Rai: Paradise on Earth?

At the end of February a high-profile event took place in the capital's club industry – the opening of the long-awaited project Rai (Paradise). Located in the premises of the Krasny Oktyabr (Red October) factory, the club truly astonishes with its scale. Rai's enormous hall, with several bars, VIP zones and a balcony running all the way around, is fittingly complemented by the Heaven bar adjoining it. From the very first minutes you feel you're in a place removed from the ordinary world – stone walls, ivy leaves everywhere, columns entwined with vines, and even the famous serpent-tempter. But that wasn't the only thing that made Rai a true paradise on opening night – while outside the club's walls, in thirty-degree frost, a long queue of people hoping to get in huddled together, breath steaming from their mouths and hands trembling, inside the space there was a truly hot, heavenly atmosphere. Heat from bare backs, heat from the bar counters, beams of light, confetti and a multitude of colors – a truly heavenly delight!

We asked some of Rai's guests to share their impressions:
Do you feel at this moment that you're really in paradise?
And which three things would you take with you to paradise?

It seems to me that, more likely, this is hell in paradise.
To paradise I wouldn't take anything... I'll be enough on my own!

I can't say for sure. Rai is a magnificent place, but at the opening the crowd isn't very good, not quite the right guests – but over time, I think, everything will be fine.
And to paradise I'd take myself, myself again, and myself once more, and the rest will follow.

I sure do feel it – there are little angels all around me and everyone's smiling!
To paradise I'd take pink fur-lined handcuffs, that's the first thing; second – lots of chocolate that you can smear all over your body and then lick off; and also a cigar, I really love smoking cigars!

Yes, I feel it! A very pleasant atmosphere, very pleasant people, and the setting is inviting overall – I like everything.
To paradise I'd take my best friends, a player with the best and most beloved music, and probably a camera to capture it all.

I'm in paradise, that's absolutely certain, because there are so many girls here and they're all so friendly... they're just up for anything!
And to paradise I'd take a condom, something a bit hotter, and girls.

Yes, I really did like this club a lot, it's my first time in an atmosphere like this, great music and crowd.
What would I take with me to paradise... The man I love, of course. If there were sun there, then sunscreen and, probably, some very sexy outfits.

I'm afraid I'll never make it into the real Paradise.
As for what I'd take with me, that's a hard question. I think Paradise already implies that everything is there. The main thing is not to forget friends – I'd even want to resurrect all my friends. And all my loved ones, too – then I'll be in Paradise.

Yes! This is a real Paradise!
I'd take panties, a bra and, probably, a little whip!

No! There's one huge downside – getting from the restroom to the reserved tables takes forever, there's a big crush in the middle of the dancefloor, but otherwise everything's wonderful.
Three things... I'd surely take the person I love and a pencil and paper – I'd be drawing up a sinister plan to take over the world!

Are you satisfied with how your club's opening went?
Honestly, I'd have wanted even more – I'd have wanted all of Moscow on its feet. On the whole the opening turned out well, for a project that has only just appeared and hasn't yet established itself in Moscow!

How long do you plan for the Rai project to exist? Or perhaps it will be eternal?
As long as my heart, my energy and my fighting spirit beat within me, my project will exist. And I'll be number one!

What do you feel when you see the fruits of your labor?
For now I'm enjoying it cautiously.

What are your future plans for Rai? What will the club's policy be?
It'll be a club for the most first-class public, and the policy – to be nothing but number one! And not a step back, only forward – Moscow is behind us!

And what can you say about bringing foreign musicians to Rai? What are your plans?
Morillo will play for us, and Sanchez, and Morales, and Bob Sinclar, and stars like the Pet Shop Boys – there'll be everything, from A to Z! This venue makes it possible.

We understand that all your energy went into opening Rai, but still – are you planning to open any new projects?
I think there will be projects in other cities, and for the local public they'll be no less successful than this one.

And have you thought about taking the Rai project beyond Russia?
To take the Rai project abroad, you have to become number one here and burn up everything around you! But burn – not in the literal sense, but in the sense of "winning" – and then it'll be possible to move into Europe, Asia and other countries...