Welcome to the 80's

I've realized what modern day Moscow reminds me of - 1980's America. 

During the period after Stalin's death, the USSR opened itself up a little to Western influence and 'american denim' & Rock 'n' Roll was all the rage, then when the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s and the Iron Curtain fell they embraced Western culture more. Not fully, but the West gradually encroached. However, Moscow 2011 definitely reminds me of 1980s New York City (not that I was alive then, but from what I researched & heard about it)

The evidence is simple & everywhere. I need only say the word Mullet and it screams 80s. Most young & middle age men AND even some children have mullets. I sat behind a guy in class yesterday with a lovely mullet specimen. The clothing is also reminiscent of the 80s, and the trend for wearing trainers with jeans is super popular. I haven't seen one person (bar myself) wearing Converse though. 

The subway trains are large, plastic-y and again resemble those of 1970s & 80s NYC. They have lino floors and fading exteriors. They jolt and rattle and definitely sound aged.

It feels like Russia missed the evolution of capitalism & Western culture throughout the Cold War period and so they're just now playing catch-up. They're living in the American '80s and have a way to go to be on a cultural par with the UK & US. It goes a way to explaining a lot of the quirks I've discovered out here in Russia & also the differences in their way of life.