Moscow's half-empty $12 billion financial district looks worse than you imagined

Moscow's financial district, with its $12 billion worth of skyscrapers, was meant to be a gleaming beacon for Russia's post-Soviet market economy.

But now with Russia's economy in free-fall, the Moscow City complex property values have nosedived, construction sites are abandoned, and vacancy rates have soared to 45%, according to real estate consultants Blackwood.

Moscow-based photographer Konstantin Salomatin visited the area for Business Insider on a recent weekday to see how bad it really is.