I often to take them to the "dollars-only" Pizza Hut just down the road. There's a long queue for take-away pizza at the "roubles section, but in the dollar section at noon only three tables are taken. The Smrinovs have never been in an empty restaurant. They are stunned.
Irina jumps around as her parents order her some ice cream. The Smirnovs thank me protusely for buying them a meal at such a nice restaurant. I tell them I find the discrimination offensive. Those who can only pay in roubles line up for hours. Those who can afford dollars can walk into empty restaurant. The pizzas for both sets of patrons come from the same kitchen. In South Africa they call it apartheid. In Moscow it's lack of hard currency.