The Moscow expat community through the eyes of an Englishman who has lived in the Russian capital for 30 years.
John Harrison, editor of Moscow expat Life magazine
Before I start to describe what sort of lifestyle expatriates lead in Moscow, it is necessary to explain who expatriates are these days.
What is an ‘expatriate’ in 2017?
A lot has changed over the past 10 years. In 2007, there were hundreds of thousands of western expatriates in Russia. It was prestigious for Russian companies to employ foreigners in senior management positions then, and CEOs and CFOs of joint ventures were invariably expatriates. Then, it was very possible for western entrepreneurs to come to Russia, and using their knowledge and skills gained in other countries and markets (often more competitive to work in than those in Russia), they quite often made a real success of their businesses in the country within a short time.
All that changed when the 2008 financial crisis began to bite in Russia. Russian companies now wished to employ Russians instead of foreigners in top management positions. When the economy eventually started to recover again, it was more politically correct to employ Russians, and certainly a lot cheaper. Many, but by no means all, entrepreneurs started to leave, and the exodus accelerated over the forthcoming years as the political situation in Eastern Europe deteriorated. Russia was (and still is) blamed for everything, and foreigners suffered not only a reduction in their income along with the collapsing Russian economy, but also a serious blow to their credibility on behalf of friends and families back in their home countries who accused them of ‘working in enemy territory.’
In 2014, the research group Khamovniki Sociological Research Fund estimated that there were only 100,000 ‘foreign highly qualified specialists and managers working in Russia on contract.’ The Khamovniki definition of an expat was rather narrow, as there were and are many highly-paid foreigners, working without contracts, and the idea that foreigners have to be highly paid is in itself rather contentious. However, the overall reduction in numbers of expatriates, especially Americans and British, has been noticeable. It is easy to exaggerate this fall in numbers though, because at the same time as people left others arrived.
New arrivals are either top level managers who are posted to Russia for the usual three to five years by their companies, or people who came to Russia to seek work; often as teachers, consultants and trainers, or in other professions. Previously the profession of a teacher was not considered to be a true ‘expat’ job, but now, when even freelance teachers with private clients can earn in excess of 200,000 rubles a month, even the most conservative business associations were forced to recognize that these people are also running businesses (albeit consisting of one person) and making a serious contribution to expatriate life in Russia. Some more established expatriate teachers set up their own schools, and do not tell anybody how much they are earning. The top-level managers now arriving in Russia to fill the shrinking number of expatriate positions are extremely well-qualified professionals. For these people, working in Russia is a career move, and they are not particularly interested in getting deeply involved with Russian culture. Most of them are married, and are not looking for a Russian partner. Russia may be their third or fourth foreign assignment. They are ‘pro’ expats. Companies are reluctant to send married couples to Russia if the couple’s marriage is not successful, as they know that foreign men are susceptible to being influenced by the most beautiful women on the planet, and a failing marriage will irrevocably fail within a few months, making it necessary for the company to repatriate the couple involved and spend vast sums of money in sending a new executive to Russia. It is no secret that up to a third of professional expatriates turn down assignments in Russia because the wives – fearing for their marriages – will not allow their husbands to be exposed to Russian women.
Interestingly, despite the downturn in the economy, most foreign companies have not closed down their Russian affiliates or joint ventures, but merely reduced the number of expatriates and Russians employees considerably, leaving only a skeleton staff working in large offices parts of which are sub-let to Russian organizations. One reason for this is that long-term leases were signed for favourable rates, the other is that many foreign companies feel that present political and economic Russia-West frictions are not permanent, and many in fact feel that things are starting, cautiously and quietly, to improve again. As the expatriate infrastructure remains largely in place, numbers can change very rapidly to suit the political and commercial environment, although it is no longer required that these two categories change simultaneously. A decade ago, that would have been necessary. It is too early to write off expatriates in terms of a sector of the market or in terms of their impact and importance to the Russian economy as a whole.
Having established these two main groups of expatriates that now live and work in Russia, I would like to talk about their lifestyles.
Lifestyles of top-level expat managers
This group includes a sizeable number of diplomats, top level business executives, headmasters of large international schools and others. Most of these people are re-posted to new positions and countries, with some exceptions, every three to five years, and the majority of them receive free accommodation in luxurious apartments. They also receive a ‘hardship allowance,’ as Russia is still considered to be a ‘hardship post.’ Money received in the form of salaries, however, is not the only important criterion. Naturally, they enjoy free or heavily subsidized education for their children in the above-mentioned schools, as well as medical insurance. Foreign children still make up at least 40% of the intake of these large and expensive international schools. If the ratio of foreigners to Russians falls beyond that, it would be difficult for international schools to attract new foreign students, however, proportionally speaking, few international schools have actually closed. We even see the numbers of such schools increasing, albeit offering education at slightly reduced rates.
The top-level expats, if such a category can be clearly identified, prefer to socialize with their own kind. The Russian expatriate scene, in particular the Moscow expatriate world is curiously compartmentalized. In other countries (such as China) expatriates of all walks of life tend to socialize together, not so in Moscow. There are many explanations for this, however, my own theory goes along the lines of the fact that westerners and Russians tend to integrate quite well. There is a sense of ‘us and them,’ but at least visually, we merge in quite well. In a country like China, we will never merge in with ‘the locals,’ no matter how fluently we might, or might not, speak Chinese. Consequently, in China, there is a sense of comradery amongst all expatriates, even when they come from diverse backgrounds, because their differences are minor in comparison to themselves and the Chinese. Such comradery does not exist in Russia. The very varied backgrounds of expatriates mean that many of them attend different churches, play different sports (one group of expats may play golf, the other rugby, a third group may play no sport at all). Different nationalities eat different food, and Moscow can cater for all of these different interests, in different places. This is another reason why Moscow’s expatriates are so segregated into small closely-knit mini-communities.
When expatriates at top-level do go out to socialize with other expatriates, they often go to exclusive events, such as attend meetings of the Moscow branch of the gastronomic society Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, or the Moscow Business Networking Club organized by Kim Waddoup, the publisher of Moscow expat Life magazine, where they know that they can network as well as enjoy themselves. When foreign executives have time to take an evening off, which is not very frequent, they often invite each round to their own places, or go to local restaurants in their own areas. Many expatriates are surprised by the variety, quality and scope of gastronomic delights available in Moscow, and are pleased to find out that prices are, in general, cheaper than they would be back home for a simpler meal. They don’t hang around in bars.
It is not only the quality of Moscow’s restaurants that surprises expatriates. The whole experience of living in Russia is usually positive for them, as most of what happens to them, and the Russians that they meet, is different from the stories and descriptions they have heard about Russia from the media in their own countries. Moscow can be a cool place to be for many western expatriates. Expatriates in top level positions are shielded from the day to day problems involved in handing Russian bureaucracy when securing visas, arranging transportation or even taking clothes to dry cleaners.
In terms of socializing, top level executives wish to network with other people of their own rank, something which is increasingly difficult for them to do, as the majority of people who attend networking events are either looking for a job, or are representatives of HR companies offering potential employees. As a result of this situation, most business associations set up to represent foreigners (AmCham, Russo-British Chamber of Commerce) have either temporarily closed down or resorted to being social clubs. In a way, that is perhaps the best and most useful service that they can provide at the present time. Some clubs like the British RBCC or the Association of European Businesses (AEB) carry on providing a whole range of lectures, seminars as well as networking events. However, such associations and clubs are in the minority. Other clubs, such as Moscow Business Networking, charge a reasonably high amount of money, which serves to ensure that the people who attend are of a high calibre.
One question that Russians ask about expatriates is: what do the spouses do? The answer is that more and more of them work, when allowed to do so by a fairly restrictive visa regime, for diplomats at least. If a couple comes to Russia to work, it often turns out that the wife is left at home without an awful lot to do. Boredom can set in, but there are groups such as the International Women’s Club (IWC) which organize a huge number of activities to fill the days. Occasionally, the man is left at home with the baby, however, this is the exception rather than the rule.
‘Lifestyles of middle-level expats
This group is much more numerous than the above mentioned ‘top-level’ expats, and their combined spending power is much greater. If there are only 50,000 to 100,000 high-level expats in Russia at the moment, there are four or five times as many middle-level expats, and many more of these people are arriving than the high-level expats, whose numbers are still decreasing. Some of ‘middle-level’ expats may actually earn more money than the ‘high-level’ expats but not fit into the corporate mould, and thus socialize differently. Instead of going to expensive restaurants, they may want to go to medium-level bars and restaurants like Chicago Prime on Strastnoy Boulevard. They would not want their bill at a restaurant to go over 2,000 rubles per person, and would want to enjoy themselves, not only ‘network.’ Many of them would have arrived in Russia without wives or husbands and are in relationships with Russians. In general, they will be more integrated into Russian society, and more interested in Russian culture. For many of these people, Russia is their home, but they still want to socialize with other westerners, although their children may go to Russian schools. Their understanding of Russia will very likely be on a deeper level than that of the ‘high-level’ expats, because ‘high-level’ expats may not actually need to understand an awful lot about Russia. They are paid to do a job, often for a western company that uses western management methods.
Nightlife
The more well-off members of the foreign community do have one thing in common, however. They enjoy going to clubs and enjoy Moscow’s amazing nightclub scene, which can rival the nightclub scene of almost any capital in the world. At the present time, clubs such as the following are very popular with foreigners: Gazgolder, because it has an ‘underground’ feel to it, Mendeleev bar on Saturday nights, Kvartira bar, where foreigners can meet rich and famous Russians, the newly opened Berlin bar, the underground scene Dissident and so on. In general, expatriates who can afford to go clubbing say that Moscow is extremely well equipped with high-class venues offering western music, international DJ’s and a unique blend of a Russian and western party atmosphere.
The make-up of the expatriate community is still changing, and it will continue to do so forever. There will always, it seems, be a need for foreign experts in Russia, and thus foreigners will still be presented with the opportunity to find fame, fortune and, above all, love in Russia. The country, however, is not for everybody. It is tough but rewarding living here. Many long-term expatriates say that they have not returned home because they could not stand the boredom of living a predictable lifestyle in their home countries where people think more about the future than about the present. Living in Moscow is for those who can love in the present.
