Moscow: from a Soviet slum to the world's dearest city.

(From Irish Independent)

The Russian city, once known for queues and drab apartment blocks, has been transformed by oil money and a property boom. But change has a price, as Andrew Osborn finds out

When Andrei, a Russian businessman, wanted to talk to a glamorous female celebrity in one of Moscow's trendiest restaurants recently, he did what all self-respecting new Russians do: he reached for his wallet. He tipped the waiter 800 to get him an introduction, ordered a 400 bottle of wine, and started talking.

When the duo embarked upon a relationship soon afterwards, Andrei sent his new girlfriend 101 red roses. A couple of weeks later he bought her a top-of-the-range Mercedes; a couple of months later he bought her a flat in Moscow for $400,000. A man like Andrei will go through a similar routine several times a year and may support a wife and children at the same time.

Welcome to dating Moscow-style and welcome to a city where money flows like water. Step aside Oslo, move over Tokyo, and get out of town Zurich. Fifteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has been crowned the world's most expensive city.

It is an unlikely and dubious honour for a city that was once the capital of world Communism and the epitome of cheap, state-subsidised living. Yet in an authoritative report that will have die-hard Marxists screaming about the inequities of capitalism, New York-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting claims Moscow is now the world's priciest city.

In a survey of 144 countries based upon a uniform basket of some 200 goods from a cup of coffee to a compact disc, Mercer placed Moscow above Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Geneva, New York - and Dublin. Last year the Russian capital was fourth, but this year Moscow's booming property market pushed it into first place.