モスクワ

都市の名前はモスクワ川の名前に由来すると考えられています。^{[23] [24]}川の名前の由来についていくつかの理論が提案されている。Finno-Ugric MeryaとMuromaもともと川おそらくと呼ばれる領域、人が住んでいくつかの事前スラヴ部族の中にあった人、Mustajoki：英語で、黒川を。都市の名前はこの用語に由来することが示唆されています。^{[25] [26]}

ほとんどの言語的によく接地と広く受け入れられているが、*プロトバルト-スラブルートからであるmŭzg - / muzgから-プロトインド・ヨーロッパ* MEU - 「ウェット」、^{[24] [27] [28]}名前そうモスクワは、湿地や沼地の川を意味する場合があります。^[23]その同族語は含まロシア：музга、muzga "プール、水たまり"、リトアニア：mazgotiとラトビア：mazgāt、 "洗う"サンスクリット語を：májjati、 "溺れする"ラテン語を：mergō "ディップに、浸し"。^{[23] [27]}多くのスラブ諸国では、モスコフはブルガリア、ロシア、ウクライナ、北マケドニアで最も一般的な名前です。^[29]ポーランドには、モズガバのような同様の地名があります。^{[23] [24] [27]}

元の古いロシア名の形式は、*として再構築されるМоскы *、Mosky、^{[23] [24]}したがって、それはいくつかのスラブの一つであった3/4 -stem名詞。その曲用の他の名詞と同様に、それは言語の発達の初期段階で形態学的変化を遂げていました。その結果、12世紀に最初に書かれた言及はМосковь、Moskovĭ（対格）、Москви、Moskvi（処格）、Москвe/Москвѣ、Moskve /Moskvě（属格の場合）。^{[23] [24]}後者の形式から、現代​​ロシア語の名前Москва、Moskvaが生まれました。これは、多数のスラブ語のā -stem名詞による形態学的一般化の結果です。

しかし、フォームMoskovĭは：英語など他の多くの言語、でいくつかの痕跡を残しているモスクワ、ドイツ語：Moskau、フランス語：Moscou、グルジア：მოსკოვი、ラトビア：Maskava、オスマントルコ語：Moskov、バシキール：Мәскәү、タタール語：Mäskäw、カザフ：Мәскеу、Mäskew、Chuvash：Мускав、Muskavなど。同様の方法で、ラテン語の名前Moscoviaが形成され、後に16〜17世紀に西ヨーロッパで使用されたロシアの通称になりました。そこからも英語のマスコビーとムスコバイトが出てきました。^[30]

科学的根拠がほとんどまたはまったくない他のさまざまな理論（ケルト語、イラン語、コーカサス語起源）は、現在、現代の言語学者によってほとんど拒否されています。^{[23] [24]}

他の名前

モスクワの数取得してい悪口：ほとんどの国の中にその大きさと抜群のステータスを参照すると、第三のローマ（ТретийРим）、ホワイトストーンワン（Белокаменная）、まず玉座（Первопрестольная）、四十Soroks（СорокСороковを）（ 「sorok」は、古ロシア語で「40、非常に多く」と「地区または教区」の両方を意味します）。モスクワは、12の英雄都市の1つでもあります。住民の呼称モスクワ居住者のためには、「あるмосквич」（moskvich男性または「のための）москвич ка」（moskvichkaとして英語でレンダリング女性用）、白雲母。「モスクワ」という名前は「MSK」（ロシア語でМСК）と略されます。^[要出典]

先史時代

考古学的な発掘調査は、今日のモスクワとその周辺地域の遺跡が太古の昔から人が住んでいたことを示しています。最古の発見の中で専門家がに割り当てるLyalovo文化の遺物、ある新石器時代の期間の最後の段階石器時代は。^[31]

彼らは、この地域の最初の住民が狩猟採集民であったことを確認しています。950年頃、2つのスラヴ部族、ヴャチチ族とKrivichiは、ここに定住しました。おそらく、ヴャチチ族はモスクワの先住民の中核を形成しました。^[32]

初期の歴史（1147–1283）

キエフ大公国の北東周辺にある公国であるウラジミール・スズダルは、 モスクワ大公国に成長しました。

モスクワへの最初の既知の言及は、ユーリー・ドルゴルキーとスビアトスラフ・オルゴビッチの出会いの場として1147年にさかのぼります。当時、それはウラジーミル・スズダル公国の西の国境にある小さな町でした。年代記には、「私の兄弟、モスコフに来なさい」と書かれています（Придикомне、брате、воМосков）^[33]

1156年、クニャージユーリードルゴルキーは、木材の柵と堀で町を強化しました。過程でルーシのモンゴルの侵略、下のモンゴルバトゥは地面に都市を焼かれ、その住民を殺しました。^[要出典]

「モスクワ川沿いの」木造要塞naMoskvěは、1260年代に、アレクサンドルネフスキーの末息子であるダニエルに受け継がれ、当時、父親の所有物の中で最も価値が低いと考えられていました。ダニエルは当時まだ子供であり、大きな砦はダニエルの父方の叔父であるトヴェリのヤロスラフによって任命されたティウン（代理）によって統治されていました。^[要出典]

ダニエルは1270年代に成熟し、ノヴゴロドの支配を求めて弟のドミトリーと一緒にサイディングを行い、公国の権力闘争に巻き込まれ、長続きする成功を収めました。1283年から彼はウラジミールの大公になったドミトリーと一緒に独立した公国の支配者として行動しました。ダニエルは、主のエピファニーと聖ダニエルに捧げられた最初のモスクワ修道院を設立したと信じられています。^[34]

大公国（1283–1547）

16世紀後半のモスクワクレムリン	モスクワの包囲	赤の広場

ダニエルは1303年までモスクワを大公として統治し、1320年代までにウラジミールの親公国を凌駕する繁栄した都市としてモスクワを確立しました。

モスクワ川の右岸、クレムリンから5マイル（8.0 km）の距離で、遅くとも1282年に、ダニエルは聖ダニエルスタイライトの木造教会で最初の修道院を設立しました。現在はダニーロフです。修道院。ダニエルは1303年に42歳で亡くなりました。彼の死の前に、彼は僧侶になり、彼の意志に従って、聖ダニエル修道院の墓地に埋葬されました。

モスクワは長年にわたって非常に安定して繁栄しており、ロシア全土から多くの難民を引き付けました。Rurikidsを実施することにより、大土地所有を維持し長子相続をすべての土地は長男に渡されたことにより、よりもむしろすべての人の息子の中にそれを分割します。1304年までに、ユーリー3世は、ウラジミール公国の王位をめぐって、トヴェリのミハイルと争いました。イヴァン1世は最終的にトヴェリを破り、モンゴルの支配者の唯一の徴税人となり、モスクワをウラジーミル・スズダルの首都にしました。高い賛辞を払うことによって、イワンはカーンから重要な譲歩を勝ち取りました。

スパスキー大聖堂（モスクワで最も古い現存する建物）、建てられたc。1357

黄金の大群のカーンは当初モスクワの影響力を制限しようとしましたが、リトアニア大公国の成長がロシア全土を脅かし始めたとき、カーンはモスクワを強化してリトアニアを相殺し、ロシアで最も強力な都市の1つになることを可能にしました。1380年、モスクワのドミトリー・ドンスコイ王子は、クリコヴォの戦いで、統一されたロシア軍をモンゴルに対する重要な勝利に導きました。その後、モスクワはモンゴルの支配からロシアを解放する上で主導的な役割を果たしました。1480年、イヴァン3世はついにロシア人をタタール人の支配から解放し、モスクワは最終的にロシアとシベリアのすべて、および他の多くの土地の一部を包含する帝国の首都になりました。

Spasskayaタワー1491年に建てられ、

1462年にイヴァン3世（1440〜 1505年）がモスクワ大公国（当時は中世のマスコビー州の一部）になりました。彼はタタール人との戦いを始め、マスコビーの領土を拡大し、彼の首都を豊かにしました。1500年までに人口は10万人になり、世界最大の都市の1つになりました。彼は、敵対的なリトアニア人と同盟を結んでいた北のノヴゴロドのはるかに大きな公国を征服しました。したがって、彼は領土を430,000から2,800,000平方キロメートル（170,000から1,080,000平方マイル）に7倍に拡大しました。彼は古代の「ノヴゴロドクロニクル」を支配し、それを彼の政権の宣伝手段にしました。^{[35] [36]}

オリジナルのモスクワクレムリンは14世紀に建てられました。1480年代に、新しいクレムリンの壁とその塔を設計したペトルスアントニウスソラリウスや、王子のために新しい宮殿を設計したマルコルッフォなど、ルネサンス期のイタリアの建築家を招待したイワンによって再建されました。現在表示されているクレムリンの壁は、1495年に完成したソラリウスによって設計されたものです。クレムリンの大鐘楼は1505年から2008年に建設され、1600年に現在の高さに増築されました。

貿易集落、またはポサードは、クレムリンの東、ザリャージエ（Зарядье）として知られる地域で育ちました。イヴァン3世の時代、元々は中空フィールド（Полоеполе）と名付けられた赤の広場が出現しました。

1508年から1516年に、イタリアの建築家Aleviz Fryazin（Novy）は、東の壁の前に堀の建設を手配しました。堀は、モスクワとネグリンナヤを接続し、ネグリンナヤからの水で満たされます。この堀は、アレビゾフ堀として知られ、長さ541メートル（1,775フィート）、幅36メートル（118フィート）、深さ9.5〜13メートル（31〜43フィート）で、石灰岩で裏打ちされていました。 1533年、両側が低く、厚さ4メートル（13フィート）の歯車付きレンガの壁で囲われています。

ツァーリ国（1547–1721）

1561年に建てられた 聖ワシリイ大聖堂

16世紀と17世紀に、キタイゴロド（Китай-город）、ホワイトシティ（Белыйгород）、アースンシティ（Землянойгород）の3つの円形の防御が構築されました。しかし、1547年に2回の火災で町の大部分が破壊され、1571年にクリミアタタール人 がモスクワを占領し、クレムリン以外のすべてを燃やしました。^[37]年代記は、20万人の住民のうち3万人だけが生き残ったと記録している。

17世紀のモスクワの眺め（1922年にアポリナリーヴァスネツォフが描いたもの ）

クリミアタタール人は、 1591年に再び攻撃が、今回は名前の職人によって1584年と1591年の間で構築された新しい防衛壁、バック開催されたフョードル崑。1592年に、モスクワ川の右岸の地域を含む、50の塔を持つ外地球の城壁が街の周りに建てられました。最も外側の防衛線として、城壁を越えて南と東に一連の強力な要塞修道院が設立されました。主にノヴォデヴィチ修道院とドンスコイ、ダニロフ、シモノフ、ノボスパッスキー、アンドロニコフ修道院があり、そのほとんどに博物館があります。その城壁から、街は詩的に「白壁」のビエロカメンナヤとして知られるようになりました。1592年に建てられた城壁によって示される都市の境界は、現在、ガーデンリングによって示されています。

クレムリンの壁の東側には3つの四角い門があり、17世紀には、コンスタンティーノ-エレニンスキー、スパスキー、ニコルスキー（コンスタンティンとヘレン、救世主と聖ニコラスのアイコンにちなんで名付けられました）として知られていました。それら）。最後の2つは赤の広場の真向かいにあり、コンスタンティーノ-エレネンスキー門は聖ワシリイ大聖堂の後ろにありました。

ポーランドのシギスムンド3世にちなんで名付けられたモスクワの「シギスムンド」計画（1610） は、1612年にポーランド軍を撤退させ、その後道路網を変更することによって都市が破壊される前にまとめられた最後の都市計画 です。向き：北が右、西が上

1601〜03年のロシアの飢饉により、モスクワでおそらく10万人が死亡した。1610年から1612年にかけて、ポーランド・リトアニア連邦の軍隊がモスクワを占領しました。その支配者であるジグムント3世がロシアの王位を奪おうとしたためです。1612年、ニジニ・ノヴゴロドと他のロシアの都市の人々は、ドミトリー・ポジャースキー王子とクズマ・ミーニンによって指揮され、ポーランドの居住者に立ち向かい、クレムリンを包囲し、彼らを追放しました。1613年、ゼムスキーソボーはマイケルロマノフ皇帝を選出し、ロマノフ王朝を樹立しました。17世紀は、ポーランド・リトアニアの侵略者からのモスクワの解放（1612）、塩一揆（1648）、銅一揆（1662）、1682年のモスクワ蜂起などの人気の上昇に富んでいました。

17世紀の前半、モスクワの人口は約10万人から20万人に倍増しました。それは17世紀後半に城壁を超えて拡大しました。17世紀半ばには、モスクワ郊外の住民の20％がリトアニア大公国出身であり、事実上すべてが白雲母の侵略者によって故郷からモスクワに追いやられていたと推定されています。^[38] 1682年までに、ロシア・ポーランド戦争（1654–1667）の過程で故郷から誘拐されたウクライナ人とベラルーシ人によって、城壁の北に692世帯が設立された。街のこれらの新しい郊外は、ルーシのメシャン「町の人々」にちなんで、メシャンスキー・スロボダとして知られるようになりました。メッシュチャン（мещане）という用語は、18世紀のロシアで蔑称的な意味合いを獲得し、今日では「小ブルジョア」または「偏狭なペリシテ人」を意味します。^[39]

街の城壁の外で育ったスロボダを含む17世紀後半の街全体は、今日のモスクワの中央行政区に含まれています。

数多くの災害が街を襲った。ペストの流行は1570年から1571年、1592年と1654年から1656年にモスクワを襲いました。^[40]ペストは、1654年から55年にかけて80％以上の人々を殺害した。1626年と1648年に火事で木造都市の大部分が焼失した。^[41] 1712年、ピョートル大帝は政府をバルト海沿岸に新しく建設されたサンクトペテルブルクに移した。モスクワは、最高枢密院の影響下で1728年から1732年までの短い期間を除いて、ロシアの首都ではなくなりました。

帝国（1721–1917）

パノラマからモスクワの眺め Spasskayaタワー1819-1823で

19世紀のモスクワのリバーフロント

モスクワの人口は、帝国の首都としての地位を失った後、最初は17世紀の20万人から1750年には13万人に減少しました。しかし、1750年以降、人口はロシア帝国の残りの期間にわたって10倍以上に増加し、 1915年までに180万人。1770年から1772年のロシアの疫病により、モスクワで最大10万人が死亡した。^[42]

で書店 Novospassky橋によって17世紀に、 アポリナリー・ヴァスネツォフ

1700年までに、石畳の道路の建設が始まりました。1730年11月に恒久的な街路灯が導入され、1867年までに多くの街路にガス灯が設置されました。1883年、プレチスティンスキー門の近くにアークランプが設置されました。1741年、モスクワは長さ25マイル（40 km）のバリケード、Kamer-Kollezhskiyバリアに囲まれ、16のゲートで通関手数料が徴収されました。その線は今日、val（「城壁」）と呼ばれる多くの通りによって追跡されています。1781年から1804年の間に、Mytischinskiy水道管（ロシアで最初）が建設されました。1813年、フランスの占領中に都市の大部分が破壊された後、モスクワ市建設委員会が設立されました。それは、市内中心部の部分的な再計画を含む、再建の素晴らしいプログラムを開始しました。この時期に建設または再建された多くの建物の中には、グランドクレムリン宮殿とクレムリン兵器庫、モスクワ大学、モスクワマネシュ（乗馬学校）、ボリショイ劇場がありました。1903年にモスクヴォレツカヤの給水が完了しました。

19世紀初頭、コンスタンティーノ-エレネンスキー門のアーチはレンガで舗装されていましたが、スパスキー門はクレムリンの正門であり、王室の入り口として使用されていました。この門からは、木造の橋と（17世紀の改良に続いて）石の橋が堀を横切って伸びていました。この橋で本が売られ、近くに銃用の石のプラットフォーム「ラスカット」が建てられました。ツァーリキャノンはのプラットフォーム上に位置していたLobnoyeのメスト。

モスクワとサンクトペテルブルクを結ぶ道路（現在はM10高速道路）は1746年に完成し、モスクワの終点は16世紀から存在していた古いトヴェリ道路に続いています。1780年代に舗装された後、PeterburskoyeSchosseとして知られるようになりました。ペトロフスキー宮殿は、1776年から1780年にマトヴェイカザコフによって建てられました。

ナポレオンは、フランスのロシア侵攻が失敗した後、 モスクワの火事の間に都市から撤退しました

1812年にナポレオン がロシアに侵攻したとき、モスコビ人は避難しました。モスクワの火災は主にロシアの妨害行為の影響であったと思われます。ナポレオンのグランデアルメは撤退を余儀なくされ、壊滅的なロシアの冬とロシア軍による散発的な攻撃によってほぼ全滅しました。この間に40万人ものナポレオンの兵士が亡くなりました。^[43]

フョードル・アレクセイエフによるアレクサンダル1世の戴冠式中の 大聖堂広場、1802年

モスクワ州立大学は1755年に設立されました。その本館は、1812年のドメニコギリアルディによる火災後に再建されました。Moskovskiye Vedomostiの新聞は、もともと週間間隔で、1756年から登場し、毎日の新聞として1859年から。

アルバート通りは、少なくとも15世紀から存在していたが、それは18世紀に権威のあるエリアに開発されました。1812年の火事で破壊され、19世紀初頭に完全に再建されました。

1830年代に、アレクサンドルバシロフ将軍は、ペトロフスキー宮殿の北にある街路の最初の規則的なグリッドを計画しました。高速道路の南にあるホディンスコエ・フィールドは軍事訓練に使用されました。スモレンスキー鉄道駅（現在のベラルースキー鉄道ターミナルの前身）は1870年に開業しました。18世紀にモスクワ郊外の皇帝の鷹匠の家であったソコルニキ公園は、19世紀後半に拡大する都市と隣接し、 1878年に公立の市立公園。郊外のサビョロフスキー鉄道ターミナルは1902年に建設されました。1905年1月、市知事または市長の機関がモスクワに正式に導入され、アレクサンダーアドリアノフがモスクワ初の公式市長になりました。

1762年にエカチェリーナ2世が政権を握ったとき、都市の汚物と下水の匂いは、最近農場から到着した下層階級のロシア人の無秩序なライフスタイルの兆候として観察者によって描かれました。エリートたちは衛生状態の改善を求めました。これは、社会生活の管理を強化するというキャサリンの計画の一部になりました。1812年から1855年までの国家の政治的および軍事的成功は、批評家を落ち着かせ、より啓発された安定した社会を生み出すための努力を検証しました。臭いや公衆衛生の悪さについての話は少なかった。しかし、1855年から56年にかけてのクリミア戦争でのロシアの失敗を受けて、スラム街の秩序を維持する国家の能力に対する信頼が失われ、公衆衛生の改善に対する要求が汚物を議題に戻しました。^[44]

ソビエト時代（1917–1991）

外ソ連パレード ホテルモスクワの マネージュ広場、1964

モスクワの都市計画、1917年

1975年5月9日、赤の広場での戦勝記念日のお祝い

外部ビデオ
ソビエトの「新しいモスクワ」映画からの歌

1917年のロシア革命の成功に続いて、ウラジーミルレーニンは、外国の侵略の可能性を恐れて、1918年3月12日に首都をペトログラードからモスクワに移しました。^[45]クレムリンは再び権力の座となり、新しい政治の中心地となりました。状態。

共産主義のイデオロギーによって課せられた価値観の変化により、文化遺産の保存の伝統は破られました。独立した保護団体は、モスクワに本拠を置くOIRUのような世俗的なランドマークだけを擁護していたものでさえ、1920年代の終わりまでに解散しました。1929年に開始された新しい反宗教キャンペーンは、農民の集団化と一致しました。都市の教会の破壊は1932年頃にピークに達した。1937年にソビエト連邦共産党中央委員会にいくつかの手紙が書かれ、モスクワの名前を「スターリンダー」または「スターリノダール」に変更した。スタリノダールに住んでいる」とスターリンの天才の「贈り物」（ダール）を表すために名前を選択しました。^[46]スターリンはこの提案を拒否し、ニコライ・エジョフによって再び提案された後、彼は「これは何のために必要なのか」と憤慨した。これはスターリンが1936年に彼の名前の場所の名前変更を禁止した後だった。^[47]

中に第二次世界大戦、ソビエト国防の国家委員会との参謀赤軍はモスクワに位置していました。1941年に、全国ボランティアの16の師団（16万人以上）、25の大隊（18,000人）、および4つの工学連隊がMuscovitesの間に形成されました。1941年10月から1942年1月の間に、ドイツ軍グループセンターは市の郊外で停止され、モスクワの戦いの過程で追い出されました。多くの工場が政府の多くとともに避難し、10月20日から市は包囲された状態にあると宣言されました。その残りの住民は、都市が空から爆撃されている間、対タンク防衛を構築し、有人でした。1944年5月1日、「モスクワ防衛記章」のメダルが、1947年には「モスクワ800周年を記念して」メダルが授与されました。

どちらもドイツとソ連の死傷者のさまざまなソースが多少異なる推定値を提供するよう、モスクワの戦いの間には、議論の対象となっています。1941年9月30日から1942年1月7日までの総死傷者数は、ドイツ国防軍で248,000から400,000 、赤軍で650,000から128万と推定されています。^{[48] [49] [50]}

戦後、高層マンションの発明によって解決された深刻な住宅危機がありました。これらの標準化されたプレハブのアパートブロックは11,000以上あり、モスクワの人口の大部分を収容しており、モスクワは最も高層の建物があります。^[51]アパートは工場で建てられ、部分的に家具が備え付けられた後、持ち上げられて背の高い柱に積み上げられた。人気のソビエト時代のコミック映画「運命の皮肉」は、この工法をパロディー化しています。

ゼレノグラード市は、1958年に市内中心部から北西に37 km（23マイル）の場所にレニングラードスコエショッセとともに建設され、モスクワの行政オクルグの1つとして組み込まれました。モスクワ州立大学は、1953年にそばが丘のキャンパスに移転しました。

1959年にニキータフルシチョフは彼の反宗教キャンペーンを開始しました。1964年までに、2万人のうち1万人以上の教会が（主に地方で）閉鎖され、多くが取り壊されました。1959年に運営されていた58の修道院と修道院のうち、1964年までに残ったのは16のみでした。1959年に運営されていたモスクワの50の教会のうち、30が閉鎖され、6つが取り壊されました。

1965年5月8日には、原因実際の20日に勝利の記念日で、第二次世界大戦、モスクワのタイトル受賞したヒーロー市。1980年にそれは夏季オリンピックを主催しました。

MKAD（環状道路）は1961年に開通しました。市の境界に沿って109 km（68マイル）走る4車線がありました。MKADは、環状道路を越えた郊外が組み込まれ始めた1980年代まで、モスクワ市の行政境界を示していました。1980年に、それは、ホストされた夏季オリンピックボイコットされた、米国によるソ連の関与に、いくつかの他の西欧諸国アフガニスタンモスクワの場面だった1991年後半に1979年クーデターの試みに反対保守的共産主義者によると自由主義改革のミハイル・ゴルバチョフ。

最近の歴史（1991年から現在）

でフローティングブリッジのビュー Zaryadye公園で、 赤の広場と モスクワクレムリン距離で

シェレピヒンスカヤ堤防

同じ年にソ連が解散したとき、モスクワはロシアのSFSRの首都のままでした（1991年12月25日、ロシアのSFSRはロシア連邦に改名されました）。それ以来、モスクワでは市場経済が出現し、西洋式の小売、サービス、建築、ライフスタイルが爆発的に増加しました。

The city has continued to grow during the 1990s to 2000s, its population rising from below nine to above ten million. Mason and Nigmatullina argue that Soviet-era urban-growth controls (before 1991) produced controlled and sustainable metropolitan development, typified by the greenbelt built in 1935. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic growth of low-density suburban sprawl, created by heavy demand for single-family dwellings as opposed to crowded apartments. In 1995–1997 the MKAD ring road was widened from the initial four to ten lanes.

In December 2002 Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo became the first Moscow Metro station that opened beyond the limits of MKAD. The Third Ring Road, intermediate between the early 19th-century Garden Ring and the Soviet-era outer ring road, was completed in 2004. The greenbelt is becoming more and more fragmented, and satellite cities are appearing at the fringe. Summer dachas are being converted into year-round residences, and with the proliferation of automobiles there is heavy traffic congestion.^[52] Multiple old churches and other examples of architectural heritage that had been demolished during the Stalin era have been restored, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In 2010s Moscow's Administration has launched some long duration projects like the Moja Ulitsa (in English: My Street) urban redevelopment program^[53] or the Residency renovation one.^[54]

By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the area of the capital more than doubled, going from 1,091 to 2,511 square kilometers (421 to 970 sq mi), resulting in Moscow becoming the largest city on the European continent by area; it also gained an additional population of 233,000 people.^[55][56]

Location

Satellite view of Moscow and its nearby suburbs

Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River, which flows for just over 500 km (311 mi) through the East European Plain in central Russia. 49 bridges span the river and its canals within the city's limits. The elevation of Moscow at the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VVC), where the leading Moscow weather station is situated, is 156 metres (512 feet). Teplostanskaya highland is the city's highest point at 255 metres (837 feet).^[57] The width of Moscow city (not limiting MKAD) from west to east is 39.7 km (24.7 mi), and the length from north to south is 51.8 km (32.2 mi).

Time

Moscow serves as the reference point for the time zone used in most of European Russia, Belarus and the Republic of Crimea. The areas operate in what is referred to in international standards as Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК), which is 3 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+3. Daylight saving time is no longer observed. According to the geographical longitude the average solar noon in Moscow occurs at 12:30.^[58]

Climate

VDNKh after rain

Moscow has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) with long, cold (although average by Russian standards) winters usually lasting from mid-November to the end of March, and warm summers. More extreme continental climates at the same latitude- such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia- have much colder winters, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean. Weather can fluctuate widely with temperatures ranging from −25 °C (−13 °F) in the city and −30 °C (−22 °F) in suburbs to above 5 °C (41 °F) in the winter, and from 10 to 35 °C (50 to 95 °F) in the summer.^[59]

Petrovsky Palace on Leningradsky Avenue in winter

Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around a comfortable 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often exceed 30 °C (86 °F), sometimes for a week or two at a time. In the winter, average temperatures normally drop to approximately −10 °C (14 °F), though almost every winter there are periods of warmth with day temperatures rising above 0 °C (32 °F), and periods of cooling with night temperatures falling below −20 °C (−4 °F). These periods usually last about a week or two.

The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F)^[60] at the VVC weather station and 39.0 °C (102.2 °F) in the center of Moscow and Domodedovo airport on July 29, 2010 during the unusual 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves. Record high temperatures were recorded for January, March, April, May, July, August, November, and December in 2007–2014.^[61] The average July temperature from 1981 to 2010 is 19.2 °C (66.6 °F). The lowest ever recorded temperature was −42.1 °C (−43.8 °F) in January 1940. Snow, which is present for about five months a year, often begins to fall mid October, while snow cover lies in November and melts at the beginning of April.

On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying from a low of 8% in December to 52% from May to August.^[62] This large annual variation is due to convective cloud formation. In the winter, moist air from the Atlantic condenses in the cold continental interior, resulting in very overcast conditions. However, this same continental influence results in considerably sunnier summers than oceanic cities of similar latitude such as Edinburgh. Between 2004 and 2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with a tendency to more sunshine in summer months, up to a record 411 hours in July 2014, 79% of possible sunshine. December 2017 was the darkest month in Moscow since records began, with only six minutes of sunlight.^[63][64]

Temperatures in the centre of Moscow are often significantly higher than in the outskirts and nearby suburbs, especially in winter. For example, if the average February temperature in the north-east of Moscow is −6.7 °C (19.9 °F), in the suburbs it is about −9 °C (16 °F).^[65] The temperature difference between the centre of Moscow and nearby areas of Moscow Oblast can sometimes be more than 10 °C (18 °F) on frosty winter nights.

Climate change

Below is the 1961–1990 normals table. The annual temperature rose from 5.0 °C (41.0 °F)^[71] to 5.8 °C (42.4 °F) in the new 1981–2010 normals. In 2019, the average annual temperature reached a record high of 7.8 °C (46.0 °F)^[72]

Recent changes in Moscow's regional climate, since it is in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, are often cited by climate scientists as evidence of global warming^{[citation needed]}, though by definition, climate change is global, not regional. During the summer, extreme heat is often observed in the city (2001, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011). Along with a southern part of Central Russia,^[76][77] after recent years of hot summer seasons, the climate of the city gets hot-summer classification trends. Winter also became significantly milder: for example, the average January temperature in the early 1900s was −12.0 °C (10.4 °F), while now it is about −7.0 °C (19.4 °F).^[78] At the end of January–February it is often colder, with frosts reaching −30.0 °C (−22.0 °F) a few nights per year (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013).

The last decade was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations of Moscow. Temperature changes in the city are depicted in the table below:

Population

According to the results of the 2010 Census, the population of Moscow was 11,503,501;^[80] up from 10,382,754 recorded in the 2002 Census.^[81]

• 668,409 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.^[82]

The official population of Moscow is based on those holding "permanent residency". According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, Moscow holds 1.8 million official "guests" who have temporary residency on the basis of visas or other documentation, giving a legal population of 13.3 million. The number of Illegal immigrants, the vast majority originating from Central Asia, is estimated to be an additional 1 million people,^[83] giving a total population of about 14.3 million.

Total fertility rate:^[84]

• 2010 - 1.25
• 2014 - 1.34
• 2015 - 1.41
• 2016 - 1.46
• 2017 - 1.38
• 2018 - 1.41
• 2019 - 1.50
• 2020 - 1.47
  • Births (2016): 145,252 (11.8 per 1000)
  • Deaths (2016): 123,623 (10.0 per 1000)

Religion

Clockwise from left: The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished during the Soviet period and reconstructed from 1990–2000; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Moscow Cathedral Mosque; and Moscow Choral Synagogue

Christians form the majority of the city's population; most of whom adhere Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of Moscow serves as the head of the church and resides in the Danilov Monastery. Moscow was called the "city of 40 times 40 churches"—prior to 1917. Moscow is Russia's capital of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has been the country's traditional religion.

Other religions practiced in Moscow include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Yazidism, and Rodnovery. The Moscow Mufti Council claimed that Muslims numbered around 1.5 million of 10.5 million of the city's population in 2010;^[87] There are four mosques in the city.^[88]

Architecture

Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, a masterpiece of Russian architecture

The State Historical Museum, an example of the Neo-Russian style

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, an example of Neo-Byzantine architecture

Moscow's architecture is world-renowned. Moscow is the site of Saint Basil's Cathedral, with its elegant onion domes, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Seven Sisters. The first Kremlin was built in the middle of the 12th century.

Medieval Moscow's design was of concentric walls and intersecting radial thoroughfares. This layout, as well as Moscow's rivers, helped shape Moscow's design in subsequent centuries.

The Kremlin was rebuilt in the 15th century. Its towers and some of its churches were built by Italian architects, lending the city some of the aurae of the renaissance. From the end of the 15th century, the city was embellished by masonry structures such as monasteries, palaces, walls, towers, and churches.

The city's appearance had not changed much by the 18th century. Houses were made of pine and spruce logs, with shingled roofs plastered with sod or covered by birch bark. The rebuilding of Moscow in the second half of the 18th century was necessitated not only by constant fires but also the needs of the nobility. Much of the wooden city was replaced by buildings in the classical style.^[89]

For much of its architectural history, Moscow was dominated by Orthodox churches. However, the overall appearance of the city changed drastically during Soviet times, especially as a result of Joseph Stalin's large-scale effort to "modernize" Moscow. Stalin's plans for the city included a network of broad avenues and roadways, some of them over ten lanes wide, which, while greatly simplifying movement through the city, were constructed at the expense of a great number of historical buildings and districts. Among the many casualties of Stalin's demolitions was the Sukharev Tower, a longtime city landmark, as well as mansions and commercial buildings The city's newfound status as the capital of a deeply secular nation, made religiously significant buildings especially vulnerable to demolition. Many of the city's churches, which in most cases were some of Moscow's oldest and most prominent buildings, were destroyed; some notable examples include the Kazan Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. During the 1990s, both were rebuilt. Many smaller churches, however, were lost.^[90]

GUM department store, facing the Red Square

Ostankino Tower, the tallest freestanding structure in Europe, and the eighth-tallest in the world

While the later Stalinist period was characterized by the curtailing of creativity and architectural innovation, the earlier post-revolutionary years saw a plethora of radical new buildings created in the city. Especially notable were the constructivist architects associated with VKHUTEMAS, responsible for such landmarks as Lenin's Mausoleum. Another prominent architect was Vladimir Shukhov, famous for Shukhov Tower, just one of many hyperboloid towers designed by Shukhov. It was built between 1919 and 1922 as a transmission tower for a Russian broadcasting company.^[91] Shukhov also left a lasting legacy to the Constructivist architecture of early Soviet Russia. He designed spacious elongated shop galleries, most notably the GUM department store on Red Square,^[91] bridged with innovative metal-and-glass vaults.

One of the Seven Sisters, Hotel Ukraina, is the tallest hotel in Europe, and one of the tallest hotels in the world

Zhivopisny Bridge, the highest cable-stayed bridge in Europe

Perhaps the most recognizable contributions of the Stalinist period are the so-called Seven Sisters, seven massive skyscrapers scattered throughout the city at about an equal distance from the Kremlin. 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 high points 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 highest free-standing land structure in the world and today remains the world's seventy-second tallest, ranking among buildings such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and the CN Tower in Toronto.^[92]

The Soviet goal of providing housing for every family, and the rapid growth of Moscow's population, led to the construction of large, monotonous housing blocks. 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 badly maintained.

Although the city still has some five-story apartment buildings constructed before the mid-1960s, more recent apartment buildings are usually at least nine floors tall, and have elevators. It is estimated that Moscow has over twice as many elevators as New York City and four times as many as Chicago. Moslift, one of the city's major elevator operating companies, has about 1500 elevator mechanics on call, to release residents trapped in elevators.^[93]

Stalinist-era buildings, mostly found in the central part of the city, are massive and usually ornamented with Socialist realism motifs that imitate classical themes. However, small churches—almost always Eastern Orthodox– found across the city provide glimpses of its past. The Old Arbat Street, a tourist street that was once the heart of a bohemian area, preserves most of its buildings from prior to the 20th century. Many buildings found off the main streets of the inner city (behind the Stalinist façades of Tverskaya Street, for example) are also examples of bourgeois architecture typical of Tsarist times. Ostankino Palace, Kuskovo, Uzkoye and other large estates just outside Moscow originally belong to nobles from the Tsarist era, and some convents, and monasteries, both inside and outside the city, are open to Muscovites and tourists.

Modern methods of skyscraper construction were implemented in the city for the first time with the ambitious MIBC.

Attempts are being made to restore many of the city's best-kept examples of pre-Soviet architecture. These restored structures are easily spotted by their bright new colors and spotless façades. 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. Many of these restorations were criticized for alleged disrespect of historical authenticity. Facadism is also widely practiced.^[94] 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 central Moscow involved in the project.

Borovitskaya square, Monument to Vladimir the Great and Pashkov House

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 (or often, like with decorated generals and revolutionaries, now both inside) of Russia. There are also many "museum houses" of famous Russian writers, composers, and artists in the city.

Moscow's skyline is quickly modernizing, with several new towers under construction. In recent years, the city administration has been widely criticized for heavy destruction that has affected many historical buildings. As much as a third of historic Moscow has been destroyed in the past few years^[95] to make space for luxury apartments and hotels.^[96] Other historical buildings, including such landmarks as the 1930 Moskva hotel and the 1913 department store Voyentorg, have been razed and reconstructed anew, with the inevitable loss of historical value. Critics blame the government for not enforcing conservation laws: in the last 12 years more than 50 buildings with monument status were torn down, several of those dating back to the 17th century.^[97] Some critics also wonder if the money used for the reconstruction of razed buildings could not be used for the renovation of decaying structures, which include many works by architect Konstantin Melnikov^[98] and Mayakovskaya metro station.

Some organizations, such as Moscow Architecture Preservation Society^[99] and Save Europe's Heritage,^[100] are trying to draw the international public attention to these problems.^[101]

Panoramic view of Moscow

Parks and landmarks

Red Square is a World Heritage Site.

There are 96 parks and 18 gardens in Moscow, including four botanical gardens. There are 450 square kilometres (170 sq mi) of green zones besides 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) of forests.^[102] Moscow is a very green city, if compared to other cities of comparable size in Western Europe and North America; this is partly due to a history of having green "yards" with trees and grass, between residential buildings. There are on 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.^[103]

Gorky Park

Gorky Park (officially the Central Park of Culture and Rest named after Maxim Gorky), was founded in 1928. The main part (689,000 square metres or 170 acres)^[103] along the Moskva river contains estrades, children's attractions (including the Observation Wheel water ponds with boats and water bicycles), dancing, tennis courts and other sports facilities. It borders the Neskuchny Garden (408,000 square metres or 101 acres), the oldest park in Moscow and a former imperial residence, created as a result of the integration of three estates in the 18th century. The Garden features the Green Theater, one of the largest open amphitheaters in Europe, able to hold up to 15 thousand people.^[104] Several parks include a section known as a "Park of Culture and Rest", sometimes alongside a much wilder area (this includes parks such as Izmaylovsky, Fili and Sokolniki). Some parks are designated as Forest Parks (lesopark).

Dream Island, the largest indoor theme park in Europe

Izmaylovsky Park, created in 1931, is one of the largest urban parks in the world along with Richmond Park in London. Its area of 15.34 square kilometres (5.92 sq mi) is six times greater than that of Central Park in New York.^[103]

Novodevichy Convent is a World Heritage Site.

Sokolniki Park, named after the falcon hunting that occurred there in the past, is one of the oldest parks in Moscow and has an area of 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi). A central circle with a large fountain is surrounded by birch, maple and elm tree alleys. A labyrinth composed of green paths lies beyond the park's ponds.

Losiny Ostrov National Park ("Elk Island" National Park), with a total area of more than 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), borders Sokolniki Park and was Russia's first national park. It is quite wild, and is also known as the "city taiga" – elk can be seen there.

The Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye is a World Heritage Site.

Tsytsin Main Botanical Garden of Academy of Sciences, founded in 1945 is the largest in Europe.^[105] It covers the territory of 3.61 square kilometres (1.39 sq mi) bordering the All-Russia Exhibition Center and contains a live exhibition of more than 20 thousand species of plants from around the world, as well as a lab for scientific research. It contains a rosarium with 20 thousand rose bushes, a dendrarium, and an oak forest, with the average age of trees exceeding 100 years. There is a greenhouse taking up more than 5,000 square metres (53,820 square feet) of land.^[103]

The All-Russian Exhibition Center (Всероссийский выставочный центр), formerly known as the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) and later Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh), though officially named a "permanent trade show", is one of the most prominent examples of Stalinist-era monumental architecture. Among the large spans of a recreational park, areas are scores of elaborate pavilions, each representing either a branch of Soviet industry and science or a USSR republic. Even though during the 1990s it was, and for some part still is, misused as a gigantic shopping center (most of the pavilions are rented out for small businesses), it still retains the bulk of its architectural landmarks, including two monumental fountains (Stone Flower and Friendship of Nations) and a 360 degrees panoramic cinema. In 2014 the park returned to the name Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy, and in the same year huge renovation works had been started.^[106]

Lilac Park, founded in 1958, has a permanent sculpture display and a large rosarium. Moscow has always been a popular destination for tourists. Some of the more famous attractions include the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site, Moscow Kremlin and Red Square,^[107] which was built between the 14th and 17th centuries.^[108] The Church of the Ascension at Kolomenskoye, which dates from 1532, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and another popular attraction.^[109]

Near the new Tretyakov Gallery there is a sculpture garden, Museon, often called "the graveyard of fallen monuments" that displays statues of the former Soviet Union that were removed from their place after its dissolution.

Other attractions include the Moscow Zoo, a zoological garden in two sections (the valleys of two streams) linked by a bridge, with nearly a thousand species and more than 6,500 specimens.^[110] Each year, the zoo attracts more than 1.2 million visitors.^[110] Many of Moscow's parks and landscaped gardens are protected natural environments.

Zaryadye Park	VDNKh	Victory park on Poklonnaya Hill

Moscow rings

Moscow's road system is centered roughly on the Kremlin at the heart of the city. From there, roads generally span outwards to intersect with a sequence of circular roads ("rings").

1. The first and innermost major ring, Bulvarnoye Koltso (Boulevard Ring), was built at the former location of the 16th-century city wall around what used to be called Bely Gorod (White Town).^[111] The Bulvarnoye Koltso is technically not a ring; it does not form a complete circle, but instead a horseshoe-like arc that begins at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and ends at the Yauza River.
2. The second primary ring, located outside the bell end of the Boulevard Ring, is the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring). Like the Boulevard Ring, the Garden Ring follows the path of a 16th-century wall that used to encompass part of Moscow.^[111]
   

   Moscow as viewed from the International Space Station, January 29, 2014
3. The Third Ring Road, was completed in 2003 as a high-speed freeway.
4. The Fourth Transport Ring, another freeway, was planned, but cancelled in 2011. It will be replaced by a system of chordal highways.

Aside from aforementioned hierarchy, line 5 of Moscow Metro is a circle-shaped looped subway line (hence the name Koltsevaya Liniya, "ring line"), which is located between the Sadovoye Koltso and Third Transport Ring.

September 10, 2016, Moscow Central Circle renovated railroad (former Moskovskaya Okruzhnaya Zheleznaya Doroga) was introduced as 14th line of Moscow Metro. The railroad itself was in use since 1907, but before the renovation, it was a non-electrified railroad for transit needs of fueled locomotives only.

Another circle metro line - Big Circle Line (Bolshaya Koltsevaya Liniya) is under construction and will be finished about 2023.

The outermost ring within Moscow is the Moscow Ring Road (often called MKAD, acronym word for Russian Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога), which forms the cultural boundary of the city, was established in the 1950s. It is to note the method of building the road (usage of ground elevation instead of concrete columns throughout the whole way) formed a wall-like barrier that obstacles building roads under the MKAD highway itself).

• Before 2012 expansion of Moscow, MKAD was considered an approximate border for Moscow boundaries.

Outside Moscow, some of the roads encompassing the city continue to follow this circular pattern seen inside city limits, with the notable examples of Betonka roads (highways A107 and A108), originally made of concrete pads.

In order to reduce transit traffic on MKAD, the new ring road (called CKAD - Centralnaya Koltsevaya Avtomobilnaya Doroga, Central Ring Road) is under construction now.

Transport rings in Moscow

Tretyakov Gallery

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.^[112] 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 works in the classic Russian tradition.^[113] The works of famous pre-Revolutionary painters, such as Ilya Repin, as well as the works of early Russian icon painters can be found here. Visitors can even see rare originals by early 15th-century iconographer Andrei Rublev.^[113] The New Tretyakov gallery, created in Soviet times, mainly contains the works of Soviet artists, as well as of a few contemporary paintings, but there is some overlap with the Old Tretyakov Gallery for early 20th-century art. The new gallery includes a small reconstruction of Vladimir Tatlin's famous Monument to the Third International and a mixture of other avant-garde works by artists like Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky. Socialist realism features can also be found within the halls of the New Tretyakov Gallery.

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

Another art museum in the city of Moscow is the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which was founded by, among others, the father of Marina Tsvetaeva. The Pushkin Museum is similar to the British Museum in London in that its halls are a cross-section of exhibits on world civilisations, with many copies of ancient sculptures. However, it also hosts paintings from every major Western era; works by Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Pablo Picasso are present in the museum's collection.

The State Historical Museum of Russia (Государственный Исторический музей) is a museum of Russian history located between Red Square and Manege Square in Moscow. Its exhibitions range from relics of the prehistoric tribes inhabiting present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The total number of objects in the museum's collection numbers is several million. The Polytechnical Museum,^[114] founded in 1872 is the largest technical museum in Russia, offering a wide array of historical inventions and technological achievements, including humanoid automata from the 18th century and the first Soviet computers. Its collection contains more than 160,000 items.^[115] The Borodino Panorama^[116] 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 that includes statues, and military hardware.

The Bolshoi Theatre

Moscow is the heart of the Russian performing arts, including ballet and film, with 68 museums^[117] 103^[118] theaters, 132 cinemas and 24 concert halls. Among Moscow's theaters and ballet studios is the Bolshoi Theatre and the Malyi Theatre^[119] as well as Vakhtangov Theatre and Moscow Art Theatre.

The Moscow International Performance Arts Center,^[120] opened in 2003, also known as Moscow International House of Music, is known for its performances in classical music. It 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^[121] named after Yuri Nikulin.

Memorial Museum of Astronautics under the Monument to the Conquerors of Space at the end of Cosmonauts Alley is the central memorial place for the Russian space officials.

The Mosfilm studio was at the heart of many classic films, as it is responsible for both artistic and mainstream productions.^[122] 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 the Salut cinema, where films from the Museum of Cinema^[123] collection are shown regularly.

The Shchusev State Museum of Architecture is the national museum of Russian architecture by the name of the architect Alexey Shchusev near the Kremlin area.

The Luzhniki Stadium hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

SC Olimpiyskiy was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Over 500 Olympic sports champions lived in the city by 2005.^[124] Moscow is home to 63 stadiums (besides eight football and eleven light athletics maneges), of which Luzhniki Stadium is the largest and the 4th biggest in Europe (it hosted the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, 2007–08 UEFA Champions League finals, the 1980 Summer Olympics, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup with 7 games total, including the final). Forty other sport complexes are located within the city, including 24 with artificial ice. The Olympic Stadium was the world's first indoor arena for bandy and hosted the Bandy World Championship twice.^[125] Moscow was again the host of the competition in 2010, this time in Krylatskoye.^[126] That arena has also hosted the World Speed Skating Championships. There are also seven horse racing tracks in Moscow,^[102] of which Central Moscow Hippodrome,^[127] founded in 1834, is the largest.

CSKA Arena during a game of KHL, considered to be the second-best ice hockey league in the world

Moscow was the host city of the 1980 Summer Olympics, with the yachting events being held at Tallinn, in present-day Estonia. Large sports facilities and the main international airport, Sheremetyevo Terminal 2, were built in preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Moscow had made a bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, when final voting commenced on July 6, 2005, Moscow was the first city to be eliminated from further rounds. The Games were awarded to London.

The most titled ice hockey team in the Soviet Union and in the world, HC CSKA Moscow comes from Moscow. Other big ice hockey clubs from Moscow are HC Dynamo Moscow, which was the second most titled team in the Soviet Union, 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. Moscow hosted the EuroBasket in 1953 and 1965.

Moscow had more winners at the USSR and Russian Chess Championship than any other city.

The most titled volleyball team in the Soviet Union and in Europe (CEV Champions League) is VC CSKA Moscow.

In football, FC Spartak Moscow has won more championship titles in the Russian Premier League than any other team. They were second only to FC Dynamo Kyiv in Soviet times. PFC CSKA Moscow became the first Russian football team to win a UEFA title, the UEFA Cup (present-day UEFA Europa League). FC Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Dynamo Moscow and FC Torpedo Moscow are other professional football teams also based in Moscow.

• 

  Otkrytiye Arena, home of FC Spartak Moscow

• 

  VEB Arena, home of PFC CSKA Moscow

• 

  VTB Arena, home of FC Dynamo Moscow and HC Dynamo Moscow

• 

  RZD Arena, home of FC Lokomotiv Moscow

Moscow houses other prominent football, ice hockey, and basketball teams. Because sports organisations in the Soviet Union were once highly centralized, two of the best Union-level teams represented defence and law-enforcing agencies: the Armed Forces (CSKA) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Dinamo). There were army and police teams in most major cities. As a result, Spartak, CSKA, and Dinamo were among the best-funded teams in the USSR.

The Rhythmic Gymnastics Palace after Irina Vilner-Usmanova is located in the Luzniki Olympic Complex. The building works started in 2017 and the opening ceremony took place on June 18, 2019. The investor of the Palace is the billionaire Alisher Usmanov, husband of the former gymnast and gymnastics coach Irina Viner-Usmanova. The total surface of the building is 23,500 m², that include 3 fitness rooms, locker rooms, rooms reserved to referees and coaches, saunas, a canteen and a cafeteria, 2 ball halls, a Medical center, a hall reserved to journalists and a hotel for athletes.^[128]

Because of Moscow's cold local climate, winter sports have a following. Many of Moscow's large parks offer marked trails for skiing and frozen ponds for skating.

The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, which hosted games of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Moscow hosts the annual Kremlin Cup, a popular tennis tournament on both the WTA and ATP tours. It is one of the ten Tier-I events on the women's tour and a host of Russian players feature every year.

SC Olimpiyskiy hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, the first and so far the only Eurovision Song Contest arranged in Russia.

Slava Moscow is a professional rugby club, competing in the national Professional Rugby League. Former rugby league heavyweights RC Lokomotiv have entered the same league as of 2011^[update]. The Luzhniki Stadium also hosted the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

In bandy, one of the most successful clubs in the world is 20 times Russian League champions Dynamo Moscow. They have also won the World Cup thrice and European Cup six times.

MFK Dinamo Moskva is one of the major futsal clubs in Europe, having won the Futsal Champions League title once.

When Russia was selected to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Luzhniki Stadium got an increased capacity, by almost 10,000 new seats, in addition to a further two stadiums that have been built: the Dynamo Stadium, and the Spartak Stadium, although the first one later was dismissed from having World Cup matches.

Football clubs

Arbat Street, in the historical centre of Moscow

Tverskaya Street, the main radial street in the city

The city is full of clubs, restaurants, and bars. 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 upmarket boutique stores such as Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., Armani, Prada and Bentley.^[129] Nightlife in Moscow has moved on since Soviet times and today the city has many of the world's largest nightclubs. Clubs, bars, creative spaces and restaurants-turned-into-dancefloors are flooding Moscow streets with new openings every year. The hottest area is located around the old chocolate factory, where bars, nightclubs, galleries, cafés and restaurants are placed.^[130]

Dream Island is an amusement park in Moscow that opened on February 29, 2020.^[131][132] It is the largest indoor theme park in Europe. The park covers 300,000 square meters. During the construction of the park 150 acres of nature trees unique and rare animals and birds and plants on the peninsula was destroyed. The appearance is in the style of a fairytale castle similar to Disneyland. The park has 29 unique attractions with many rides, as well as pedestrian malls with fountains and cycle paths. The complex includes a landscaped park along with a concert hall, a cinema, a hotel, a children's sailing school, restaurants and shops.

Moscow authorities

Government of Moscow

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Moscow is an independent federal subject of the Russian Federation, the so-called city of federal importance.

The Mayor of Moscow is the leading official in the executive, leading the Government of Moscow, which is the highest organ of executive power. The Moscow City Duma is the City Duma (city council or local parliament) and local laws must be approved by it. It includes 45 members who are elected for a five-year term on Single-mandate constituency basis.

From 2006 to 2012, direct elections of the mayor were not held due to changes in the Charter of the city of Moscow, the mayor was appointed by presidential decree. The first direct elections from the time of the 2003 vote were to be held after the expiration of the current mayor in 2015, however, in connection with his resignation of his own free will, they took place in September 2013.

Local administration is carried out through eleven prefectures, uniting the districts of Moscow into administrative districts on a territorial basis, and 125 regional administrations. According to the law "On the organization of local self-government in the city of Moscow", since the beginning of 2003, the executive bodies of local self-government are municipalities, representative bodies are municipal assemblies, whose members are elected in accordance with the Charter of the intracity municipality.

Federal authorities

The House of the Government of the Russian Federation

In Moscow, as in a city endowed with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the legislative, executive and judicial federal authorities of the country are located, with the exception of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which has been located in Saint Petersburg since 2008.

The supreme executive authority - the Government of the Russian Federation - is located in the House of the Government of the Russian Federation on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment in the center of Moscow. The State Duma sits on Okhotny Ryad. The Federation Council is located in a building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of Arbitration of the Russian Federation are also located in Moscow.

In addition, the Moscow Kremlin is the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The president's working residence in the Kremlin is located in the Senate Palace.

Safety

A BMW 5 Series of the Moscow Police on patrol

According to the ranking of the safest cities made by The Economist Moscow occupies the 37th position with a score of 68,5 points percent.^[133] The general level of crime is quite low.^[134] More than 170,000 surveillance cameras in Moscow are connected to the facial recognition system. The authorities recognized the successful two-month experiment with automatic recognition of faces, gender and age of people in real time - and then they deployed the system to the whole city. The network of video surveillance unites access video cameras (95% of residential apartment buildings in the capital), cameras in the territory and in buildings of schools and kindergartens, at the MCC stations, stadiums, public transport stops and bus stations, in parks, underground passages.^[135]

The emergency numbers are the same as in all the other regions of Russia: 112 is the Single Emergency Number, 101 is the number of the Fire Service and Ministry of Emergency Situations, 102 is the Police one, 103 is the ambulance one, 104 is the Emergency Gas number.^[136] Moscow's EMS is the second most efficient one among the world's megacities, as reported by PwC during the presentation of the international study Analysis of EMS Efficiency in Megacities of the World.^[137]

Federal city of Moscow
City administrative divisions	12
City districts	125
City settlements	21

Territorial change of Moscow from 1922 to 1995

Moscow is divided into 12 administrative districts:
Central Administrative Okrug Northern Administrative Okrug North-Eastern Administrative Okrug Eastern Administrative Okrug South-Eastern Administrative Okrug Southern Administrative Okrug South-Western Administrative Okrug Western Administrative Okrug North-Western Administrative Okrug Zelenogradsky Administrative Okrug Novomoskovsky Administrative Okrug Troitsky Administrative Okrug

The entire city of Moscow is headed by one mayor (Sergey Sobyanin). The city of Moscow is divided into twelve administrative okrugs and 125 districts.

The Russian capital's town-planning development began to show as early as the 12th century when the city was founded. The central part of Moscow grew by consolidating with suburbs in line with medieval principles of urban development when strong fortress walls would gradually spread along the circle streets of adjacent new settlements. The first circular defence walls set the trajectory of Moscow's rings, laying the groundwork for the future planning of the Russian capital.

The following fortifications served as the city's circular defense boundaries at some point in history: the Kremlin walls, Zemlyanoy Gorod (Earthwork Town), the Kamer-Kollezhsky Rampart, the Garden Ring, and the small railway ring. The Moscow Ring Road (MKAD) has been Moscow's boundary since 1960. Also in the form of a circle are the main Moscow subway line, the Ring Line, and the so-called Third Automobile Ring, which was completed in 2005. Hence, the characteristic radial-circle planning continues to define Moscow's further development. However, contemporary Moscow has also engulfed a number of territories outside the MKAD, such as Solntsevo, Butovo, and the town of Zelenograd. 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.^[138] In all, Moscow gained about 1,500 square kilometers (580 sq mi) and 230,000 inhabitants. Moscow's Mayor Sergey Sobyanin lauded the expansion that will help Moscow and the neighboring region, a "mega-city" of twenty million people, to develop "harmonically".^[55]

All administrative okrugs and districts have their own coats of arms and flags as well as individual heads of the area.

In addition to the districts, there are Territorial Units with Special Status. These usually include areas with small or no permanent populations. Such is 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 center, metro stations or green zones are considered more prestigious.^[139]

Moscow also hosts some of the government bodies of Moscow Oblast, although the city itself is not a part of the oblast.^[140]

Overview

Moscow International Business Center, one of the largest financial centres of Europe and the world

Moscow has one of the largest municipal economies in Europe and it accounts more than one-fifth of Russia's gross domestic product (GDP).^[142] As of 2017^[update], the nominal GRP in Moscow reached ₽15.7 trillion^[143][144] $270 billion (~$0.7 trillion in Purchasing Power^[145]),^[146] US$22,000 per capita(~$60,000 per capita in Purchasing Power^[145][147])

Moscow Exchange

Moscow has the lowest unemployment rate of all federal subjects of Russia, standing at just 1% in 2010, compared to the national average of 7%. The average gross monthly wage in the city is ₽60,000^[148] (US$2,500 in Purchasing Power^[149]), which is almost twice the national average of ₽34,000^[150] (US$1,400 in Purchasing Power^[149]), and the highest among the federal subjects of Russia.

Moscow is the financial center of Russia and home to the country's largest banks and many of its largest companies, such as oil giant Rosneft. Moscow accounts for 17% of retail sales in Russia and for 13% of all construction activity in the country.^[151][152] Since the 1998 Russian financial crisis, business sectors in Moscow have shown exponential rates of growth. Many new business centers 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. Overall, economic stability has improved in recent years; nonetheless, crime and corruption still hinder business development.

The Cherkizovskiy marketplace was the largest marketplace in Europe, with a daily turnover of about thirty million dollars and about ten thousand venders^[153] from different countries (including China, Turkey, Azerbaijan and India). It was administratively divided into twelve parts and covers a wide sector of the city. Since July 2009 it has been closed.

In 2008, Moscow had 74 billionaires with an average wealth of $5.9 billion, which placed it above New York's 71 billionaires. However, as of 2009^[update], there were 27 billionaires in Moscow compared with New York's 55 billionaires. Overall, Russia lost 52 billionaires during the recession.^[154] Topping the list of Russia's billionaires in 2009 is Mikhail Prokhorov with $9.5 billion, ahead of the more famous Roman Abramovich with $8.5 billion, in 2nd place. Prokhorov's holding company, "ОНЭКСИМ" (ONÈKSIM) group, owns huge assets in hydrogen energy, nanotechnology, traditional energy, precious metals sector, while Abramovich, since selling his oil company Sibneft to Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom in 2005, has bought up steel and mining assets. He also owns Chelsea F.C.. Russia's richest woman remains Yelena Baturina, the 50-year-old second wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Oleg Deripaska, the 1st on this list in 2008 with $28 billion, was only 10th in 2009 with $3.5 billion. Based on Forbes' 2011 list of the world's billionaires, Moscow is the city with the most billionaires in the world, with 79 from 115 in all of Russia.^[155] Armenian entrepreneurs play a special role in Russia's economic development high among them an Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan with a net worth of $4.3 billion.^[156] To concentrate Armenian capital in Moscow, he has established a non-governmental organization, the Association of Armenian Entrepreneurs, in 2019. ^[157]

In 2018, Moscow was a host city to 12 games of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament served as an additional driver for the city economy, its sports and tourist infrastructure, and for land improvement in the city.

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. Sukhoi, Ilyushin, Mikoyan, Tupolev and Yakovlev aircraft design bureaus also situated in Moscow. NPO Energomash, producing the rocket engines for Russian and American space programs, as well as Lavochkin design bureau, which built fighter planes during WWII, but switched to space probes since the Space Race, are in nearby Khimki, an independent city in Moscow Oblast that have largely been enclosed by Moscow from its sides. Automobile plants ZiL and AZLK, as well as the Voitovich Rail Vehicle plant, are situated in Moscow and Metrovagonmash metro wagon plant is located just outside the city limits. The Poljot Moscow watch factory produces 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^[158] is the oldest distillery in Russia producing vodka types, including "Stolichnaya" while wines are produced at Moscow wine plants, including the Moscow Interrepublican Vinery.^[159] The Moscow Jewelry Factory^[160] and the Jewellerprom^[161] are producers of jewellery in Russia; Jewellerprom used to produce the exclusive Order of Victory, awarded to those aiding the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.

There are other industries located just outside the city of Moscow, as well as microelectronic industries in Zelenograd, including Ruselectronics companies.

Gazprom, the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company, has head offices also in Moscow, as well as other oil, gas, and electricity companies.

Moscow hosts headquarters of the many of telecommunication and technology companies, including 1C, ABBYY, Beeline, Kaspersky Lab, Mail.Ru Group, MegaFon, MTS, Rambler&Co, Rostelecom, Yandex, and Yota.

Some industry is being transferred out of the city to improve the ecological state of the city.

Cost of living

Tretyakovsky Proyezd

Nikolskaya Street

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 honors). 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.

The price of real estate in Moscow continues to rise. Today, one could expect to pay $4,000 on average per square meter (11 sq ft) on the outskirts of the city^[162] or US$6,500–$8,000 per square meter in a prestigious district. The price sometimes may exceed US$40,000 per square meter in a flat.^{[163][164][165]} It costs about US$1,200 per month to rent a one-bedroom apartment and about US$1,000 per month for a studio in the center of Moscow.

A typical one-bedroom apartment is about thirty square metres (320 square feet), a typical two-bedroom apartment is forty-five square metres (480 square feet), and a typical three-bedroom apartment is seventy square metres (750 square feet). Many cannot 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 houses) outside the city.

In 2006, Mercer Human Resources Consulting named Moscow the world's most expensive city for expatriate employees, ahead of perennial winner Tokyo, due to the stable Russian ruble as well as increasing housing prices within the city.^[166] Moscow also ranked first in the 2007 edition and 2008 edition of the survey. However, Tokyo has overtaken Moscow as the most expensive city in the world, placing Moscow at third behind Osaka in second place.^[167]

In 2008, Moscow ranked top on the list of most expensive cities for the third year in a row.^[168]

In 2014, according to Forbes, Moscow was ranked the 9th most expensive city in the world. Forbes ranked Moscow the 2nd most expensive city the year prior.^[169]

In 2019 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living survey put Moscow to 102nd place in the biannual ranking of 133 most expensive cities.^[170] ECA International's Cost of Living 2019 Survey ranked Moscow #120 among 482 locations worldwide.^[171]

Public utilities

Heating

Heating of buildings in Moscow, like in other cities in Russia is done using central heating system. Before 2004, state unitary enterprises were responsible to produce and supply heat to the clients by the operation of heating stations and heating distribution system of Mosgorteplo, Mosteploenergo and Teploremontnaladka which gave service to the heating substations in the north-eastern part of the city. Clients were divided between the various enterprises based on their geographical location. A major reform launched in 2004 consolidated the various companies under the umbrella of MIPC which became the municipal heat supplier. Its subsidiaries were the newly transformed Joint-stock companies. The city's main source of heating is the power station of Mosenergo which was reformed in 2005, when around ten subsidiaries were separated from it. One of the newly independent companies was the District Heating Network Company (MTK) (Russian: Московская теплосетевая компания). In 2007 the Government of Moscow bought controlling stakes in the company.^[172]

Moscow State University

There are 1,696 high schools in Moscow, as well as 91 colleges.^[102] Besides these, there are 222 institutions of higher education, including 60 state universities^[102] and the Lomonosov Moscow State University, which was founded in 1755.^[173] The main university building located in Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) is 240 metres (790 ft) tall and when completed, was the tallest building on the continent.^[174] 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 become fluent in the Russian language.^[175]

The I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University named after Ivan Sechenov or formerly known as Moscow Medical Academy (1stMSMU) is a medical university situated in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1785 as the faculty of the Moscow State University. It is a Russian Federal Agency for Health and Social Development. It is one of the largest medical universities in Russia and Europe. More than 9200 students are enrolled in 115 academic departments. It offers courses for post-graduate studies.

Moscow is one of the financial centers of the Russian Federation and CIS countries and is known for its business schools. Among them are the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation; Plekhanov Russian University of Economics; The State University of Management, and the National Research University - Higher School of Economics. They offer undergraduate degrees in management, finance, accounting, marketing, real estate, and economic theory, as well as Masters programs and MBAs. Most of them have branches in other regions of Russia and countries around the world.

The main building of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University

Bauman Moscow State Technical University, founded in 1830, is located in the center of Moscow and provides 18,000 undergraduate and 1,000 postgraduate students with an education in science and engineering, offering technical degrees.^[176] Since it opened enrollment to students from outside Russia in 1991, Bauman Moscow State Technical University has increased its number of international students up to two hundred.^[177]

The Moscow Conservatory building

The Moscow Conservatory,^[178] founded in 1866, is a prominent music school in Russia whose graduates include Sergey Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Aram Khachaturian, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Alfred Schnittke.

The Russian State Institute of Cinematography, the world's oldest
film school

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, Andrei Tarkovsky, Nikita Mikhalkov, Eldar Ryazanov, Alexander 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 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.^[179]

Other institutions are the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, also known as Phystech, the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Complex, founded in 1988 by Russian eye surgeon Svyatoslav Fyodorov, the Moscow Aviation Institute, the Moscow Motorway Institute (State Technical University), and the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has taught numerous Nobel Prize winners, including Pyotr Kapitsa, Nikolay Semyonov, Lev Landau and Alexander Prokhorov, while the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute is known for its research in nuclear physics.^[180] The highest Russian military school is the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Although Moscow has a number of famous Soviet-era higher educational institutions, most of which are more oriented towards engineering or the fundamental sciences, in recent years Moscow has seen a 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 introduced new courses or departments. 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 numerous countries, specially with the rest of Europe, have also become widespread in Moscow's universities, while schools within the Russian capital also offer seminars, lectures, and courses for corporate employees and businessmen.

Russian Academy of Sciences

Moscow is one of the largest science centers in Russia. The headquarters of the Russian Academy of Sciences are located in Moscow as well as research and applied science institutions. The Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading research and development institution in the fields of nuclear energy, where the first nuclear reactor in Europe was built, the 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.^[102] The Russian State Library,^[181] founded in 1862, is the national library of Russia. The library is home to over 275 km (171 mi) of shelves and 42 million items, including over 17 million books and serial volumes, 13 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 languages account for 29% of the collection.^[182][183]

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.^[184]

In regard to primary and secondary education, in 2011, Clifford J. Levy of The New York Times wrote, "Moscow has some strong public schools, but the system as a whole is dispiriting, in part because it is being corroded by the corruption that is a post-Soviet scourge. Parents often pay bribes to get their children admitted to better public schools. There are additional payoffs for good grades."^[185]

Metro

Moscow Metro route map with planned stations

Mayakovskaya station opened in 1938.

The Moscow Metro system is famous for its art, murals, mosaics, and ornate chandeliers. It started operation in 1935 and immediately became the centrepiece of the transportation system. More than that it was a Stalinist device to awe and reward the populace, and give them an appreciation of Soviet realist art. It became the prototype for future Soviet large-scale technologies. Lazar Kaganovich was in charge; he designed the subway so that citizens would absorb the values and ethos of Stalinist civilisation as they rode. The artwork of the 13 original stations became nationally and internationally famous. For example, the Sverdlov Square subway station featured porcelain bas-reliefs depicting the daily life of the Soviet peoples, and the bas-reliefs at the Dynamo Stadium sports complex glorified sports and the physical prowess of the powerful new "Homo Sovieticus" (Soviet man).^[186]

The metro was touted as the symbol of the new social order—a sort of Communist cathedral of engineering modernity.^[187] Soviet workers did the labour and the art work, but the main engineering designs, routes, and construction plans were handled by specialists recruited from the London Underground. The Britons called for tunnelling instead of the "cut-and-cover" technique, the use of escalators instead of lifts, and designed the routes and the rolling stock.^[188] The paranoia of Stalin and the NKVD was evident when the secret police arrested numerous British engineers for espionage—that is for gaining an in-depth knowledge of the city's physical layout. Engineers for the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company were given a show trial and deported in 1933, ending the role of British business in the USSR.^[189]

Today, the Moscow Metro comprises twelve lines, mostly underground with a total of 203 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 (276 ft) underground, has the longest escalators in Europe. The Moscow Metro is the busiest metro system in Europe, as well as one of the world's busiest metro systems, serving about ten million passengers daily (300,000,000 people every month).^[190] Facing serious transportation problems, Moscow has plans for expanding its Metro. In 2016, the authorities launched a new circle metro railway that contributed to solving transportation issues, namely daily congestion at Koltsevaya Line.^[191]

Due to treatment of Metro stations as possible canvas for art, characterized by fact workers of Moscow would get to see every day, many Stalin-era metro stations were built in different "custom" designs (where each station's design would be, initially, a massive installation on a certain theme. For example, Elektrozavodskaya station was themed solely after nearby lightbulb factory and ceramic ribbed lightbulb sockets);^[192] the tradition of "Grand Designs" and, basically, decorating metro stations as single-themed installations, was restored in late 1979.

More recently, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has introduced comforts ranging from WiFi and USB ports and Apple Pay — while opening new stations at a breakneck pace.^[193]

Moscow’s metro is one of the world’s busiest, handling 2.6 billion passengers in 2019 ^[194]

Monorail

Two trains of the Moscow Monorail arriving at a monorail station

The Moscow Metro operates a short monorail line. The line connects Timiryazevskaya metro station and Ulitsa Sergeya Eisensteina, passing close to VVTs. The line opened in 2004. No additional fare is needed (first metro-monorail transfer in 90 minutes does not charge).

Bus, trolleybus and electric bus

Moscow has the largest fleet of electric buses in Europe, with 500 operating as of October 2020 ^[update]. ^[195]

As Metro stations outside the city center are far apart in comparison to other cities, up to 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), a bus network radiates from each station to the surrounding residential zones. Moscow has a bus terminal for long-range and intercity passenger buses (Central Bus Terminal) with a daily turnover of about 25 thousand passengers serving about 40% of long-range bus routes in Moscow.^[196]

Every major street in the city is served by at least one bus route. Many of these routes are doubled by a trolleybus route and have trolley wires over them.

With the total line length of almost 600 kilometres (370 miles) of a single wire, 8 depots, 104 routes, and 1740 vehicles, the Moscow trolleybus system was the largest in the world. But municipal authority, headed by Sergey Sobyanin, began to destroy trolleybus system in Moscow at 2014 due to corruption and planned replacement of trolleybuses by electric buses. At 2018 Moscow trolleybus system has only 4 depots and dozens of kilometers of unused wires. Almost all trolleybus wires inside Garden Ring (Sadovoe Koltso) was cut in 2016–2017 due to the reconstruction of central streets ("Moya Ulitsa"). Opened on November 15, 1933, it is also the world's 6th oldest operating trolleybus system.

In 2018 the vehicle companies Kamaz and GAZ have won the Mosgortrans tender for delivering 200 electric buses and 62 ultra-fast charging stations to the city transport system. The manufacturers will be responsible for the quality and reliable operation of the buses and charging stations for the next 15 years. The city will be procuring only electric buses as of 2021, replacing the diesel bus fleet gradually. Moscow will become the leader amongst the European cities in terms of electric and gas fuel share in public transport by 2019, according to expectations.^[197]

Moscow cable car

Cable cars passing across the Moskva River and the Luzhniki Stadium

On November 26, 2018, the mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin took part in the ceremony to open the cable car above the Moskva River. The cable car will connect the Luzhniki sports complex with Sparrow Hills and Kosygin Street.

The journey from the well-known viewpoint on Vorobyovy Gory to Luzhniki Stadium will last for five minutes instead of 20 minutes that one would have to spend on the same journey by car. The cable car will work every day from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m.

The cable car is 720 meters long. It was built to transport 1,600 passengers per hour in all weathers. There 35 closed capsules designed by Porsche Design Studio to transport passengers. The booths are equipped with media screens, LED lights, hooks for bikes, skis and snowboards. Passengers will also be able to use audio guides in English, German, Chinese and Russian.

Tram

A Vityaz-M tram passing by the Tverskaya Zastava Square

Tram map of Moscow

Moscow has an extensive tram system, which first opened in 1899.^[198] The newest line was built in 1984. Its daily usage by Muscovites is low, making up for approximately 5% of trips because many vital connections in the network have been withdrawn. Trams still remain important in some districts as feeders to Metro stations. The trams also provide important cross links between metro lines, for example between Universitet station of Sokolnicheskaya Line (#1 red line) and Profsoyuznaya station of Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line (#6 orange line) or between Voykovskaya and Strogino.

There are three tram networks in the city:

• Krasnopresnenskoye depot network with the westernmost point at Strogino (depot location) and the easternmost point near platform Dmitrovskaya. This network became separated in 1973, but until 1997 it could easily have been reconnected by about one kilometre (0.62 miles) of track and three switches. The network has the highest usage in Moscow and no weak points based on turnover except to-depot lane (passengers serviced by bus) and tram ring at Dmitrovskaya (because now it is neither a normal transfer point nor a repair terminal).
• The Apakov depot services the south-western part from the Varshavsky lane – Simferopolsky boulevard in the east to the Universitet station in the west and Boulevard lane at the center. This network is connected only by the four-way Dubininskaya and Kozhevnicheskaya streets. A second connection by Vostochnaya (Eastern) street was withdrawn in 1987 due to fire at Dinamo plant and has not been recovered, and remains lost (Avtozavodsky bridge) at 1992. The network may be serviced anyway by another depot (now route 35, 38).
• Main three depot networks with railway gate and tram-repair plant.

In addition, tram advocates have suggested that the new rapid transit services (metro to City, Butovo light metro, Monorail) would be more effective as at-grade tram lines and that the problems with trams are only due to poor management and operation, not the technical properties of trams. New tram models have been developed for the Moscow network despite the lack of expansion.

Taxi

Commercial taxi services and route taxis are in widespread use. In the mid-2010s, service platforms such as Yandex.Taxi, Uber and Gett displaced many private drivers and small service providers and were in 2015 servicing more than 50% of all taxi orders in Moscow.^[199][200]

Railway

Komsomolskaya Square known as Three Station Square thanks to three ornate rail terminal situated there: Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky, and Kazansky

Several train stations serve the city. Moscow's nine rail terminals (or vokzals) are:

• Belorussky Rail Terminal
• Kazansky Rail Terminal
• Kiyevsky Rail Terminal
• Kursky Rail Terminal
• Leningradsky Rail Terminal
• Paveletsky Rail Terminal
• Rizhsky Rail Terminal
• Savyolovsky Rail Terminal
• Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal

The high-speed Sapsan train links Moscow with Saint Petersburg.

The terminals are located close to the city center, along with the metro ringline 5 or close to it, and connect to a metroline to the centre of town. Each station handles trains from different parts of Europe and Asia.^[201] There are many smaller railway stations in Moscow. As train tickets are cheap, they are the preferred mode of travel for Russians, especially when departing to Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. Moscow is the western terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which traverses nearly 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Russian territory to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.

Suburbs and satellite cities are connected by commuter elektrichka (electric rail) network. Elektrichkas depart from each of these terminals to the nearby (up to 140 km or 87 mi) large railway stations.

During the 2010s, the Little Ring of the Moscow Railway was converted to be used for frequent passenger service; it is fully integrated with Moscow Metro; the passenger service started on September 10, 2016. There is a connecting railway line on the North side of the town that connects Belorussky terminal with other railway lines. This is used by some suburban trains.

Moscow Central Circle

A 81-765 Moscow train on Shelepikha

The Moskovskaya Okruzhnaya Zheleznaya Doroga formed a ring around the now-downtown Moscow since 1903, but only served as non-electrified, fueled locomotive-only railway prior to reconstruction into MCC in 2010's.

The Moscow Central Circle is a 54-kilometre-long (34 mi) urban-metro railway orbital line that encircles historical Moscow. It was built alongside Little Ring of the Moscow Railway, taking some of its tracks into itself as well. M.C.C. was opened for passenger use on September 10, 2016. MOZD is integrated as "Line 14 of Moscow Metro", and, while using railway-sized trains, can be perceived as "S-train-design circle line".

The line is operated by the Moscow Government owned company MKZD through the Moscow Metro, with the Federal Government owned Russian Railways selected as the operation subcontractor. The track infrastructure and most platforms are owned by Russian Railways, while most station buildings are owned by MKZD. However, in S-bahn way, Moscow unified tickets "Ediniiy" and "Troika" are accepted by MCC stations. There is one zero-fee interchange for any ticket used on Moscow Metro station less than 90 minutes before entering an MCC station (and vice versa: a passenger of MCC gets 1 free interchange to Moscow Metro within 90 minutes after entering MCC station)

Moscow Central Diameters

An EG2Tv train arriving at the Moscow Belorussky railway station

Map of the Moscow Central Diameters

Another system, which forms "genuine S-Bahn" as in "suburbia-city-suburbia"-designed railway, is the Moscow Central Diameters, a pass-through railways system, created by constructing bypasses from "vokzals" final stations (e.g. by avoiding the central stations of already existing Moscow Railway, used for both intercity and urban-suburban travel before)^[202] and forming a train line across Moscow's centre.

Out of 5 projected lines, first 2 lines were completed and launched on 2019-11-21 (e.g. November 21, 2019).

While using the same rails as "regular" suburban trains to vokzals, MCD trains ("Ivolga" model) got distinguishing features (shape; red cabin, different windows, lesser amount of seats; big red "MЦΔ" train logo (informally "ЯИЦА" train logo, due to overlap of letter M and a window: without upper left corner, M letter can be interpreted as ЯИ letters, and Δ letter can be both interpreted as stylized Д or as stylized А)).

Roads

Intersection at Tverskaya Zastava Square

There are over 2.6 million cars in the city daily. Recent years have seen growth in the number of cars, which have caused traffic jams and lack of parking space to become major problems.

The Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), along with the Third Transport Ring and the cancelled Fourth Transport Ring, is one of only three freeways that run within Moscow city limits. There are several other roadway systems that form concentric circles around the city.

Air

There are five primary commercial airports serving Moscow: Sheremetyevo (SVO), Domodedovo (DME), Vnukovo (VKO), Zhukovsky (ZIA), Ostafyevo (OSF).

Sheremetyevo, the busiest airport in Russia, is ranked as the fifth-busiest airport in Europe.

Sheremetyevo International Airport is the most globally connected, handling 60% of all international flights.^[203] It is also a home to all SkyTeam members, and the main hub for Aeroflot (itself a member of SkyTeam). 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. Most of Star Alliance members use Domodedovo as their international hub. Vnukovo International Airport handles flights of Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Wizz Air and others. Ostafyevo International Airport caters primarily to business aviation.

Moscow's airports vary in distances from the MKAD beltway: Domodedovo is the farthest at 22 km (14 mi); Vnukovo is 11 km (7 mi); Sheremetyevo is 10 km (6 mi); and Ostafievo, the nearest, is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from MKAD.^[203]

There are a number of smaller airports close to Moscow (19 in Moscow Oblast) such as Myachkovo Airport, that are intended for private aircraft, helicopters and charters.^[204]

Water

Moscow has two passenger terminals, (South River Terminal and North River Terminal or Rechnoy vokzal), on the river and regular ship routes and cruises along the Moskva and Oka rivers, which are used mostly for entertainment. The North River Terminal, built in 1937, is the main hub for long-range river routes. There are three freight ports serving Moscow.

Sharing system

As of 2020 ^[update], Moscow has the largest fleet of carsharing vehicles in the world, with more than 30,000 cars. ^[205]

Moscow has different vehicle sharing options that are sponsored by the local government. There are several car sharing companies which are in charge of providing cars to the population. To drive the automobiles, the user has to book them through the app of the owning company. In 2018 the mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Moscow's car sharing system has become the biggest in Europe in terms of vehicle fleet.^[206] Every day about 25,000 people use this service. In the end of the same year Moscow carsharing became the second in the world in therms of fleet with 16.5K available vehicles.^[207] Another sharing system is bike sharing (Velobike) of a fleet formed by 3000 traditional and electrical bicycles.^[208] The Delisamokat is a new sharing service that provides electrical scooters.^[209] There are companies that provide different vehicles to the population in proximity to Moscow's big parks.

Future development

The 2020 development concept of Moscow International Business Center and its adjacent territory implies the construction of even more skyscrapers during the period of 2020–2027. ^[210][211]

In 1992, the Moscow government began planning a projected new part of central Moscow, the Moscow International Business Center, with the goal of creating a zone, the first in Russia, and in all of Eastern Europe,^[212] that will combine business activity, living space and entertainment. Situated in Presnensky District and located at the Third Ring, the Moscow City area is under intense development. The construction of the MIBC takes place on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. The whole project takes up to one square kilometre (250 acres). The area is the only spot in downtown Moscow that can accommodate a project of this magnitude. Today, most of the buildings there are old factories and industrial complexes.

The Federation Tower, completed in 2016, is the second-tallest building in Europe. It is planned to include a water park and other recreational facilities; business, office, entertainment and residential buildings, a transport network and a new site for the Moscow government. The construction of four new metro stations in the territory has been completed, two of which have 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 the Sheremetyevo International Airport is also planned.

Major thoroughfares through MIBC are the Third Ring and Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Three metro stations were initially planned for the Filyovskaya Line. The station Delovoi Tsentr opened in 2005 and was later renamed Vystavochnaya in 2009. The branch extended to the Mezhdunarodnaya station in 2006, and all work on the third station, Dorogomilovskaya (between Kiyevskaya and Delovoi Tsentr), has been postponed. There are plans to extend the branch as far as the Savyolovskaya station, on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line. It should be noted this line 4 of Moscow Metro had longest time intervals between train arrivals (approximately 8 minutes for Mezhdunarodnaya and Vystavochnaya branch of line 4) throughout 2010's. However, Vystavochnaya has been expanded with Line 8A platforms (segment of future Line 11), and Mezhdunarodnaya has been upgraded with line 14 platform.

Moscow is home to nearly all of Russia's nationwide television networks, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines.

Newspapers

English-language media include The Moscow Times and Moscow News, which are, respectively, the largest^[213] and oldest English-language weekly newspapers in all of Russia. Kommersant, Vedomosti and Novaya Gazeta are Russian-language media headquartered in Moscow. Kommersant and Vedomosti are among the country's leading and oldest Russian-language business newspapers.

TV and radio

The RTRN building

Other media in 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. The total number of radio stations in Moscow in the FM band is near 50.

Moscow television networks:

Moscow radio stations:

• 

  Alexander Pushkin, the founder of modern Russian literature was born in Moscow in 1799.

• 

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow in 1821.

• 

  Alexander Suvorov was born in Moscow in 1730.

• 

  Peter the Great was born in Moscow in 1672.

Twin towns – sister cities

Moscow is twinned with:

Cooperation agreements

Moscow has cooperation agreements with:

Former twin towns and sister cities

• Kyiv, Ukraine^[254]

• Media related to Moscow at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Interactive map of housing in Moscow from 1785-2018
• Travel2moscow.com – Official Moscow Guide
• Official Moscow Administration Site
• (in Russian) Informational website of Moscow
• Old maps of Moscow, Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel, in Historic Cities Research Project