Oddly enough, Moscow is becoming European

Not Paris. (Dan Peleschuk/GlobalPost)

MOSCOW, Russia Scan the headlines these days, and it might seemlikeRussias doing everything it can banning food imports, demonizing liberal values to distance itself from the West.

The funny thing is, its capital is actually starting to look a lot more European.

Young families stroll through freshly laid pedestrian zones. Hip urbanites enjoy summertime tapas at sidewalk cafes. Fixed-gear bicycles are no longer a totally strange sight.

Amidpunishingsanctions and the threat of a new Cold War, Moscow is taking pages from Europesurban designplaybook and undergoing a major facelift aimed at improving quality of life even if it doesnt quite gel with the geopolitics.

Observers say this sprawling post-communist metropolis of around 12 million,with its smattering of freshly manicured parks and pedestrian walkways,is beginning to embrace the value of public space.

For now, Moscow is advancing very quickly, said Alexey Krasheninnikov, a professor at the Moscow Architectural Institute.

By most standards, Russias capital has drastically shape-shifted during the past century or so.

From a Tsarist hub dotted with charming imperial architecture and golden-domed churches, Moscow transformed throughout the Soviet era into a concrete megalopolis where hulking buildings anchored wide boulevards.

Moscow is still chock-full of Soviet-style apartment blocs. (Dan Peleschuk/GlobalPost)

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Oddly enough, Moscow is becoming European