Portal:Moscow
Moscow
Moscow (UK /ˈmɒskoʊ/ or US /ˈmɑːskaʊ/; Russian:
Москва (help·info), tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva]; see also other names) is the capital and the most populous city and the federal subject of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation center of Russia and the world, a global city. It is also the seventh largest city proper in the world, a megacity. The population of Moscow (as of 1 September 2009) is 10,535,100.
It is located by the Moskva River in the Central Federal District, in the European part of Russia. Moscow sits on the junction of three geological platforms. Historically, it was the capital of the former Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. It is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, one of the World Heritage Sites in the city, which serves as the residence of the President of Russia. The Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) and the Government of Russia also sit in Moscow.
Moscow is a major economic centre. It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes four international airports, nine railroad terminals, and the world's second busiest (after Tokyo) metro system which is famous for its architecture and artwork. Its metro is the busiest single-operator subway in the world.
Over time, the city has earned a variety of nicknames, most referring to its pre-eminent status in the nation: The Third Rome (Третий Рим), Whitestone (Белокаменная), The First Throne (Первопрестольная), The Forty Forties (Сорок Сороков).
A person from Moscow is called a Muscovite in English or Moskvich in Russian.
Selected article
The Cathedral of Intercession of Theotokos on the Moat (Russian: Собор Покрова пресвятой Богородицы, что на Рву), popularly known as the Cathedral of Basil the Blessed, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral erected on the Red Square in Moscow in 1555–1561. Built on the order of Ivan IV of Russia to commemorate the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan, it marks the geometric center of the city and the hub of its growth since the 14th century. It was the tallest building of Moscow until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.
The original building, known as "Trinity Church" and later "Trinity Cathedral", contained eight side churches arranged around the ninth, central church of Intercession; the tenth church was erected in 1588 over the grave of venerated local Fool Vasily (Basil). In the 16th and the 17th centuries the cathedral, perceived as the earthly symbol of the Heavenly City was popularly known as the "Jerusalem" and served as an allegory of the Jerusalem Temple in the annual Palm Sunday parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the tsar.
The building's design, shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, has no analogues in Russian architecture: "It is like no other Russian building. Nothing similar can be found in the entire millennium of Byzantine tradition from the fifth to fifteenth century... a strangeness that astonishes by its unexpectedness, complexity and dazzling interleaving of the manifold details of its design. The cathedral foreshadowed the climax of Russian national architecture in the 17th century but has never been reproduced directly.
The cathedral has operated as a division of the State Historical Museum since 1928. It was completely secularized in 1929 and, as of 2009, remains a federal property of the Russian Federation. The cathedral has been part of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.
Selected biography
Prince Yuri I Dolgorukiy (Russian: Юрий Долгорукий, "Yuri the long-armed"), also known as George I of Rus', (c. 1099 – 15 May 1157) was the founder of Moscow and a key figure in the transition of political power from Kiev to Vladimir-Suzdal following the death of his elder brother Mstislav the Great. He reigned as Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Prince) of Kiev from September 1149 to April 1151 and then again from March 1155 to his death in May 1157. He was interred at the Saviour Church in Berestovo, Kiev, but his tomb is empty.
Quality Content
• Battle of Moscow • Vkhutemas • Aleksandr Vasilevsky • Laika
• Moscow Monorail • Emil Stang (born 1882) • Shkolnaya Street • Stray dogs in Moscow • Malchik • Moscow International House of Music • Coat of arms of Moscow • 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade • Lobnoye Mesto • 1904 Moscow tornado • Moscow Orphanage • Lenin's Mausoleum
Selected picture
Boris Yelstin speaking on top of a tank during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt
Did you know?
- ... that a monument at Mendeleyevskaya station in the Moscow Metro marks the location where stray dog Malchik was stabbed to death by a railway commuter?
- ... that the Moscow International House of Music is topped by an enormous treble clef that rotates like a weathervane?
- ...that the Moscow Orphanage controlled the largest bank and capital assets in 19th-century Moscow?
- ...that the horseman depicted on the Coat of arms of Moscow (pictured) was not identified with Saint George until the 18th century?
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