# Puttin' On The Ritz: Moscow Style **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875 "2012-06-21T19:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/21 "2012-06-22T12:21:06Z")
Shouldn’t it be “Putin on the Ritz”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/22 "2012-06-22T13:34:13Z")
Are these kids the elite? They all look smartly dressed…and there’s plenty of Volvos and Mercedes-Benz cars around. Moscow looks pretty prosperous these days! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/23 "2012-06-22T16:06:14Z")
Interesting choice of music since Irving Berlin was born in Belarus, less than 600 km away… a mere stones throw in Russian distances. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/24 "2012-06-22T16:29:07Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Are these kids the elite? They all look smartly dressed..and there’s plenty of Volvos and Mercedes-Benz cars around. Moscow looks pretty prosperous these days! Pretty average teenagers, actually. Probably all university students, too. Yeah, Moscow has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. The streets are clogged with foreign cars, and most people park on sidewalks. Jeeps, Volvos, Mercedes, Land Rovers, Toyotas … they’re everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/25 "2012-06-22T21:16:56Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Was “the bride” a Russian celebrity? They seemed to be chanting “Olga, Olga” at the end, but that could have just been part of the show. The sentimental part of me wants to believe that these are all friends of the bride who worked up this routine in secret as a wedding surprise. That thought made me smile all through the performance. Too much to hope for, I suppose. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/26 "2012-06-22T23:26:33Z")
In Soviet Russia, Ritz puts on _you_. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/27 "2012-06-23T01:09:04Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The sentimental part of me wants to believe that these are all friends of the bride who worked up this routine in secret as a wedding surprise. That thought made me smile all through the performance. Except the bride & groom are dancing in step with others at the end. Makes me think they were in on the rehearsal just a bit. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875/28 "2012-06-23T01:19:35Z")
There’s an article here that speculates this was a [political stunt](http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/03/13/putin_on_the_ritz_15050.html) for the Presidential election in March. I have no idea what it is, but it’s clearly a professional production, and Musicat makes a good point about the bride and groom knowing the choreography. There’s only a few seconds of footage of the bride, but from the way she moves her hands I’d suggest she’s a trained dancer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puttin-on-the-ritz-moscow-style/625875.md?page=1)