Visiting Russia soon... what should I check out?

No the ticket prices are the same and street crime in the center is non-existant now. The 90's are long gone, thank God. As for the Hi End stores - plenty of those but if Brian wants some cool esoteric stuff private show rooms are the way to go.

 

Does Boris Grebenshikov still live there? I would check out any music festivals for fun too!

 

He always lived in St.Petersburg (when not in Tibet). An essential piterets (St.Petersburgian) - you can't imagine St.Petersburg without him just like you can't imagine NYC without Woody Allen!

 

Supposedly the state of available bathrooms isn't so great over there, so uh...toilet paper.

http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/russia/p/russiantoilets.htm

 

Not in Moscow lately thankfully. Even public toilets installed last year everywhere are european level. Not to mention any decent cafe or restaurant will offer you a really nice one. I'd say that most of those ugly stereotypes about Russia are mostly outdated at least regarding the big cities like Moscow or Peter (or oil rich towns in Siberia). Traffic jams and taxi service are sadly as bad as ever though.

 

have you been there? if not, don't repeat all you read in the internet.

 

I got half of my information directly from a well respected talk show host in the Sacramento area who went there. He relayed his experiences with public restrooms to his audience. I highly doubt he was lying.

 

Yeah, talk show host is a very respectable source for sure... Why not ask someone who actually lives there? There are several russian forum members on SHTV.

 

Is it at all possible for you to express appreciation for the things you like & enjoy without taking a dump on the things that you do not - which may very well be somebody else's thing?

 

Museums and Hi End in Moscow can go hand in hand btw. Only a few days ago I was at the Museum of Actual Art and between all the paintings and installations you can find several working Hi End systems (one with Wilson speakers and Pass Labs amps, another with TAD/Exclusive speakers and some tube stuff) and a huge collection of early prog/psych first press LPs.

 

Damn. That explains why I couldn't find it when I went by the old location last week. Sad to hear it's not what it used to be. Is Transylvania off of Tverskaya Ulitsa? If so, I used to hit that place as well. Those two places were great to find out of print gems.

 

Yep, Transylvania is still on Tverskaya and doin' good - great place if you're into CDs only. I moved to vinyl lately and thank God Moscow has a couple of LP stores to visit. Purple Legion moved to a much smaller place next street and typically of them raised the prices to the point of total insanity instead of trying to attract at least someone and save the sinking ship. A new release CD now is $40 and new LP is $80-150. Their Hi End section is not yet open but with prices 2-3 times higher than US retail I say Good luck to them. I mean when $100 000 Westlake speakers cost $200 000 in Moscow it's well beyond all borders of insanity.

 

Anyone buying?

 

There is a line around the block....

 

Vodka, Beluga caviar (in my taste, almost as good as s@x) and a good mink coat.

 

Where else is good for LPs? I'll be making a return trip next year and if I can find the time, I would like to check a couple of places out. Given the prices in the GUM and surrounding area, I am almost afraid to hit any high end equipment stores. I went to the official Sochi store to try and pick up an Olympic t-shirt and the prices were close to $80 US for one t-shirt and the quality wasn't even that great. The GUM is still a great place to grab an ice cream cone and admire the architecture but not much else IMO.

 

Well, nobody in his right mind shops in GUM or TSUM for anything. There are hundreds of huge malls and shopping centers in and around Moscow not to mention the smaller shops and private showrooms. The best Hi End gear is of course found in those. As for vinyl - well it's never gonna be as cheap as in the West but there are several places to shop if you don't know the private sellers with huge stocks as most local buyers do.

Sound Barrier on Leninsky is a big one. Looks pretty awful but the quantity of vinyl is stunning - tens and tens of thousands of LPs in every genre and condition. Some of the prices are ridiculous but if you're looking for something not too hot in Russia they can get pretty reasonable. They have a website so you check out their catalogue before going.

http://www.sound-barrier.ru/En/Main.aspx

 

Hey

. In Moscow today. St. Petersburg tomorrow for a few days , then back to Moscow. What are the names of the best HiFi stores?

Will probably only visit one or two at the most.

 

Turntables/Arms

They made some seriously funky gear!

Hit up the used resellers

 

Check the mall at Red Square. Ask people they will be glad to help.

 

Find a symphony playing Shostakovich.
I'd love to hear a Shostakovich symphony in Russia.
I listened to Shostakovich's 5th symphony played in Chicago.
And The Hunt for Red October. They must show it daily over there.
Sing along to the song they sing in the sub.

 

I'd love to have some of the oddball hifi stuff that was produced during the Soviet era, if only for the curiosity factor.

This is quite beautiful:

 

This is from the GUM department store in Moscow this summer:

 

Snag Putin's system.
-Bill

 

Likhnitsky tone arm
http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=377