Biznis as usual in Moscow

The Russian Federation has defaulted on up to $90 billion-worth of restructured Soviet-era debt, the GKO reschedulings are stalled and Western banks have laid off almost all their Russian workers. February has rarely been kind to Russians, and Muscovites, not the world's most upbeat urban dwellers at the best of times, believe that this one will be the worst for decades. Even so, there are glimmers of hope.

For a start, Moscow's thrifty inhabitants have something they haven't had since 1917. In the past, they hoarded the only things there were to hoard: whatever shoddy consumer goods they could buy from GUM, the giant market on the edge of Red Square, and worthless roubles. This time, even if the middle-class jobs are gone for ever, they have left a legacy: billions of dollars of real money.

Muscovites have between $5 billion and $30 billion under their mattresses in $100 bills,...

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