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Article: Russia's Pain and Pleasure.(crime and political activity)
- Article from:
- Insight on the News
- Article date:
- November 29, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The breathtaking architecture and joie de vivre of St. Petersburg can't mask the ghests of the past and the criminal violence that has overtaken this historic city.
People are cheerful and open in St. Petersburg -- such a contrast from Moscow. Open a door for a stranger, step back and smile and the response is not the surly, suspicious glance cast by your ordinary Muscovite but a pleasantness in return. Here in St. Petersburg there is a playfulness and an enjoyment of life that grim, gray Moscow just doesn't share.
For the most part in the Russian capital there is a shuffling, cramped quality punctuated by a brash flaunting of minority wealth. There is ...