Submitted by CARPE DIEM

Chinese author Mian Mian said that “As a city, Shanghai is like a beautiful young bitch who loves money.”

After being in Moscow for 3 days, I think the same could be said about this incredibly dynamic and energetic city, with construction going on everywhere and the economy absolutely booming! A lot has changed in just 5 years since I was here last in 2003, and Moscow has to be one of the most energetic and dynamic cities in the world today. It’s absolutely electric here, you can feel the energy!

Try to visit Moscow if you ever get a chance, although you still need an official letter of invitation to travel here, and therefore tourists of any kind are somewhat scarce here. It’s much easier to get here if you’re either on business or some kind of educational or cultural trip - I’m travelling with 13 MBA students from University of Michigan-Flint, with an invitation from our partner institution - the Togliatti Academy of Management, where I taught for part of a semester in 1999. It’s certainly not the “Iron Curtain” any more, but it’s still like a flimsy “shower curtain” I guess…..