Russians face up to properous reality

[Rubber Duck]

In the first of three special reports, Bridget Kendall, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, reports from Russia on life and attitudes in the provincial city of Nizhny Novgorod.....

Eight years ago I came across a live bear here, begging for food because the local zoo couldn't afford to feed him.

The accordion players on the street corner were university professors, humiliated at being forced to sing for their supper because salaries and pensions were not being paid.

Ikea warehouse store in Nizhny Novgorod
The world's biggest brands have seen Russia's economic potential

Today the buskers are young musicians. The local zoo enjoys business sponsorship. And the precinct is bustling with smart cafes and many of the same shops as in London.

On the outskirts there is further evidence of the consumer boom that is now transforming not just Moscow, but many bigger Russian cities.

A new shopping mall includes a gigantic blue and yellow Ikea furniture store, offering all the same goods and even fast food Swedish meat balls as everywhere else in Europe - except that the signs are in Russian. ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6696427.stm