Moscow's history

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Moscow is the capital city and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center in Russia and in Eastern Europe. According to Forbes 2013,^[14] Moscow has the largest number ofbillionaire residents in the world. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the second most populous city in Europe after Istanbul^[15][16][17] and the 6th largest city proper in the world. It is the largest city in Russia, with a population, according to the 2010 Census, of 11,503,501.^[8] By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the capital increased its area 2.5 times; from about 1,000 square kilometers (390 sq mi) up to 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), and gained an additional population of 233,000 people.^[18][19]

Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia making it the world's most populated inland city. It also has the largest forest area within its borders-more than any other major city-even before its expansion in 2012. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of theMoscow Kremlin, a medieval city-fortress that is today the residence of the Russian president. The Moscow Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.

The city is served by an extensive transit network, which includes four international airports, nine railway terminals, and one of the deepest underground metro systems in the world, the Moscow Metro, third to Tokyo and Seoul in terms of passenger numbers. It is recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich and varied architecture of its 194 stations.

Over time, Moscow has acquired a number of epithets, most referring to its size and preeminent status within the nation: The Third Rome (Третий Рим), The Whitestone One (Белокаменная), The First Throne (Первопрестольная), The Forty Forties (Сорок Сороков), and The Hero City (город-герой). In old Russian the word «Сорок» (forty) also meant a church administrative district, which consisted of about forty churches. The demonym for a Moscow resident is «москвич» (moskvich), rendered in English as Muscovite.

The city is named after the river (old Russian: грамд Москомв, literally «the city by the Moskva River»). The first reference to Moscow dates from 1147 when Yuri Dolgorukiy called upon the prince of the Novgorod-Severski to «come to me, brother, to Moscow».^[3]

Nine years later, in 1156, Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy of Rostov ordered the construction of a wooden wall, the Kremlin, which had to be rebuilt multiple times, to surround the emerging city.^[20] After the sacking of 1237-1238, when the Mongols burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants, Moscow recovered and became the capital of the independent Vladimir-Suzdal principality in 1327.^[21] Its favorable position on the headwaters of the Volga River contributed to steady expansion. Moscow developed into a stable and prosperous principality, known as Grand Duchy of Moscow, for many years and attracted a large number of refugees from across Russia.

Under Ivan I of Moscow the city replaced Tver as a political center of Vladimir-Suzdal and became the sole collector of taxes for the Mongol-Tatar rulers. By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan. Unlike other principalities, Moscow was not divided among his sons, but was passed intact to his eldest. Moscow's opposition against foreign domination grew. In 1380, prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo. The battle, however, was not decisive and only two years later Moscow was sacked by khan Tokhtamysh. Ivan III, in 1480, finally broke the Russian people free from Tatar control, allowing Moscow to become the center of power in Russia.^[22] Under Ivan III the city became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of present-day Russia and other lands.

In 1571, the Crimean Tatars attacked and sacked Moscow, burning everything but the Kremlin.^[23]

In 1609, the Swedish Army led by Count Jacob De la Gardie and Evert Horn started their march from Great Novgorod toward Moscow to help Tsar Vasili Shuiski, entered Moscow in 1610 and suppressed the rebellion against the Tsar, but left it early in 1611, following which the Polish-Lithuanian army invaded. During the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618) hetman Stanisіaw Їуіkiewski entered Moscow after defeating the Russians in the Battle of Klushino. The 17th century was rich in popular risings, such as theliberation of Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the Moscow Uprising of 1682. The plague epidemics ravaged Moscow in 1570-1571, 1592 and 1654-1656.^[24] The city ceased to be Russia's capital in 1712, after the founding of Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great near theBaltic coast in 1703. The Plague of 1771 was the last massive outbreak of plague in central Russia, claiming up to 100,000 lives in Moscow alone. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Muscovites burned the city and evacuated, as Napoleon's forces were approaching on 14 September. Napoleon's Grande Armйe, plagued by hunger, cold and poor supply lines, was forced to retreat and was nearly annihilated by the devastating Russian winter and sporadic attacks by Russian military forces. As many as 400,000 died during this time, and only a few tens of thousands of ravaged troops returned.^[25]

In January 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor, was officially introduced in Moscow, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor. Following theRussian Revolution of 1917, on 12 March 1918^[26] Moscow became the capital of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and of the Soviet Union less than five years later.^[27] During World War II (the period from June 22, 1941, to May 9, 1945, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War), after the German invasion of the USSR, the SovietState Defense Committee and the General Staff of the Red Army was located in Moscow.

In 1941, sixteen divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), twenty-five battalions (18,500 people) and four engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. That November, the German Army Group Center was stopped at the outskirts of the city and then driven off in the Battle of Moscow. Many factories were evacuated, together with most of the government, and from 20 October the city was declared to be under siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and supervised antitank defenses, while the city was subjected to air bombing. Joseph Stalin refused to leave Moscow, meaning that the general staff and the council of people's commissars remained in the city as well. Despite the siege and the bombings, the construction of Moscow's metro system continued through the war, and by the end of the war several new metro lines were opened.

Both German and Soviet casualties during the battle of Moscow have been a subject of debate, as various sources provide somewhat different estimates. Total casualties between 30 September 1941, and 7 January 1942, are estimated to be between 248,000 and 400,000 for the Wehrmacht and between 650,000 and 1,280,000 for the Red Army.^[28][29][30]

On 1 May 1944, a medal For the defense of Moscow and in 1947 another medal In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow were introduced. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, on May 8, 1965, Moscow became one of twelve Soviet cities awarded the Hero City title.

In 1980, it hosted the Summer Olympic Games, which were boycotted by the United States and several other Western countries due to the Soviet Union's involvement inAfghanistan in late 1979. In 1991, Moscow was the scene of the failed coup attempt by the government members opposed to the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. When the USSRdissolved at the end of that year, Moscow continued as the capital of Russia.

Since then, the emergence of a market economy in Moscow has produced an explosion of Western-style retailing, services, architecture, and lifestyles. In 1998, Moscow hosted the first World Youth Games - see 1998 World Youth Games. This city hosted the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.

Location

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 m (512 ft). Teplostanskaya highland is the city's highest point at 255 metres (837 feet).^[31]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

Main article: Moscow Time

Moscow serves as the reference point for the timezone used in most of Central Russia, including Saint Petersburg. The areas operate in what is referred to in international standards as Moscow Standard Time (MSK, мск), which is 4 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+4. Daylight saving time is no longer observed.

Moscow Time (UTC+4)

Climate

Main article: Climate of Moscow

Moscow has a humid continental climate (Kцppen climate classification Dfb) with long, cold (although average by Russian standards) winters usually lasting from mid November through the end of March, and warm summers. Weather can fluctuate widely with temperatures ranging from ?25°C (?13°F) to above 0°C (32°F) in the winter and from 15°C (59°F) to 30°C (86°F) in the summer.^[32] Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around a comfortable 20°C (68°F) to 26°C (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, night-time temperatures normally drop to approximately ?10°C (14°F), though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above 0°C (32°F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.2°C (100.8°F)^[33] 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 wave. Record high temperatures were recorded for January, March, April, May, August, November and December in 2007.^[34] The average July temperature from 1981-2010 is 19.2°C (66.6°F). The lowest ever recorded temperature was ?42.2°C (?44.0°F) in January 1940. Snow, which is present for three to five months a year, often begins to fall at the end of November and melts by mid-March.

On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying between a low of 8% in December to 52% in May-August.^[35] Between 2004-2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with a tendency to more sunshine in summer months.^[36]

Population[edit]

federal city recreational

See also: Ethnic groups in Moscow

According to the results of the 2010 Census, the population of Moscow was 11,503,501;^[8] up from 10,382,754 recorded in the 2002 Census.^[42]

At the time of the official 2010 Census, the ethnic makeup of the city's population whose ethnicity was known (10,835,092 people) was:^[8]

· Russian: 9,930,410 (91.65%)

· Ukrainian: 154,104 (1.42%)

· Tatar: 149,043 (1.38%)

· Armenian: 106,466 (0.98%)

· Azeri: 57,123 (0.5%)

· Belarusian: 39,225 (0.4%)

· Georgian: 38,934 (0.4%)

· Uzbek: 35,595 (0.3%)

· Tajik: 27,280 (0.2%)

· Moldovan: 21,699 (0.2%)

· Mordvin: 17,095 (0.2%)

· Chechen: 14,524 (0.1%)

· Chuvash: 14,313 (0.1%)

· Ossetian: 11,311 (0.1%)

· Others: 164,825 (1.6%)

· 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.^[43]

The official population of Moscow is based on those holding «permanent residency.» According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, Moscow also 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 unofficial guests, those without proper documentation, the vast majority from Central Asia, is estimated to be an additional 1 million people,^[44] for a total population of about 14.3 million.

Religion

Christianity is the predominant religion in the city, of which the Russian Orthodox Church is the most popular. Moscow is Russia's capital of Orthodox Christianity, which has been the country's traditional religion and was deemed a part of Russia's «historical heritage» in a law passed in 1997.^[47] Other religions practiced in Moscow include Islam, Rodnovery, Protestantism, Catholicism, Old Believers, Buddhism, and Judaism.

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» - «город сорока сороков церквей» - prior to 1917. In 1918 the Bolshevik government declared Russia a secular state, which in practice meant that religion was suppressed and society was to become atheistic. During the period of 1920-1930s a great number of churches in Moscow were demolished, including historical Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin, dating from the 14th century, Kazansky Cathedral on the Red Square, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, constructed in the 19th century in memory of a victory over Napoleon's army in 1812, and many more. This continued even after the Second World War, in 1940-1970s, when persecutions against religion in the Soviet Union became less severe. Most of the surviving churches and monasteries were closed and then used as clubs, offices, factories or even warehouses. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 many of the destroyed churches have been restored and traditional religions are once again gaining popularity. Among the churches reconstructed in the 1990s is an impressive new Cathedral of Christ the Savior which once more has become a picturesque landmark of the city. It was built on the site of the old demolished cathedral, where there had been a huge open swimming-pool until 1994.

Muslims constitute around 1.5 million, that is 14% of the population.^[48] There are four mosques in the city.

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