Postcard from Moscow

A man in a metallic-sheen suit strolls slowly down an aisle with a dark-haired woman in fur on his arm. They stop occasionally to examine some of the many Persian carpets arrayed on a wall the length of a tennis court. The brightly colored handmade silk carpets--in vibrant blues and greens, luscious reds and purples--almost leap off the black cloth lining the exhibition hall.

Russian businessman Alexander Kazakov, who makes his money selling luxury home furnishings, and his wife have come to the annual Moscow Millionaire Fair looking for a rug for their newly remodeled apartment. But they're having trouble deciding on the color and knot density. Then there's the matter of whether they can afford to spend $155,000 on a carpet at the moment. "No one knows what will happen next with the financial crisis," Kazakov says. "Everyone is waiting to see." His wife adds, as she walks the length of the display, "But when you want something ..."

These days Russia's wealthy can't always get what they want. The country's once soaring economy is in free fall--its stock market has dropped more than 70% in the past year--and it's taking the rich down with it. Even Russia's legendary oligarchs are feeling the pinch: Oleg Deripaska, head of metals giant OAO Norilsk Nickel and one of the richest men in the world with an estimated net worth of $28 billion, was forced to ask the state bank for a $4.5 billion bailout loan in November, pledging his stake in Norilsk and other assets as collateral. (See pictures of rich Russians.)

At the Millionaire Fair late last year, even the glare off the hood of a $250,000 Wiesmann MF4 supercar could not blind a visitor to the fact there was far less action on both sides of the cash register. A glitzy show designed to part Russia's well-to-do from their cash, the fair usually sprawls across three halls in Moscow's Crocus Expo center; this fair took up only two. With fewer vendors and wider aisles between the stands, the crowds of visitors seemed even sparser. "There are much fewer people this year," says Dzhasur Madzhidov, a salesman with Persian World, a Tokyo-based carpet seller. Normally, "we would have sold everything--even the carpets off the walls."

Founded in Amsterdam in 2002 by Dutch entrepreneur Yves Gijrath, the Millionaire Fair holds shows around the world. But thanks to booming oil prices and the voracious appetites of Russia's nouveaux riches, the Moscow event is the jewel in the crown. And no wonder: According to the 2008 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, Russia is home to one of the world's fastest-growing populations of millionaires. In 2007 the number of Russian "high-net-worth individuals" (those worth more than $1 million, excluding their primary residence) reached 136,000, a 14% rise over the year before.

There are no figures yet on what impact the financial crisis has had on that top tier. But after years of heady growth, many rich Russians still seem to take the boom times for granted. Kazakov's wife's bravado is shared by many. "Some people are afraid, but I am not," says Alexander (who asked that only his first name be used), a businessman in a shiny leather coat with a fur collar, as he strolls the deck of a 58-ft. (18 m) yacht.

But a few of the wealthy visitors have noticed a change. "Last year the show was more powerful," says Joseph Morchic, a New Jersey--based Russian businessman. "Everyone here thinks there will be a crisis, but they don't know what it is yet. My friends talk about being afraid, but I don't think they are." Morchic points out that Russia has been through worse before--and bounced back. "You can't compare this crisis to the one in 1998," he says, referring to the year the ruble collapsed and Russia defaulted on tens of billions of dollars' worth of debt.

Under the golden dome that tops the booth for Maître-Verrier, a French designer of high-end stained glass, saleswoman Claude Bonte captures the sense of optimism changing to gloom. "Russians are always good clients," she says, "for the moment."

See pictures of the fashions of Russian Czars.

See pictures of expensive things that money can buy.