The Ten Most Dynamic Cities

These Tajiks, Moldovans, Ukrainians and others have formed one of the greatest internal migrations the world has seen in recent decades. Foreigners are coming too, for the first time, and the capital now has its own "Little Vietnam." The newcomers are triggering a building boom of vast proportions, one that is also unprecedented in Russia. More than 3 million square meters of new living space will be built just in 2005 and 2006, according to the Mayor's office. And more than 500 luxury communities have sprung up on the outskirts of the capital.

Russia's recent good fortune is built on oil and gas fields in the wilds of Siberia, not on industry or technology. Consider the contrast to China, where entrepreneurs need labor and land to expand factories, and scores of second cities are flourishing. In Russia, oilmen need concessions--Kremlin favors--so they stick close to Moscow. "Moscow is a big pump" that sucks up cash and people from the rest of Russia, says Kuznetsov. Moscow is now home to 25 billionaires (two more than London).

All that wealth is trickling down. The Bentleys on display in the city center are obvious--but a more telling indicator is a spike in sales of more modest cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer, or the middle-class swarms at the city's two IKEA stores. These folks are the real mass driving Moscow's remarkable population growth.

Owen Matthews

Ring of Change

A factory suburb of Delhi, now surrounded by posh high rises