Moscow nightclubs hold parties in celebration
MOSCOW: Twenty-four hours before Donald Trump was sworn in as president of the United States, several dozen people packed a Moscow nightclub to get a head start on celebrating.
“Trump, Trump — it is unbelievable. Trump, Trump, he’s a superman, Trump, Trump — symbol of America. Trump, Trump, he’s really president,” the Thursday evening crowd at Arbat 13 heard an 82-yearold, Soviet-born crooner sing in English.
The small jazz club located a stone’s throw from the Stalin-era tower housing Russia’s foreign ministry might have been early, but it isn’t the only place in the capital that Ronald Reagan associated with an “evil empire” to be toasting Mr Trump.
Across from the US embassy compound in central Moscow, the Russian Army store put up a poster with the incoming president’s picture to advertise inauguration day discounts of 10% for embassy employees and American citizens.
“Russians celebrate a lot. We celebrate Russian holidays, foreign holidays. I welcome it because it’s not a secret that Russians were glad that Trump won,” Arbat 13 club owner Igor Khaletsky said when asked why Russians would want to party in honour of a US president.
Months before the November election, Russian lawmakers openly rooted for Mr Trump. Kremlin officials also made remarks which clearly indicated Moscow preferred to see the wealthy businessman in the White House rather than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
President Vladimir Putin took a parting shot at the Obama administration this week, accusing it of trying to undermine Mr Trump’s legitimacy with fake allegations and “binding the president-elect hand and foot to prevent him from fulfilling his election promises”.
Both Mr Putin and other top Russian officials have dismissed an unsubstantiated dossier outlining unverified claims Mr Trump engaged in sexual activities with prostitutes at a Moscow hotel, calling it a “rude provocation”.
The inauguration party on Thursday at the underground jazz club just off Moscow’s main tourist drag attracted a curious crowd: Canadian tourists, an American personal trainer, Russian friends of the night’s performers, and the owner of a provincial restaurant called Trump.
“I thought this was like a comedy event, more of a spoof of the fact,” said Joe MacInnes, a Canadian who came with two friends and was slightly bewildered. “Are they making fun of the fact that the world thinks that Russia is supporting Trump?”
The guests were entertained by obscure Russian jazz acts, stand-up comedians, a Russian band called The Trump Band, and a teenager who grew up in the US and sang a karaoke version of Strangers In the Night.
Owner Natalya Palladicheva, who opened the restaurant two years ago, named it Trump after the English word that means a high-ranking hand of cards. She didn’t like the sound of the Russian equivalent.
At a table, two middle-aged men, dressed in black and wearing cargo pants, were eating burgers with Bologna sausage. One of them, a personal trainer from California, called it a Trump burger.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of ” in Russia, said Jim Barcena, who has been coming to Russia to train professional boxers since 2009. “It’s the governments that pit us against each other. The positive thing is, apparently Putin and Trump have a nice relationship. I hope it’s for real.”
Mr Trump’s open admiration of Mr Putin has created expectations of improved relations between Washington and Moscow. Mr Trump has not yet articulated a clear policy on Russia, and some of his Cabinet nominees have voiced decidedly hawkish stances. In turn, Mr Putin has expressed hope that “common sense will prevail” and Russia and the US will be able to normalise relations.
The event at Arbat 13 club was the first of at least two private parties scheduled in Moscow to celebrate Mr Trump’s passage from president-elect to commander in chief.
Willi Tokarev, 82, wrote a song after friends who know Mr Trump asked him to compose something. “If these two leaders... can find common language, they can bring order to the world,” Mr Tokarev said.