According to abbreviationfinder, Moscow is a great city and the capital of Russia, founded in 1147 by the Russian prince Yuri Dolgoruki, having been a small town on the banks of the Moskva River.
Characteristics
For much of the 20th century it was the capital of the former Soviet Union and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. With 10,562,099 permanent residents (2010) it is the most populous city in Russia and Europe. Moscow is an important economic center and a relevant political, cultural and scientific center of the country.
Geography
Located in a privileged hydraulic position and as a passage for several routes, Moscow is located on the banks of the Moskva River, in the westernmost part of the country.
Climate
Moscow has a continental climate with harsh, long winters and mild, short summers. Cloudy and overcast days are frequent throughout the year, which is why in winter the average hours of sunshine rarely exceed 15 minutes a day.
Winter temperatures rarely exceed 0 ° C, with plenty of snowy days. Snow on the streets of the city can last half a year perfectly, from the end of October to the beginning of April. In severe cold waves, temperatures can drop to as low as -50 ° C, even lower temperatures that have been recorded several times to date.
Spring during the first weeks is cold, although it is generally mild from April-May where rainy days begin to be frequent.
In summer, temperatures occasionally rise to 35 ° C with heat waves, although they normally range between 10 ° C and 30 ° C. Storms are also common. The maximum rainfall occurs in this season, coinciding with the time of higher temperatures.
During the autumn, the time of transition from hot to cold returns, and snowfalls return to normal from the end of October.
Demography
The people of Moscow are Muscovite. The population of Moscow is a mixture of many nationalities. Russians are the largest ethnic group in Moscow by far. Other nationalities include Ukrainians, Tatars, Belarusians, and Armenians, although there are no separate ethnic neighborhoods. The government has tried to limit the number of people living in the city. See population of Russia.
Economy
Since the financial crisis in Russia in 1998, several sectors have experienced significant growth. Primary industries in Moscow include chemicals, metallurgy, food, textile, furniture, energy production, software development, and machinery industries.
Culture
Architecture
In the historic center of Moscow pre-revolutionary buildings predominate, whose construction dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before the October Revolution of 1917. Also noteworthy in the city are buildings from the Stalin period, a style between the 1930s and 1930s. 1950. These buildings are usually located on the most important streets and avenues of the city, such as Tverskaya, Kutúzovski, and Leninsky and Leningradsky avenues.
Lately, buildings in Moscow are trying to adapt to modern times. Proof of this is the plan being carried out by the prestigious British architect Norman Foster by building an area dedicated to business known as Moscow City, on the banks of the Moskva River, where the Russia Tower is erected. This large tower should be ready by 2011 and is expected to be 600 meters high. The 520,800 square meters of the complex will also house an office area, a hotel area and a residence area.
Arts
In Moscow are the most important frescoes and icons of Russia. There are several historical buildings that contain icons of important artists, such as the Kremlin cathedrals, the Cathedral of the Assumption or the Church of the Apparition of the Virgin. The frescoes are commonly found in many Muscovite churches. The most notable frescoes are in churches such as that of Holy Trinity in Nikítniki, the cathedral of the Srétenski monastery or the Church of Saint John the Warrior.
The Tretyakov National Art Gallery is the most important in Moscow, thanks, in part, to its collection of pre-revolutionary Russian art. The gallery, and of course its name, is closely related to the life of a local patron, Pavel Tretyakov, a man dedicated to the collection of works of art and who promoted the creation of the gallery. In fact, in 1872 Tretyakov’s art collection contained nearly 500 works. After his death, the direction of the construction of the gallery was directed by the governor of Moscow himself.
Theater
Moscow is considered one of the largest cultural capitals in the world. Its Bolshoi Theater (in Spanish Great Theater) is perhaps the theatrical emblem of the city, home to Russian opera and ballet shows, where the works of Russian composers such as Glinka or Rimski-Kórsakov are performed, and it is the headquarters of the Company of the Bolshoi Ballet, which featured Maia Plisétskaya and Mikhail Baríshnikov. The building is one of the most important works of Russian classicism, whose construction was carried out by Joseph Bové, a Russian architect, in 1824, being restored in 1854 after a fire. It is located in one of the key locations in the city, the Plaza Teatral.
