‘I was sure they wouldn’t get Moscow City!’ Workers and residents of the Moscow City commercial development react to last night’s drone strikes there

Another drone strike hit Moscow during the early hours of July 30. Two drones struck buildings in the Moscow International Business Center, a commercial development also known as Moscow City. Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, said that no one was injured, though emergency services reported that a security guard at the OKO-2 skyscraper was injured. Russia’s state television networks ignored the incident, and President Vladimir Putin made no changes to his plans to participate in a parade for the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg. The Bereg independent journalism collective spoke with people who live and work in Moscow City about how they reacted to the drone attack and how they’re doing now. Meduza publishes Bereg’s text in full, with permission.

Ksenia

Resident of the OKO tower, opposite OKO-2

I didn’t hear the first explosion, since I was asleep, but I did hear the second one. A window in my bedroom looks right out onto OKO-2. I woke up about 30 seconds before the explosion, I was lying in bed and I saw a bright flash and heard a roar — but it really wasn’t anything like fireworks. After the flash there was an immediate vibration. I felt the bed shaking. I thought my building was collapsing. I got up right away and pulled back the curtain, and I saw smoke pouring out and some parts [of OKO-2] burning. Later in the morning, I noticed that a little bit of paint was coming off the bedroom doorway and the ceiling in the kitchen.

There was no evacuation of OKO, where I live, but there was in the IQ-Quarter [a nearby mixed-use building complex] — I know from a group chat with residents.

I feel safe. You never know where [drones] will hit and how events will unfold, but I have no fear or panic. My friend from a neighboring building [in the Neva Towers complex] is extremely worried, but I’m not. I saw one girl [in the residents’ group chat] saying that she and her family are thinking about moving because they don’t feel safe, but they’re the exception — everyone else is calm.

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Roman

Resident of a building in the Neva Towers complex

During the night, my wife and I flew out of bed after there was some kind of loud clap and an explosion. We thought it was in our building, if not in our apartment. It was really scary. I opened the residents’ group chat and everyone was writing that that was actually the second explosion, the first one had been 15 minutes before. That was the creepiest moment: it seemed like the next one could hit your building, or your apartment. 

Naturally, we were in shock, my hands were shaking — and not only my hands. Now I don’t feel anything like that, I’ve calmed down, but I do understand that this could happen again, more than once, so it’s worth it to consider moving.

I was waiting [for a new strike on Moscow]. My wife and I were talking about it right after there was an attack on the Kremlin a few months ago [on May 3]. I’ve said more than once that it’s not very safe here in Moscow City. I’m not an alarmist, of course, but there were fears that this would happen to the towers here. The Kremlin is understandable, but it’s secured on all sides. So what is there besides the Kremlin? No other places came to mind for me where drones could strike. But Moscow City is a prominent place.

The one reason I didn’t leave here [sooner] is that I thought that everything was always jammed around here. Like when I’m driving away from the area, my navigation always thinks I’m someplace else. When I’m sitting in the apartment, GPS usually has me at a cemetery in the Vnukovo district. So I thought that drones wouldn’t make it here.

Could this happen again? Yes, 100 percent. But where we’d move from Moscow City I don’t know. There’s no alternative [in Moscow to this neighborhood, for me]. But I want to leave Russia in general. We were planning to leave in November, but most likely it will happen a little sooner.

Maxim Valetsky

Founder of the made-to-order furniture company Mr.Doors and resident of a Moscow City skyscraper

Life goes on, the Afimoll shopping center is open. In the group chat everyone is calm — people are exchanging impressions, like who got woken up and who slept through it. The mood generally is “we’re functioning” — everyone expected this. Those who are afraid of something have long since been in Tbilisi [in Georgia].

I’ve been waiting for [the next strike on Moscow] every day, it had to happen sooner or later — à la guerre comme à la guerre.

In the short term, over a week or two, this will affect [local businesses], but then everything will be restored. This is a big city, something is always happening. If I were afraid [of similar attacks], I’d live in Madeira and stay at home. Well, I am afraid, but that doesn’t mean I’ll leave. There was a plague, now there’s a war — that means there will be a famine.

Maria

Works in Naberezhnaya Tower

It’s pretty disturbing. I got angry, honestly, that the system is that these idiots [the Russian authorities] can’t even prevent explosions in the center of the city, in the capital. 

When drones hit the Kremlin [during the night of May 3], it was unexpected. But I thought the situation with the Kremlin was extremely abnormal. When I read the news today, I couldn’t quite believe it. I thought it was some kind of staging from our side — “Look how they attack us, look how bad Ukrainians are.” It’s probably not that, but that was my first thought.

It seems like I won’t go into the office — but I’m sure that remote work will be fine. Apart from work, I never went to Moscow city. On the whole, it’s apparently better not to be in places like Moscow City or the area around Red Square now.

Anna Pavlova

Resident of a building in the Neva Towers complex

I live with a friend. She went out during the night and woke me up when she left, around 3:30 a.m. Within about 10 minutes I heard “boom! boom! boom!” three times. Like thunder and lightning. My building is about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the IQ-Quarter — it literally swayed.

But in general, [at the moment of the explosion] it wasn’t scary — it was actually cool, like in a movie. Although “cool” is an awful word to use, I’m just trying to take this like a joke, with humor. But the consequences are awful. In the morning I went out to walk my dog — a floor is missing from the IQ-Quarter.

I want to move away from Moscow City, because there’s nothing to ensure there won’t be another attack. Don’t think it will skip you. I was sure that this was a safe place, that they wouldn’t get the City! Just like the Kremlin — they’re both socially significant targets. Like the Eiffel Tower in France. But a drone hit the Kremlin [in May].

I wrote to the owner of the apartment [to ask him to lower the rent], but he said, “Well, what happened, happened, I won’t lower it.” That’s bullshit! I get that no one wants to lose money, but I think mobilization will start up again in the fall in any case, and then a lot of people will definitely leave. So prices will really need to be lowered.

Natalya

Works in a Moscow City tower

I have no big worries or fears. News about projectiles and drones flying over Moscow and other regions builds up some tolerance for it. When you hear more and more often that something blew up somewhere in Russia, it’s like you get used to it and take it as a given. But there’s still some stress, and I want to stay away from these places. I don’t think I’ll go to the office anytime soon, and anyway our company has the option to work fully remotely. 

As soon as they started flying drones over Moscow, my colleagues and I had a dark joke about how there could be a repeat 9/11 with these glass towers. For some time, there was fear, especially about the Kremlin strike, but these events pretty quickly faded from the news, and all discussion of them also stopped.

My friend and colleague is from Taganrog. Literally yesterday, the news broke about an explosion there, and today it’s the same news about Moscow City, where she works. She’s totally out of it, in a complete panic. As for our leadership, they’re trying to smooth things over [and avoid the topic] as much as possible. In work chats they write things like, “Colleagues, we discuss work matters here, please leave everything else for personal correspondence.”