Our driver stops his black Mercedes at the light on the corner of Tverskaya Ulitsa and Teatral’nyy Proyezd, the most major of Moscow busy intersections near Red Square. As he dreamily ponders the type of Pelmeni to have for dinner his eyes begin to glaze over. He has just spotted the most gorgeous pair of legs in his side view mirror…smooth as silk in a short black skirt riding high and tight on a young femme’s shapely thighs.

Our driver tracks the lady’s stunning gams as she strides on high heels down the sidewalk. Spellbound, his mouth slightly open he begins to drool as he cranes his neck for a better view. Seeing what he thinks to be the car in front of him move off, he releases his foot from the brake and hits the gas, still prone, capturing the strutting, decadent object of his desire.

Such is the anatomy of a multitude of rear end collisions in this, the leggiest of all bergs. Not that this isn’t an uncommon occurrence worldwide. But the sheer number of outstanding women in Moscow, coupled with their bold and revealing summertime attire, make this place an insurance adjuster’s nightmare. Such incidents add to the uncommonly high number of whiplash injuries in Moscow each summer which keep chiropractors and pharmacists busy filling prescriptions for therapy and Celebrex. All is due to such rubber necking at pairs of lovely legs that walk past, in an incredibly short skirt no less.

So here Anastasia would like to pay tribute to this month’s feature piece of Moscow summers, the miniskirt-a devilish masterpiece of wearable art.

It’s a game of cat and mouse many men play, trying to keep the status quo with their female companion while slyly attempting not to miss the wondrous pair spied out of the corner of their eye. Indeed, this writer has, now that summer’s in full swing, too many times weighed the probability of a fatal collision or pedestrian incident against catching a passing glimpse of an incredibly leggy vision while traveling at high speeds.

As hemlines rise proportionately to the mercury, summertime is a man’s paradise in Moscow and most cities of the former USSR. Compounded by the unique blessing that the Russian female species have been endowed with in terms of longer than usual femur and tibia/fibula structures, plainly their legs go on forever.

Like high boots and a form flattering wardrobe, a lady needs a shapely figure and a more than outstanding pair of legs to pull off wearing a mini…combinations for which there are no shortage of in Russia and CIS.

As in the swinging 60’s when the miniskirt attitude reflected that of the pill and free love, the miniskirt is as much an icon of ingrained sexual liberation in today’s Russian woman less all the fanfare.

The miniskirt provokes the spirit of Free Love distilled into an intoxicating endorphin cocktail shot straight into the libido of every red blooded man it crosses.

Just as the 60’s rise of the miniskirt made tights and panty-hose more popular, due to the low fit of today’s stocking fashion, Russia’s miniskirt has adapted to feminine requirements to create an ever increasing level of testosterone in the men of Russia. Following this, Russian ladies employ all their feminine wiles to make their legs fit for the finest fashion in the shortest skirts.

Pictures say a thousand words, and today’s Russian lady lets her figure and attitude do the talking, looking men straight in the eye while daring and welcoming the first move.

The modern fashion favored by today’s Russian woman is a sophisticated and arousing blend of the slinky stretch miniskirt, the skin-tight and ultimately revealing microskirt, and the flirtatious fun of the cheerleader outfit. There are no little girl ’60’s, Chelsea or androgynous looks in modern Moscow. It’s strictly dress to kill taking no prisoners with figures to match the seductive intent. The aim is to magnetize the eyes and make an impression, even if it means having a man walk into a lamp-post.

A whole host of materials, including leather, denim, velvet and lace, makes the mini-skirt a truly versatile and thrilling garment of beauty. Here Spandex and leather are stretched to the limit with suggestive frills fit to bend the male imagination.

And the rainbow of flashy colors also adds to the heady mix of style and seduction: red, green, purple and gold all make their own individual statements of character. Of course, black usually transmits the biggest impact with its simple contrast to midnight and milky white skin.

The effect of a short-skirt is instantaneous on any man with a pulse. Perhaps it comes down to the amount of the body left up to one’s imagination. Or it could be because of a fantasy that has previously established itself deep in the mind of a particular guy. Or it could come down to the primal notion of leather and some ingrained instinct that draws a man to a supple, smooth surface.

More skin, more curves, more daring than their Western counterparts…Russian women have led the way in a sexual revolution of their own with their skirts the ultimate symbol of unflinching boldness.

Of course this is how the world of Russian femininity is and should be…Flirtatious and daring, competitive, confident, assertive and intrepid.