Everything about Moscow totally explained
Moscow (
romanised:
Moskva, : see also ) is the
capital and the largest city of
Russia, and the
largest city in Europe, with its List of metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is the country's political, economic, religious, financial, educational and transportation centre. It is located on the
Moskva River in the
Central Federal District, in the
European part of Russia. Historically, it was the capital of the former
Soviet Union and the
Grand Duchy of Moscow, the pre-
Imperial Russian state. It is the site of the
Moscow Kremlin, which serves as the ceremonial residence of the
President of Russia. Moscow is a major economic centre and is the world's billionaire capital, home to the largest number of
billionaires in the world; in 2007 Moscow was named the
world's most expensive city for the second year in a row. It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes the world’s busiest
metro system, which is famous for its architecture and artwork.
History
The city is named after the river (old, literally
the city by the Moskva River). The origin of the name is unknown, although several theories exist. One theory suggests that the source of the name is an ancient
Finnic language, in which it means “dark” and “turbid”. The first Russian reference to Moscow dates from 1147 when
Yuri Dolgoruki called upon the prince of the
Novgorod Republic to “come to me, brother, to Moscow.”
Nine years later, in 1156, Prince Yuri Dolgoruki of
Rostov ordered the construction of a wooden wall, which had to be rebuilt multiple times, to surround the emerging city. After the sacking of 1237–1238, when the
Mongols burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants, Moscow recovered and became the capital of an independent
principality in 1327. Its favourable position on the headwaters of the
Volga River contributed to steady expansion. Moscow developed into a stable and prosperous principality for many years and attracted a large number of refugees from across Russia.
Under
Ivan I the city replaced
Tver as a political centre of
Vladimir-Suzdal and became the sole collector of taxes for the
Mongol-Tatar rulers. By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the
Khan. Unlike other principalities, Moscow wasn't divided among his sons but was passed intact to his eldest. However, Moscow's opposition against foreign domination grew. In 1380, prince
Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the
Tatars in the
Battle of Kulikovo which wasn't decisive, though. Only two years later Moscow was sacked by khan
Tokhtamysh. In 1480,
Ivan III had
finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control, allowing Moscow to become the centre of power in Russia. Under Ivan III the city became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of present-day Russia and other lands.
In 1571, the
Crimean Tatars attacked and sacked Moscow, burning everything but the
Kremlin.
In 1609, the
Swedish army led by Count
Jacob De la Gardie and
Evert Horn started their march from
Velikiy Novgorod toward Moscow to help
Tsar Vasili Shuiski, entered Moscow in 1610 and suppressed the rebellion against the Tsar, but leaving it early next year 1611, following which the
Polish-
Lithuanian army invaded. The 17th 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
plague of 1654–1656 had killed half the population of Moscow. 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. When
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Muscovites
burned the city and evacuated, as Napoleon’s forces were approaching on
14 September. Napoleon’s army, plagued by hunger, cold and poor supply lines, was forced to retreat and was nearly annihilated by the devastating Russian winter and sporadic attacks by Russian military forces.
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
Russian Revolution of 1917, on
March 12,
1918, Moscow became the capital of the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the
Soviet Union less than five years later. During the
Great Patriotic War (a part of
World War II and the official Russian name for the conflict, after
German invasion of the USSR), the Soviet State Committee of Defence and the General Staff of the
Red Army was located in Moscow.
In 1941, sixteen divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), twenty-five battalions (18,500 people) and four engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. That November, German
Army Group Centre 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 defences, 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, 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 defence of Moscow and in 1947 another medal
In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow were instituted.
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the victory in
World War II, on
May 8,
1965, Moscow was one of twelve Soviet cities awarded the title of the
Hero City. In 1980, it hosted the
Summer Olympic Games, which was boycotted by the
United States and several other Western countries due to the Soviet Union's invasion of
Afghanistan in late 1979.
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. Besides the historical traits of Moscow, it has many different agricultural attributes. In 1998, it hosted the first
World Youth Games. Moscow is the seat of power for the Russian Federation. At the centre 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, is also the host of all the foreign
embassies and diplomats representing a multitude of nations in Russia. Moscow is designated as one of only two
Federal cities of Russia (the other one being
Saint Petersburg). Among the 85
Federal subjects of Russia, Moscow represents the most populated one and the smallest one in terms of area. Lastly, 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 (
Yuriy Luzhkov). It is divided into ten administrative okrugs and 123 districts. Nine of the ten administrative districts, except the City of Zelenograd (number 1 on the map), are located within City of Moscow main boundaries. 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 Centre, the
Botanical Garden, large parks, and industrial zones.
In recent years, some territories have been merged with different districts. There are no ethnic-specific regions in Moscow, as in the
Chinatowns that exist in some
North American and
East Asian cities. And although districts are not designated by income, as with most cities, those areas that are closer to the city centre,
metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious.
Government
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, is also the host of all the foreign
embassies and diplomats representing a multitude of nations in Russia. Moscow is designated as one of only two
Federal cities of Russia (the other one being
Saint Petersburg). Among the 85
federal subjects of Russia, Moscow represents the most populated one and the smallest one in terms of area. Lastly, 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 (
Yuriy Luzhkov). It is divided into ten administrative okrugs and 123 districts. Nine of the ten administrative districts, except the City of Zelenograd (number 1 on the map), are located within City of Moscow main boundaries.
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 Centre, the
Botanical Garden, large parks, and industrial zones. In recent years, some territories have been merged with different districts. There are no ethnic-specific regions in Moscow, as in the
Chinatowns that exist in some
North American and
East Asian cities. And although districts are not designated by income, as with most cities, those areas that are closer to the city centre,
metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious.
In addition to being the capital of Russia, Moscow is the administrative centre of
Moscow Oblast. Since Moscow has the status of a
federal city, it's administratively separate from the oblast.
Administrative divisions
Moscow is divided into ten administrative okrugs, one of which (
Zelenograd) is located entirely outside the
ring road. Administrative okrugs are in turn divided into 123
districts (
raions).
Geography and climate
Moscow has a hemiboreal climate (
Koppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, somewhat humid summers and long, cold winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of July and August are around 22
°C (72
°F); in the winter, temperatures normally drop to approximately -12
°C (10
°F). The highest temperature ever recorded was, and the lowest ever recorded was -42.2 °C in January 1940.
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.
Moskva River, which flows for just over 500 km through the
East European Plain in central Russia. There are
49 bridges across the 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.
The first and innermost major ring, Bulvarnoye Koltso (
Boulevard Ring), was built at the former location of the
sixteenth century city wall around that used to be called
Bely Gorod (White Town). 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,
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 neighbourhood 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 — and they're usually ill-maintained.
The Stalinist-era constructions, usually 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 in
Tsarist times.
Ostankino,
Kuskovo,
Uzkoye and other large estates just outside Moscow originally belong to nobles from the Tsarist era, and some, 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 colours 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 the wide-scale disruption of a historic area in the Moscow downtown involved in the project.
As in
London, but on a broader scale, plaques on house exteriors will 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.
Moscow's skyline is quickly modernizing with several new towers under construction. One tower will be the second tallest in the world when it's completed in 2010, the tall
Russia Tower.
Image:sk334.jpg|Presidium of Russian Academy of Sciences
Image:sk331.jpg|Moscow International House of Music and Swissotel Krasnye Holmy
Image:sk302.jpg|Paveletsky Tower Business center
Image:sk328.jpg|Triumphal Arch on Kutuzov Avenue, dedicated to victory over Napoleon's army
Image:sk280.jpg|Bogdan Khmelnitsky Bridge
Image:sk388.jpg|Riverside building
Image:sk337.jpg|Old Andreevsky Bridge
Image:sk345.jpg|Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Image:sk225.jpg|Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Borodinsky Bridge
Image:sk55.jpg|Moscow International Business Center, Tower 2000
Image:eur.jpg|Square of Europe
Image:wintermoscow.jpg|Winter Moscow at night
Image:rs1.jpg|Riverside Towers business center
Image:mon1.jpg|Moscow monorail
Image:Kotelincheskaya Naberezhnaja Moscow.hires.jpg|Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building
Image:vd1.jpg|"Fraternity of Peoples" fountain in All-Russia Exhibition Centre
Culture
Moscow’s world-famous museums and galleries with their
collections, are some of the largest and most important in the world. Frequent art exhibitions thrive on both the new and the classic, as they once did in pre-
Revolutionary times, and are derived from diverse branches of the arts -
painting,
photography, and
sculpture.
One of the most notable art museums in Moscow is the
Tretyakov Gallery, which was founded by
Pavel Tretyakov, a wealthy patron of the arts who donated a large private collection to the city. The Tretyakov Gallery is split into two buildings. The Old Tretyakov gallery, the original gallery in the
Tretyakovskaya area on the south bank of the
Moskva River, houses the works of the classic Russian tradition. The works of famous pre-
Revolutionary painters, such as
Ilya Repin, as well as the works of early Russian
icon painters can be found in the Old Tretyakov Gallery. Visitors can even see rare originals by early-
fifteenth century iconographer Andrei Rublev. founded in 1872 is the largest technical museum in Russia, offering a wide array of historical inventions and technological achievements, including humanoid automata of the 18th century and the first Soviet computers. Its collection contains more than 160,000 items. The Borodino Panorama museum located on Kutuzov Avenue provides an opportunity for visitors to experience being on a battlefield with a 360°
diorama. It is a part of the large historical memorial commemorating the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 over Napoleon’s army, that includes also the Triumphal arch erected in 1827. There is also a military history museum not to be missed, it includes statues, military hardware, along with powerful tales of that time.
Moscow is also the heart of Russian performing arts, including
ballet and film. There are ninety-three theatres, 132 cinemas and twenty-four concert-halls in Moscow. Among Moscow’s many theatres and ballet studios is the
Bolshoi Theatre and the Malyi Theatre as well as
Vakhtangov Theatre and
Moscow Art Theatre. The repertories in a typical Moscow season are exhaustive and modern interpretations of classic works, whether operatic or theatrical, are quite common. State Central Concert Hall Rossia, famous for ballet and estrade performances, is the place of frequent concerts of pop-stars such as
Alla Pugacheva and is situated in the soon to be demolished building of
Hotel Rossiya, the largest hotel in Europe.
Moscow International Performance Arts Centre, opened in 2003, also known as
Moscow International House of Music, is known for its performances in classical music. It also has the largest
organ in Russia installed in Svetlanov hall.
There are also two large
circuses in Moscow:
Moscow State Circus and
Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard named after
Yuri Nikulin.
Soviet films are integral to film history and the
Mosfilm studio was at the heart of many Soviet classic films as it's responsible for both artistic and mainstream productions. However, despite the continued presence and reputation of internationally-renowned Russian filmmakers, the once prolific native studios are much quieter. Rare and historical films may be seen in Salut cinema where films from the
Museum of Cinema collection are shown regularly.
Parks and landmarks
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There are 96 parks and 18 gardens in Moscow, Including 4 botanical gardens. There are also of green zones besides of forests. Moscow is a very green city if compared to other cities of comparable size in Western Europe and America. There are average 27 square meters (290
sq ft) of parks per person in Moscow compared with 6 for
Paris, 7.5 in
London and 8.6 in
New York.
The
Central Park of Culture and Rest named after
Maxim Gorky founded in 1928. The main part with area of 689,000 square metres (170
acres)
Izmaylovskiy Park created in 1931 is one of the largest urban parks in the world along with
Richmond Park in
London. Its area of is 6 times greater than that of
Central Park in
New York. It covers territory of bordering the
All-Russian Exhibition Centre and contains a live exhibition of more than 20 thousand of different species of plants from different parts of the world as well as scientific research laboratory. It also contains a rosarium with 20 thousand rose bushes, a dendrarium, and an oak forest with average age of trees exceeding 100 years as well as a greenhouse on more than 5000 square meters. which was built between the 14th and 17th centuries.
Kolomenskoye is another popular attraction with its UNESCO World Heritage Site, the
Church of the Ascension, which dates from 1532.
Other popular attractions include the
Moscow Zoo, home to nearly a thousands species and more than 6,500 specimens. Each year, the zoo attracts more than 1.2 million visitors. Moscow is home to sixty-three stadia (besides eight football and eleven light athletics maneges), of which
Luzhniki Stadium is the largest and the 4th biggest in Europe (it hosted the
UEFA Cup 1998-99 and
UEFA Champions League 2007-08 finals). Forty other sport complexes are located within the city, including twenty-four with artificial ice. There are also seven
horse racing tracks in Moscow, founded in 1834, is the largest.
Moscow was the host city of the
1980 Summer Olympics, although the
yachting events were held at
Tallinn, in present-day
Estonia. Large athletic facilities and the main international airport, Sheremetyevo Terminal 2, were built in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Moscow had also made a bid for the
2012 Summer Olympics. However, when final voting commenced on
6 July 2005, Moscow was the first city to be eliminated from further rounds. The Games were finally awarded to
London.
The two most titled multi-sport clubs in the world are Moscow's
CSKA Moscow and
Dynamo Moscow.
The most titled
Ice Hockey team in the
Soviet Union and in the world,
HC CSKA Moscow comes from Moscow. Another big
Ice Hockey clubs from Moscow are
HC Dynamo Moscow, which was the second most titled team in the
Soviet Union,
Krylya Sovetov Moscow, and
HC Spartak Moscow.
The most titled
Soviet,
Russian, and one of the most titled
Euroleague clubs, is the
Basketball club from Moscow
PBC CSKA Moscow. Another strong
Basketball club from Moskow is
MBC Dynamo Moscow.
Moscow had more winners at the
USSR and
Russian Chess Championship then any other city. Some of them were the best players in the world.
The most titled
Volleyball team in the
Soviet Union and in
Europe (
CEV Champions League) is
CSKA Moscow.
Two of the best teams in the world in
Water Polo are
CSKA Moscow and
Dynamo Moscow.
In
Bandy on of the most successful clubs in the world is
Dynamo Moscow.
One of the best
Futsal clubs in
Europe, is the club
MFK Dinamo Moskva.
In
Football FC Spartak Moscow is the club that won most championship titles in the
Russian Premier League than any other team, and were second only to
Dynamo Kyiv in the
Soviet Union.
PFC CSKA Moscow is the first
Russian football team who won an
UEFA title.
Because of Moscow's cold local climate,
winter sports have a large following as well. Many of Moscow's large parks offer marked trails for skiers and frozen ponds for skaters.
Moscow also hosts the annual
Kremlin Cup, a popular
tennis tournament on both the
WTA and
ATP tours. It is regarded as a very prestigious tournament and is one of the ten Tier-I events on the women's tour and a host of Russian players feature every year.
Slava Moscow are a professional
rugby union club, competing in the national
Professional Rugby League. Moscow recently became home to the offices of the
Rugby Union of Russia, formerly located in
Krasnoyarsk,
Siberia.
Night life
There is a vibrant night life in Moscow. The major and one of the most popular nightlife areas is around
Tverskaya Street. The southern part of Tverskaya Street near the
Manege Square and the
Red Square area is known as an area with many expensive, luxurious bars and restaurants, and is considered being a playground for
New Russians and celebrities. Tverskaya Street is also one of the busiest shopping streets in Moscow.
The adjoining
Tretyakovsky Proyezd, also south of Tverskaya Street, in
Kitai-gorod, is host to upscale boutique stores such as
Bulgari,
Tiffany & Co.,
Armani,
Prada and
Bentley.
Education and science
There are 1696 high schools in Moscow, as well as 91 colleges. The university main building located in Vorobyovy Gory (
Sparrow Hills) is tall and when completed, was the tallest building outside the United States. The university has over 30,000
undergraduate and 7,000
postgraduate students, who have a choice of twenty-nine faculties and 450 departments for study. Additionally, approximately 10,000 high school students take courses at the university, while over two thousand researchers work. The Moscow State University library contains over nine million books, making it one of the largest libraries in all of Russia. Its acclaim throughout the international academic community has meant that over 11,000 international students have graduated from the university, with many coming to Moscow to learn the
Russian language.
Bauman Moscow State Technical University, founded in 1830, is located in the centre of Moscow and provides more than 18,000 undergraduate and 1,000 postgraduate students with an education in science and engineering offering a wide range of technical degrees. Since it opened enrolment to students from outside Russia in 1991, Bauman Moscow State Technical University has increased its international enrolment to up to two hundred.
The
Moscow Conservatory, founded in 1866 is a prominent music school in Russia, whose graduates included
Sergey Rachmaninoff,
Alexander Scriabin,
Aram Khachaturian,
Mstislav Rostropovich, and
Alfred Schnittke.
The
Gerasimov All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography, abbreviated as VGIK, is the world's oldest educational institution in
Cinematography, founded by
Vladimir Gardin in 1919.
Sergei Eisenstein,
Vsevolod Pudovkin, and
Aleksey Batalov were among its most distinguished professors and
Mikhail Vartanov,
Sergei Parajanov,
Andrey Tarkovsky,
Nikita Mikhalkov,
Eldar Ryazanov,
Aleksandr Sokurov,
Yuriy Norshteyn,
Aleksandr Petrov,
Vasily Shukshin,
Konrad Wolf among graduates.
Moscow State Institute of International Relations, founded in 1944, remains Russia's best known school of international relations and diplomacy, with six different schools focused on international relations. Approximately 4,500 students make up the university's student body and over 700,000 Russian and foreign-language books — of which 20,000 are considered rare — can be found in the library of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Among other prominent institutions are the
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, also known as
Phystech,
Moscow Aviation Institute and the
Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has taught numerous
Noble Prize winners, including
Pyotr Kapitsa,
Nikolay Semyonov,
Lev Landau and
Alexandr Prokhorov, while the
Moscow Engineering Physics Institute is known for its research in
nuclear physics. Other institutions, such as the Financial Academy, the State University of Management, the
Plekhanov Academy of Economics and the Higher School of Economics offer degrees in management and economic theory. Several Moscow institutions have divisions in other regions and countries around the world.
Although Moscow has a number of famous Soviet-era higher educational institutions, most of which are more oriented towards
engineering or the fundamental science, in recent years Moscow has seen a significant growth in the number of commercial and private institutions that offer classes in
business and
management. Many state institutions have expanded their education scope and increased their student enrolments. Institutions in Moscow, as well as the rest of post-Soviet Russia, have begun to offer new international certificates and
postgraduate degrees, including the
Master of Business Administration.
Student exchange programs with different (especially,
European) countries also have become widespread in Moscow's universities, while many schools within the Russian capital will also offer seminars, lectures, and courses for corporate employees and businessmen.
Moscow is known as one of the most important science centres in Russia. The headquarters of the
Russian Academy of Sciences are located in Moscow as well as numerous research and applied science institutions.
The
Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading research and development institution in the field of nuclear energy, where the first
nuclear reactor in Europe was built,
Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics,
Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics,
Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems and
Steklov Institute of Mathematics are all situated in Moscow.
There are 452 libraries in the city, including 168 for children. founded in 1862 is the national library of Russia. The Russian State Library is home to over 275 kilometres of shelves and forty-two million items, including over seventeen million books and serial volumes, thirteen million journals, 350,000 music scores and sound records, and 150,000 maps, making it the largest library in Russia and one of the largest in the world. Items in 247 different languages comprise approximately twenty-nine percent of the collection.
The State Public Historical Library, founded in 1863, is the largest library, specialising in
Russian history. Its collection contains four million items in 112 languages (including 47 languages of the former USSR), mostly on Russian and world history,
heraldry,
numismatics, and the
history of science.
Transport
There are five primary commercial airports serving Moscow:
Sheremetyevo International Airport,
Domodedovo International Airport,
Bykovo Airport,
Ostafievo International Airport and
Vnukovo International Airport. Sheremetyevo International Airport is the most common entry point for foreign passengers, handling sixty percent of all international flights.
Domodedovo International Airport is the leading airport in Russia in terms of passenger throughput, and is the primary gateway to long-haul domestic and CIS destinations and its international traffic rivals Sheremetyevo's. The three other airports particularly offer flights within Russia and to and from states from the former
Soviet Union. Moscow's airports vary in distances from
MKAD beltway: Bykovo is the farthest, at 35 kilometres (21 mi); Domodedovo is next at 22 kilometres (13.7 mi); Vnukovo is 11 kilometres (6.8 mi); Sheremetyevo is 10 kilometres (6.25 mi); and Ostafievo, the nearest, is about from MKAD.
Likewise, Moscow employs several train stations to serve the city. All of Moscow's nine rail terminals (or
vokzals) –
Belorussky Rail Terminal,
Kazanskiy Rail Terminal,
Kiyevsky Rail Terminal,
Leningradsky Rail Terminal,
Paveletsky Rail Terminal,
Rizhsky Rail Terminal,
Savyolovsky Rail Terminal, and
Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal - are located close to the city centre, but they each handle trains from different parts of Europe and Asia. There are also many smaller railway stations in Moscow. As trains are relatively cheap, they're the mode of preference for travelling Russians, especially when departing to
Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. Moscow is also the western terminus of the
Trans-Siberian Railway, which traverses nearly of Russian territory to
Vladivostok on the
Pacific coast.
Moscow also has two passenger terminals, (
South River Terminal and
North River Terminal or Rechnoy vokzal), on the river and regular ship routes and cruises along
Moskva and
Oka rivers, which are used mostly for entertainment. North river terminal, built in 1937, is also the main hub for long-range river routes. There are also three freight ports serving Moscow. Besides this Moscow has a bus terminal for long-range and intercity passenger buses (
Central Bus Terminal) with daily turnover of about 25 thousand passengers serving about 40% of long-range bus routes in Moscow.
Local transport includes the
Moscow Metro, a
metro system famous for its art,
murals,
mosaics, and ornate
chandeliers. When it first opened in 1935, the system had just one line. But today, the Moscow Metro contains twelve lines, mostly underground with a total of 176 stations. The Metro is one of the deepest subway systems in the world; for instance the
Park Pobedy station, completed in 2003, at 84 metres underground, has the longest
escalators in Europe. The Moscow Metro is
one of world's busiest metro systems, serving more than seven million passengers daily. There is also a
monorail line, operated by the same company. Facing serious transportation problems, Moscow has wide plans of expansion of Moscow Metro.
As Metro stations outside the city centre are far apart in comparison to other cities, up to four kilometres (2.5 mi), an extensive bus network radiates from each station to the surrounding residential zones. Suburbs and satellite cities also connected by commuter
elektrichka (electric rail network). Every large street in the city is served by at least one bus route. There are also extensive
tram and
trolleybus networks.
There's a saving-time search engine for tracing all kinds of Moscow's city transport routes at
Moscow Routes
website.
There are over 2.6 million cars in the city on a daily basis.
A significant portion of Russia's profits and development is concentrated in Moscow as many multi-national corporations have branches and offices in the city. The plush offices and the lifestyles of the typical corporate employee in Moscow are often indistinguishable from any
Western European city, although the average salary for the Muscovite is a bit lower. Since the
Russian financial crisis in late 1998, various business sectors in Moscow have shown exponential rates of growth. Many new business centres and office buildings have been built in recent years, but Moscow still experiences shortages in office space. As a result, many former industrial and research facilities are being reconstructed to become suitable for office use.
However, while the overall stability has improved in the recent years, crime and corruption continue to remain a problem hindering business development.
The Cherkizovskiy marketplace, controlled by the
Azeri diaspora is the largest marketplace in Europe with daily turnover of about thirty million dollars and about ten thousand sellers from different countries (including the
China,
Turkey,
Azerbaijan and
India). It is administratively divided into twelve parts and covers a wide sector of the city.
Moscow is one of the top cities in the world for
billionaires; in 2006,
Forbes ranked Moscow second in highest number of billionaires, surpassed only by
New York City. In 2004, Russia's thirty-six billionaires (of whom only three didn't live in Moscow) held the equivalent of twenty-four percent of Russia's
gross domestic product. The
nouveau riche, also called the "New Russians", often pejoratively, have a reputation for flaunting their wealth; the avenues for doing so, and subtly, have also increased in recent times — a sense of fashion and self-consciousness has instilled itself through the many
haute couture and
haute cuisine spots in Moscow.
Industry
Primary
industries in Moscow include the
chemical,
metallurgy,
food,
textile,
furniture,
energy production,
software development and
machinery industries.
The
Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant is one of the leading producers of military and civil helicopters in the world.
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center produces various space equipment, including modules for space stations
Mir,
Salyut and the
ISS as well as
Proton launch vehicles and military
ICBMs. Automobile plants
ZiL and
AZLK, as well as the Voitovich Rail Vehicle plant, are situated in Moscow and
Metrowagonmash metro wagon plant is located just outside the city limits. The
Poljot Moscow watch factory produces reliable military, professional and sport watches well known in Russia and abroad.
Yuri Gagarin in his trip into space used "Shturmanskie", produced by this factory. The Electrozavod factory was the first transformer factory in Russia. The Kristall distillery is the oldest distillery in Russia producing various
vodka types, including "
Stolichnaya" while a wide assortment of wines are produced at several Moscow wine plants, including Moscow Interrepublican Vinery. The Moscow Jewelry Factory and the Jewellerprom are important producers of jewelry in Russia; Jewellerprom used to produce the famous and exclusive
Order of Victory, awarded to those aiding the Soviet Union's
Red Army during
World War II. There are also many other industries located just outside the city of Moscow, as well as many microelectronic industries in
Zelenograd.
Moscow also hosts headquarters of various software development companies, including such as worldwide-known producer of anti-virus software
Kaspersky Lab, business software and games producer
1C Company, developer of text recognition and translation software
ABBYY software house, game developer
Akella company and many others.
Despite the economic growth experienced in Moscow since the dawn of the
twenty-first century, many industries have undergone various crises in recent years. Some of them have been sold to foreign
investors, such as
OTIS and
British American Tobacco, and others have been closed down to make room for new buildings constructed as business centres. Additionally, some industry is now being transferred out of Moscow to improve the ecological state of the city. Nevertheless, the city of Moscow remains one of Russia's major industrial centres.
Living costs
During
Soviet times apartments were lent to people by the government according to the square meters-per-person norm (some groups, including people's artists, heroes and prominent scientists had bonuses according to their honours).
Private ownership of apartments was limited until the 1990s, when people were permitted to secure property rights to the places they inhabited. Since the Soviet era, estate owners have had to pay the service charge for their residences, a fixed amount based on persons per living area. Due to the current economic situation, the price of
real estate in Moscow continues to rise. Today, one could expect to pay US$4000 in average per square meter (11 sq ft) in the outskirts of the city or US$6000-$7000 per square meter in a prestigious district. The price sometimes may exceed US$40000 per square meter in a flat. It costs about US$2500 per month to rent a 1-bedroom apartment and about US$1500 per month for a studio in the center of Moscow.
A typical one-bedroom apartment is about thirty square meters (323 sq ft), a typical two-bedroom apartment is forty-five square meters (485 sq ft), and a typical three-bedroom apartment is seventy square meters (753 sq ft). Many can't move out of their apartments, especially if a family lives in a two-room apartment originally granted by the state during the Soviet era. Some city residents have attempted to cope with the cost of living by renting their apartments while staying in
dachas (country house) outside the city.
In 2007, Moscow ranked top on the
List of most expensive cities for second year in a row.
As of 2006, there are 8.47 million Muscovites able to work. 1.73 million are employed by the state, 4.42 million are employed by private companies, and 1.99 million are employed by small businesses. There are 74,400 officially registered unemployed working age, of which 34,400 are eligible for unemployment benefits. Also to be included in the project are a
waterpark and other recreational facilities; trade and entertainment complexes, numerous prestigious office and residential buildings, the transport node and the
new site of the Moscow government. The construction of four new metro stations in the territory has already been completed, of which two have already opened and two others are reserved for future metro lines crossing MIBC, some additional stations were planned. A rail shuttle service, directly connecting MIBC with
Sheremetyevo Airport is also planned.
A Fourth Ring freeway (in addition to
Moscow Automobile Ring Road,
Garden Ring and the
Third Ring) has been designed and is being built around Moscow. It is to be completed by 2012 and will have total length of .
Demographics
Population: According to the
2002 Census the population of the city was 10,382,754, however, this figure only takes into account legal residents, and not the several million estimated illegal
immigrants and guest workers living in the city.
For centuries Moscow has been the largest city in Russia and/or the
Soviet Union, however the collapse of the latter has led to a decline in
Siberian as well as many other Russian cities, so that Moscow's growth and dominance over
Saint Petersburg and the rest of the nation has become even more pronounced.
Due to a low
birth rate and high mortality rate, the population of Russia has been declining by about 700,000 persons per year since the fall of the
Soviet Union. In 2003 the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by approximately 49,400. Whilst the birth rate has risen in more recent years, the average age of Moscow's population continues to increase. In 2004 there were more than twice as many people over the age of 55 as there were under the age of 14.
Substantial numbers of internal migrants mean that Moscow's population is still 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 ninety days without registration.
Ethnic groups: The
2002 Census reported the national composition as:
Russian 84.83%
Ukrainian 2.44%
Tatar 1.60%
Armenian 1.2%
Azeri 0.92%
Jews 0.67%
Belarusian 0.57%
Georgian 0.52%
Moldovan 0.35%
Tajik 0.34%
Uzbek 0.23%
Mordvin 0.22%
Chuvash 0.16%
Vietnamese 0.15%
Chechen 0.14%
Chinese 0.12%
Ossetian 0.10%
Korean 0.08%
Kazakh 0.08%
Pushtu 0.06%
Bashkir 0.06%
German 0.05%
Avar 0.05%
Polish 0.04%
and many other groups of less than five thousand persons each.
Just over 4% of the inhabitants declined to state their ethnicity on the census questionnaire.
Media
Moscow is the headquarters of nearly all Russian nationwide television networks, radio stations, newspapers and magazines.
English-language media include The Moscow Times and Moscow News which are, respectively, the largest and oldest English-language weekly newspapers in all of Russia. The eXile is a newspaper intended for English-speaking expatriates in Moscow and is known for its satirical nature and pranks on Russian politicians. Expert, Kommersant, and Gazeta are Russian-language media headquartered in Moscow. Expert and Kommersant are among the country's leading and oldest Russian-language business newspapers.
Other notable media of Moscow include the Echo of Moscow, the first Soviet and Russian private news radio and information agency, and NTV, one of the first privately owned Russian television stations.
Sister cities
Moscow has many sister cities:
Nicosia, Cyprus.
Belgrade, Serbia.
Tel Aviv, Israel.
Bangkok, Thailand.
Warsaw, Poland.
Krakow, Poland.
Athens, Greece.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Yerevan, Armenia.
Astana, Kazakhstan.
Berlin, Germany.
Prague, Czech Republic.
Chicago, Illinois.
Seoul, South Korea.
Tokyo, Japan.
Beijing, China.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Podgorica, Montenegro.
Cusco, Peru.
Paris, France.
Valenciennes, France.
Ankara, Turkey.
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Algiers, Algeria.
London, England.
Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Cairo, Egypt.
Vienna, Austria.
Havana, Cuba.
Riga, Latvia.
Madrid, Spain.
Manila, Philippines.
Tirana, Albania.
Beirut, Lebanon.
Düsseldorf, Germany.
Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Rejkjavik, Iceland.
Bibliography
Caroline Brooke. Moscow: A Cultural History. 2006 (Oxford University Press)
Karel Neubert. "Portrait of Moscow". 1964
Albert J. Schmidt. "The Architecture and Planning of Classical Moscow: A Cultural History". 1989
Kathleen Berton. "Moscow: An Architectural History". St. Martin's, 1991
Marcel Girard. "Splendours of Moscow and Its Surroundings", trans. from French. 1967
John Bushnell. "Moscow Graffiti: Language and Subculture". Unwin Hyman, 1990
S.S. Hromov et al. (eds.). "History of Moscow: An Outline", trans. from Russian. 1981
Galina Dutkina. "Moscow Days: Life and Hard Times in the New Russia". Trans. Catherine Fitzpatrick. Kodansha America, 1995Further Information
Get more info on 'Moscow'.
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