What is the capital of the russia
What is the capital of the russia
Moscow
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Moscow, Russian Moskva, city, capital of Russia, located in the far western part of the country. Since it was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1147, Moscow has played a vital role in Russian history. It became the capital of Muscovy (the Grand Principality of Moscow) in the late 13th century; hence, the people of Moscow are known as Muscovites. Today Moscow is not only the political centre of Russia but also the country’s most populous city and its industrial, cultural, scientific, and educational capital. For more than 600 years Moscow also has been the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) until the union dissolved in 1991, Moscow attracted world attention as a centre of communist power; indeed, the name of the seat of the former Soviet government and the successor Russian government, the Kremlin (Russian: Kreml), was a synonym for Soviet authority. The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. brought tremendous economic and political change, along with a significant concentration of Russia’s wealth, into Moscow. Area 414 square miles (1,035 square km). Pop. (2010) city, 11,738,547; (2020 est.) city, 12,678,079.
Character of the city
If St. Petersburg is Russia’s “window on Europe,” Moscow is Russia’s heart. It is an upbeat, vibrant, and sometimes wearisome city. Much of Moscow was reconstructed after it was occupied by the French under Napoleon I in 1812 and almost entirely destroyed by fire. Moscow has not stopped being refurbished and modernized and continues to experience rapid social change. Russia’s Soviet past collides with its capitalist present everywhere in the country, but nowhere is this contrast more visible than in Moscow. Vladimir Ilich Lenin’s Mausoleum remains intact, as do many dreary five-story apartment buildings from the era of Nikita Khrushchev’s rule (the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s), yet glitzy automobiles and Western-style supermarkets, casinos, and nightclubs are equally visible. Many Orthodox churches, as well as some synagogues and mosques, have been restored, Moscow’s novel theatres have reclaimed leadership in the dramatic arts, and traditional markets have been revived and expanded. These markets, which under the Soviets were known as kolkhoz (collective-farm) markets and sold mainly crafts and produce, are now more sophisticated retail establishments.
What is the Capital of Russia?
Moscow is known as an alpha city due to its large size and population.
Moscow is the largest, most populous, and the capital city of Russia. It is located on the western part of the country and lies entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the world’s 14th largest metro by area and 11th by population. It is considered an alpha city because of its dominance by size and population over other Russian cities. Moscow is the coldest and the northernmost metropolis and megacity on the planet. Both the tallest freestanding structure and the tallest building in Europe are found within the city. Moscow is the seat of the government; it houses the Kremlin and the two chambers of parliament.
Demographics of the Capital of Russia
The population of Moscow is estimated at 12.3m. The city’s boundary is continuously enlarging and encircling more people within the city limits. Due to the high number of illegal immigrants, the actual population is thought to be between 13 to 17 million. A single mayor runs the entire city, but it is divided into twelve administrative okrugs. A majority of the residents are Christians, most of whom are members of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, a majority of the youths consider themselves irreligious. Other religions include Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism.
Geography of Moscow
Moscow is located along the banks of the Moskva River. The river flows for 310 miles across eastern Europe and central Russia. Forty-nine bridges span across the river within the city limits. The average city elevation is 512 ft above sea level while the highest point is Teplostanskaya highland which is 837 feet above the sea level. The city is considered the reference point for the eastern Russia time zone that includes Crimea and Saint Petersburg. The time in Moscow is presented as UTC+3.
Economy of the Capital City of Russia
Cost of Living in Moscow
Moscow
Position of Moscow in Europe
District
Subdivision
Central Federal District
Federal City
Contents
Moscow is world-renowned for its architecture and its performing arts. It is well-known for the elegant onion domes of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Seven Sisters. The Patriarch of Moscow, whose residence is the Danilov Monastery, serves as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Moscow also remains a major economic center and is home to a large number of billionaires. It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sports facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes the world’s busiest metro system, which is famous for its architecture. Moscow also hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics.
History
Early history
The oldest evidence of humans in the area where Moscow now stands dates from the Stone Age (Schukinskaya Neolithic site on the Moscow River). Within the modern bounds of the city, a burial ground of the Fatyanovskaya culture has been discovered, as well as evidence of early-Iron Age settlements of the Dyakovskaya culture, on the grounds of Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River, and Kuntsevskiy forest park.
At the end of the first millennium C.E., the territory of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast was inhabited by the Slavic tribes of Vyatichi and Krivichi. By the end of the eleventh century, Moscow was a small town with a feudal center and trade suburb situated at the mouth of the Neglinnaya River.
The first written reference to “Moscow” dates from 1147, when it was an obscure town in a small province inhabited mostly by Merya, speakers of a now extinct Finnic language. Yuri Dolgoruki called upon the prince of the Novgorod Republic to «come to me, brother, to Moscow.» [1] In 1156, Prince (Knjaz) Yury Dolgoruky of Kiev ordered the construction of a moat and a wooden wall, which had to be rebuilt multiple times, to surround the emerging city. [2] After the sacking of 1237-1238, when the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants, Moscow recovered and became the capital of an independent principality in 1327. [3] Its favorable position on the headwaters of the Volga River contributed to steady expansion. Moscow developed into a stable and prosperous principality which attracted a large number of refugees from across Russia.
Center of power
Under Ivan I the city replaced Tver as capital of Vladimir-Suzdal and became the sole collector of taxes for the Mongol-Tatar rulers. By paying a large amount of tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan. Unlike other principalities, Moscow was not divided among his sons but was passed intact to his eldest. In 1380, prince Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo. Although this victory is regarded as historically important, it was not decisive. After two years of battle, Moscow was completely destroyed by khan Tokhtamysh. In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control, allowing Moscow to become the center of power in Russia. [4] Ivan III relocated the Russian capital to Moscow (previous capitals were Kiev and Vladimir), and the city became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of present-day Russia and other lands.
The seventeenth century was rich in popular risings, such as the liberation of Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the Moscow Uprising of 1682. The city ceased to be Russia’s capital in 1712, after the founding of Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great on the Baltic coast in 1703.
Defeat of Napoleon
Capital of the Soviet Union
In January 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor, was officially introduced in Moscow, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow’s first official mayor. Following the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917, on March 12, 1918, Moscow became the capital of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, later the Soviet Union. [5]
During the Great Patriotic War (the part of World War II after German invasion in the USSR) in 1941, the Soviet State Committee of Defense and the General Staff of the Red Army was located in Moscow. In 1941, 16 divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), 25 battalions (18,500 soldiers) and four engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. In November 1941, German Army Group Center was stopped at the outskirts of the city and then driven off in the course of the Battle of Moscow. Many factories were evacuated, together with much of the government, and from October 20 the city was declared to be under siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and manned antitank defenses, while the city was bombarded from the air. It is of some note that Stalin refused to leave the city, meaning the general staff and the council of people’s commissars remained in the city as well. Despite the siege and the bombings, the construction of Moscow’s metro system, which began in the early 1930s, continued through the war and by the end of the war several new metro lines were opened. On May 1, 1944 a medal For the defense of Moscow and in 1947 another medal In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow were instituted. On May 8, 1965 in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the victory in World War II, Moscow was one of 12 Soviet cities awarded the title of Hero City. In 1980, it hosted the Summer Olympic Games.
In 1991 Moscow was the scene of a coup attempt by the government members opposed to the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. When the USSR was dissolved in the same year, Moscow continued to be the capital of Russia. Since then, the emergence of a market economy in Moscow has produced an explosion of Western-style retailing, services, architecture, and lifestyles.
Growth of Moscow
As with most medieval settlements, early Moscow required fortresses to defend it from invaders such as the Mongols. In 1156, the city’s first fortress was built (its foundations were rediscovered in 1960). A trading settlement, or posad, grew up to the east of the Kremlin, in the area known as Zaradye (Зарядье). In the time of Ivan III, the Red Square, originally named the Hollow Field (Полое поле) appeared. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the three circular defenses were built: Kitay-gorod (Китай-город), the White City (Белый город) and the Earthen City (Земляной город). However, in 1547, two fires destroyed much of the town, and in 1571 the Crimean Tatars captured Moscow, burning everything except the Kremlin. The annals record that only 30,000 of 200,000 inhabitants survived. The Crimean Tatars attacked again in 1591, but this time were held back by new defense walls, built between 1584 and 1591 by a craftsman named Fyodor Kon’. In 1592, an outer earth rampart with 50 towers was erected around the city, including an area on the right bank of the Moscow River. As an outermost line of defense, a chain of strongly fortified monasteries was established beyond the ramparts to the south and east, principally the Novodevichy Convent and Donskoy, Danilov, Simonov, Novospasskiy, and Andronikov monasteries, most of which now house museums.
By 1700, the building of cobbled roads had begun. In November of 1730, the permanent street light was introduced, and by 1867 many streets had a gaslight. In 1883, near the Prechistinskiye Gates, arc lamps were installed. In 1741 Moscow was surrounded by a barricade 25 miles long, the Kamer-Kollezhskiy barrier, with sixteen gates at which customs tolls were collected. Its line is traced today by a number of streets called val (“ramparts”). Between 1781 – 1804 the Mytischinskiy water-pipe (the first in Russia) was built. In 1813 a Commission for the Construction of the City of Moscow was established. It launched a great program of rebuilding, including a partial replanning of the city-center. Among many buildings constructed or reconstructed at this time were the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin Armoury, the Moscow University, the Moscow Manege (Riding School), and the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1903 the Moskvoretskaya water-supply had appeared.
The postwar years saw a serious housing crisis, which stimulated the invention of commieblocks; apartments were built and partly furnished in the factory before being raised and stacked into tall columns. There are about 13,000 of these standardized, prefabricated apartment blocks. The popular Soviet-era comic film Irony of Fate parodies this soulless construction method. A groom on his way home from his bachelor party passes out at an airport and wakes up in Leningrad, mistakenly sent there by his friend. He gets a taxi to his address, which also exists in Leningrad, and uses his key to open the door. All the furniture and possessions are so standardized that he doesn’t realize that this isn’t his home, until the real owner returns. The film struck such a chord with Russians, watching on their standard TVs in their standard apartments, that the film is now shown every New Year’s Eve.
Population
The population of Moscow is rapidly increasing. The ubiquitous presence of legal and illegal permanent and temporary migrants, plus merging suburbs, raises the total population to about 13.5 million people. According to the 2010 Russian Census the population of the city proper was 11,689,048; however, this figure only takes into account legal residents, and not the several million estimated illegal immigrants and gastarbeiters living in the city. Moscow is home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims, including about 100,000 Chechens, and between 50,000 and 150,000 Chinese.
Substantial numbers of internal migrants mean that Moscow’s population is increasing, whereas the population of many other Russian cities is in decline. Migrants are attracted by Moscow’s strong economy which contrasts sharply with the stagnation in many other parts of Russia. In order to help regulate population growth, Moscow has an internal passport system that prohibits non-residents from staying in the capital for more than 90 days without registration.
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Government
Moscow is the seat of power for the Russian Federation. At the center of the city, in Central Administrative Okrug, is the Moscow Kremlin, which houses the home of the President of Russia as well as many of the facilities for the national government. This includes numerous military headquarters and the headquarters of the Moscow Military District. Moscow, like with any national capital, also hosts all the foreign embassies and diplomats representing a multitude of nations in Russia. Along with Saint Petersburg, Moscow is designated as one of only two federal cities within Russia. Moscow is located within the central economic region, one of twelve regions within Russia with similar economic goals.
The entire city of Moscow is headed by one mayor. It is divided into 12 administrative okrugs and 123 districts. A part of Moscow Oblast’s territory was merged into Moscow on July 1, 2012; as a result, Moscow is no longer fully surrounded by Moscow Oblast and now also has a border with Kaluga Oblast.
All administrative okrugs and districts have their own coats of arms, flags, and elected head officials. Additionally, most districts have their own cable television, computer network, and official newspaper.
In addition to the districts, there are Territorial Units with Special Status, or territories. These usually include areas with small or no permanent populations, such as the case with the All-Russia Exhibition Center, the Botanical Garden, large parks, and industrial zones. In recent years, some territories have been merged with different districts. There are no regions of specific ethnicity in Moscow. And although districts are not designated by income, as with most cities, those areas that are closer to the city center, metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious.
Moscow is the administrative center of Moscow Oblast, but as a federal city, it is administratively separate from the oblast.
Climate
Monthly rainfall totals vary minimally throughout the year, although the precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to be within a continental climate zone.
City layout
Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River, which flows for just over five hundred kilometers through western Russia, in the center of the East-European plain. There are 49 bridges across Moskva River and its canals within city limits.
Moscow’s road system is centered roughly around the heart of the city, the Moscow Kremlin. From there, the roads in general radiate out to intersect with a sequence of circular roads or «rings» focused at the Kremlin. [7]
The first and innermost major ring, Bulvarnoye Koltso (Boulevard Ring), was built at the former location of the sixteenth century city wall around what used to be called Bely Gorod (White Town). The Bulvarnoye Koltso is technically not a ring; it does not form a complete circle, but instead a horseshoe-like arc that goes from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to the Yauza River. In addition, the Boulevard Ring changes street names numerous times throughout its journey across the city.
The second primary ring, located outside the Boulevard Ring, is the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring). Like the Boulevard Ring, the Garden Ring follows the path of a sixteenth-century wall that used to encompass part of the city. The third ring, the Third Transport Ring, was completed in 2003 as a high-speed freeway. The Fourth Transport Ring, another freeway, is currently under construction to further reduce traffic congestion. The outermost ring within Moscow is the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (often called the MKAD from the Russian Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога), which forms the approximate boundary of the city.
Outside the city, some of the roads encompassing the city continue to follow this circular pattern seen inside city limits.
Architecture
For a long time the skyline of Moscow was dominated by numerous Orthodox churches. The look of the city changed drastically during Soviet times, mostly due to Joseph Stalin, who oversaw a large-scale effort to modernize the city. He introduced broad avenues and roadways, some of them over ten lanes wide, but he also destroyed a great number of historically significant architectural works. The Sukharev Tower, as well as numerous mansions and stores lining the major streets, and various works of religious architecture, such as the Kazan Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, were all destroyed during Stalin’s rule. During the 1990s, however, both the latter were rebuilt.
Architect Vladimir Shukhov was responsible for building several of Moscow’s landmarks during early Soviet Russia. The Shukhov Tower, just one of many hyperboloid towers designed by Shukhov, was built between 1919 and 1922 as a transmission tower for a Russian broadcasting company. Shukhov also left a lasting legacy to the Constructivist architecture of early Soviet Russia. He designed spacious elongated shop galleries, most notably the Upper Trade Rows (GUM) on Red Square, bridged with innovative metal-and-glass vaults.
Stalin, however, is also credited with building the The Seven Sisters, comprising seven, cathedral-like structures. A defining feature of Moscow’s skyline, their imposing form was allegedly inspired by the Manhattan Municipal Building in New York City, and their style—with intricate exteriors and a large central spire—has been described as Stalinist Gothic architecture. All seven towers can be seen from most elevations in the city; they are among the tallest constructions in central Moscow apart from the Ostankino Tower, which, when it was completed in 1967, was the tallest free-standing land structure in the world and today remains the tallest in Europe. [8]
The Soviet policy of providing mandatory housing for every citizen and his or her family, and the rapid growth of the Muscovite population in Soviet times, also led to the construction of large, monotonous housing blocks, which can often be differentiated by age, sturdiness of construction, or ‘style’ according to the neighborhood and the materials used. Most of these date from the post-Stalin era and the styles are often named after the leader then in power: Brezhnev, Khrushchev, etc. They are usually ill-maintained. The Stalinist-era constructions, mostly in the central city, are massive and usually ornamented with Socialist realism motifs that imitate classical themes. However, small churches, almost always Eastern Orthodox, that provide glimpses of the city’s past, still dot various parts of the city. The Old Arbat, a popular tourist street that was once the heart of a bohemian area, preserves most of its buildings from prior to the twentieth century. Many buildings found off the main streets of the inner city (behind the Stalinist facades of Tverskaya Street, for example) are also examples of the bourgeois decadence of Tsarist Russia. Ostankino, Kuskovo, Uzkoye and other large estates just outside Moscow originally belonged to nobles from the Tsarist era, and some convents and monasteries, both inside and outside the city, are open to Muscovites and tourists.
Attempts are being made to restore many of the city’s best-kept examples of pre-Soviet architecture. These revamped structures are easily spotted by their bright new colors and spotless facades. There are a few examples of notable, early Soviet avant-garde work too, such as the house of the architect Konstantin Melnikov in the Arbat area. Later examples of interesting Soviet architecture are usually marked by their impressive size and the semi-Modernist styles employed, such as with the Novy Arbat project, familiarly known as «false teeth of Moscow» and notorious for its wide-scale disruption of a historic area in the heart of downtown Moscow.
As in London, but on a broader scale, plaques on house exteriors inform passers-by that a well-known personality once lived there. Frequently the plaques are dedicated to Soviet celebrities not well-known outside of Russia. There are also many ‘house-museums’ of famous Russian writers, composers, and artists in the city, including Mikhail Lermontov, Anton Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Pushkin.
Tours, Attractions and Things To Do in Moscow
The city-state with unique character and destiny, the indestructible symbol of imperial power and grandeur, architectural open-air museum and modern megalopolis glistening with the cold light of glass skyscrapers. Such is Moscow – diverse and full of contrasts, captivating in every way. And yet, it has some unique features. Namely, the circular layout, which emerged in the end of the 16th century; specific landscape with hilly terrain and steep curves of the Moskva River; green spaces separating urban neighborhoods; the combination of wide roads and avenues with quiet alleys of the old city.
Moscow is rated among the most expensive and beautiful cities in the world. Every year thousands of tourists come here with the dream of touching the relic of Russian culture, visiting world’s famous museums and theaters, wandering the roads of great poets, writers, musicians and artists, visiting the estates and mansions of Russian princes and emperors, witnessing magnificent Orthodox churches and monasteries. Moscow is filled with treasures. Each street has a name related to its history and almost every building and monument is a unique architectural masterpiece with its unique destiny. Only in Moscow can you exit a bustling modern avenue and instantly enter a lane of the 19th century and see a house in Art Nouveau style or constructivism standing next to a Boyar house. Walking around Moscow is both in space and time.
Monuments of Moscow
Collections of paintings, drawings and sculptures of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin can rival collections of many famous museums in the world.
History of Moscow
Moscow city, Russia
Moscow overview
Moscow is the capital of Russia, the largest city in the country and Europe, and one of the largest cities in the world. Moscow refers to global cities having a great influence on the world because of its high economic level and population. It is the main transport hub of Russia, its political, economic, cultural, and scientific center.
Moscow city flag
Moscow city coat of arms
Moscow city map, Russia
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7 April, 2018 / According to GoCompare.com, residents of Moscow spend the most time in Europe in traffic jams (91 hours per year), ahead of London (73) and Paris (65). In the top 10 there are four other Russian cities: Krasnodar (56), St. Petersburg (53), Sochi (49), Nizhny Novgorod (47).
Moscow history
The real age of Moscow is not known. There are some myths saying that the foundation of Moscow took place in ancient times. The first trustworthy chronicle which mentioned the settlement is the Ipatyev Chronicle, saying that on Saturday, April 4, 1147, the prince Yury Dolgoruky received his friends and allies headed by the prince Svyatoslav Olgovich in a small town called Moskov.
In the early 13th century, Moscow became the center of principality for the first time. In the first half of the 15th century, the town gradually became more and more important. This fact was directly bound with the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The Golden Horde put the Russian principalities under its tribute. Its systematic raids on the Rus’ destroyed the land, and the princes were obligated to get permissions to rule from the Horde.
During the War of 1812, Moscow was captured by Napoleon’s troops and heavily damaged by fire. According to various estimates, up to 80% of the buildings were destroyed. The recovery process lasted for more than thirty years. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built. By the end of the 19th century, trams appeared in Moscow.
In 1918, Moscow became the capital of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. A new Soviet epoch began in the history of the city. Moscow became the main city of the country, the importance of the city increased enormously.
In the winter of 1941-1942, the Moscow Battle took place. This was the first land victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
In 1980, Moscow became the Olympic city. The 22nd Summer Olympic Games took place in the city.
Moscow scenery
The building of the factory Red October in Moscow
Author: Sergey Kozin
Krasnopresnenskaya metro station in Moscow
Author: Alex Grachov
The guard of the Moscow Kremlin
Author: Alex Grachov
Moscow features
The city has the status of a separate federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is the smallest federal subject by land area.
The name of the city as well as the names of many other cities around the world, is bound with the name of the river it is standing on (the Moskva River). The river was called this way long before the settlement appeared. It is unknown who named it and what this name means. There are two main versions: Finnio-Ugric and Slavic.
According to the first one, the word “Moskva” is derived from the Finno-Ugric language group which means “river-bear”. The Slavic theory points to the stem “mosk” denoting “marshy” or “moisture, liquid, marshland, dampness”.
The city is surrounded by 6 airports, 9 railway stations, and 3 river ports. Moscow has developed a fabulous metro (subway) system. The first stations were built in 1935.
Moscow is the largest Russian financial center. About half of Russian banks are located in Moscow. Most of the largest companies are registered and have head offices in Moscow, although their manufactures might be located thousands of km from the city.
The city is the most important center of retail sales in Russia. Moscow represents about 30% of all commodities sold in Russia.
Moscow is also a large scientific center. There are a lot of scientific research institutes carrying out research in many branches, such as nuclear power, microelectronics, space exploration and other promising directions.
Moscow transport system
Moscow has been the largest transport hub of Russia throughout its history. The city is located in the very center of the hub of railways and highways.
The main airports are Vnukovo International Airport (located in Moscow), Domodedovo International Airport and Sheremetyevo International Airport (located in the Moscow region).
Moscow is the central hub of Russian federal highways heading different directions and connecting the city with other administrative centers of the country and bordering states.
Since 1935, the underground railway has been in action in the city. Today, it is the main means of transportation within the capital of Russia. On average, the Moscow Metro carries about 7 million passengers per day.
Moscow faces serious transport problems, because of the explosive increase in the number of vehicles on the streets. Traffic jams of all kinds occur very often.
There are 9 railway stations in Moscow:
Moscow places
The main building of Moscow State University