Two Capitals » Moscow
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Motorcyclists' Special
Moscow, being the capital of one-sixth of the world with about 10 million inhabitants is supposed to be something impressive and it is. One of the first impressions Moscow gives is the one of a chaotic city with large busy avenues, jammed traffic, speedy life, glintering ads. At the same time you see calm grey residential areas, hidden little churches with golden domes and church music in the centrum, monumental Stalin's buildings. Unlikely contrasts are everywhere: fancy shops on Tverskaya street neighbour nearly falling apart concrete buildings of run-down Soviet hotels and government buildings; hip crowds wearing the latest design clothes sipping cocktails in a state-of-the-art cafes and rugged tired people with solemn and unhappy faces carrying the burden of existence in this new 'democratic' world, where everybody depends on oneself (what a change from the Soviet times). 
As everywhere in Russia it's like a mix of two worlds: Europe and Asia, democracy and communism, joy and grief, prosperity and poverty. Moscow could be just another capital, but it isn't. Rather, the city is an exaggerated version of everything you can get in Russia, as if conforming the quality of Russian character to take everything to extremes.