Many of us are fascinated by Russia. It’s vast but little is known of what goes on there beyond the high profile antics of loaded oligarchs. It’s mysterious, not exactly Europe yet not Asia. Their literature is dark, their music darker, their food heavy and their language impenetrable to most, but there’s an undeniable glamour about Russia. Now that Russian travellers have recently fallen in love with Hong Kong, there’s a chance to lift the veil.
Part of the push to put Hong Kong on Russians’ map comes from the pro-active two-way promotion by the new Russian airline S7, which brought Vladivostok rock band Mumiy Troll here in March. That’s followed by an Asian music festival in Vladivostok at the end of August. Local bands also go there from Hong Kong.
What do Russians do here?
Not much, it seems. “Hong Kong doesn’t offer a very extensive variety of things to do for newcomers who don’t speak Cantonese,” says Zavadskiy. Coming from second-tier Russian cities they don’t speak much English, they see the usual sights, hike, look for Indie music and check the internet for concerts. In addition to the holidaying and culture-hunting Russians from Moscow and the new wave from further east, there’s another lot, the traders operating out of southern China.
“The large community of Russian traders in Shenzhen and Guangzhou flock down here for concerts by well known artists like Sting, because, believe it or not, the tickets are cheaper here than in Moscow,” he explains. Russians are not short of cash. They may only have had capitalism for 20 years, but they have plenty of money, he says. But private bankers can hold off on openning the Siberia branch just yet.
Why pay cash?