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You are here, game theory.

This course is an introduction to game theory and strategic thinking. Ideas such as dominance, backward induction, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are discussed and applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere.

This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Fall 2007.

A. Dixit and B. Nalebuff. Thinking Strategically , Norton 1991

J. Watson. Strategy: An Introduction to Game Theory , Norton 2002

P.K. Dutta. Strategies and Games: Theory And Practice , MIT 1999

Who should take this course? This course is an introduction to game theory. Introductory microeconomics (115 or equivalent) is required. Intermediate micro (150/2) is not required, but it is recommended. We will use calculus (mostly one variable) in this course. We will also refer to ideas like probability and expectation. Some may prefer to take the course next academic year once they have more background. Students who have already taken Econ 156b should not enroll in this class.

Course Aims and Methods. Game theory is a way of thinking about strategic situations. One aim of the course is to teach you some strategic considerations to take into account making your choices. A second aim is to predict how other people or organizations behave when they are in strategic settings. We will see that these aims are closely related. We will learn new concepts, methods and terminology. A third aim is to apply these tools to settings from economics and from elsewhere. The course will emphasize examples. We will also play several games in class.

Outline and Reading. Most of the reading for this course comes from the first ten chapters of Dutta or from the first two parts of Watson. There will be a reading packet for weeks 6-7. The readings are not compulsory, but they will help back up the class material.

Problem sets: 30% Midterm examination: 30% Final examination: 40%

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This year’s student enrollment in Yale’s online programs has increased with an estimated 15.6 percent jump from 2022.

By ESMA OKUTAN

Access to a Yale education is not limited to Yale students. In recent years, Yale has expanded its offering, including the online Coursera classes which are estimated to have over one-and-a-half million students in 2023.

Yale Online — the main hub for Yale’s online offerings — is a catalog that brings together a collection of courses offered to degree and non-degree seekers around the world. The website includes open courses taught at Yale ranging from “Environment Politics and Law” to “The Science of Well-Being for Teens.” It includes non-degree programs with a certificate of completion as well as degree programs offered by professional schools across the University.

According to Sara Epperson, director of the digital education office within the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, the Poorvu Center started developing the website in 2019 and launched it in 2021. Since then, its social media presence has been expanding and a variety of Yale courses have been added to Coursera, an online learning platform.

“1.4 million learners enrolled in our courses on Coursera in 2022,” Lucas Swineford, executive director of digital education at the Poorvu Center, wrote to the News. “We are on track to enroll 1.62 million learners in 2023, a 15.6 percent increase.”

Epperson told the News that online courses taught through Yale were previously offered through the Poorvu Center website. Some of these courses on Yale Online are also offered on YouTube, Coursera or through the “Open Yale Courses” website. All of these courses are now accessible through the Yale Online website.

Now if you go on the Poorvu Center website and select “Online Course Catalog,” it directs you to the Yale Online website.

“Once we gained a lot of momentum on campus, there was a lot of interest in developing open courses, non-degree programs and of course, online programs such as the Executive Master of Public Health,” Epperson said. “We found it reasonable to create its own website to really elevate the work that’s happening across Yale.”

Other online degree programs on Yale Online, such as Executive MPH, include the nursing practice doctorate offered by the School of Nursing as well as the Physician Assistant Online Program offered by the School of Medicine.

In recent years, Swineford added, the increase in participation is in part due to the Poorvu Center’s social media presence, which has boosted applications for the Online Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree program as well as non-degree programs at the Schools of the Environment and Public Health.

Swineford also wrote that the Poorvu Center’s strong relationships with professional school partners have helped support this momentum.

“We’re not just doing work for the Poorvu Center, but we’re trying to elevate the online education that’s across the University,” Jasmine Taylor, digital education project manager at the Poorvu Center, told the News. “And unlike traditional ways of marketing, we want to build a relationship. We want to show [students], take bits and pieces of courses and say, you can learn about Roman architecture, you can learn how to be happy, you can find out how to be a better leader. There are a lot of different courses and a lot of different subjects.”

Taylor said that Yale Online’s social media presence includes quick snippets of Instagram content from faculty to engage with students.

Swineford said that Yale Online gains a lot of student feedback, and gave an example of an open Yale Online course made in 2009 that still receives regular feedback online.

“In some sense, we can think of Yale Online as the marketing component to all of the excellent work being done around the University,” Swineford said. “Because it is true that marketing online education programs has gotten more challenging, it is a very crowded marketplace. As a university, we believe that our exceptional faculty, our cutting-edge research would really be a benefit to global learners. So we want to do everything we can to try and make that information, make those courses as visible as possible to as many global learners and qualified applicants as we can.”

Taylor added that the Poorvu Center has a student advisory board that provides insightful feedback from students.

Jennifer Frederick, executive director of the Poorvu Center and associate provost for academic initiatives, told the News that open courses on Yale Online include evaluations to assess learning and get feedback on the student’s experience to “continuously improve offerings.”

Frederick also emphasized the benefit of offering Yale courses without having to travel to Yale.

“Also I think students really appreciate the opportunity to access a part of Yale that doesn’t require them to come and be in New Haven. That’s a really powerful thing.”

Psychology professor Laurie Santos, whose “Science of Well-Being” class has over 4.5 million learners on Coursera, has a recently launched second course titled “The Science of Well-Being for Teens,” which has over 110 thousand learners enrolled as of now.

Santos wrote to the News that she loves getting to teach millions of students across the world and has been humbled by the popularity of her classes.

Santos, whose research focuses on the psychology of happiness and well-being, also added that research has already indicated how beneficial her online courses can be.

“We’ve also done studies to show that this kind of outreach can have a big impact,” Santos wrote to the News “One study found that students who take my online well-being class show significant improvements in their overall well-being. That means we can not just teach students around the world but also change their lives for the better.”

Yale Online courses are offered at online.yale.edu .

Modern Poetry

Published: Spring 2007

Description

Langdon Hammer, chairman of the Department of English at Yale, earned his B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale. He is the author of Hart Crane and Allen Tate: Janus-Faced Modernism and editor of O My Land, My Friends: The Selected Letters of Hart Crane and the Library of America’s, Hart Crane: Complete Poems and Selected Letters. A Guggenheim Fellow, he is currently at work on a biography of the poet James Merrill. His reviews of new poetry and literary criticism regularly appear in The New York Times Book Review and other magazines, and he is poetry editor of The American Scholar.

Course Takeaways

This class will teach you to possess, enjoy, be puzzled or frustrated by, learn something from, and care about poems.

Available on Open Yale Courses and YouTube

Meet the Instructors

Langdon Hammer

Niel Gray, Jr. Professor of English

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For YCS instruction and support, visit registration.yale.edu .

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Coursera Course Teaches Tools for Making a Difference

Prof. Teresa Chahine’s free online course, Creating Change through Social Entrepreneurship, teaches participants how to define a problem and build a solution.

Since 2018, Teresa Chahine, the Sheila and Ron ’92 B.A. Marcelo Senior Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, has taught Yale students how to make a difference using the tools of social entrepreneurship, whether founding a new venture or working within an existing organization. Many of the insights she shares in the classroom are now available to anyone through her new Coursera course, Creating Change through Social Entrepreneurship .

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to create real change?” Chahine writes. “You don’t have to start your own organization to make a difference in the world. Everyone can learn the social entrepreneurship mindset and skillset to build social impact. In this course, you will immerse yourself in a social or environmental challenge you want to tackle. You’ll start by researching your topic of choice, talking to people, and ideating a potential solution that you can contribute. Then, you’ll build a business model around that solution, understanding concepts like measuring social change, ensuring financial viability, funding and pitching.”

The course includes 11 modules, teaching participants through videos, text, and quizzes how to understand a challenge by talking with the people most affected by it, designing a solution, and creating an organization to carry it out.

Other Coursera courses offered by Yale SOM faculty include The Global Financial Crisis, taught by Professor Andrew Metrick and former treasury secretary Timothy Geithner; Introduction to Negotiation, taught by Professor Barry Nalebuff; and Financial Markets and Narrative Economics, taught by Professor Robert Shiller.

Learn more about Creating Change through Social Entrepreneurship.

Listen to Teresa Chahine’s podcast, Impact & Innovation.

Yale Linguistics

You are here, course work.

The conception of linguistics embraced by the Yale Ph.D. program requires that students receive training that is both deep in its coverage of areas of linguistic inquiry and broad in the range of methodological approaches. The course work requirements are designed to accomplish these complementary goals. This course work includes a set of courses designed to expose students to core ideas, together with courses equipping students with a range of methodologies in linguistic research.

During their first five terms, students must complete a minimum of twelve term courses at the graduate level. During the initial two years of course work, students must receive at least three grades of H (= Honors). Two or more grades below HP (= High Pass) during the initial two year period constitute grounds for dismissal from the Ph.D. program. As per Graduate School general regulations, grades of F cannot be counted toward degree requirements.

Foundational courses

This requirement ensures that students achieve breadth in several linguistic subfields. Students take six courses in four or more subfields of linguistics. The following courses satisfy this requirement: LING 612, Language Change; LING 636, Articulatory Phonology; LING 631, Neurolinguistics, or LING 617, Language and Mind; LING 635, Phonology II; LING 654, Syntax II; LING 664, Semantics II; LING 680, Morphology.

Students will decide on their courses, in consultation with the director of graduate studies (DGS) and other faculty, when they arrive on campus. Other sufficiently advanced courses may also satisfy the requirement.

Methodology courses

For the methodology requirement, students must take three relevant courses. The following courses, which are offered regularly by the department, qualify, but other courses may as well, to be determined in consultation with the adviser and DGS: LING 600, Experimentation in Linguistics; LING 619, The Evolution of Language and Culture; LING 624, Mathematics of Language; LING 627, Language and Computation I; LING 631, Neurolinguistics; LING 636, Articulatory Phonology; LING 641, Field Methods; LING 796, Semantic Investigations in an Unfamiliar Language; an advanced course in statistics (e.g., S&DS 538, S&DS 563, S&DS 661, or PSYC 518).

One of the methodology courses must be taken during the first year of the program, and two must be completed by the end of the second year. Courses cannot simultaneously satisfy the foundational and methodology requirements.

Seminar courses

Graduate students are active participants in department reading groups and seminars. Students should participate in three advanced seminars in which they read the original literature of the field and write a research paper. With permission of their adviser and the DGS, students may enroll in the appropriate 790s-numbered LING course and count active participation in a department reading group, including the submission of a final research paper, as satisfying this requirement.

Language requirement

Students are expected to exhibit some breadth in their knowledge of the languages of the world beyond those most commonly studied and those most similar in structure to the student’s first language. LING 641, Field Methods, fulfills this requirement; alternatively, with the permission of the DGS, the student may instead take an appropriate language structure course, or one or more courses characterize as L3 or higher at Yale or the equivalent elsewhere. This requirement must be completed before the prospectus defense, when the student advances to Ph.D. candidacy.

Director of Graduate Studies

Any questions about the graduate program can be directed to the DGS, Jim Wood, at jim.wood@yale.edu

Yale Economist Philipp Strack Wins 2024 Clark Medal

Recognized as a leading American economist under 40, Strack’s work solves long-standing open questions in economic theory.

Yale Economist Philipp Strack has won the John Bates Clark Medal , widely considered the most prestigious award bestowed on young American economists.

Awarded by the American Economic Association (AEA) , the medal honors an American economist under the age of 40 whose scholarship has made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.

“It’s an incredible honor, and it’s hard to believe,” said Strack, professor of economics in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “I’m just very happy and grateful.”

Strack’s work has “challenged conventional wisdom and significantly pushed the boundaries of theories of decision-making and behavioral economics outward,” the AEA stated in its award announcement . Through his research on the formalization of information cost functions and privacy, as well as new analytical approaches to mechanism design, the AEA praised Strack’s research as representing a new wave of the economics of information.

“Economic theory is a useful tool for so many important questions,” said Strack, who studies economic theory and behavioral economics. “Through precise formalization, we can get much clearer on issues like discrimination, privacy, or climate change. For example, how can we measure whether firms are discriminating against employees? What do we mean by privacy? How do we ensure parties will adhere to climate change agreements? Theory gives us the tools to structure our thinking around these questions, and I’m really excited by the progress we’re making and where the field is headed as a whole.”

Strack is the third Yale economist to be awarded the Clark Medal, and the first since 1969, following Marc Nerlove (1969) and James Tobin (1955).

In its announcement, the AEA called Strack “a deeply creative and prolific microeconomic theorist whose research has enriched our understanding of economics on several fronts.”

“Philipp Strack's mix of creativity, technical skills, and incredible productivity has enabled him to solve long-standing open questions in economic theory while building bridges to a wide range of adjacent disciplines, such as psychology, neuroscience, and computer science,” it stated.

Tony Smith, chair of the Department of Economics, echoed the AEA’s praise.

“The department is very proud to celebrate Philipp’s Clark Medal, in recognition of his creative contributions across a wide spectrum of cutting-edge topics within microeconomic theory,” he said. “Philipp is not only brilliant, but also a wonderful and generous colleague.”

Professor Strack, who joined Yale’s faculty in 2019, was the recipient of the 2023 Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Award for his contributions to the social sciences in economics. He has authored more than 50 publications and working papers, spanning a number of topics in economic theory and behavioral economics. Recent research includes work on the optimal taxation of goods with negative externalities (such as CO2 emissions), how people mispredict their behaviors , and how private information and signals can affect algorithmic fairness, price discrimination, and information design .

View Professor Strack’s full research portfolio here .

In the short time since the announcement, many in the economics community have shared tributes on X :

Congratulations to Philipp Strack of @Yale University, winner of the 2024 John Bates Clark Medal! https://t.co/Aeklxvyp4I — AEA Information (@AEAInformation) April 9, 2024

So proud of my friend @philippstrack85 @Yale , who not only just won the prestigious #JohnBatesClarkMedal , but besides being brilliant is also among the most humble and kind people I know. Herzliche Gratulation! https://t.co/KHHo2UFBUT — Dr. Isabel Z. Martínez #🟦 (@IZMartinez86) April 10, 2024

An amazingly brilliant and prolific microeconomic theorist, Philipp Strack, wins the 2024 John Bates Clark Medal: https://t.co/No09fxDhQK . And one of the nicest people you will meet in the profession. 🥳🤩🫶 His 41 (!) accepted + 13 working papers are here https://t.co/JombzeM2QM — Alex Teytelboym (@t8el) April 9, 2024

One of the most prestigious and eagerly anticipated AEA awards, the John Bates Clark Medal is awarded annually each April (formerly biennially from 1947–2009) to that American economist under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. If there is a significant body of joint work, the Clark Medal may be awarded jointly to two recipients. Established as an American prize, it is sufficient that the candidate works in the United States at the time of the award and US citizenship is not required . Read the full AEA announcement .

Religious Studies

You are here, course work.

Students are required to take two years of coursework, with the expectation being that this will comprise a minimum of twelve courses spread over those two years. The only course that is specifically required, as is the case for all doctoral students in the department of Religious Studies, is RLST 510, Method and Theory, which is recommended to be taken in the first year of a student’s course work. There are, however, courses that all students are expected to take or have taken, including the two-semester History and Methods sequence, and the year of Advanced Biblical Hebrew. Given the distribution of the faculty, it is understood that many courses will be taken at the Divinity School. It is, however, the expectation that at least two non-language courses will be taken outside of those offered by the core Hebrew Bible faculty and outside of the Divinity School. These courses may be taken in any department or school, though we especially encourage students to take advantage of courses from other fields in Religious Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Classics, and Comparative Literature. The purpose of these non-Hebrew Bible courses is to give the student a broader intellectual framework, skills in comparative thinking, and exposure to other dimensions of critical scholarship, with the hopes that these will make the student an even better scholar of Hebrew Bible.

Office of the President

For the Media

2024 DeVane Lectures: “Can It Happen Here Again? Yale, Slavery, the Civil War and Their Legacies.”

The Fall 2024 DeVane Lectures will be taught by David Blight, Sterling Professor of History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. His course will consist of three parts. First, the course will cover the history of Yale University’s connections to and entanglements with racial slavery and its afterlives. Second, the lectures will explore the first existential crisis of the American experiment—the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction. Third, the course will cover the many legacies of that period—political, constitutional, racial, economic, and commemorative—as they have shaped American life and polity ever since.

Members of the public are invited to learn alongside Yale students and can enroll for free. The course is held in person only.

Dates & Location

August 29 to December 5, 2024 Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.

O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall Yale Science Building 260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511

How to Register

The course is held in person only. The lectures are free for New Haven and other local community members, as are all course materials and related media. Please register through the webform . Due to the high level of interest, registration does not guarantee your spot in the lecture. In early June, you will receive an email regarding your registration. If you have questions, please email president@yale.edu .

Students may sign up for the course through the registration features in Yale Course Search.

The DeVane Lecture series was established in 1969 to honor William Clyde DeVane, dean of Yale College from 1939 to 1963.

Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

Patriarch’s Pond
Old Arbat Street
Maroseyka Street
Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography.

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita.

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

Novoslobodskaya
Mayakovskaya
Elektrozavodskaya
Komsomolskaya
Ploschad Revolyutsii
Dostoyevskaya
Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem.

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions.

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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The Comprehensive Guide to Moscow Nightlife

Posted on April 14, 2018 July 26, 2018
by Kings of Russia
8 minute read

Moscow’s nightlife scene is thriving, and arguably one of the best the world has to offer – top-notch Russian women, coupled with a never-ending list of venues, Moscow has a little bit of something for everyone’s taste. Moscow nightlife is not for the faint of heart – and if you’re coming, you better be ready to go Friday and Saturday night into the early morning.

This comprehensive guide to Moscow nightlife will run you through the nuts and bolts of all you need to know about Moscow’s nightclubs and give you a solid blueprint to operate with during your time in Moscow.

What you need to know before hitting Moscow nightclubs

Prices in moscow nightlife.

Before you head out and start gaming all the sexy Moscow girls , we have to talk money first. Bring plenty because in Moscow you can never bring a big enough bankroll. Remember, you’re the man so making a fuzz of not paying a drink here or there will not go down well.

Luckily most Moscow clubs don’t do cover fees. Some electro clubs will charge 15-20$, depending on their lineup. There’s the odd club with a minimum spend of 20-30$, which you’ll drop on drinks easily. By and large, you can scope out the venues for free, which is a big plus.

Bottle service is a great deal in Moscow. At top-tier clubs, it starts at 1,000$. That’ll go a long way with premium vodka at 250$, especially if you have three or four guys chipping in. Not to mention that it’s a massive status boost for getting girls, especially at high-end clubs.

Without bottle service, you should estimate a budget of 100-150$ per night. That is if you drink a lot and hit the top clubs with the hottest girls. Scale down for less alcohol and more basic places.

Dress code & Face control

Door policy in Moscow is called “face control” and it’s always the guy behind the two gorillas that gives the green light if you’re in or out.

In Moscow nightlife there’s only one rule when it comes to dress codes:

You can never be underdressed.

People dress A LOT sharper than, say, in the US and that goes for both sexes. For high-end clubs, you definitely want to roll with a sharp blazer and a pocket square, not to mention dress shoes in tip-top condition. Those are the minimum requirements to level the playing field vis a vis with other sharply dressed guys that have a lot more money than you do. Unless you plan to hit explicit electro or underground clubs, which have their own dress code, you are always on the money with that style.

Getting in a Moscow club isn’t as hard as it seems: dress sharp, speak English at the door and look like you’re in the mood to spend all that money that you supposedly have (even if you don’t). That will open almost any door in Moscow’s nightlife for you.

Types of Moscow Nightclubs

In Moscow there are four types of clubs with the accompanying female clientele:

High-end clubs:

These are often crossovers between restaurants and clubs with lots of tables and very little space to dance. Heavy accent on bottle service most of the time but you can work the room from the bar as well. The hottest and most expensive girls in Moscow go there. Bring deep pockets and lots of self-confidence and you have a shot at swooping them.

Regular Mid-level clubs:

They probably resemble more what you’re used to in a nightclub: big dancefloors, stages and more space to roam around. Bottle service will make you stand out more but you can also do well without. You can find all types of girls but most will be in the 6-8 range. Your targets should always be the girls drinking and ideally in pairs. It’s impossible not to swoop if your game is at least half-decent.

Basic clubs/dive bars:

Usually spots with very cheap booze and lax face control. If you’re dressed too sharp and speak no Russian, you might attract the wrong type of attention so be vigilant. If you know the local scene you can swoop 6s and 7s almost at will. Usually students and girls from the suburbs.

Electro/underground clubs:

Home of the hipsters and creatives. Parties there don’t mean meeting girls and getting drunk but doing pills and spacing out to the music. Lots of attractive hipster girls if that is your niche. That is its own scene with a different dress code as well.

What time to go out in Moscow

Moscow nightlife starts late. Don’t show up at bars and preparty spots before 11pm because you’ll feel fairly alone. Peak time is between 1am and 3am. That is also the time of Moscow nightlife’s biggest nuisance: concerts by artists you won’t know and who only distract your girls from drinking and being gamed. From 4am to 6am the regular clubs are emptying out but plenty of people, women included, still hit up one of the many afterparty clubs. Those last till well past 10am.

As far as days go: Fridays and Saturdays are peak days. Thursday is an OK day, all other days are fairly weak and you have to know the right venues.

The Ultimate Moscow Nightclub List

Short disclaimer: I didn’t add basic and electro clubs since you’re coming for the girls, not for the music. This list will give you more options than you’ll be able to handle on a weekend.

Preparty – start here at 11PM

Classic restaurant club with lots of tables and a smallish bar and dancefloor. Come here between 11pm and 12am when the concert is over and they start with the actual party. Even early in the night tons of sexy women here, who lean slightly older (25 and up).

The second floor of the Ugolek restaurant is an extra bar with dim lights and house music tunes. Very small and cozy with a slight hipster vibe but generally draws plenty of attractive women too. A bit slower vibe than Valenok.

Very cool, spread-out venue that has a modern library theme. Not always full with people but when it is, it’s brimming with top-tier women. Slow vibe here and better for grabbing contacts and moving on.

High-end: err on the side of being too early rather than too late because of face control.

Secret Room

Probably the top venue at the moment in Moscow . Very small but wildly popular club, which is crammed with tables but always packed. They do parties on Thursdays and Sundays as well. This club has a hip-hop/high-end theme, meaning most girls are gold diggers, IG models, and tattooed hip hop chicks. Very unfavorable logistics because there is almost no room no move inside the club but the party vibe makes it worth it. Strict face control.

Close to Secret Room and with a much more favorable and spacious three-part layout. This place attracts very hot women but also lots of ball busters and fakes that will leave you blue-balled. Come early because after 4am it starts getting empty fast. Electronic music.

A slightly kitsch restaurant club that plays Russian pop and is full of gold diggers, semi-pros, and men from the Caucasus republics. Thursday is the strongest night but that dynamic might be changing since Secret Room opened its doors. You can swoop here but it will be a struggle.

Mid-level: your sweet spot in terms of ease and attractiveness of girls for an average budget.

Started going downwards in 2018 due to lax face control and this might get even worse with the World Cup. In terms of layout one of the best Moscow nightclubs because it’s very big and bottle service gives you a good edge here. Still attracts lots of cute girls with loose morals but plenty of provincial girls (and guys) as well. Swooping is fairly easy here.

I haven’t been at this place in over a year, ever since it started becoming ground zero for drunken teenagers. Similar clientele to Icon but less chic, younger and drunker. Decent mainstream music that attracts plenty of tourists. Girls are easy here as well.

Sort of a Coyote Ugly (the real one in Moscow sucks) with party music and lots of drunken people licking each others’ faces. Very entertaining with the right amount of alcohol and very easy to pull in there. Don’t think about staying sober in here, you’ll hate it.

Artel Bessonitsa/Shakti Terrace

Electronic music club that is sort of a high-end place with an underground clientele and located between the teenager clubs Icon and Gipsy. Very good music but a bit all over the place with their vibe and their branding. You can swoop almost any type of girl here from high-heeled beauty to coked-up hipsters, provided they’re not too sober.

Afterparty: if by 5AM you haven’t pulled, it’s time to move here.

Best afterparty spot in terms of trying to get girls. Pretty much no one is sober in there and savage gorilla game goes a long way. Lots of very hot and slutty-looking girls but it can be hard to tell apart who is looking for dick and who is just on drugs but not interested. If by 9-10am you haven’t pulled, it is probably better to surrender.

The hipster alternative for afterparties, where even more drugs are in play. Plenty of attractive girls there but you have to know how to work this type of club. A nicer atmosphere and better music but if you’re desperate to pull, you’ll probably go to Miks.

Weekday jokers: if you’re on the hunt for some sexy Russian girls during the week, here are two tips to make your life easier.

Chesterfield

Ladies night on Wednesdays means this place gets pretty packed with smashed teenagers and 6s and 7s. Don’t pull out the three-piece suit in here because it’s a “simpler” crowd. Definitely your best shot on Wednesdays.

If you haven’t pulled at Chesterfield, you can throw a Hail Mary and hit up Garage’s Black Music Wednesdays. Fills up really late but there are some cute Black Music groupies in here. Very small club. Thursday through Saturday they do afterparties and you have an excellent shot and swooping girls that are probably high.

Shishas Sferum

This is pretty much your only shot on Mondays and Tuesdays because they offer free or almost free drinks for women. A fairly low-class club where you should watch your drinks. As always the case in Moscow, there will be cute girls here on any day of the week but it’s nowhere near as good as on the weekend.

In a nutshell, that is all you need to know about where to meet Moscow girls in nightlife. There are tons of options, and it all depends on what best fits your style, based on the type of girls that you’re looking for.