A YEAR IN THE CITY

On April 1, Moscow was gloomy. At the cinema, eight and a half spectators watched some kind of game from a year ago. At midnight, cinemas closed, and if someone could not sleep, films could only be watched on video. Restaurants were also closed. Their owners would have been happy to stay at work, but there were still no clients. Restaurant critics and bank directors knew how to eat sushi. To find a good coffee shop, you had to travel halfway across the city. Two people in the city scored more than 200 points in bowling.

Clubs were opening, but no one knew about it. Alexandra Marinina was selling well in bookstores. The worst thing was with the music, although some singer appeared, either from Kazan or from Chelny, with a song about AIDS.

At two o'clock in the morning the city died out, only frozen students wandered through the empty streets in a hopeless search for entertainment.

On the morning of April 2, the first issue of Afisha was published.

A year later, the dark city glowed at night. In cinemas on wheels, on bags, with four screens, with ultra-new sound and with non-stop nights, films are released earlier than in Rome. During the evening sessions there will be no crowding in the foyer. It is better to reserve seats in restaurants in advance. Every day a new establishment opens, but the number of visitors increases. The streets smell of Arabica, tiramisu and mulled wine. Where do we meet? You can go to “Coffee-in”, you can go to “Coffee-bin”, you can go to “Coffee-tuna”, you can go to “Coffee-zen”.

God knows what's going on in bookstores: some stores are open 24 hours a day and have face control, but to get to the shelves you have to use your elbows.

Going to clubs on a Friday night is dubious entertainment: at the best parties you can only walk over your heads. The city doesn't sleep. At two o'clock in the morning there are traffic jams in the center.

The city is changing. The first issue came out a year ago.