Moscow

If St. Petersburg is Russia's imperial crown, Moscow is its familial heart. Moscow is the capital and the largest city of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest city in Europe, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world. Red Square As often as Moscow has been threatened, besieged and destroyed, its inhabitants have rebuilt their city. In the 20th century Moscow, which lies on the Moskva River, finally blossomed into the undisputed centre of Russia and one of the world’s largest cities. Since the end of Soviet rule, Moscow has changed more than any other part of the country and is probably enjoying the most splendid period in its history. Moscow is Russia’s economic and political centre and with around 11 million inhabitants mainland Europe’s’ biggest city. While the losers of the reforms are easily spotted elsewhere in the country, in Moscow, everyone seems to be a winner - or at least a wannabe winner. Moscow is the New York of Russia, a city that never sleeps, where anything is possible. It is the melting pot of a collapsed empire, both European and Asiatic. Skyscrapers shoot up like mushrooms, the city centre is being mercilessly renovated and new temples to consumerism open their portals daily. Yet there is another Moscow, away from the Garden Ring and Kremlin. Cosy cafés, narrow alleys, hidden artists’ studios and idyllic parks are as much a part of the city’s fabric as the huge Stalinist wedding cake buildings, expensive fashion stores and McDonalds. Moscow is a monster, but a charming monster. Read more about Moscow.