MOSCOW

Population: 8.6 m
Area: 994 sq. km
Main street: Tverskaya
Main square: Red Square

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, administrative and cultural center, and a heroic city. It is the biggest city in the country and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is the seat of the government of Russia. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world come here to admire Moscow's streets, the ancient Kremlin and the Metro stations, to visit its theaters, museums, parks, stadiums and places of interest.

A bit of history...

The first mention of Moscow is in a chronicle of the year 1147, and this year is taken as the date of the founding of the city. In 1156, Prince Yury Dolgoruky built a small wooden fortress on the high Borovitsky HIll where the Neglinnaya River flows into the Moskva River. Later, the wooden walls were replaced with stone ones. In 1367, Dmitry Donskoy erected great Kremlin ramparts of white stone; henceforward, Moscow became known as "Belokamennaya" (White-Stone City). The walls that surround the Kremlin today were built in 1485-1495. By that time, Moscow has already become the capital of the centralized Russian state and remained such till the 18th century, when Peter I transferred the capital of the Russian Empire to St. Petersburg. In March 1918, Moscow became the capital of the first socialist state. In 1997, the residents of Moscow celebrated the 850th anniversary of its foundation.