Travel Notes

Moskva hotel to be rebuilt

As this issue went to print, the fate of the square which was opened up in the center of Moscow with the demolition of the Moskva hotel was again making headlines. The Moscow government and the Russian State Duma are  fighting over whether the hotel should be rebuilt.

At the end of last year, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told media that he was ready to give up on plans to rebuild the hotel and build a square in its place, preserving the beautiful view that had opened after the demolition. Late in January, the Motherland faction of the Russian State Duma proposed that nothing be built on the site, citing the “grand view that has opened on the unique city ensembles,” but the proposal was voted down. The Duma Committee for Culture said the hotel should be rebuilt, as the site had always been occupied and leaving it vacant would “distort” the Moscow landscape.

Mayor Luzhkov first excoriated the Duma for interfering in city business when they had much more important things to attend to. Then, at the end of January, the mayor announced that the hotel would be rebuilt to resemble the 1935 original. An Austrian bank is the chief investor.

Moscow plans air-taxis

In 2007, the first air-taxis will take flight in Moscow, Gazeta daily reported. Moscow authorities plan to launch regular air-taxi shuttles to elite villages in the suburbs of Moscow and to major cities in European Russia. Moscow City Hall has already allocated R27 million to the project. The main carrier will be Atlant-Soyuz, in which the Moscow government owns a controlling interest. Experts have estimated that, for the project to pay off, one hour’s flight in business class would have to cost 400-600 euros, which means that air-taxis would never become a means of mass transportation and thus would not help alleviate Moscow’s increasingly heavy traffic.

Visa change

In January, the Duma passed in a first reading an amendment to the law on entering and exiting the Russian Federation. Under the bill, the government would be able to refuse entry visas to foreigners who have “committed actions that demonstrate a disrespectful character relating to the Russian Federation, organs of government power of the Russian Federation, or the country’s state symbols, or acts of disrespect to historical and generally-accepted values of the Russian Federation.” The bill will also require visa applicants to prove they were not HIV-infected, make some changes to how journalist visas are issued, and would allow five-year multi-entry visas for citizens of countries which allowed the same to Russian citizens.

Night Bus

Moscow has launched its first night express buses, to cater to the needs of Muscovites and visitors to the city during the hours when the metro is closed, Moscow’s TV Tsentr channel reported. Five night bus routes have been launched, the longest traveling the 40 km between Moscow and the suburb of Zelenograd. Buses only stop at passengers’ request and the fare is paid by zone. An average length trip costs about R50.

Rent Controls

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has signed a decree banning the city’s hotels from renting out rooms for use as offices, Vedomosti daily reported. The move comes in an attempt to alleviate the deficit of tourist accommodations in the city. About 30 percent of Moscow hotel space is now used as hotel rooms, according to the Moscow-based Hotel Consulting and Development Group. On February 1, the decree will come into force for municipally-owned hotels. Other hotels will have to conform with the new regulation by the end of the first quarter of 2005.

Lenin Rests

The Mausoleum on Red Square where Vladimir Lenin’s embalmed remains are kept will be closed for visitors February 14 to April 18, RIA news agency reported, quoting the Kremlin Commandant’s Office. This is an annual regimen referred to by Kremlin management as “preventative measures” for maintaining Lenin’s remains. In previous years, this work was financed by the State; this year the money comes from a scientific foundation, RIA reported.

Eastern Oceanarium

The Far Eastern city of Vladivostok has been granted R1.2 billion for the construction of an oceanarium, regions.ru reported. The news was announced after Primorsky Krai governor Sergei Darkin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed with him the city’s plans for building an oceanarium. The oceanarium, to be completed by 2008, will be used as both an entertainment facility and research center. It is hoped that it will help attract visitors and foster regional tourism.