Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia, situated on the Moskva River in Central Russia. The city has a population estimated at more than 13 million residents within city limits, more than 19.1 million residents in the urban area, and more than 21.5 million residents in the metropolitan area. The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi); the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi); and the metropolitan area covers more than 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities: the most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan areas in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent.
First documented in 1147, Moscow became the capital of the Grand Principality of Moscow, which led the unification of Russian lands in the 15th century and became the center of a unified state. Following the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547, Moscow remained the country's political and economic center for most of its history. During the reign of Peter the Great, the Russian capital was moved to the newly founded city of Saint Petersburg in 1712, leading to a decline in Moscow's importance throughout the imperial period. Following the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR), the capital was moved back to Moscow in 1918. The city later became the political center of the Soviet Union and experienced significant population growth throughout the Soviet period. In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Moscow remained the capital city of the newly reconstituted Russian Federation and has experienced continued growth.
The northernmost and coldest megacity in the world, Moscow is governed as a federal city, where it serves as the political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe. Moscow has one of the world's largest urban economies. Moscow has the second-highest number of billionaires of any city (tied with Hong Kong). The Moscow International Business Center is one of the largest financial centers in the world and features the majority of Europe's tallest skyscrapers. Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics and co-hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The city contains several UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is known for its display of Russian architecture—particularly in areas such as Red Square, as well as buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin, which serves as the seat of power of the Government of Russia. Russian companies in various industries are headquartered in Moscow, and the city is served by a comprehensive transit network; this includes four international airports, ten railway terminals, a tram system, a monorail system, and the Moscow Metro, which is the busiest metro system in Europe and one of the largest rapid transit systems in the world. More than 40% of the city's territory is covered by greenery, making it one of the greenest cities in the world.
Etymology
Moscow's name is thought to be derived from that of the Moskva River. Multiple theories have been proposed for the origin of this river's name.
The linguistically best-grounded and most widely accepted theory is that the name comes from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root *mŭzg-/muzg-, from the Proto-Indo-European *meu- "wet"; thus, the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or marsh. The name's cognates include the following:
- Russian: музга, muzga "pool, puddle"
- Lithuanian: mazgoti and Latvian: mazgāt "to wash"
- Sanskrit: májjati "to drown"
- Latin: mergō "to dip, immerse"
- Prekmurje Slovene: müzga "marsh, swamp"
In many Slavic countries, Moskov is a surname, most commonly in Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and North Macedonia. In addition, similarly named places exist in Poland, such as Mozgawa. According to a Finno-Ugric hypothesis, the Merya and Muroma people—who were among the pre-Slavic tribes that inhabited the area—called the river Mustajoki ("Black River"), and the name of the river derives from this term. Other theories, having little or no scientific basis, are rejected by linguists.
The Old Russian form of the city's name has been reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky; hence the name was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. As with other nouns of that declension, the name had been undergoing a morphological transformation during an early stage of the language's development; as a result, the first written references in the 12th century were to Московь, Moskovĭ (accusative case), Москви, Moskvi (locative case), and Москвe/Москвѣ, Moskve/Moskvě (genitive case). From the latter forms came the modern Russian form Москва, Moskva, which is a result of morphological generalization with numerous Slavic ā-stem nouns. The form Moskovĭ has left traces in other languages, including the following:
- English: Moscow
- German: Moskau
- French: Moscou
- Portuguese: Moscou, Moscovo
- Spanish: Moscú
Moscow has acquired epithets, such as the "Third Rome". It was one of 12 honorary Hero Cities in the Soviet Union. The demonym for a Moscow resident is rendered as Muscovite in English.
History
Prehistory
The site of modern-day Moscow has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Among the earliest archaeological discoveries were relics of the Lyalovo culture, which experts assign to the Neolithic period. These relics confirm that the area's first inhabitants were hunters and gatherers. Around 950 AD, two Slavic tribes—Vyatichi and Krivichi—settled in the area. The Vyatichi may have formed the majority of Moscow's indigenous population.
Early history (1147–1263)
Moscow is first mentioned in chronicles in the year 1147, as part of the principality of Rostov-Suzdal, which emerged from the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. Moscow was referred to as a meeting place for Yuri Dolgorukiy and Sviatoslav Olgovich. At the time, it was a minor town on the western border of the principality. The importance of Moscow increased significantly during the second half of the 12th century, and the town was converted into a fortified gorod (stronghold) during the 1150s, when the first walls of the Kremlin were built. During the Mongol invasions of 1237–1238, Moscow was sacked following the destruction of Ryazan.
The first prince of Moscow was Daniel, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. In 1263, Daniel was given Moscow as an otchina (hereditary land), where he established a local branch of Rurikid princes. Two chronicles refer to Mikhail Khorobrit as "Mikhail of Moscow" during the mid-13th century, but Daniel is generally considered to be the first prince of Moscow. On Mikhail's death in 1248—if it is assumed that an appanage principality was created (as a grant to a younger child of a monarch)—Moscow reverted as an escheat (where the state takes ownership of "unowned" land) to the grand prince of Vladimir. Until 1271, the principality was ruled by the governors of Daniel's uncle Yaroslav, who was given Tver as an appanage. Daniel is first mentioned in chronicles in the year 1282, when he participated in a feudal war between his two older brothers.
Grand Principality (1263–1547)
By 1300, Moscow was one of the leading principalities within Vladimir-Suzdal, alongside Tver. On the right bank of the Moskva River—at a distance of eight kilometers (5 mi) from the Kremlin—Daniel founded the first monastery with the wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite, which is now the Danilov Monastery. Following Daniel's death in 1303, the territory of the principality almost tripled in size, encompassing the entire Moskva River along with its tributaries, which allowed Moscow to become self-sufficient. The principality was also provided with a river network that facilitated trade.
Daniel's descendants struggled with the princes of Tver over succession to the grand principality. Yury won recognition as the grand prince from the contemporary Mongol khan in 1318, but Yury lost the title four years later. Ivan I recovered the grand princely throne from Tver after proving himself to be a loyal servant of the khan. Ivan collected tribute for the khan of the Golden Horde from dependent Russian princes, and he used the funds that he acquired to develop Moscow. In addition, the metropolitan of the Russian Church found an ally in Ivan and moved his seat from the nominal capital of Vladimir to Moscow. The foundation of Moscow's first stone church, the Dormition Cathedral, was laid in 1326, and the metropolitan chose to be buried there—an act that confirmed Moscow's status as the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy. Masonry building continued in the following years with the construction of additional stone churches. The limestone walls and towers of the Kremlin were built in 1366–1368. A distinct architectural school emerged in the late 14th century.
The khan of the Golden Horde initially backed Moscow in an effort to halt the eastward expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but he continued to meddle in Moscow's relations with other Russian princes to prevent it from becoming too strong. In 1353, the Black Death spread from northwestern Russia to Moscow, causing the deaths of ruler Simeon of Moscow, his sons, and the metropolitan. The ruling family of Moscow remained small as a result, and a new vertical pattern was defined: princely succession from father to son. During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, the Moscow principality expanded significantly in size. In 1380, Dmitry led a united Russian army to victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo, which increased Moscow's prestige and solidified the status of its rulers as military leaders of the nation. Following Dmitry's death in 1389, the thrones of Vladimir and Moscow were permanently united.
During the reign of Vasily II, a civil war broke out after Yury of Zvenigorod challenged the succession of his nephew in 1425. Moscow switched hands numerous times; Yury's son, Dmitry Shemyaka, continued to resist until his appanage center of Galich was captured in 1450. In ecclesiastical matters, Vasily disapproved of the Council of Florence, leading him to arrest the metropolitan when he returned in 1441 for having signed it. Seven years later, a council of Russian bishops elected their own metropolitan, which amounted to a declaration of autocephaly by the Russian Church. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 was viewed by the Russians as divine punishment for its apostasy, and in 1492, Moscow was called an imperial city for the first time by the Russian metropolitan.
During the reign of Ivan III, nearly all of the Russian states were united with Moscow, and the foundations for a centralized state were laid. In addition, Ivan's defeat of the Tatars in 1480 traditionally marks the end of Tatar suzerainty. Ivan did his utmost to make his capital a worthy successor to Constantinople; he had the Kremlin reconstructed after inviting architects from Renaissance Italy—including Petrus Antonius Solarius, who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers; and Marco Ruffo, who designed the new palace for the prince. The current Kremlin walls were designed by Solarius and completed in 1495. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built in 1505–1508 and augmented to its current height in 1600. A trading settlement (or posad) developed east of the Kremlin, in the area known as Zaradye. During the time of Ivan III, the Red Square appeared, originally called the "Hollow Field".
Ivan's son Vasily III continued the expansion of the Muscovite state and annexed the remaining Russian territories. His reign also saw the continued development of the doctrine of Moscow as the "Third Rome". In 1508–1516, the Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin (Novy) arranged to construct a moat in front of the eastern wall, which would connect the Moskva and Neglinnaya Rivers, and be filled with water from the Neglinnaya. Known as the Alevizov moat, it had a length of 541 meters (1,775 feet), a width of 36 meters (118 feet), and a depth of 9.5 to 13 meters (31–43 feet). This moat was lined with limestone; in 1533, it was fenced on both sides with low, four-meter-thick (13-foot) cogged-brick walls.
Tsardom (1547–1721)
In 1547, Ivan the Terrible was crowned in Moscow as not only the grand prince, but also the first tsar of all Russia. During the 16th and 17th centuries, three circular defenses were built around the town: Kitay-gorod, the White City, and the Earthen City. However, in 1547, fires destroyed much of the town, and in 1571 the Crimean Tatars captured Moscow, burning everything except the Kremlin. The annals record that only 30,000 of 200,000 inhabitants survived.
The Crimean Tatars attacked again in 1591, but they were held back by new defensive walls, built between 1584 and 1591 by a craftsman named Fyodor Kon. In 1592, an outer earth rampart with 50 towers was erected around the city, including an area on the right bank of the Moscow River. As an outermost line of defense, a chain of strongly fortified monasteries was established beyond the ramparts to the south and east—principally the Novodevichy Convent and the Donskoy, Danilov, Simonov, Novospasskiy, and Andronikov monasteries, most of which now house museums. Because of its ramparts, the city became known poetically as Bielokamennaya, the "White-Walled". The city limits, as marked by those ramparts, are marked by the Garden Ring in contemporary Moscow. Three square gates existed on the east side of the Kremlin wall, which in the 17th century were known as Konstantino-Eleninsky, Spassky, and Nikolsky (after the icons of Constantine and Helen, the Savior, and St. Nicholas that hung over those gates). The last two gates were directly opposite the Red Square, while the Konstantino-Eleninsky gate was located behind Saint Basil's Cathedral.
The Russian famine of 1601–1603 killed possibly 100,000 people in Moscow. Between 1610 and 1612, troops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied Moscow, as its ruler Sigismund III tried to take the Russian throne. In 1612, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities, led by prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, rose against the Polish occupants, besieged the Kremlin, and expelled them. In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor (lit. 'assembly of the land'; parliament) elected Michael Romanov as tsar, establishing the Romanov dynasty. The 17th century witnessed several uprisings—such as the liberation of Moscow from Polish–Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the Moscow uprising of 1682.