Western Moscow's Rublevskoye Highway region is home to many of Russia's richest and most famous people, its narrow roads flanked by luxury villas and mansions. However, as Komsomolskaya Pravda reported, the area's residents have encountered real problems of late with hiring honest staff.
"I've been very lucky. My people, my driver and my domestic staff, have been with me for a long time," bestselling novelist Darya Dontsova told the paper.
However, Dontsova revealed that some of her neighbors had not been so fortunate, relating the story of a couple who hired two members of staff from an unnamed former Soviet republic.
"They lived with the family for a year. However, recently their daughter came home to find her mum and dad dead. The domestic staff had disappeared," the writer said.
While this is an extreme case, the novelist also told the paper that another Rublevskoye resident had had a luxury car stolen by a newly hired chauffeur. Another hired a new maid from an agency and on the woman's first day at work she was sent to the shop with a large amount of money.
"She took the money and never came back," Dontsova said. "Just ridiculous!"
The daily also noted that whereas domestic staff once focused exclusively on stealing items such as diamonds and other valuable goods, the crisis had seen them also turn to pilfering minor items such as soap and even brand-name socks.
"My friend sacked her maid recently for stealing and selling her lipstick and moisturizers," another Rublevskoye resident, identified only as Olga, told the paper at a local fitness club.
Top music producer Yana Rudkovskaya revealed that "if domestic staff used to steal diamonds, now they have become more modest. Someone has a dress go missing, others shoes."
She also noted however that the thefts were not always immediately discovered. "These Rublevskoye girls have big wardrobes, you could get lost in them!"
A host of other residents also had similar stories to tell, ranging from the theft of money to valuables to the disappearance of toilet paper and cutlery.
Pop singer Lada Dens has attempted to guard against becoming a victim of similar crimes by opening a domestic staff agency for elite clients.
"My staff don't have access to money or other valuables," she told the paper. "When we leave rings and clothes lying around, we are simply leaving people open to temptation."
She also confessed however that sometimes staff got the blame for taking items that their owners had simply misplaced.
"This happened to me once, when I decided that my ring had been stolen. However, I found it later in my bag," she said.
