A resident advertises his cow for sale in the local newspaper. The only cafe in the village, still decorated in Soviet style, offers a three-course meal for $1.50. Only one out of every 600 people here has a computer. This was the picture last year when a resident said: "We live without much enjoyment, but cautiously, with hope."

Today, Mozhaisk, 100 km west of Russia's capital and the oldest city in the Moscow Oblast, is still waiting for significant change, with only its crumbling ancient churches signifying that here was once a dynamic town.

Before Perestroika, most of Mozhaisk's residents were employed in agriculture. However, a lack of funds in the nineties has turned the fields fallow. The only source of jobs has been the local printing house and concrete factory, plus a juice factory in nearby Borodino. As they have all employed mainly men, unemployment has been especially high among women.

Founded in the 11th century, the town arose at the intersection of two important trade routes – from Moscow to Lithuania and from Russia's southern regions to Novgorod. The town was nearly sacked by Lithuanian barbarians in the 15th century and legend has it that at a crucial moment during the battle, an image of St. Nikolai Mozhaisky, defender of the poor and persecuted, appeared above the town, causing the Lithuanians to flee. To give thanks to the saint, the citizens renamed the city in his honor. The legend spread and Russians began making pilgrimages to the "holy city." During the summer months, they outnumbered the town citizens. Today, St. Nikolai's image adorns the central square in Mozhaisk.

One of the most beautiful sites in Mozhaisk is the Luzhetsky Monastery. Standing on a high bank rising above the Moscow River, the monastery's five-domed cathedral is the only structure that breaks the dominance of ancient trees resting alongside the river.

Not far from the Luzhetsky Monastery is the Church of Iokim and Anna, surrounded by tiny village houses as if growing out of them.

This is a typical feature of Mozhaisk. The beauty of its buildings blends in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape, creating both an urban and rural feel.

The dark side of the modern "village" is the lack of modern infrastructure and services. There is only one hotel in the city, which leaves a lot to be desired, and only one cafe. But despite the seeming hardships, many Muscovites rent houses in Mozhaisk in order to spend their summer vacations there.

Considering the state of the roads, which have been bad even by Russian standards, this testifies to the intrepid nature of the dachniks as much as anything else. Local journalist Alexei Safronov said the point has not been lost on the city's administration: improving road conditions is one of their top priorities.

On the eastern outskirts of the town, there is another remarkable sight – Nikolina Gora (Nikolai's Hill), featuring the Nikolsky Cathedral with a belfry built in the early 19th century.

Initially erected in the 16th century, the cathedral became dilapidated a hundred years later but was restored in the 19th century when it was decided to recover the original form. Its present shape remarkably combines old architecture and relatively recent construction that are in harmony with tiny houses on the foothill. Goats pasturing nearby give the landscape an idyllic and even biblical aspect.

Borodino, the site of the famous battle in 1812 between the Russian army and Napoleon's troops, is only a 20-minute bus ride away. The battle became both the turning point Russia's attempt to defeat the French Emperor and the start of a new national consciousness. (Instead of taking the bus, which has been shabby and infrequent, it might be advisable to take a gypsy cab at a cost of around $3-$4.)

The Borodino memorial park is huge and includes a museum dedicated to the battle, Leo Tolstoi's house-museum, where the famous writer wrote his great masterpiece "War and Peace," and a functional and impressively designed monastery. On the battlefield itself there are a number of memorials at various sites describing crucial moments of the historic battle.

How to get there:

Electrichkas leave for Mozhaisk at regular intervals from the Belorussky Railway Station, from 6 a.m. until 10:45 p.m. The ride takes two hours.