Satellite Voices

Moscow / Русский

Anna Bichevskaya

January 9, 2012

One of the founders of iknow.travel talks to us about her favourite places in Moscow

• Text by Kemal Tarba

Anna Bichevskaya, graduate of the Kaliningrad State Technical University is in constant search of herself and so have tried a lot of professional areas - from the election campaigns and rebranding of Railways, to gourmet markets and reconstruction of Gorky Park. Now together with her team she launched their own project for advanced travelers named iknow.travel - a social platform for sharing experiences and stories of travel and a ticket service.

Satellite Voices: What is the best way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon in winter Moscow?
Anna Bichevskaya: It all depends on the weather and how much fun you had the previous evening. In my perfect snowy Moscow, the best way to spend time is to hang out at Gorky Park with your friends. This place now combines all I need. A bit of fresh air in the center of Moscow, ice rink and embankment, trees covered with snow, lights everywhere and good music.

SV: What is the best Muscovite party you’ve been to?
Anna Bichevskaya: The best parties recently we have only at my friends’ apartments or at my own apartment, or at my friends’ studio - peregovorka No: 17 at the Red October.

SV: How do you think Moscow restaurant scene has changed in last five years?
Anna Bichevskaya: I think the restaurant business, of course, changes every year. In the early 2000s, going to restaurants was a kind of way to show the world that you are successful, and cooking at home was a kind of relic of starving Soviet-era. Then people got bored of it and started asking questions about what they really want and value. In 2008, DIY culture started to develop and primarily it affected cooking, all en masse began to cook at home, go culinary school etc. Today people go to restaurants, order food and cook at home, depending on mood and desire. Personally, I am glad that the era of unbridled glamour is behind us. At the restaurant scene there are new places such as Delicatessen, Osteriya Uno, Producty, Golubka, Upsidedowncake and other alike restaurants whose number rises day-by-day. I hope that this will continue and someday I will be able to open my own restaurant.

SV: On iknow.travel people share different impressions about the cities they travelled to, what would be the most fascinating thing about Moscow that you’d like to share with others?
Anna Bichevskaya: Moscow and Muscovites are all very different, and to experience the city, a foreigner needs a local friend, because, unfortunately, without the sacred insider knowledge you can face not very cozy streets and weird places. Concerning Moscow you can’t say eat in any restaurant that came across, food is good everywhere like you’d say about Madrid or Barcelona because Moscow is very heterogeneous. In my opinion the most exciting and impressive thing about Moscow and its residents is that it is heterogeneous and ambiguous and depends very much on your luck. Moscow is just like a chimera in various guises.

Photography by Max Avdeev