillan's "Mayerling"...

Land Art Festival Archstoyanie Marks 10th Year

One of Russia's most remarkable festivals, the land art event Archstoyanie, celebrates its 10th anniversary this weekend.

Posing Nearly in the Nude in Moscow Since 1977

Viktor Parygin can be found, young and old, all over the walls of the Surikov Institute, one of the most prestigious art schools in the country.

Hennessy Celebrate 250 Years With Ambitious Exhibit

Hennessy cognac had a choice, chairman and CEO Bernard Peillon said, when celebrating their 250th anniversary this year: do a conventional exhibit linked...

Russian Artist Creates Special Bribe Envelopes for Corrupt Officials

A Siberian artist has sold out of special envelopes he created for putting money in to pay bribes after they proved to be an instant hit.

Russian 'Uber for Boobs' Start-Up Tittygram Sees Business Boom

When Moscow law firm Family Case, whose website boasts a knack for "the delicate resolution of family problems," decided to advertise recently, it...

Comic Ardal O'Hanlon to Star at Moscow's Irish Week

Irish comedian Ardal O'Hanlon, famed for his role as a dim-witted Catholic priest in the hit sitcom "Father Ted," is making his first visit to Moscow...

From the Archive: Russian Penis Doctor Restores Man's 'Member'

The coffinmaker was hard at work when the accident happened. His circular saw suddenly got caught up in his trousers, and the man and the five bits...

Everybody Hurts: Perfecting the Art of Displeasing the Customer

Steve is sore all over as he stands at the bar in a Moscow club. He is covered in welts and bruises. But he loves it.

From the Archive: Moskva Hotel's Treasures Up for Grabs

Less than a month after the last guests left, the vast hulk of the Moskva hotel at the end of Tverskaya Ulitsa is being stripped bare in what could...

Red Square Exhibit Sheds New Light on Soviet Cult of Lenin

Everyone knew what was in the redbrick 19th-century building by Red Square in Soviet times. It was the Lenin Museum, the home — together with the nearby...

Stopped in London, Anti-Racism Show on Here

The fifth and last day of Exhibit B, a controversial work that aims to look at slavery and racism, and that was canceled in London after protests...

Cosmoscow Art Fair Opens in Central Manezh

If you have a spare couple of thousand euros, then the Central Manezh Exhibition Hall could be the place this weekend for you to start your contemporary...

Architect's Granddaughter Evicted From Moscow's Iconic Melnikov House

Moscow's iconic Melnikov House has found itself embroiled in yet another property scandal following the forced eviction of the architect's 75-year-old...

A Home Split In Two, Living on the Russian Ukrainian Border in 2000

Fourteen years ago, The Moscow Times wrote about Leonid Dobronogov — a man who had the bad luck to be living in a house built exactly on the Russian-Ukrainian...

Russian Sets up Website to Let Men Watch Football Without Wives

Mikhail Sindeyev watched 50 games of football on television this year but that wasn't enough. He needed to watch all of the World Cup too so he set...

Styr the Cannibal Entertains at Game of Thrones Flop

There was a buzz of excitement at the open-air cinema at Muzeon Park as a few hundred journalists and fans gathered to meet actors from "Game of Thrones...

Newcomer Crimea Steals the Show on Russia Day

"This will be the eighth time we have gone round," said an excited Vadim Korenkov, 25, as he sat, tuba strapped to his body at the top of the towering...

French Artist Sets Moscow Landmark on Fire

The Melnikov House burned bright on the warm May evening. Through its iconic hexagonal windows, the flames could be seen growing stronger and stronger...

Russian Ballet Scandal Heads North

The storied Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is at the center of a power struggle between rival factions.

Has the City Gotten Better for Foreign Tourists?

Moscow city wants more tourists and has started implementing a plan to make life simpler and easier for the foreign visitor. The city says it has...

Wanted: Teleportation

It was one of the more tempting offers that came in to my inbox this Friday to experience teleportation through time and space. Something about the letter...

Wanted: Plant Stem Cell

The nicely wrapped baskets were perched on the reception desk as you enter the building where this newspaper is located. It's a desk of bounty, where...

Election Webcams Reveal a Slice of Russian Life

The costly web cameras put in place in Russia's polling stations to combat fraud served a dual purpose over the weekend, giving viewers an unusual...

Wanted: Seals

The door was sealed and the locks changed. There was a piece of paper attached, partly on the door, partly on the frame, which had a light blue...

Opposition Join Hands in Anti-Putin Protest

Thousands of people formed a human chain around the center of Moscow on Sunday as the opposition upped its campaign for honest elections just a week...

Wanted: Secret Service Files

One hundred kilometers from Moscow, Boris was sitting, waiting with 48 years of secret service knowledge at his fingertips, waiting for somebody willing...

Wanted: Dream Glasses

Eldar's advert promised big things, a pair of magic glasses that could record your dreams while you sleep.

Emerald Isle Seeking More Tourist Rubles

Ireland, one of the countries worst hit by the financial crisis, is looking to boost its economy by attracting Russian tourists to its shore, and Wednesday...

Wanted: The Muppets

Cran the Intern looked at me askance. "What did you say?" she asked.

Year in Review: When Reality Cut In

What 2011 will represent for Russia — the start of something, the end of somebody — nobody knows. But it was a year when the curtain was slid aside...

Signs of Protest: What They Carried

The Saturday protest offered a cornucopia of political slogans, signs and posters. The Moscow Times spoke to people carrying some of the better ones about...

Wanted: White Ribbon

Someone near metro Universitet is currently cutting up 16.2 kilometers of white ribbon and needs some help. It takes a long time, there are three shifts...

Wanted: RosPil Chocolates

Somebody has been sending chocolates to Alexei Navalny, the temporarily jailed anti-corruption blogger, who once inspired a box of chocolates himself...

At Least 25,000 Assemble to Denounce Elections, Putin

Tens of thousands people descended on the center of Moscow on Saturday for a protest against election fraud and to demand new elections in what was one...

Wanted: What to Do If You Get Arrested

Tom Cruise was looking down on the protest at Mayakovskaya this week. He was in an ad on a roof advertising "Mission Impossible 4," a film that premieres...

Wanted: Hand out Leaflets

There was a long line on Pushkin Square earlier this month, 50 people standing patiently. On the other side of the square the screechy histrionics...

Wanted: Leeches

Bloodsuckers! Bloodsuckers! They attach themselves to the body politic and then suck out all the good before falling off sated and not much use for anything...

Wanted: Lift

The square steel construction leers up out of the top of the underpass that leads to Kursky Station. It looks as if it were shipped in from a military...

Bolshoi Scam for Theater Tickets

With the Bolshoi Theater's historic stage opening after restoration Friday, there is huge interest in tickets. But anyone walking past the box office this...

Record Year for Moscow Youth Soccer League

The end-of-season final was typically tense, with a goal disallowed and emotional fans on the sideline. As it ended in a draw, both teams had to face...

Wanted: Botox

In a month or so, people will come into Moscow offices, their faces shiny and stuck in one pose. If you see someone like that before the freeze, it's...

Wanted: Salt

Look down next time you are near Belorussky Station, and you will see Boris' simple ad for salt. His number is written on the ground in huge letters...

Ex Barca, Inter Star Eto'o Welcomed in Dagestan

Fans in Makhachkala gave a frenzied welcome to Samuel Eto'o, the former Barca and Inter forward whose move to a club that few outside Russia had...

Wanted: Landlord of the Universe

My neighbor's daughter doesn't come round much, but here she was — blonde, sparkly rocks on her hand, tight leopard skin-colored trousers and an ability...

Wanted: Teddy Bear Repair

If you are coming downstairs now with a bump, bump, bump on the back of your head, then that may be the only way you know of coming downstairs, but...

Wanted: Male Escort

The job ad looks tempting at first glance. They promise lots of travel, enquire if you have a passport, a Schengen visa, a driver's license before...

Wanted: Soderzhanka

A Russian film director was recently interviewed and asked why he had cast two foreign women in his film. He explained that it was hard to find good...

Wanted: Surveillance

The other day, there were three journalists — two British — in the car heading back from Vorobyovy Gory, but surprisingly the only one secretly...

Hollywood Stars Play for Controversial Charity

The photos of Hollywood stars have been plastered all over the city for weeks, Dustin Hoffman looking down on Nikitsky Bulvar, Woody Allen and Steven...

Wanted: Concrete Gates

Many have tried to get rid of them before, but somehow over the years the kiosks survived the promises of cleanups, police raids and the wanderings...

'Transformers' Opener Not All There Is to Film Fest

The Moscow International Film Festival opened Thursday with the world premiere of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the blockbuster whose predecessor...

Wanted: Your Gynecologist

There is a new women's magazine on sale at the Kurskaya metro station, and like all the others it has somebody pretty on the cover. This cover features...

Wanted: I Will Listen

The Listener wasn't answering his phone the last two times I rang. The first time I rang, the line answered and there was a silence for 10 seconds...

Wanted: The Lord is Coming

The end of the world has been announced on an empty road in the north of Moscow. That is where the advert for FamilyRadio.com looks out from high...

Wanted: Who Gave You Permission?

The homeless seem to have come to town for a spring convention. The bench by 35MM cinema is packed as usual with a multi-generational collection. Solo...

Wanted: Study Hypnotism

Vladimir is offering a comprehensive course in hypnotism. By the end of the course — 8 lessons of three hours — you should be able to cure alcoholism...

Wanted: Aeroexpress Tickets

Natalya has something that will reduce the budget of any traveler: tickets to the Aeroexpress trains that shuttle back and forth between Moscow airports...

Wanted: Python Skin

If you follow snakeskin fashion then you will know that the craze for it peaked in 2007 when the likes of Kylie Minogue and Eva Longoria were seen...

Wanted: Matches

Collecting matchboxes was a huge craze in the Soviet Union, and one of the most famous matchbox factories, the Balabanovsky Experimental Match Factory...

Eclectic Gala Held for Soviet Leader

It was a bizarre evening in the Royal Albert Hall. If you had ever been asked who would attend the 80th birthday celebration for the last Soviet leader...

Wanted: Yo-Yo

There is a small courtyard off Khokhlovsky Pereulok that is still covered in ice but that has metamorphosed over the winter. A famous preservationist...

Wanted: Adler

Aidar's Adler sits in a field. The car is black with large circular front lights and those protruding shoulders — excuse the lack of motor vernacular...

Wanted: Soviet cars

Vadim has lots of toy cars on what looks like the living room wall. They are in two wooden boxes filled with shelves and have the look of a museum...

Wanted: Geopathogenic

Oleg the dowser got straight to the point. "If your flat is less than 50 square meters then it costs a 100 rubles a meter; if it is more then it...

Wanted: Coco de Mer

Olga is selling a Lodoicea callipyge for 60,000 rubles ($2,000), which, if you know your Ancient Greek, you know is something with a large bottom. A nut...

Wanted: At the theater

Not long ago, it was reported that a casino was closed down on the site of a previously legal casino in the Golden Ring Hotel at Smolenskaya. If you...

Wanted: Ant Oil

When hoping to strike oil among the ant community, choose a foggy day, one so dark that you almost lose your way, a hunter writes. Then find yourself an...

Wanted: Beware, Con Artists

Ostorozhno, moshenniki!” is the cry that comes shouting in the inbox. “Beware, con artists!” is a good enough translation, but it sounds a bit old-fashioned...

Wanted: Saber Fighting

"Darth Vader," one commentator wrote yesterday, “could soon be on the board of BP” and an image spun into the mind of the man who led the Death Star...

Wanted: 3/XII

There are some things that are etched permanently into the journey when you go from metro station Ploshchad Revolyutsii to Teatralnaya.

The Year Russia Stopped Blowing Bubbles

When historians look back on 2010, perhaps they will understand much more than those who were here at the time. Partly because nobody could see more than...

Wanted: Gold Mining

The official in the airport took the passport and boarding card, checked it with a well-honed perfunctoriness and handed it back, clearing the passenger...

Wanted: Lost and Found

Somebody lost a dog in Verkhnyaya Pyshma last month. The pedigree dog, a Deutsch-Drathaar, disappeared in the area of Baltym. His “owner misses him a...

Audio-Visual Art Goes Big With Fest in St. Pete

The 18th-century Mikhailovsky Castle started off a very 21st-century festival when it’s facade became the backdrop for a spectacular light show that...

Wanted: Help

The old lady in the green scarf at Pushkin Square pointed down to the two rolled-up cats beside her and started explaining about their characters. They...

Wanted: Forgetfulness

Kostya is my name unless I have forgotten it before this sentence outs. Zlata confused me a lot on the phone asking lots of questions about my health even...

Wanted: Dead Parrot

Alla was looking for a dead parrot or, rather, a dead parrot’s owner to appear on television. The owner did not need to complain about being sold one...

Wanted: Leaves

When the two people, half visible in the dark, saw the black plastic rubbish bag on the side of the courtyard, it seemed that there was only one thing...

Wanted: Million-Dollar Dandy

Tuesdays are always odd. First a man wrote and asked me if I could get hold of Hitler's DNA for him on a no-fee-until-got basis, and then the million-dollar...

Wanted: Varmint

The raggedy-looking tabby jogged across the road from the newspaper office, and the taxi driver and I watched it simultaneously as it went happily by,...

Wanted: Happy Birthday

There are some things you should never put into the head of a girl, but Ksyusha, whom I had last seen in December with not much more than her knickers...

Wanted: Putin's Girl

A girl was needed but no ordinary one. She had to be not too tall and not too short, not too young and not too old — which if you’re wondering, is...

Wanted: One-Room Flat

Sometimes small ads become big ones. A one-room flat near Prospekt Mira was a friend’s Google Chat signature earlier this week, and one click later,...

Wanted: Ads in Film

Maxim is an NTV television producer whose cell phone number is written on the ground just outside the Tsvetnoi Bulvar metro station. He is advertising...

Wanted: Lost Connections

Reading some of the appeals on Doski.ru sometimes feels like intruding on a stranger’s pain. Luckily, at other times you just intrude on wild, hopeless...

Wanted: Extras

The web site for massovki, or film extras, is divided into different sections, including one for non-Slavic males. Sergei “can look like an Armenian...

Wanted: Roof-Riding

Komsomolskaya Pravda reported this past week that Russian teens are “roof-riding” on suburban trains, which have cables offering a 3,000-volt shock...

Wanted: Peat

The peat was going to be a gift, as it seems unfair that the city’s mayor, Yury Luzhkov, and his lovely billionaire wife, currently out of town on their...

Wanted: Slavic Hair

By “Slavic hair,” Nastya didn't mean any specific color, just the specific hair structure of your average member of that Indo-European tribe and its...