Walking out of a nightclub in Moscow around midnight, a Russian man overheard an American speaking English. His first question was "Who will win the election?"

He wasn't asking about the recent election for the Russian president. That election was a forgone conclusion. Its winner, Dmitri A. Medvedev, was handpicked by Russian President Vladimir Putin to be his successor. The man was asking whether Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama would win the Democratic Party nomination.

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Young Russians skate on an ice rink set up opposite Red Square in Moscow.

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My first trip to Russia was in January 1993. The Soviet Union had collapsed two years earlier, and Boris Yeltsin was president of a Russia in turmoil. Many people felt disillusioned as they learned their government had lied to them for years.

There were only a few restaurants and if you didn't have a reservation, you couldn't get a table. They didn't have enough food in stock to serve you. Inflation was out of control. Churches, long repressed under the communist government, were struggling to regain a footing - many had been abandoned or used for storage.

Fifteen years later there are still problems. Inflation is still high. Crime and corruption abound. At the same time there is an energy: Russians are enthusiastic about the future, as they drive foreign-made cars and shop for flat-screen televisions.

Restaurants are everywhere, including buffets and all-you-can-eat sushi. A new upscale mall, five minutes' walk from Lenin's tomb, is packed day and night with young people eating, shopping or just hanging out. An outdoor ice skating rink has been erected for the winter on Red Square, directly opposite the communist landmark.

Two young Russians excited about their country's future are Dima and Maria Saveliev. Brother and sister, he is 30 and she 26. Dima was one of the first two Russian students to participate in the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy in 1992. Later, he attended West Virginia University and stayed in the United States to work. He still owns a home in the United States.

Maria followed a similar path, taking advantage of a series of exchange programs supported foundation and its president, Virginia Simmons. Maria attended the GHA and then Concord College. After graduation, she moved to Boston to work in the financial sector. She also became a U.S. citizen. Today, both are back in Moscow.

"My sister and I see so much opportunity and potential in Moscow right now," Dima said one night at dinner. "Business here is growing and the opportunities are here in Moscow."

Walking out of a nightclub in Moscow around midnight, a Russian man overheard an American speaking English. His first question was "Who will win the election?"

He wasn't asking about the recent election for the Russian president. That election was a forgone conclusion. Its winner, Dmitri A. Medvedev, was handpicked by Russian President Vladimir Putin to be his successor. The man was asking whether Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama would win the Democratic Party nomination.

That simple question spoke volumes about life in Russia and how things have changed since the end of communism. Everyone has a cell phone and they use them constantly to call, text and access the Internet. Televisions broadcast international news in Russian and English. Information is everywhere, and the Russian people are paying attention to the world around them.

My first trip to Russia was in January 1993. The Soviet Union had collapsed two years earlier, and Boris Yeltsin was president of a Russia in turmoil. Many people felt disillusioned as they learned their government had lied to them for years.

There were only a few restaurants and if you didn't have a reservation, you couldn't get a table. They didn't have enough food in stock to serve you. Inflation was out of control. Churches, long repressed under the communist government, were struggling to regain a footing - many had been abandoned or used for storage.

Fifteen years later there are still problems. Inflation is still high. Crime and corruption abound. At the same time there is an energy: Russians are enthusiastic about the future, as they drive foreign-made cars and shop for flat-screen televisions.

Restaurants are everywhere, including buffets and all-you-can-eat sushi. A new upscale mall, five minutes' walk from Lenin's tomb, is packed day and night with young people eating, shopping or just hanging out. An outdoor ice skating rink has been erected for the winter on Red Square, directly opposite the communist landmark.

Two young Russians excited about their country's future are Dima and Maria Saveliev. Brother and sister, he is 30 and she 26. Dima was one of the first two Russian students to participate in the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy in 1992. Later, he attended West Virginia University and stayed in the United States to work. He still owns a home in the United States.

Maria followed a similar path, taking advantage of a series of exchange programs supported foundation and its president, Virginia Simmons. Maria attended the GHA and then Concord College. After graduation, she moved to Boston to work in the financial sector. She also became a U.S. citizen. Today, both are back in Moscow.

"My sister and I see so much opportunity and potential in Moscow right now," Dima said one night at dinner. "Business here is growing and the opportunities are here in Moscow."

Maria echoed her brother's sentiments, and added, "We can also use our education and skills to help Russia continue to grow." With their impeccable language skills and experience in the United States, both are doing well, coordinating business opportunities between the two countries.

A big advantage for both in returning to Moscow to live and work was the opportunity to be close to their family, something that is extremely important to them and to Russians in general. Families remain close knit in spite of long hours on the job or horrendous commutes in and out of Moscow.

Several students I spoke with described attending classes from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. followed by a two-hour drive to get home. Yet, they didn't consider living in Moscow - partly because Moscow is known to have among the most expensive real estate in the world and partly because they wanted be close to their parents.

The church is also regaining a strong footing in Russia. In 1994 the priest of the first new church built in the Moscow suburb of Korolev, a city of more than 200,000 people, described his parishioners as totally ignorant of the traditions and rituals of the church, but said they were interested in learning. Today, new churches are being established everywhere. Several small wooden churches were serving as starter facilities as the community built new, grand cathedrals.

Nadia Kochkareva has been to West Virginia many times, teaching at the GHA and as part of various other cultural exchanges. She joined the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time in her life, at 55 years old.

The atmosphere was that of a small country church, but there was no question of how deeply she was affected by the experience. For the baptism she had examined her entire life as part of her first confession. She said afterward she felt clean and as if a weight had been lifted from her.

Ultimately, Nadia's feeling is similar to the feeling the entire country is feeling: A great weight has been lifted. They have a lot of work to do, but they've been given a new start. They seem to be making the best of it.

In January 1993, as a reporter on the Charleston Newspapers Metro staff, Eric Douglas traveled to Russia for the first time. He has returned four times, spending approximately six months traveling throughout the country. Today, he is an author, having published three books and several short stories, and lives in Durham, N.C. In February, he returned to Russia after an 11-year absence. To see more photographs, or to review his daily Russia journal, visit www.books

byeric.com.