BOTH cities were on President Clinton’s European itinerary: the capitals of Russia and Ukraine, the two largest countries to have emerged from the Soviet Union. But Moscow and Kiev increasingly appear to be moving along different paths. And despite the commercial and economic dynamism evident in Moscow, it is Kiev that is headed in the right direction.
Moscow appears to be booming. Scores of new shops sprout up monthly. Hundreds of expensive restaurants cater to the new Russian bourgeoisie. The price of caviar approaches its price in New York or Paris. Consumer goods abound, most of them of Western or Asian manufacture. Mercedeses, Jaguars, and Porsches are a regular sight on the New Arbat and on Tverskaya Street. Nightclubs with entrance fees ranging from $20 to $100 are packed to the rafters. By contrast, Kiev seems a sleepy outpost, with only a handful of opulent restaurants and smart shops to serve the new Ukrainian bourgeoisie. Workers in Kiev earn about $15 a month, less than a fifth of the average wage in Moscow.
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