Articles by Megan Merrill



Flash Mob: Art, Smart or Just Absurd

At exactly 5 p.m. Saturday, around 200 young people stood side by side on the steps of the Bolshoi Theater, read newspapers for five minutes, then left, leaving bystanders scratching their heads.

Tango Festival Heats Up Town

Cold, northern Moscow may seem an unlikely place to hold a festival of a dance that was born in the steamy bars and brothels of 19th-century Buenos Aires.

Tango Festival Heats Up Town

Cold, northern Moscow may seem an unlikely place to hold a festival of a dance that was born in the steamy bars and brothels of 19th-century Buenos Aires.

African Refugees Making a 2nd Escape

Mandanoi, a 35-year-old refugee, is now preparing to flee Russia. ""I ran away from my country,"" he said. ""But here it is like a prison. I'm not free. We are nothing here.""

NGOs: 36,000 Women Beaten Daily

Every day, 36,000 women in Russia are beaten by their partners, nongovernmental organizations said Monday, calling for law enforcement officers to treat domestic violence as a crime.

He's the Phantom Hunter, to Whom the Haunted Turn

Though Dr. Andrei Li runs Moscow's Emergency Poltergeist Service, don't expect him to come over and suck up your poltergeist with a high-tech vacuum cleaner.

He's the Phantom Hunter, to Whom the Haunted Turn

Though Dr. Andrei Li runs Moscow's Emergency Poltergeist Service, don't expect him to come over and suck up your poltergeist with a high-tech vacuum cleaner.

Russia's Big Gamble on American Football

With 20 seconds left on the clock, the fate of Russia's junior national team of American football spiraled high above Broadwood Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

Artist's Work Is Fixed in Flights of Fantasy

For local artist Leonid Tishkov, the world is populated by the absurd and the grotesque and flying, foot-like creatures he calls Dabloids.

Artist's Work Is Fixed in Flights of Fantasy

For local artist Leonid Tishkov, the world is populated by the absurd and the grotesque and flying, foot-like creatures he calls Dabloids.

A Hand in Bringing Up Baby and Mother, Too

Tsaritsyno's Miramed Institute provides money, baby necessities and a supportive, family environment for young single women not yet used to mothering.

Courting Adventure and Juggling Knives

In town recently for the opening of the capital's first Benihana restaurant, franchise founder world-famous restaurateur and retired wrestler Rocky Aoki found a couple minutes to talk to The Moscow Times.

Courting Adventure and Juggling Knives

In town recently for the opening of the capital's first Benihana restaurant, franchise founder world-famous restaurateur and retired wrestler Rocky Aoki found a couple minutes to talk to The Moscow Times.

International Judges Put Students Through Paces

Russian law students competed Saturday in the Jessup Moot Court Competition to determine which team will represent Russia at the April international finals in Washington, D.C.

From the Slaughterhouse to the Studio

A candied pig, a few cans of stew and a very suggestive sausage. Sunday brunch? No, these are the subjects of a new art exhibit that pokes fun at the false promises of advertisers.

From the Slaughterhouse to the Studio

A candied pig, a few cans of stew and a very suggestive sausage. Sunday brunch? No, these are the subjects of a new art exhibit that pokes fun at the false promises of advertisers.

The Pet Market Is Still a Bit of a Zoo

Moscow's Ptichy Rynok was shut down in December 2001 but the pet market reopened last spring in a new location with tighter controls, but some of the old problems remain.

'Five Stories' Chronicles the End of an Era

Two years after Moscow began a program of razing its khrushchyovki -- decaying five-story apartment blocks generally despised for their homeliness and poor structural integrity -- a new exhibit at the Manezh Gallery is taking a sentimental look at the structures that were home to an entire generation of Soviet people.

'Five Stories' Chronicles the End of an Era

Two years after Moscow began a program of razing its khrushchyovki -- decaying five-story apartment blocks generally despised for their homeliness and poor structural integrity -- a new exhibit at the Manezh Gallery is taking a sentimental look at the structures that were home to an entire generation of Soviet people.

Spend New Year's Eve With a Classic

Russia has its own favorite holiday movie: the bittersweet comedy ""Ironiya Sudby, ili s Lyogkim Parom,"" or ""The Irony of Fate, or Have a Good Banya.""

Greeting 2003, Cinderella-Style

If you prefer to avoid the restaurants and bars on New Year's Eve, but don't want to stay home, ring in 2003 in tsarist St. Petersburg -- without ever leaving Moscow.

Spend New Year's Eve With a Classic

Russia has its own favorite holiday movie: the bittersweet comedy ""Ironiya Sudby, ili s Lyogkim Parom,"" or ""The Irony of Fate, or Have a Good Banya.""

Greeting 2003, Cinderella-Style

If you prefer to avoid the restaurants and bars on New Year's Eve, but don't want to stay home, ring in 2003 in tsarist St. Petersburg -- without ever leaving Moscow.

U.S. Marines Bring Holiday Cheer to Orphans

About 350 orphans from five orphanages celebrated Christmas early last Thursday, courtesy of the U.S. Marines and the Moscow charity Love's Bridge.

Siberian Volunteers Tackle Housing Problems

The U.S.-based organization Habitat for Humanity International works in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude to help build houses for people without adequate shelter.

Center for Mentally Disabled Looks for a Home

The Lemniscate Foundation gives Muscovites suffering from severe autism, cerebral palsy and other mental problems a sense of fulfillment through making crafts.

Tune In to the Future's Famous Faces

If you miss the bickering and boredom that were common to the first season of last year's ""Za Steklom,"" Channel One has the solution -- and the network offers it three times a day, seven days a week.

Tune In to the Future's Famous Faces

If you miss the bickering and boredom that were common to the first season of last year's ""Za Steklom,"" Channel One has the solution -- and the network offers it three times a day, seven days a week.

Rising Middle Class Pumping Up Retail

With fewer bills to pay, Russia's middle class has plenty to spend on clothes, appliances and home electronics and is the driving force behind the consumer-goods market.

Taxi Cab Services: The Good, the Bad & the Dirty

Although the sight of pedestrians standing on a curb flagging down passing cars is common in Moscow, calling a taxi service for your ride is often a better choice.


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