Moscow.

History

Moscow is first mentioned in 1147 as the place where Yuri Dolgoruky met Sviatoslav Olgovich. Over time it became the centre of the Grand Principality of Moscow and the country's leading city. Peter the Great moved the capital to Saint Petersburg in 1712, and the government returned to Moscow in 1918. When Napoleon's army entered in 1812 a great fire swept the city, and in the Battle of Moscow, from October 1941 to January 1942, the German Army Group Centre was stopped at the city's edge and driven back; in 1965 Moscow was named a Hero City.

Culture & traditions

The Kremlin and Red Square, shaped between the 14th and 17th centuries, together with St Basil's Cathedral have become emblems of Russian architecture, and the Church of the Ascension at Kolomenskoye, built in 1532, is also on the UNESCO list. The Novodevichy Convent, founded by Vasili III in 1524, is described by UNESCO as the finest example of 'Moscow Baroque', and Gogol, Shostakovich and Rostropovich lie in the cemetery next door. Moscow is the city of the Bolshoi Theatre and the Tretyakov Gallery, and its skyline is defined by the Stalin-era 'Seven Sisters'. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, rebuilt in 1990–2000, stands once more on its original site.

Nature

The Moskva River winds through the city, and the highest point is the Teplostan Upland at 255 m. More than 40% of the territory is green: 96 parks and 18 gardens, including four botanical gardens, and about 100 km² of forest. Losiny Ostrov, Russia's first national park, is known as the 'city taiga', Izmaylovsky Park covers more than 15 km², and Gorky Park, opened in 1928, stretches along the Moskva River. Sokolniki is loved for its birch alleys, and the Main Botanical Garden, founded in 1945, holds more than 20,000 plant species.

Sport

Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics and matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Its main arena is Luzhniki, opened in 1956, which staged the ceremonies and athletics of the 1980 Games and the World Cup final on 15 July 2018. It is the largest football stadium in Russia and has at different times been home to Spartak and CSKA. The rivalry between these two football clubs is Moscow's main derby.

Food & drink

Moscow cooking draws on the 'Old Moscow' table of the 17th century, which food historians treat as a distinct period of Russian cuisine. The best-known dish invented in Moscow is Olivier salad, created in the 1860s by Lucien Olivier, chef of the celebrated Hermitage restaurant. Shashlik, according to the writer Gilyarovsky, only reached Moscow in the late 19th century. Today the capital gathers cuisines from all over the country and the world.

Practical information

Moscow is served by four international airports, the largest being Sheremetyevo, Russia's busiest, linked to Belorussky station by the Aeroexpress train; Domodedovo and Vnukovo are among the others. The city has ten railway terminals, and its metro is the busiest in Europe, complemented by the Moscow Central Circle and the Big Circle Line. Moscow time is UTC+3. The climate is humid continental, averaging about −10 °C in January and +20 °C in July; snow usually lies from mid-October to late March, and May to September is the most pleasant time for walking.

What to see

• Kremlin and Red Square — the city's heart, a UNESCO site, with St Basil's Cathedral beside it
• Kolomenskoye — the UNESCO-listed Church of the Ascension of 1532
• Novodevichy Convent — a masterpiece of Moscow Baroque with a 72-metre bell tower
• Tretyakov Gallery — one of the capital's leading art collections
• Losiny Ostrov — Russia's first national park, a 'city taiga' within Moscow
• Gorky Park — a riverside green heart of the city since 1928