Moscow is a city steeped in history. From oniondomed churches to the architecture of the Kremlin， the buildings themselves speak to the centuries of ambition， adrenaline， piety and culture， which have made the city one of the most dramatic in the world.

Once upon a time it was almost impossible for foreigners to live here. But since the end of the Cold War， an increasing number of expats now call the city home. We talked to foreigners， who have landed in one of the worlds most mysterious， maddening and rewarding cities.

Isaac Koriya arrived in Moscow from New York in 1994， recruited by a friend to help start a restaurant chain. Today he is one of the most successful restauranteurs in Moscow.

Isaac： I was doing some part-time work in New York. I met this Russian kid， and I told him， “Boris， you know， Im going to Moscow to work.” And he told me that I was crazy， what was I gonna cook here， and that the Mafia would meet me at the airport and rob me.

Seventeen years later he is still here， though he has had his share of ups and downs. Like many small businessmen， he has had run-ins with Russias rough and tumble business culture.

For many， the pace of change in Moscow is breathtaking. Roland Nash， head of strategy at a large Moscow-based hedge fund， and his wife Sophie live downtown with their fouryear-old son Thomas， on a street a few steps away from the Bolshoi Opera.

Sophie： When we moved into the street， it was actually pretty run down， and then slowly sort of posh shops just kept emerging， and now its basically that compare it to Bond Street.

Roland： I arrived in 1994， straight out of university actually. I was studying economics and politics， and this is really where， you know， the centre of economics and politics was taking place. It was taking place in real time I think.

High on the familys list of frustrations is Moscows traffic problem.

Sophie： I…I think the sole thing that would improve everyones life in Moscow would be the traffic being resolved somehow， but that seems to be almost impossible. The fact that you can sit for two hours in traffic going somewhere pretty close by.

Michaela （Italian）： Russia is like heaven， because its very hard to get in and then you cannot leave.

For young people on a budget， however， Moscow can be painfully expensive.

Daniel： Well， I…I come from Spain. I was used to going to restaurants almost every day. Here， thats something that…I love the city， but I cannot afford to go every day. Also going clubbing， especially if you go with a girlfriend， you have to pay for her. I dont want to generalize， but its like the norm here. Men pay and women dont pay.

But they say that the energy and ambition in the city makes it all worthwhile.

Michaela： Now I think Russian people are really deep. I love Russian poets…

Daniel： Yes.

Michaela： …and I love the sense that you… you are in the city where you feel that history is happening around you.

莫斯科是一個富有歷史感的城市。不管是洋蔥頭形圓頂教堂，還是克里姆林宮的建筑風(fēng)格，這些建筑本身就見證了幾百年來這里的人們勇于追求、創(chuàng)造驚險刺激的歷史、對宗教的虔誠和深厚的文化，而這一切使得這座城市成為世界上最引人注目的城市之一。

曾幾何時，外國人想在這里生活幾乎是不可能的。但冷戰(zhàn)結(jié)束后，越來越多的外國人把家安在了莫斯科。我們與來到這個世界上其中一個最神秘、最瘋狂，但又能給人以最大回報的城市的幾位外國人進行交流。

北方鄰國俄羅斯一直以來都給人一種捉摸不透的感覺。問起國人的印象，眾說紛紜。

那是蘇聯(lián)老大哥的熱情，是休克療法的痛，是普梅、梅普的政治游戲；那是小天鵝的優(yōu)雅，是“莫斯科郊外的晚上”的纏綿，是維塔斯海豚音的穿透力；那是讓國人眼熱的16名諾貝爾獎獲獎?wù)撸彩俏膶W(xué)巨著的晦澀。

顯然，這種種說法都欠準(zhǔn)確。俄羅斯既是以上種種，也是種種未知。它是幅員遼闊、歷史厚重的國度，是正在書寫的歷史，也是俄羅斯人性格粗獷、感情細(xì)膩的生活點滴。既然是遠(yuǎn)親不如近鄰，那么來吧，一齊來解讀俄羅斯，從點點滴滴來了解我們的鄰居——俄羅斯。

艾薩克·科里雅在1994年從紐約來到莫斯科，當(dāng)時，他是被朋友聘用，來這里開辦連鎖餐廳的。如今，他已經(jīng)是莫斯科最成功的餐廳老板之一了。

艾薩克：當(dāng)時，我在紐約做著兼職工。我當(dāng)時認(rèn)識一個俄羅斯來的小伙子。我跟他說：“鮑里斯，你知道嗎，我要去莫斯科工作了?！彼f我瘋了，我在莫斯科能烹煮什么呢。再說，我一到機場就會被黑手黨攔下，被洗劫一空。

17年過去了，盡管他在這里的經(jīng)歷跌宕起伏，但他仍然留在這里。與許多小企業(yè)家一樣，他與俄羅斯瘋狂混亂的商業(yè)文化有過不少沖突。

對許多人來說，莫斯科的變化速度可謂驚心動魄。羅蘭·納什是莫斯科一家大型對沖基金的策略部主管，他與妻子索菲、四歲的兒子托馬斯住在莫斯科市中心離俄羅斯國家模范大劇院只有幾步之遙的一條街上。

索菲：我們搬到這條街上時，這里非常破敗，但慢慢地，一些高檔的商店開始出現(xiàn)，現(xiàn)在，這里已經(jīng)與英國倫敦的邦德街基本上不相上下。

羅蘭：1994年，我大學(xué)一畢業(yè)就來到這里。我在大學(xué)的專業(yè)是經(jīng)濟與政治，你也知道，這里正是經(jīng)濟與政治事件發(fā)生的中心。在我看來，一切都在這里實時發(fā)生著。

而讓這家人最為煩惱的事情之一就是莫斯科的交通。

索菲：我……我覺得，能讓所有莫斯科人的生活質(zhì)量有所提高的一件事就是解決交通問題，但這幾乎是不可能的。有時候你想去很近的地方，但會被堵在車流里兩個小時。

邁克萊（意大利人）：俄羅斯就像是天堂，因為要來這里不容易，但來了你就不想離開了。

不過，對于手頭緊的年輕人來說，莫斯科的開銷驚人的大。

丹尼爾：呃，我……我來自西班牙。我以前習(xí)慣了幾乎每天都去下館子，但在這里，有些……我熱愛這座城市，但我無法天天下館子。去夜店也一樣，特別是如果你和女孩子一起去的話，你得幫她出錢。我不想以偏概全，可在這兒這似乎是一種習(xí)慣做法，男的要掏腰包，女的不用。

Bond Street 邦德街，倫敦高檔購物區(qū)。這里是品牌服飾的集中地，各國際品牌在邦德街上都有店面。

不過，他們也說這個城市的活力與勃勃雄心使得這一切變得有價值。

邁克萊：這個嘛，我覺得俄羅斯人很深沉。我還喜歡俄羅斯詩人……

丹尼爾：是的。

邁克萊：你住在一座城市里，而歷史正在你的身邊發(fā)生著，我喜歡這種感覺。