Postcard from Moscow

The global financial turmoil that has hammered Russia's economy hasn't stopped its superrich from spending--yet. Russia's millionaires keep their heads up

Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP / Getty

An attendant serves Champagne at the lavish Moscow Millionaire Fair.

A man in a metallic-sheen suit strolls slowly down an aisle with a dark-haired woman in fur on his arm. They stop occasionally to examine some of the many Persian carpets arrayed on a wall the length of a tennis court. The brightly colored handmade silk carpets--in vibrant blues and greens, luscious reds and purples--almost leap off the black cloth lining the exhibition hall.

Russian businessman Alexander Kazakov, who makes his money selling luxury home furnishings, and his wife have come to the annual Moscow Millionaire Fair looking for a rug for their newly remodeled apartment. But they're having trouble deciding...

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