Rublyovka: The richest neighborhood in Moscow (original) (raw)
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Moscow's richest neighborhood has seen better days.
Less than a decade ago, Rublyovka was one of the hottest suburbs in the world, with an influx of billionaire residents to live with the likes of Vladimir Putin and Roman Abramovich. Typical of the area was the ultra-high-end mall, Barvikha Luxury Village, opened in 2005.
By 2011, however, the neighborhood was emptying out, with one third of the houses either vacant or on the market and demand low. Many oligarchs were reportedly moving to the West, and it didn't help that Russia's economy was teetering from crisis to crisis. Now with money pouring out of the country at an astounding rate and oil prices painfully low, things are only getting worse.
Business Insider sent photographer Konstantin Salomatin to check out Rublyovka. His photos reveal continued deterioration in the neighborhood and capture the remarkable site of a totally empty luxury mall, even in the late afternoon on a Wednesday.
Rublyovka is a spacious suburb located along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway, west of Moscow. It has been home to Russian elites dating back to Peter the Great.
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It's expensive to move in, with land selling for $160,000 for 100 square meters, according to a billboard on the highway.
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The area is not welcoming to visitors, with big walls separating every residential area.
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Even with fences everywhere, however, it's easy to see the neighborhood isn't thriving.
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Some fences are falling over, and there are random piles of trash in park areas.
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These trash piles are normal for Moscow, and luxury villages are no exception.
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Elsewhere there are what appear to be abandoned construction sites.
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Most notably, there are few signs or sounds of residents.
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Everywhere there are billboards inviting people to move in — understandable with a reported 1/3 of houses vacant or on the market in recent years — but demand seems to be low.
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A billboard near one elite gated estate reads, "Parkville. We live here! How about You?"
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Odd signs of wealth are everywhere.
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A few traditional rural houses still exist. This one will be torn down soon, I'm sure.
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And then there's Barvikha Luxury Village, a ultra-high-end shopping center that's clearly meant to promote the image of luxury.
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But this beautiful space was almost totally lacking shoppers when we visited on a Wednesday afternoon.
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The only people in these luxury boutiques were guards and shop workers.
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There were no customers inside Ralph Lauren ...
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... and only mannequins in Giorgio Armani.
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We didn't see anyone looking to buy a Ferrari ...
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... or a Bentley.
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So many to choose from! Though it doesn't appear like many people are.
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In fact, many people seem to be getting to the mall via the bus, the schedule for which is posted in the parking lot.
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These sad looking Bentleys sit waiting for someone to take them home. It might never happen.
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It is hard to understand the point of this place, except to sell the land around it for absurdly high prices.
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But that's Russian business!
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This isn't the only white elephant in Russia's capital city.
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