Moscow's richest neighborhood has seen better days.
Less than a decade ago, Rublyovka was one of the hottest suburbs in the world, with an influx of billionaire residents to live with the likes of Vladimir Putin and Roman Abramovich. Typical of the area was the ultra-high-end mall, Barvikha Luxury Village, opened in 2005.
By 2011, however, the neighborhood was emptying out, with one third of the houses either vacant or on the market and demand low. Many oligarchs were reportedly moving to the West, and it didn't help that Russia's economy was teetering from crisis to crisis. Now with money pouring out of the country at an astounding rate and oil prices painfully low, things are only getting worse.
Business Insider sent photographer Konstantin Salomatin to check out Rublyovka. His photos reveal continued deterioration in the neighborhood and capture the remarkable site of a totally empty luxury mall, even in the late afternoon on a Wednesday.
Rublyovka is a spacious suburb located along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway, west of Moscow. It has been home to Russian elites dating back to Peter the Great.
It's expensive to move in, with land selling for $160,000 for 100 square meters, according to a billboard on the highway.
The area is not welcoming to visitors, with big walls separating every residential area.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider