Moscow is a beautiful metropolis. Even in the cold of winter it is pleasant to stroll around, especially at night, when decorative lights illuminate the city center. Brightly lit streets lead pedestrians past bars and restaurants; a street performer sings strains of Vladimir Vysotsky while strumming a guitar. At Lubyanka Square, just across the circle from the five-star St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya Hotel, even an edifice so surreally imposing during the day—the former KGB headquarters, now occupied by the renamed FSB—glitters brightly onto the falling snow.
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