Yet, almost 300 years on, as it peers bleakly out into the Baltic, that window is still clouded.I was there this month The place looks European enough, at least in the centre. Among the ice-bound canals and breathtaking buildings, there are bars, banks, chic Western boutiques, and several top-class international hotels. And yet, for all its cosmopolitan surface, this is a city which has deep Soviet roots, and where foreigners are still seen as outsiders.When the Soviet Union collapsed, there were hopes that St Petersburg would flourish, nurtured by its proximity to the rest of Europe - Helsinki is just across the water - and by its tourism industry, the rewards of the fabulous artistic and architectural legacy from the tsars.Six years on, it has yet to live up to its billing as the Venice of the North. It retains the flavour of a provincial base which is quietly fuming over the supremacy of Moscow, while its 5 million citizens doggedly wrestle with ingrained Soviet habits.These include a combination of red tape, crime and suspicion. I had to negotiate with three different receptionists before getting a room key in my city-centre hotel The problem is deep in the heart of the place.
"Don't talk to me about bureaucrats, it's a very sore point," said Kira Kenney, when I dropped into The Idiot, her newly opened basement cafe and bookshop.Ms Kenney is a Russian artist who, after years of globe- trotting, returned to her home city to start a business She has had no help from officialdom Quite the reverse. Before opening, she had to fight off demands for a $20,000 (pounds 11,000) bribe. These days, just to remain open, she has to pay out about $300 a week to keep officials at bay.At the moment, her city is in a particularly unhappy mood. It has just failed to make the shortlist of five to host the 2004 summer Olympics. Its bid envisaged 20 new hotels, a highway linking the city with Helsinki and Moscow, and a new ring road. It was an ambitious plan that would have pumped billions of dollars into its struggling economy.Perhaps its chances were marred by memories of the 1994 Goodwill Games, which suffered several over-blown public relations disasters, notably, a swimming event disrupted by a cloudy pool and the failure to make decent ice for the figure skaters.But it also surely damaged its prospects because no one could be sure if its bureaucrats could mend their ways and finally open up the window looking West - bringing a gust of fresh air which would allow Russians and outsiders to work together in a world uncomplicated by bribes, xenophobia and stupid numberplates.. At last the bears have had something to sink their teeth into.
Last week New York suffered its sharpest slide of the year, sending the predictable ripples of unease through the stock market. Yet Footsie's decline was far less dramatic, even before Wall Street recovered its nerve, than many thought likely. After Friday's recovery it had fallen a mere 20 points from an all-time high of 4,444.3. Such a reaction would suggest the slump so many anticipate will be further delayed despite the looming election. Record-breaking runs, of course, have to end some time. And many believe that the marathon bull market, the longest ever, is set to crack.Tony Dye, the PDFM fund manager, has already staked his reputation and his clients' cash on a crash and must be growing increasingly embarrassed by the recent levels shares have achieved.And David Schwartz, who describes himself as a stock market historian and has long been forecasting a bloodbath, says: "Given current stock market conditions, we believe the typical buy-and-hold investor is best off in a building society savings account."In many City offices a strong opening for the year was predicted. Legal & General forecast Footsie reaching 4,400 points in the first quarter.If the rest of the L&G forecast is correct the index will tumble to 3,800, ending the year at 4,000.NatWest Securities remains the City's arch-bull.
