A 49-year old Russian with a big spoon in hand swallowed a pound (500 grams) of caviar in about 90 seconds to win what was billed as the world’s first eating contest featuring the pricey fish roe.

Christie’s has revealed the main lots of the jewelry collection of Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor to be auctioned in New York this December.

Select highlights from the 269-piece collection went on an eight-city tour including London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong, beginning in Moscow.

Global hotel chain Best Western, which runs over 4,000 hotels, has opened its largest property in the world in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The chain announced August 9 that the Best Western Vega Hotel & Convention Center had officially opened its doors in the historical district of Izmaylovo in Moscow.

Originally built in 1980, the building has been significantly remodeled and will now operate as a three-star hotel, with 970 guest rooms.

After the John Galliano debacle, Christian Dior can use all the positive publicity it can get, and a new retrospective of its history at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts sets out to bring back the fashion house’s magic.

Opening on April 28, the exhibit showcasing the brand’s 64-year history will not only present its collections over the years — designed by the founder itself as well as the likes of Yves Saint Laurent or Gianfranco Ferré — but also juxtapose them with works of art by Van Gogh or Klimt as well as photographs by Richard Avedon and Man Ray.

A diamond-studded saucepan is attracting plenty of interest at Moscow’s top annual luxury fair, where a vast array of sparkly bling, fast cars and enormous price tags is on offer.

The saucepan has a handle and lid encrusted with 270 diamonds and is decorated with 18-carat gold, brand manager Natalya Oreshkina said.

Made by German cookware brand Fissler, the utensil is not really suitable for cooking, Oreshkina added, shuddering at the idea of putting it in an oven.

“It is for serving food beautifully,” she explained as crowds packed the Manezh exhibition centre in central Moscow on opening night Friday.

A new luxury train began running Thursday between Moscow and Nice in the south of France, in a flashback to the tsarist times when Russian aristocrats flocked to the French Riviera.

The Russian Railways-operated train will depart from Moscow’s Belorussky station every Thursday afternoon, and arrive in Nice 53 hours later after passing through European capitals including Warsaw and Vienna.

“Today is a day of celebration,” said Mikhail Akulov, vice president of Russian Railways, “It’s a new stage in our partnership with the French railways.”