Virtually every unmarried person-and certainly every unmarried man-who reads Moscow newspapers knows what he’s looking at when he sees an ad for “Massage.” Though The Moscow Times long ago disposed of the word in favor of the even more meaningless euphemism “Introduction,” The Moscow Tribune and advertisers in a host of other Moscow papers (including our own) still insist on calling prostitutition services “Massage.” A man seeking “massage” in this town can specify the hair color, height and even bust size of his “masseuse.” But can he get a massage-particularly if, after contracting a mildly contagious disease, he really needs one? (more…)

It’s been a rough week for Russia’s Prime Minister, Victor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin. How rough? Well, as it turns out, he’s not worth 5 billion dollars, as alleged by United States’ Republican Congressman Henry Hyde. Nuh-uh. Hyde was just behaving like the anti-Russian that he is. Rather, according to a recent Russian government press release, the second most powerful man in the C.I.S. makes a paltry $703 per month.

“Seven hundred and three dollars?! Shame!” (more…)