“Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”, “Moscow – Petushki”, Moscow residence, Moscow telephone, Golden-Domed Moscow, Moscow metro, Moscow courtyards. No other city has as many cult phrases filled with a special meaning as Moscow does.
Nowadays many of them have lost their former flavour, left their usual everyday use, but remained for centuries in literature, movies, human subconscious. Muscovites, who are excitedly advocating the preservation of “old-time Moscow”, are advocating precisely this.
Moscow has never been a “typical capital”. Its subway, for example, is not as convenient as the Parisian one, but it is rightfully considered the most beautiful subway system in the world. Moscow’s iconic “Stalinist skyscrapers” are unique. Some of its streets are so wide that they look more like highways. I am not aware of other capitals in the world where you can reach the other side of the street only using an underground passage.
Personally, I love Moscow because it is unlike any other city. Its colossal proportions, huge distances terrify and exhaust anyone who decides to go somewhere. This is not Paris, where you can get around on foot. But in Moscow’s imbalance, there is a harmonious, sometimes metaphysical connection with the colossal proportions of Russia. Russia appears “in all its bulk”, as Gogol wrote.
Moscow is not only a Russian city, but also the capital of the whole world. The world as a civilisation, a keeper and carrier of very specific principles, values, ideas that inspire and animate people far beyond the borders of Russia. This is especially noticeable in the current global civilisational confrontation.
Victor Loupan
