This new club definitely has less in it than the name suggests. I'm telling you this in the beginning because some of you might be saying, "Come on! A place with a name like A priori has to be downright intellectual or at least transcendental."

Not in Moscow – no way. In fact, everybody who has been keeping track of the city's nightlife could tell you straight off what the name would mean for a club. I can't really explain why – maybe there's some kind of unconscious semantic field of club-name-meanings floating about. But it's a fact. And to confirm this I can tell you with due authority that A posteriori would be a totally different place, for sure. Or at least would be less heavy on the image.

Anyway, back to A priori. First of all, as I said there's a lot of hype about words in this place, i.e., the name itself, face control that's upheld by two well-equipped guards and the club's prime location. Even the sign hanging on the gate in front gives off emanations of status: "Chastny Club A priori" (private club).

However, the club's interior just isn't what one would expect from all that image-making. There's a lot less space then one would imagine: a small dance floor and an even smaller stage. One of the bars is even located right next to the entrance – definitely off-putting. The stage, however, is well used by professional dancers that were supposedly shipped in from Club XIII. The design itself leaves an "edgy" feeling by having too many sharp tables and corners, while the fluorescent-colored pipes near the bathrooms are reminiscent of an '80s-style rave club.

As for music, the club's policy remains something of a mystery. The first week's program fluctuated between Russian pop music stars and some of Moscow's top house DJs.

A priori is located in the same building as a well-known modeling agency. So, right away the club has one of the key factors for an upper-class venue solved. And where there are models all the rest is soon to come.

And yet the prices in the club are reasonable, not anything like the $5 mineral water found in clubs that are in the same class. The club will also soon be opening another room that will be used as a restaurant, and it will supposedly boast a special "model menu."