Starving to grab a good piece of new knowledge, thousands of Muscovites regularly pack the Strelka Institute to hear lectures by world renowned specialists.

The institute’s professors say that such meetings help fill the gaps of traditional education.

“Our educational system is weak in many respects,” Ilya Oskolkov-Tsintsiper from the Strelka Institute told RT. “And many people understand that and still want to be taught and to learn in a contemporary fashion. That is why you have this strange phenomenon.”

Echoing professors’ views, lecture-lovers add that such events also give a chance to make new exciting acquaintances.

“I think the first reason for it is that there’s been a certain vacuum for some time, and the niche of adult education for those who already graduated from the universities has been vacant,” said architect Yulia Pordova. “I think most people are in need of personal development and they love making new contacts, and meeting like-minded people.”

Another posh place to go is the Indrikgard cultural center, which offers its visitors art classes. Just pack up the paints and go Van Gogh.

“Most frequently these are people who are doing business and work,” art teacher Vladimir Vasko told RT. “It isn’t any more expensive than going to bars in the evening. It has become fashionable lately – I used to give classes on Friday nights.”

Painter Natalya Usach believes that people are attracted to such leisure because they simply got bored from clubbing.

“We’re going lots of times to the clubs,” Natalya said. “We’re doing lots of things we are kind of getting sick of. So I think this is another way to relax.”

People say that painting gives them a lot more inner peace than your run-of-the-mill night club.

“There is quite a contemporary vibrancy in town with completely new forms of life you would not have found even 10 years ago,” architect Michael Schindhelm told RT. “You see that the average age of the audience tonight is below 30. They are also here to enjoy learning what Russia is today.”