“These plain walls just invited paintings,” festival organizer Filipp Gavrilov told RT. “People used to ruin these walls by writing inappropriate things on them. But it turns out that when you have a nice painting, people don't want to ruin it. This also gives young people something to do in the summer, so we provide some solution to a social problem.”

Locals say that the festival takes the ugly and turns it into the beautiful with equal parts whimsy and nature, bringing fun and beauty to the urban jungle.

“I work in this building. It used to be a boring gray wall, but now it is fun!” substation worker Aleksandr Zagrekov told RT. “It helps us do our jobs better, too. If every building in Moscow looked like that, it would be really nice. I am a keen fisherman, so I am really enjoying the sea theme. We would not have seen it anywhere in Moscow 10-20 years ago.”

Children are especially excited about the neighborhood’s new look.

“They do this so that this neighborhood looks nicer,” little Stanislav Savin told RT. “I really like it. I have been watching them for two days. The other team left me their paints after they were done, and now I am going to paint. It would be nice if somebody asked me to paint a wall like this one. I would paint whatever they asked me.”

Wall graffiti is not as easy as it looks – the blending and detailing can take days. Painters say that with 5,000 central heat substations in the city, they will be painting for the next 20 years. However, artists are very enthusiastic about their work.

“For one of the blocks, I chose some Hawaiian scenery. Our climate is so plain – I think people will enjoy something exotic,” one of the painters told RT. “People who pass by seem excited. It’s a good opportunity to do something for people.”