At the very beginning of the 2000s, many realized that the unpredictable and hungry ‘turbulent 1990s’ had passed. Instead, a completely different era had begun – more safe, well-off and plentiful. Big money began pouring into Russia amid economic growth from the skyrocketing prices of export oil, natural gas and precious metals. It was at this time that true glam arrived in the capital. Famous contemporary author Viktor Pelevin wrote in his novel ‘Empire V’ that “glam is sex expressed through money” and it’s hard to disagree with him.
The emergence of big opportunities for self-realization and the western culture that was flooding the country pushed business into creating a modern entertainment industry centered in Moscow – art spaces, nightclubs, luxurious parties with international superstars.
Amid this entertainment boom, a glamorous life emerged, copied from the West and adapted to post-Soviet reality. For example, before that, there was no such term in Russia as ‘celebrity’: if a person from the USSR became famous, it was for some kind of merit; it was impossible to imagine that someone would be famous just for the fact that they had money or for their skill to burn through it.
There were no nightclubs, either: only a rare few appeared in the 1990s. However, in the 2000s, nightlife truly flourished. Approximately at the same time, Moscow earned the status as the “city that never sleeps”. As people in provincial towns were all at home and preparing to go to bed at 10PM, in Moscow, real life was just beginning. The inexhaustible stream of money allowed many businessmen to build whole networks of nightclubs in the capital for every taste and budget.
International celebrities were often invited to Moscow to perform at newly opened “landmark” nightclubs. For example, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey and even Madonna visited the notorious ‘Dyagilev’ club (read about it here. They were paid astronomical sums of money at the time to perform a private show in front of the city’s most wealthy. Celebs such as Pamela Anderson, Milla Jovovich and Luc Besson were also seen at one of Moscow’s most popular clubs, ‘Rai’ (‘Heaven’).
Back then, no one spared money to put on a great show: pompous, grand and, of course, always aiming to be the most expensive. Pyrotechnics, confetti, international celebrities and expensive alcohol created an atmosphere of a Disneyland for adults, where everyone could find entertainment to their liking. This really spoke to the audience that had now grown wealthy, so the parties of the 2000s were always selling out fast and paid off handsomely for their organizers – in many clubs, tables were booked for 1-2 years (!) ahead.
In Russia in the 2000s, fashion changed dramatically along with lifestyle. But, if, in the West during the same time, new trends were introduced gradually and carefully, Moscow fashionistas didn’t accept half-measures. If one had to show off one’s wealth, everything was used at once.
“Everything here was very hypertrophied. If logos, then big, prominent and everywhere. If skirts – then microscopic. If jeans, then with such a low rise that your thongs stuck out. High heels, absolutely – no woman would ever be caught wearing flat footwear, that was borderline indecent,” is how stylist and designer Natalia Pilat remembers the fashion of the 2000s.
In the 2000s, fashion became a form of self-expression for people: after Soviet uniformity, no one wanted to look like the next person in the “new Russia”. Because of this, many preferred to purchase custom tailored clothes.
As for those who still didn’t have money for that – glam entered their lives with an abundance of the color pink, artificial fur and leather, cheap costume jewelry and high heels.
The 2000s are also remembered as the heyday of girl bands in Russia. While the boom of girl bands waned back in the 1990s in the West (like ‘Spice Girls’ and ‘Destiny’s Child’), this trend only reached Russia at the beginning of the 2000s.
The most popular bands were ‘Via Gra’, ‘Blestyashchie’ (‘The Sparkling’), ‘Reflex’ – it would take too much time to list them all. Most importantly, these bands set the trend for all others with their appearance. Stylist Anzhela Lisitsa, who worked with many girl bands, remembered how new stars of the Russian scene were dressed: “Of course, when I started outfitting ‘Via Gra’, I tried to bring maximum attention to the looks of the girls. They’re so beautiful! I’ve always said that they should be undressed, not dressed.” By the way, they were dressed very revealingly and very gaudily: rhinestones, sparkles, nylon, feathers, fur, silk, bright makeup and flawless hairstyles.
Finally, the glam life of Moscow of the 2000s couldn’t exist without its own socialites. Everyone knew them by face and many pairs of eyes watched their lives closely.
The most famous socialite and the person who was associated with this ‘title’, was Ksenia Sobchak – the daughter of the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, and an ex-candidate for the Russian presidency. Before engaging in a journalistic and political career, Sobchak was one of the most scandalous people of the Moscow beau monde, whose antics were long discussed in Moscow’s social circles (for example, her “dirty” dancing in the presence of her new in-laws). She gained her Russian-wide popularity thanks to her work as a co-host on the scandalous reality TV-show ‘Dom 2’ (‘House 2’), where strangers from across the country gathered in one house in an attempt to find their love.
After ‘Dom 2’, Ksenia got her own show called ‘Blondinka v shokolade’ (which loosely translates as: ‘A Glamorous Blonde’), in which her socialite life was shown on TV screens across the entire country.
Later, she, in co-authorship with another glam diva Oksana Robski, wrote the book ‘Zamuzh za millionera’ (‘To Marry a Millionaire’), which instantly became a bestselling book and ensured Sobchak’s celebrity status in the public space.
There were many other attention-seeking names in the 2000s, who almost no one remembers now. Many of them became socialites thanks to their marriages to wealthy businessmen or thanks to their connections to other celebrities. Everyone else enthusiastically watched them through socialite gossip.
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