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Moscow at a Glance
Moscow is a subject of the Russian Federation, a federal city, and the Russian capital. It has its own territory and population, is home to bodies of state and local governments, and has its own coat of arms, flag, and anthem. Read more
Moscow is the political and business centre of Russia, as well as the nation’s seat of power and home to its leading economic and financial institutions, over half of the country’s commercial and specialized banks, representative offices of major Russian companies, and leading world corporations. Furthermore, over 200,000 small businesses are registered in Moscow, with the Russian capital’s employment index in this sphere — currently at 50—55% — nearing the European level.
Russia’s existing transport system is Moscow-centered, generating the main freight and passenger traffic routes in the capital and making for the creation of the national trade and distribution centre on the basis of the Moscow transport hub, containing just shy of 70% of the country’s overall warehouse space. The Moskva River water transport artery connects Moscow to five seas: the Sea of Azov, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the White Sea.
Moscow is the economic centre of Russia, the main supplier of goods and services, human resources, scientific and innovative solutions, and advanced technologies. Such sectors as fuel and energy, industry, transport, trade, communications, tourism, and education are considered promising for investment.
Moscow accounts for over 60% of total investment in Russia, and one third of the city budget is formed at the expense of foreign economic activity, while one quarter of the country’s foreign trade is also accounted for by the Russian capital.
There are also special economic zones and technology parks actively being created on the city’s territory.
One third of the country’s academic workers are concentrated in Moscow. More than one million undergraduate students and some 50,000 graduate students are doing their studies in the Russian capital.
38% of the country’s historic sites are concentrated in Moscow, 200 of which are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Over 70% of all foreign tourists arriving in Russia visit Moscow.
Moscow, which is home to nearly 9% of the country’s overall population (resident population including newcomers), is a multinational city facilitating world-standard conditions for living and working, as well as studying, and taking part in sports and recreation.
Geography. Moscow is situated in the centre of the European part of Russia, in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga rivers and the centre of the Moscow region (coordinates: 55°45’N 37°37’E). The city’s main waterways artery is the Moskva River, whose middle reaches run through the city zone and debouch into the Oka River, the largest right tributary of the Volga.
Area. 1,081 square meters.
Population. 10.5 million people (resident population, according to the Federal State Statistics Service as of January 1, 2008).
Ethnic representation (descending, by population): Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Armenians, Azeris, Jews, Belarusians, Georgians, Moldovans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Mordovians, etc. (according to the 2002 nationwide census).
Founded in 1147 (first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex).
Moscow Coat of Arms
The coat of arms of Moscow is a rectangular dark-red heraldic shield with rounded lower corners and a pointed bottom. It depicts George the Conqueror, a horseman in silver armour and an azure toga (gown) on a silver steed with a silver harness, turned to the right defeating a black Serpent with a gold spear.
The modern coat of arms of Moscow was restored by a decree of the Mayor of Moscow in 1993 and fashioned after the first official coat of arms of Moscow adopted in 1781. The emblem is based on the icon of St George.
The image of the horseman slaying the serpent became especially popular in Russia in the 14th and 15th centuries, symbolising a fighter against foreign invaders and a protector of the people. St. George was the patron saint of Prince Yury Dolgoruky. Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, St. George has been the patron saint and protector of Moscow.
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Moscow Flag
The flag of Moscow was officially adopted on February 1, 1995. The flag, a dark-red rectangular cloth with a width-to-length ratio of 2:3, depicts the central element of the Moscow coat of arms: St George the Conqueror, a horseman defeating a Serpent with a spear, on both sides in the centre, turning away from the flagstaff. The overall width of the central element of the coat of arms must cover 2/5 of the full length of the flag.
It is mandatory for the Moscow flag to be flown from the buildings of most organizations and residential buildings on public holidays. The Moscow flag must always be hoisted on the buildings of the Moscow City Duma, Government, City Court, Arbitration Court, Prefectures of administrative boroughs (okrugs), district Upravas, and Moscow Representative Offices in Russian regions and abroad.
The law sets forth the specific procedure for the joint usage of the Moscow city flag with other flags and specifies the possibility of its usage by legal entities and entrepreneurs. In situations which see the Moscow city flag and other lower-ranked flags placed simultaneously, the Moscow city flag is to be located on the left-hand side of the other flag when one faces it; when an odd number of flags are flown simultaneously, the Moscow city flag is located in the centre. Similarly, when the Moscow city flag is flown simultaneously with other lower-ranked flags, Moscow’s flag must be neither smaller in size nor located below the other flags.
The depiction of the Moscow city flag can also be placed on awards, certificates and tokens used for assigning the honoured titles of the city, or used as a heraldic armorial basis for flags of the territorial divisions of state authority in Moscow. Furthermore, Moscow’s flag can be used for exterior decorations of city passenger transport on public holidays, both national and municipal.
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The Moscow anthem is a musical and lyrical composition created on the basis of the song Moya Moskva, music by Isaak Dunayevsky, lyrics by Mark Lisyansky and Sergei Agranian.
Anthem of Moscow (MP3)
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Tool performance (MP3)
/common/mp3/gimnmelo.mp3
Territorial divisions. Moscow is divided into 123 districts (rayons) and 10 administrative boroughs (okrugs).
Moscow has...
over 5,500 restaurants,
over 600 museums, historic estates, and art galleries,
over 350 sports arenas, stadiums, swimming pools, and skating rinks,
200 hotels,
over 100 theatres and concert halls, and
over 100 gardens and parks
Over 6,800 representative offices of foreign companies are registered in Moscow. Around 300 international exhibitions and fairs are held in the capital each year.
More than 4m tourists visited Moscow every year, with most of the visitors arriving from Germany, the United States, and China, as well as Great Britain, France, Turkey, Italy, Israel, Japan, and Spain.
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