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Excellent Essay Example 1 (July 2017 Constitutional Law)

This lesson presents a real, excellent response to the July 2017 MEE Constitutional Law question . First, read the essay, then listen to the analysis below.

Download the essay as a PDF.

Excellent Essay

1. Bank v. State A in federal court

The issue is whether this action is permitted under the 11th amendment.

The 11th Amendment prohibits federal law suits against states. It is based in the premise of state sovereign immunity. There are exceptions to the 11th amendment, for example, when a state waives sovereign immunity or 11th amendment protection or when congress, under its 14th Amendment sec 5 power abrogates the state sovereign immunity in a statute. Otherwise, citizens of the state or of other states are not permitted to sue a state directly for damages.

Here, the bank appears to be suing the state directly, along with the superintendent, seeking damages. There is no indication that the statute provides a waiver of the 11th amendment and there is no congressional statute on point, so there is not congressional abrogation. Therefore, the suit is not permitted under the 11th amendment and the bank cannot maintain the suit against the state itself in federal court.

Furthermore, while state officials can be sued in their individual capacities for damages, and in their official capacities for prospective injunctive relief, even if that relief would require some money from the state treasury, they cannot be sued for money damages or retrospective relief. Therefore, the bank's action for damages, even as against the superintendent will not be permitted in federal court.

2. Bank v. Superintendent in federal court

The main issue is whether against a state official in their official capacity seeking injunctive relief can be maintained in federal court given the 11th amendment.

As mentioned above, despite the 11th amendment, state officials can be used in their individual capacities for damages, and in their official capacities for prospective injunctive relief, even if that relief would require some money from the state treasury. A suit against a state officer for injunctive relief will be maintained if it is seeking prospective relief and the effect on the state officers is incidental.

Here, the bank's action for injunctive relief can be maintained against the superintendent. The superintendent is sued in her official capacity and the bank is seeking to stop (enjoin) the enforcement of the statute. Therefore it can be maintained under an Ex Parte Young theory.

Note that the bank clearly has standing since it has already suffered a concrete and particularized injury (loss of $2 million dollars) that is caused by the statute and would be redressed by a favorable finding (that the statute is unconstitutional). It can likely show that it will continue to lose money from lost business as a result of the statute, which would be redressed by an injunction.

In conclusion, this part of the bank's claim can proceed.

3. Constitutionality of Statute

The main issue is whether the statute violates the dormant commerce clause. The commerce clause grants to congress the right to regulate interstate commerce. While states have a general police power to regulate in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of their citizens, the negative implication of the commerce clause, often called the dormant commerce clause, limits what they can do when it places a burden on interstate commerce. Generally, if a state law discriminates against out-of-staters, or against interstate commerce, it will be struck down unless the state can show it is necessary to protect a substantial state interests (unrelated to protectionism). It is does not discriminate, it will be struck down if it places an undue burden on interstate commerce--in other words, the burden on interstate commerce will be weighed against the interest of the state.

Here, while there is some protectionism motivating the statute (it was passed as a result of heavy lobbying by State A based manufacturer of biometric identification equipment), it does not appear to discriminate against out of state companies. It applies to both in state and out of state companies and to companies doing business only within the state, and to those doing business across states. Therefore, it likely does not discriminate. Therefore it will be subject to the balancing test. Here, the burden on interstate commerce appears to be somewhat substantial. Banks that operate in multiple states including State A, will be forced to choose between updating their systems to have biometric identification, or cease to do that kind of business in the state. That could have a substantial impact on interstate commerce. The fact that the large bank has already made this choice is support of that. On the other hand, the state appears to have a strong interest in protecting its citizens against fraud. Despite the security measures of banks, customers are still being subjected to unauthorized transfers by thieves. To the extent that this is impacting its citizens, State A clearly has a strong interest in protecting them. However, it is not clear that this particular biometric approach is an improvement or will work. Experts disagree about whether it is significantly better and the bank clearly thinks it is not. However, given that the state has a strong interest, it likely will pass the balancing test and be upheld.

There are two exceptions, neither applicable here: the market participant exception and congressional authorization. There is no indication in the facts that either apply here. Furthermore, there is no preemption since congress has not regulated in this area.

Note that the privileges and immunities clause of Art IV does not apply because the bank is not an individual citizen, and because the statute, while possibly motivated by protectionism, does not appear to discriminate against out-of-staters.

Analysis of the Sample Essay

Now we're going to look at a representative good answer provided by the state of New York. And like we did with the analysis above, we'll go prompt by prompt, noting what this answer did well and what it could have done even better. Again, this is a good answer, a really good one, in fact.

First, let's just take a look at the overall structure of the first prompt. Remember that our goal is for every written answer to have four parts and in the same order every time. Conclusion, rule, application conclusion. CRAC. Just following that recipe over and over will really help you rack up points on the MEE.

Remember I said that I want your approach to the MEE to be mechanical and automatic to the point where you're not so much writing an essay as just assembling an answer? That's what I mean.

Now, this essay doesn't exactly do that on prompt 1. It starts with a numbered header, "Bank v. State A in federal court." And that's fine if it's there to help the test taker remember what's what, but it's not going to score any points with the grader. And then the first real sentence here is an issue statement rather than a conclusion.

So, right away, we can tell that this essay is doing IRAC instead of CRAC. You might find that, as you're writing the essay, the IRAC formula is easier to follow because you might have to write out the rule paragraph and the application paragraph before you discover your conclusion. That's perfectly fine. Use your first paragraph to state the issue. But it's a super quick fix to edit that first paragraph once you're done with your essay to transform what you initially wrote as an issue into a conclusion, something with the word "because" in it.

For example, instead of "The issue is whether this action is permitted under the Eleventh Amendment," this test taker could have just said, "This suit against State A cannot be maintained because of," and there's that key word "because," indicating your reasoning, "the Eleventh Amendment." Or even better, "because the Eleventh Amendment gives states immunity against suits for money damages."

And it's always good to go ahead and bold or underline that sentence or sentences just to make it super clear for the grader that right here, you've earned your points. Having said that, I'll give the test taker here some credit for noting correctly in the issue statement that the issue here is about the Eleventh Amendment. That's not something that the prompt itself says, so the test taker probably did pick up some points there.

Now, these next two paragraphs are just fantastic. Truly impressive work. The first one is a superb statement of the applicable rule, which, as we discussed above, is the key to this prompt. The last sentence of the paragraph states the main point, "Citizens of the state or other states are not permitted to sue a state directly for damages," and then enumerates the exceptions before it.

Probably could have done that in the other order, I guess, but really great substance for a rule paragraph. In fact, it even notes the rule of Hans v. Louisiana, that even in-state citizens can't sue states for money damages.

The next paragraph I like as well, because it starts off, as all my favorite application paragraphs do, with the word "Here." That tells the grader that you're about to zero in on the fact pattern and also gives you a mental cue for what to do next.

As we discussed earlier, there's really not much application to do on this prompt. This answer goes a little above and beyond by noting that there's no indication of waiver or a valid federal statute abrogating immunity. Those are two things that aren't in the fact pattern, in other words, but would have mattered if they were.

I don't love the next paragraph, which starts, "Furthermore." It's not exactly wrong. State officials are generally immune from money damages when acting in their official capacities, but it's also not responsive to the prompt, which asked whether the bank can maintain a suit in federal court against State A for damages.

The superintendent is the focus of the next prompt, so all this could have been held for that. I think the test taker probably just got carried away here or else felt nervous about having not written enough. But again, once you're done, you're done. Move on.

And finally, and this is really nitpicky, the final C in CRAC, the second conclusion, should be in its own paragraph. So that last sentence, which starts with "Therefore," which is great, that's how it should start, should also be on its own line.

The second prompt sets up a lot like the first in terms of its structure, so I won't belabor the point too much. Again, we want the first part of our written answer to be a conclusion, that's the first C in our C-R-A-C, and ideally a reason as well, something with a "because" in it. Here, the test taker starts with the issue instead, and that's not bad.

The answer does correctly identify the Eleventh Amendment as a relevant issue, which gives the grader something to work with. But it would be pretty easy to come back, even after writing the rest of the answer, and transform that into a bolded conclusion sentence, like "The bank's suit against the state superintendent can be maintained because the Eleventh Amendment, or the doctrine of Ex parte Young, permits parties to seek injunctive relief against state officials in their official capacity."

The next paragraph states the rule and does a good job of conveying all the substance. One thing just to note here is that it says, "as mentioned above," and refers the grader back up to the first prompt. That's not a bad trick if you're really being asked to repeat a rule. And that does sometimes happen, like if back-to-back prompts ask you about two different parties' liability under the same rule. You wouldn't need to repeat the rule for the second party.

But that can also be a signal that maybe you should reorganize your answers. Here, as we noted a minute ago, the "furthermore" sentence in the first prompt is really unnecessary there and would fit more naturally down here under the second prompt.

After that, we get a great application paragraph. It starts off with "Here" and states the very few relevant facts necessary to justify the application of Ex parte Young, and really that's where the application should stop. I'd just jump straight to the "In conclusion" sentence, which is a nice summary, but this test taker goes on to argue that the bank does, in fact, have standing, and that's fine, I suppose.

The rule and the analysis here is correct, but again, it's not particularly responsive to the prompt, which was really focused on injunctive relief and the state superintendent. So this standing analysis would apply equally to the first prompt or the third. So it just feels kind of tacked on here. Again, maybe the test taker was just feeling a need to say a little more. Still, really strong answer on prompt 2.

Let's move on to prompt 3. Again, we're starting off with an issue statement that could easily be made into a conclusion. And here I'm just making one up based on this test taker's own analysis of the rule: "State A's statute is likely constitutional because it will probably survive the applicable balancing test under the Dormant Commerce Clause."

The rule statement here should be set off in its own paragraph just to make things as easy as possible for the grader, but otherwise this one does a great job introducing the Dormant Commerce Clause and the two major rule categories that it contains.

That last sentence could be a little more precise. It's not really whether the law places an undue burden on interstate commerce, but rather whether the burdens on interstate commerce are clearly excessive compared to the putative local benefits. But that's just a matter of getting the weights right on the balancing test.

This next paragraph, which is really long and should be broken in half, is a great illustration of how to tackle a two-part rule, or a rule and a sub-rule, or alternative rules.

Remember that there are two categories under the Dormant Commerce Clause: one for protectionist statutes and one for those that incidentally burden interstate commerce. This test taker recognizes that; they're both stated in that rule paragraph. And then the test taker proceeds to apply them both, one after the other, with two back-to-back applications and conclusions.

In fact, you can even see that because there are two "here" statements. I'd set those off into two different paragraphs, I think, just to make it super clear. The first one is terrific, a great showing of why the statute isn't protectionist for purposes of the Dormant Commerce Clause. And it wraps up with a "Therefore," actually two of them, which again is great.

The second one is also really, really strong. After two prompts that called for basically no use of the fact pattern, the test taker here has deployed a whole bunch of facts, not, you'll note, the precise figures and dollar amounts, but that's okay.

And the test taker does a really good job of showing both sides, which is crucial when you're applying a balancing test like this one. A nice way to make that easy on the grader is to do as this one does and use phrases like "on the other hand," because that both says and shows that you're applying the rule.

It would have been nice to wrap this up with a good, clear "therefore" statement, like the final C in our CRAC structure, instead of the "however," but the sentence there is pretty strong. It says, "It likely will pass the balancing test and be upheld." It would just be more clear if there were a "therefore" before that.

What comes after that is really more like a flourish. The test taker goes on to explain why neither of the major Dormant Commerce Clause exceptions are available here, and also why the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV isn't applicable either.

I mean, it's almost just showing off at this point. The test taker clearly knows their stuff and this kind of thing certainly wouldn't count against the final points, but I wouldn't expect you to pick up all of that, especially the Privileges and Immunities point.

So, overall, this is a truly superb answer.

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Constitutional Law on the Multistate Essay Exam: Highly Tested Topics and Tips

Constitutional Law is regularly tested on the MEE. It is tested, on average, once every year or year-and-a-half. It used to be the least-tested MBE subject on the MEE, but it has been making a comeback and is now tested relatively equally with other subjects.

Here, we tell you tips for approaching Constitutional Law on the MEE and we reveal some of the highly tested issues in Constitutional Law questions.

Constitutional Law on the Multistate Essay Exam

1. first, be aware of how constitutional law is tested.

Constitutional Law is about once every year or year-and-a-half, as noted above. The subject of Constitutional Law can be divided into two sections: (1) governmental powers (the powers of Congress, the President, judiciary, federalism, etc.) and (2) individual rights (First Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, etc.). Constitutional Law MEE questions have shifted from testing primarily First Amendment and individual rights issues to lately primarily testing governmental powers.

Constitutional Law was combined with another subject for the first time in July 2019 (Civil Procedure). Constitutional Law was combined with Corporations and LLCs in July 2020.

2. Be aware of the highly tested Constitutional Law issues

The examiners tend to test several of the same issues in Constitutional Law questions. You can maximize your score by being aware of these highly tested issues. (We have a nice summary of these in our  MEE One-Sheets  if you want to see all of them and have them all in one place.)

Some highly tested Constitutional Law Multistate Essay Exam issues include:

Commerce clause and dormant commerce clause.

These are NCBE favorites! You should be aware of Congress’s power to regulate commerce, as well as the states’ power to regulate commerce in the absence of congressional regulation.

• Commerce Clause:   Congress can regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce , persons and things in interstate commerce , or anything that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce . (This is a very broad power!) However, Congress cannot “commandeer” states and force them to enforce federal laws. Congress can, instead, regulate directly through its commerce power or it can regulate indirectly through its taxing and spending power .

• Dormant Commerce Clause:   If Congress is silent, states may regulate commerce. However, if a state regulation  discriminates against interstate commerce , it is usually unconstitutional as it must undergo a  strict scrutiny analysis. If the regulation is  nondiscriminatory on its face , it undergoes a burden-benefit analysis and is more likely to be held constitutional. Memorize these two standards of review . If you see a Dormant Commerce Clause issue, state both standards of review prior to applying the applicable one.

• Exceptions:   Be aware of when the Dormant Commerce Clause does not apply— when Congress is regulating , when the state is acting as a market participant , and when the law favors a government entity performing a traditional governmental activity (such as waste disposal).

Equal Protection Clause (EPC)

To perform well on an EPC MEE question, you need to memorize the standards of review under the EPC. This will help boost your score not only for the MEE but also for the MBE. You should also memorize the standards of review under the Due Process Clause, although so far, the EPC has shown up more frequently on the MEE, with issues involving age and gender.

• Strict scrutiny:   The  government must prove that the law is  narrowly tailored (necessary) to achieve a  compelling governmental interest . The government usually loses under a strict scrutiny analysis. Strict scrutiny applies to fundamental rights , racial or ethnic discrimination , and alienage (though there are exceptions for alienage where strict scrutiny does not apply—e.g., if the public function doctrine applies or if the law regulates illegal aliens [term used by the examiners]).

• Intermediate scrutiny:   The  government must prove the law is  substantially related to an  important government interest . Intermediate scrutiny applies to classifications of gender and illegitimacy [term used by the examiners].

• Rational basis:   The  plaintiff must prove that the law is  not rationally related to a  legitimate government interest. The plaintiff usually loses under rational basis. Rational basis applies to every other classification—poverty, wealth, age, education, etc.

First Amendment free speech

First Amendment free speech is heavily tested on the MEE. Some highly tested free speech topics are:

• Government action required

• Content-based versus content-neutral speech restrictions: A content-based restriction seeks to forbid communication about certain ideas or content . Content-based restrictions are usually subject to strict scrutiny .

• Content-neutral restrictions do not seek to forbid the content of the speech and usually restricts the time, place, or manner that the speech may be expressed (see below).

• Public forum versus private forum

3. Memorize the important Constitutional amendments and clauses

To build credibility with the grader, it is helpful to know which amendment goes with which topic. For example:

• Commerce Clause:   under the Commerce Clause, Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce.
• Equal protection:  The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
• Free speech:   The First Amendment applies to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Eminent domain:   a restriction on takings arises from the Fifth Amendment and is applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Stating the applicable Constitutional amendment/clause is a great way to begin your rule statement on a Constitutional Law MEE question. Also, knowing ahead of time what you will write when you see one of these topics tested can help boost your confidence on exam day.

4. Understand the trickier Constitutional Law tested issues

Memorization is important, but you also want to make sure that you understand the law so that you can accurately apply it. Many examinees have trouble with Dormant Commerce Clause issues, the Eleventh Amendment , application of First Amendment free speech issues , and distinguishing between Equal Protection Clause and substantive Due Process Clause issues .

Some examinees memorize these concepts, but they do not properly apply them to the facts because they do not truly understand them.

If you find yourself unable to properly apply the law to the facts, try the following:

• Attend (or rewatch) your bar review course lecture if you found it helpful.
• Seek a tutor for Constitutional Law (or consult with a study group, if you have one).
• Practice MEE and MBE questions and closely analyze the answer explanations, while making notes to yourself of helpful examples.
• Review the topics you are having trouble with by doing a Google search.

Some students feel a false sense of confidence about Constitutional Law. Make sure that you actually understand the more nuanced issues—they tend to be the most highly tested ones on the MEE!

5. Practice! 

Practice is critical if you want to master Constitutional Law on the MEE. As an added bonus, you may also see your MBE score improve if you practice Constitutional Law essays.

Here, we provide you with some links to free Constitutional Law MEE questions and NCBE point sheets. (If you would like to purchase a book of Constitutional Law MEE questions and NCBE point sheets, check out our  MEE books  here. You can also see some additional exams  on the NCBE website for free here .)

• October 2020 Constitutional Law MEE: this MEE covers free speech—content-based, content-neutral, and time-place-or-manner
• February 2016 Constitutional Law MEE: this MEE covers the Dormant Commerce Clause.
• February 2015 Constitutional Law MEE: this MEE covers the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment.
• February 2013 Constitutional Law MEE: this MEE covers state action and First Amendment free speech.

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Practice Perspectives: Vault’s Guide to Legal Practice Areas, 2024 Edition

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Practice Perspectives: Vault’s Guide to Legal Practice Areas is the insider’s guide to what it’s really like to practice at the nation’s top law firms. This guide contains interviews with over 140 attorneys in top-ranked practices from over 50 law firms. Among the topics covered in these Q&As are typical tasks, notable clients, recommended training and skills, and misconceptions about each specialty. Practice Perspectives offers insights on practicing in over 20 different practice areas.

Moscow Minimum Wage to Exceed 20,000 Rubles for 1st Time

By Howard Perlman

Russia’s capital city of Moscow is to increase its monthly minimum wage Oct. 1 to 20,195 Russian rubles (U.S. $310.97), up from the amount of 19,351 Russian rubles (U.S. $297.97), in effect since July 1.

Moscow’s revised monthly minimum wage is equivalent to the city’s average monthly subsistence minimum wage for able-bodied adults for the second quarter of 2019, which the Moscow municipal government released in Decree No. 1177 (Russian). The local minimum wage is automatically increased following an increase in Moscow’s subsistence minimum wage for able-bodied adults.

The governments of Russia’s oblasts, republics, krais, autonomous okrugs, and federal cities, ...

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The Comprehensive Guide to Moscow Nightlife

• Posted on April 14, 2018 July 26, 2018
• by Kings of Russia
• 8 minute read

Moscow’s nightlife scene is thriving, and arguably one of the best the world has to offer – top-notch Russian women, coupled with a never-ending list of venues, Moscow has a little bit of something for everyone’s taste. Moscow nightlife is not for the faint of heart – and if you’re coming, you better be ready to go Friday and Saturday night into the early morning.

This comprehensive guide to Moscow nightlife will run you through the nuts and bolts of all you need to know about Moscow’s nightclubs and give you a solid blueprint to operate with during your time in Moscow.

What you need to know before hitting Moscow nightclubs

Prices in moscow nightlife.

Before you head out and start gaming all the sexy Moscow girls , we have to talk money first. Bring plenty because in Moscow you can never bring a big enough bankroll. Remember, you’re the man so making a fuzz of not paying a drink here or there will not go down well.

Luckily most Moscow clubs don’t do cover fees. Some electro clubs will charge 15-20$, depending on their lineup. There’s the odd club with a minimum spend of 20-30$, which you’ll drop on drinks easily. By and large, you can scope out the venues for free, which is a big plus.

Bottle service is a great deal in Moscow. At top-tier clubs, it starts at 1,000$. That’ll go a long way with premium vodka at 250$, especially if you have three or four guys chipping in. Not to mention that it’s a massive status boost for getting girls, especially at high-end clubs.

Without bottle service, you should estimate a budget of 100-150$ per night. That is if you drink a lot and hit the top clubs with the hottest girls. Scale down for less alcohol and more basic places.

Dress code & Face control

Door policy in Moscow is called “face control” and it’s always the guy behind the two gorillas that gives the green light if you’re in or out.

In Moscow nightlife there’s only one rule when it comes to dress codes:

You can never be underdressed.

People dress A LOT sharper than, say, in the US and that goes for both sexes. For high-end clubs, you definitely want to roll with a sharp blazer and a pocket square, not to mention dress shoes in tip-top condition. Those are the minimum requirements to level the playing field vis a vis with other sharply dressed guys that have a lot more money than you do. Unless you plan to hit explicit electro or underground clubs, which have their own dress code, you are always on the money with that style.

Getting in a Moscow club isn’t as hard as it seems: dress sharp, speak English at the door and look like you’re in the mood to spend all that money that you supposedly have (even if you don’t). That will open almost any door in Moscow’s nightlife for you.

Types of Moscow Nightclubs

In Moscow there are four types of clubs with the accompanying female clientele:

High-end clubs:

These are often crossovers between restaurants and clubs with lots of tables and very little space to dance. Heavy accent on bottle service most of the time but you can work the room from the bar as well. The hottest and most expensive girls in Moscow go there. Bring deep pockets and lots of self-confidence and you have a shot at swooping them.

Regular Mid-level clubs:

They probably resemble more what you’re used to in a nightclub: big dancefloors, stages and more space to roam around. Bottle service will make you stand out more but you can also do well without. You can find all types of girls but most will be in the 6-8 range. Your targets should always be the girls drinking and ideally in pairs. It’s impossible not to swoop if your game is at least half-decent.

Basic clubs/dive bars:

Usually spots with very cheap booze and lax face control. If you’re dressed too sharp and speak no Russian, you might attract the wrong type of attention so be vigilant. If you know the local scene you can swoop 6s and 7s almost at will. Usually students and girls from the suburbs.

Electro/underground clubs:

Home of the hipsters and creatives. Parties there don’t mean meeting girls and getting drunk but doing pills and spacing out to the music. Lots of attractive hipster girls if that is your niche. That is its own scene with a different dress code as well.

What time to go out in Moscow

Moscow nightlife starts late. Don’t show up at bars and preparty spots before 11pm because you’ll feel fairly alone. Peak time is between 1am and 3am. That is also the time of Moscow nightlife’s biggest nuisance: concerts by artists you won’t know and who only distract your girls from drinking and being gamed. From 4am to 6am the regular clubs are emptying out but plenty of people, women included, still hit up one of the many afterparty clubs. Those last till well past 10am.

As far as days go: Fridays and Saturdays are peak days. Thursday is an OK day, all other days are fairly weak and you have to know the right venues.

The Ultimate Moscow Nightclub List

Short disclaimer: I didn’t add basic and electro clubs since you’re coming for the girls, not for the music. This list will give you more options than you’ll be able to handle on a weekend.

Preparty – start here at 11PM

Classic restaurant club with lots of tables and a smallish bar and dancefloor. Come here between 11pm and 12am when the concert is over and they start with the actual party. Even early in the night tons of sexy women here, who lean slightly older (25 and up).

The second floor of the Ugolek restaurant is an extra bar with dim lights and house music tunes. Very small and cozy with a slight hipster vibe but generally draws plenty of attractive women too. A bit slower vibe than Valenok.

Very cool, spread-out venue that has a modern library theme. Not always full with people but when it is, it’s brimming with top-tier women. Slow vibe here and better for grabbing contacts and moving on.

High-end: err on the side of being too early rather than too late because of face control.

Secret Room

Probably the top venue at the moment in Moscow . Very small but wildly popular club, which is crammed with tables but always packed. They do parties on Thursdays and Sundays as well. This club has a hip-hop/high-end theme, meaning most girls are gold diggers, IG models, and tattooed hip hop chicks. Very unfavorable logistics because there is almost no room no move inside the club but the party vibe makes it worth it. Strict face control.

Close to Secret Room and with a much more favorable and spacious three-part layout. This place attracts very hot women but also lots of ball busters and fakes that will leave you blue-balled. Come early because after 4am it starts getting empty fast. Electronic music.

A slightly kitsch restaurant club that plays Russian pop and is full of gold diggers, semi-pros, and men from the Caucasus republics. Thursday is the strongest night but that dynamic might be changing since Secret Room opened its doors. You can swoop here but it will be a struggle.

Mid-level: your sweet spot in terms of ease and attractiveness of girls for an average budget.

Started going downwards in 2018 due to lax face control and this might get even worse with the World Cup. In terms of layout one of the best Moscow nightclubs because it’s very big and bottle service gives you a good edge here. Still attracts lots of cute girls with loose morals but plenty of provincial girls (and guys) as well. Swooping is fairly easy here.

I haven’t been at this place in over a year, ever since it started becoming ground zero for drunken teenagers. Similar clientele to Icon but less chic, younger and drunker. Decent mainstream music that attracts plenty of tourists. Girls are easy here as well.

Sort of a Coyote Ugly (the real one in Moscow sucks) with party music and lots of drunken people licking each others’ faces. Very entertaining with the right amount of alcohol and very easy to pull in there. Don’t think about staying sober in here, you’ll hate it.

Artel Bessonitsa/Shakti Terrace

Electronic music club that is sort of a high-end place with an underground clientele and located between the teenager clubs Icon and Gipsy. Very good music but a bit all over the place with their vibe and their branding. You can swoop almost any type of girl here from high-heeled beauty to coked-up hipsters, provided they’re not too sober.

Afterparty: if by 5AM  you haven’t pulled, it’s time to move here.

Best afterparty spot in terms of trying to get girls. Pretty much no one is sober in there and savage gorilla game goes a long way. Lots of very hot and slutty-looking girls but it can be hard to tell apart who is looking for dick and who is just on drugs but not interested. If by 9-10am you haven’t pulled, it is probably better to surrender.

The hipster alternative for afterparties, where even more drugs are in play. Plenty of attractive girls there but you have to know how to work this type of club. A nicer atmosphere and better music but if you’re desperate to pull, you’ll probably go to Miks.

Weekday jokers: if you’re on the hunt for some sexy Russian girls during the week, here are two tips to make your life easier.

Chesterfield

Ladies night on Wednesdays means this place gets pretty packed with smashed teenagers and 6s and 7s. Don’t pull out the three-piece suit in here because it’s a “simpler” crowd. Definitely your best shot on Wednesdays.

If you haven’t pulled at Chesterfield, you can throw a Hail Mary and hit up Garage’s Black Music Wednesdays. Fills up really late but there are some cute Black Music groupies in here. Very small club. Thursday through Saturday they do afterparties and you have an excellent shot and swooping girls that are probably high.

Shishas Sferum

This is pretty much your only shot on Mondays and Tuesdays because they offer free or almost free drinks for women. A fairly low-class club where you should watch your drinks. As always the case in Moscow, there will be cute girls here on any day of the week but it’s nowhere near as good as on the weekend.

In a nutshell, that is all you need to know about where to meet Moscow girls in nightlife. There are tons of options, and it all depends on what best fits your style, based on the type of girls that you’re looking for.

Related Topics

• moscow girls
• moscow nightlife

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The History of Moscow City

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