Misplaced Pages

#965034

148-564: It is best known for its literary associations. The Russian poet Maximilian Voloshin made it his residence, where he entertained many distinguished guests, including Marina Tsvetayeva , Osip Mandelshtam , and Andrey Bely (who died there). They all wrote remarkable poems in Koktebel. Another prominent literary resident of Koktebel was Ilya Ehrenburg who lived there circa 1919 while escaping from anti-Semitic riots in Kiev . The name Köktöbel

296-453: A Finno-Ugric hypothesis, the Merya and Muroma people, who were among the pre-Slavic tribes which 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 original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as * Москы , * Mosky , hence it

444-585: A communist-led revolution in Afghanistan, Soviet forces invaded the country, ultimately starting the Soviet–Afghan War . In May 1988, the Soviets started to withdraw from Afghanistan , due to international opposition, persistent anti-Soviet guerrilla warfare, and a lack of support by Soviet citizens. From 1985 onwards, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev , who sought to enact liberal reforms in

592-653: A troika was designated to take charge. Eventually Joseph Stalin , the General Secretary of the Communist Party , managed to suppress all opposition factions and consolidate power in his hands to become the country's dictator by the 1930s. Leon Trotsky , the main proponent of world revolution , was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, and Stalin's idea of Socialism in One Country became

740-611: A Varangian from the Rus' people , named Rurik , was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882, his successor Oleg ventured south and conquered Kiev , which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars . Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar Khaganate, and launched several military expeditions to Byzantium and Persia . In

888-510: A crisis. By 1991, economic and political turmoil began to boil over as the Baltic states chose to secede from the Soviet Union. On 17 March, a referendum was held, in which the vast majority of participating citizens voted in favour of changing the Soviet Union into a renewed federation . In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected President in Russian history when he

1036-415: A daily newspaper. In the 1830s, general Alexander Bashilov planned the first regular grid of city streets north from Petrovsky Palace. Khodynka field south of the highway was used for military training. Smolensky Rail station (forerunner of Belorussky Rail Terminal ) was inaugurated in 1870. Sokolniki Park , in the 18th century the home of the tsar's falconers well outside Moscow, became contiguous with

1184-664: A global superpower. After World War II, according to the Potsdam Conference , the Red Army occupied parts of Eastern and Central Europe, including East Germany and the eastern regions of Austria . Dependent communist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states. After becoming the world's second nuclear power , the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact alliance, and entered into

1332-800: A large confederacy, which was subsequently taken over by the Cumans and the Kipchaks . The ancestors of Russians are among the Slavic tribes that separated from the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who appeared in the northeastern part of Europe c.  1500  years ago. The East Slavs gradually settled western Russia (approximately between modern Moscow and Saint-Petersburg ) in two waves: one moving from Kiev towards present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk towards Novgorod and Rostov . Prior to Slavic migration, that territory

1480-500: A member state of the G20 , SCO , BRICS , APEC , OSCE , and WTO ; and the leading member state of post-Soviet organisations such as CIS , CSTO , and EAEU/EEU . It possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and has the third-highest military expenditure . Russia is generally considered a great power and is a regional power . Internationally, Russia ranks very low in measurements of democracy , human rights and freedom of

1628-487: A number of conflicts in former Soviet states and other countries , including its war with Georgia in 2008 and its war with Ukraine since 2014, which has involved the internationally unrecognised annexations of Ukrainian territory including Crimea in 2014 and four other regions in 2022 during an ongoing invasion . Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council ;

SECTION 10

#1732790465966

1776-591: A prosperous city that would eclipse its parent principality of Vladimir by the 1320s. On the right bank of the Moskva River, at a distance of eight kilometres (5 mi) from the Kremlin, by 1282 Daniel founded the first monastery with the wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite, which is now the Danilov Monastery. Daniel died in 1303, aged 42. Before his death, he became a monk and, according to his will,

1924-511: A record 411 hours in July 2014, 79% of possible sunshine. December 2017 was the darkest month in Moscow since records began, with only six minutes of sunlight. Temperatures in the centre of Moscow are often significantly higher than in the outskirts and nearby suburbs, especially in winter. For example, if the average January temperature in the north-east of Moscow is −6.2 °C (20.8 °F), in

2072-633: A secret protocol within the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany . The Soviet Union later invaded Finland , and occupied and annexed the Baltic states , as well as parts of Romania . On 22 June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front , the largest theater of World War II. Eventually, some 5 million Red Army troops were captured by the Nazis;

2220-517: A struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War , with the rivalling United States and NATO . After Stalin's death in 1953 and a short period of collective rule , the new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization , releasing many political prisoners from the Gulag labour camps. The general easement of repressive policies became known later as

2368-448: A symptom of disorderly lifestyles of lower-class Russians recently arrived from the farms. Elites called for improved sanitation, which became part of Catherine's plans for increasing control over social life. National political and military successes from 1812 through 1855 calmed the critics and validated efforts to produce a more enlightened and stable society. There was less discussion about the poor conditions of public health. However, in

2516-499: A week or two at a time. In the winter, average temperatures normally drop to approximately −10 °C (14 °F), though almost every winter there are periods of warmth with day temperatures rising above 0 °C (32 °F), and periods of cooling with night temperatures falling below −20 °C (−4 °F). These periods usually last about a week or two. The growing season in Moscow normally lasts for 156 days usually around 1 May to 5 October. The highest temperature ever recorded

2664-538: Is 19.7 °C (67.5 °F). The lowest ever recorded temperature was −42.1 °C (−43.8 °F) in January 1940. Snow, which is present for about five months a year, often begins to fall mid-October, while snow cover lies in late November and melts at the end of March. On average, Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying from a low of 8% in December to 52% from May to August. This large annual variation

2812-489: Is a highly urbanised country including 16 population centres with over a million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Moscow . Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and its cultural capital . The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus' , arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from

2960-472: Is about −7.0 °C (19.4 °F). At the end of January–February it is often colder, with frosts reaching −30.0 °C (−22.0 °F) a few nights per year (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013). The last decade was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations of Moscow. Temperature changes in the city are depicted in the table below: Moscow is one of the few cities with paleontological monuments of world significance on its territory. One of them

3108-485: Is due to convective cloud formation. In the winter, moist air from the Atlantic condenses in the cold continental interior, resulting in very overcast conditions. However, this same continental influence results in considerably sunnier summers than oceanic cities of similar latitude such as Edinburgh . Between 2004 and 2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with a tendency to more sunshine in summer months, up to

SECTION 20

#1732790465966

3256-437: Is global, not regional. During the summer, extreme heat is often observed in the city (2001, 2002, 2003, 2010 , 2011, 2021 ). Along with a southern part of Central Russia , after recent years of hot summer seasons, the climate of the city gets hot-summer classification trends. Winter also became significantly milder: for example, the average January temperature in the early 1900s was −12.0 °C (10.4 °F), while now it

3404-584: Is of Turkic origin: in Crimean Tatar it means “Land of the blue hills” (from kök , “sky blue”, and töbe , “hill” or “mountain”, composed with the collective suffix -el ). After the deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet regime in 1944, the city's name was changed from Koktebel to russified Planerskoye (it comes from the Russian planer , or glider ). The hills above the shoreline were

3552-469: Is one of the largest financial centers in the world and features the majority of Europe's tallest skyscrapers . Moscow was the host city of the 1980 Summer Olympics and one of the host cities of 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 the Red Square and buildings such as

3700-643: Is one of twelve Hero Cities . The demonym for a Moscow resident is rendered as Muscovite in English. The site of modern-day Moscow has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Among the earliest finds are relics of the Lyalovo culture , which experts assign to the Neolithic period. They confirm that the first inhabitants of the area were hunters and gatherers. Around 950 AD, two Slavic tribes, Vyatichi and Krivichi , settled here. The Vyatichi may have formed

3848-760: Is the Gorodnya River with its tributaries, on the banks of which outcrops of the Quaternary and older Cretaceous periods are located. Fossils of the bivalve mollusk Inoceramus kleinii and tubular passages of burrowing animals, described in 2017 as a new ichnospecies Skolithos gorodnensis , were discovered in the Coniacian deposits near the stream bed of the Bolshaya Glinka River. Ichnogenera Diplocraterion , Planolites , Skolithos and possibly Ophiomorpha were found in

3996-573: The Oxford English Dictionary , the English name Russia first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from Medieval Latin : Russia , used in the 11th century and frequently in 12th-century British sources, in turn derived from Russi , 'the Russians'; and the suffix -ia . In modern historiography, this state is usually denoted as Kievan Rus' after its capital city. Another Medieval Latin name for Rus'

4144-581: The Albian deposits. Paleolithic flint tools were discovered in the Quaternary deposits of the Bolshaya Glinka stream bed. In 1878, paleontologist Hermann Trautschold discovered the left flipper of an ichthyosaur near the village of Mnevniki, which later became part of Moscow. In 2014, the animal was named Undorosaurus trautscholdi , after its discoverer. Trautschold determined the age of

4292-554: The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad , in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941 and 1944 by German and Finnish forces, and suffered starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendered. Soviet forces steamrolled through Eastern and Central Europe in 1944–1945 and captured Berlin in May 1945. In August 1945,

4440-765: The Brusilov Offensive of the Imperial Russian Army almost completely destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Army . However, the already-existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, high casualties , and rumors of corruption and treason. All this formed the climate for the Russian Revolution of 1917, carried out in two major acts. In early 1917, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate ; he and his family were imprisoned and later executed during

4588-662: The Byzantine Empire . Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers , developing into the Russian Empire , which remains the third-largest empire in history . However, with

Koktebel - Misplaced Pages Continue

4736-475: The Congress of Vienna , which defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe. The officers who pursued Napoleon into Western Europe brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia, and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825. At the end of the conservative reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe, was disrupted by defeat in

4884-693: The Crimean War . Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–1881) enacted significant changes throughout the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861 . These reforms spurred industrialisation, and modernised the Imperial Russian Army, which liberated much of the Balkans from Ottoman rule in the aftermath of the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War . During most of the 19th and early 20th century, Russia and Britain colluded over Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories in Central and South Asia;

5032-614: The Great Northern War (1700–1721), securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade. In 1703, on the Baltic Sea, Peter founded Saint Petersburg as Russia's new capital. Throughout his rule, sweeping reforms were made , which brought significant Western European cultural influences to Russia. He was succeeded by Catherine I (1725–1727), followed by Peter II (1727–1730), and Anna . The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–1762 saw Russia's participation in

5180-701: The Khrushchev Thaw . At the same time, Cold War tensions reached its peak when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the United States Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba . In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite , Sputnik 1 , thus starting the Space Age . Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit

5328-772: The Moja Ulitsa (in English: My Street ) urban redevelopment program or the Residency renovation one. By its territorial expansion on 1 July 2012, southwest into the Moscow Oblast the area of the capital more than doubled, going from 1,091 to 2,511 square kilometers (421 to 970 sq mi), resulting in Moscow becoming the largest city on the European continent by area; it also gained an additional population of 233,000 people. The annexed territory

5476-533: The Moskva and Neglinnaya and be filled with water from Neglinnaya. Known as the Alevizov moat and with a length of 541 metres (1,775 feet), width of 36 metres (118 feet), and depth of 9.5 to 13 metres (31–43 feet) was lined with limestone and, in 1533, fenced on both sides with low, four-metre-thick (13-foot) cogged-brick walls. In the 16th and 17th centuries, three circular defenses were built: Kitay-gorod ,

5624-707: The Oldowan period in the early Lower Paleolithic . About 2 million years ago, representatives of Homo erectus migrated to the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia. Flint tools, some 1.5 million years old, have been discovered in the North Caucasus . Radiocarbon dated specimens from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains estimate the oldest Denisovan specimen lived 195–122,700 years ago. Fossils of Denny , an archaic human hybrid that

5772-703: The Proto-Indo-European * meu - "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or marsh. Its cognates include Russian : музга , muzga "pool, puddle", Lithuanian : mazgoti and Latvian : mazgāt "to wash", Sanskrit : májjati "to drown", Latin : mergō "to dip, immerse". In many Slavic countries Moskov is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria , Ukraine and North Macedonia . Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa . According to

5920-537: The Republic of Crimea . The areas operate in what is referred to in international standards as Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК ) , which is 3 hours ahead of UTC , or UTC+3 . Daylight saving time is no longer observed. According to the geographical longitude the average solar noon in Moscow occurs at 12:30. Moscow has a humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb ) with long, cold (although average by Russian standards) winters usually lasting from mid-November to

6068-568: The Rurik dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, the Novgorod Republic in the north, and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west. By the 12th century, Kiev lost its pre-eminence and Kievan Rus' had fragmented into different principalities. Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky sacked Kiev in 1169 and made Vladimir his base, leading to political power being shifted to

Koktebel - Misplaced Pages Continue

6216-843: The Russian Civil War . The monarchy was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government , and proclaimed the Russian Republic . On 19 January [ O.S. 6 January], 1918, the Russian Constituent Assembly declared Russia a democratic federal republic (thus ratifying the Provisional Government's decision). The next day the Constituent Assembly

6364-446: The Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR —the world's first constitutionally socialist state . Following the Russian Civil War , the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics , within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives , the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in

6512-425: The Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin , the latter of which is the seat of power of the Government of Russia . Moscow is home to Russian companies in different industries and is served by a comprehensive transit network, which 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

6660-408: The Seven Years' War (1756–1763). During the conflict, Russian troops overran East Prussia , reaching Berlin. However, upon Elizabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia . Catherine II ("the Great"), who ruled in 1762–1796, presided over the Russian Age of Enlightenment . She extended Russian political control over

6808-474: The Siberian River Routes , and by the mid-17th century, there were Russian settlements in eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula , along the Amur River , and on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov became the first European to navigate through the Bering Strait . Under Peter the Great , Russia was proclaimed an empire in 1721, and established itself as one of the European great powers. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in

6956-412: The Soviet Union , by joining the Russian SFSR into a single state with the Byelorussian , Transcaucasian , and Ukrainian republics. Eventually internal border changes and annexations during World War II created a union of 15 republics ; the largest in size and population being the Russian SFSR, which dominated the union politically, culturally, and economically. Following Lenin's death in 1924,

7104-565: The Wehrmacht and 650,000-1,280,000 for the Red Army. During the postwar years, there was a housing crisis, solved by the invention of high-rise apartments . There are over 11,000 of these standardised and prefabricated apartment blocks, housing most of Moscow's population, making it by far the city with the most high-rise buildings. Apartments were built and partly furnished in the factory, before being raised and stacked into tall columns. The popular Soviet-era comic film Irony of Fate parodies this construction method. The city of Zelenograd

7252-494: The first human expedition into outer space . In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the Russian Federation. A new constitution was adopted, which established a federal semi-presidential system . Since the turn of the century, Russia's political system has been dominated by Vladimir Putin , under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding and become an authoritarian dictatorship . Russia has been militarily involved in

7400-400: The "White-Walled". The city's limits as marked by the ramparts, are now marked by the Garden Ring . Three square gates existed on the east side of the Kremlin wall, which in the 17th century, were known as Konstantino-Eleninsky, Spassky, Nikolsky (after the icons of Constantine and Helen, the Saviour and St. Nicholas that hung over them). The last two were directly opposite the Red Square, while

7548-494: The 10th to 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium , and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code , the Russkaya Pravda . The age of feudalism and decentralisation had come, marked by constant in-fighting between members of

SECTION 50

#1732790465966

7696-418: The 15th century, but it was developed into a prestigious area during the 18th century. It was destroyed in the fire of 1812 and was rebuilt completely in the early 19th century. Moscow State University was established in 1755. Its main building was reconstructed after the 1812 fire by Domenico Giliardi . The Moskovskiye Vedomosti newspaper appeared from 1756, originally in weekly intervals, and from 1859 as

7844-448: The 16th century, Russia expanded east of the Ural Mountains . However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (later the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ), the Kingdom of Sweden , and Denmark–Norway for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade. In 1572, an invading army of Crimean Tatars were thoroughly defeated in

7992-414: The 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front . With the onset of the Cold War , it competed with the United States for ideological dominance and international influence . The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements , including the first human-made satellite and

8140-432: The 1990s to 2000s, its population rising from below nine to above ten million. Mason and Nigmatullina argue that Soviet-era urban-growth controls produced controlled and sustainable metropolitan development, typified by the greenbelt built in 1935. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic growth of low-density suburban sprawl, created by heavy demand for single-family dwellings as opposed to crowded apartments. In 1995–97

8288-428: The Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russia's, coat-of-arms. Vasili III united all of Russia by annexing the last few independent Russian states in the early 16th century. In development of the Third Rome ideas, the grand duke Ivan IV ("the Terrible") was officially crowned the first tsar of Russia in 1547. The tsar promulgated a new code of laws ( Sudebnik of 1550 ), established

8436-406: The Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 crewed spacecraft on 12 April 1961 . Following the ousting of Khrushchev in 1964, another period of collective rule ensued, until Leonid Brezhnev became the leader. The era of the 1970s and the early 1980s was later designated as the Era of Stagnation . The 1965 Kosygin reform aimed for partial decentralisation of the Soviet economy . In 1979, after

8584-421: The General Staff of the Red Army were located in Moscow. In 1941, 16 divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), 25 battalions, and 4 engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. Between October 1941 and January 1942, the German Army Group Centre was stopped at the outskirts of the city, then driven off in the Battle of Moscow . Many factories were evacuated, together with much of

8732-409: The Konstantino-Elenensky gate was located behind Saint Basil's Cathedral. The Russian famine of 1601–03 killed perhaps 100,000 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

8880-419: The MKAD ring road was widened from the initial four to ten lanes. In December 2002 Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo became the first Moscow Metro station that opened beyond the limits of MKAD. The Third Ring Road , intermediate between the early 19th-century Garden Ring and the Soviet-era outer ring road, was completed in 2004. The greenbelt is becoming more and more fragmented, and satellite cities are appearing at

9028-429: The Mongols under Batu Khan burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants. The timber fort na Moskvě "on the Moscow River" was inherited by Daniel , the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky , in the 1260s. Daniel was still a child at the time, and the big fort was governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by Daniel's paternal uncle, Yaroslav of Tver . Daniel came of age in the 1270s and became involved in

SECTION 60

#1732790465966

9176-405: The Polish occupants, besieged the Kremlin, and expelled them . In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov tsar, establishing the Romanov dynasty . The 17th century saw several risings, such as the liberation of Moscow from the Polish–Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the Moscow Uprising of 1682 . During the first half of the 17th century,

9324-415: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and annexed most of its territories into Russia , making it the most populous country in Europe. In the south, after the successful Russo-Turkish Wars against the Ottoman Empire , Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, by dissolving the Crimean Khanate , and annexing Crimea . As a result of victories over Qajar Iran through the Russo-Persian Wars , by

9472-692: The Provisional Government and gave full governing power to the soviets, leading to the creation of the world's first socialist state . The Russian Civil War broke out between the anti-communist White movement and the Bolsheviks with its Red Army . In the aftermath of signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers of World War I ; Bolshevist Russia surrendered most of its western territories, which hosted 34% of its population, 54% of its industries, 32% of its agricultural land, and roughly 90% of its coal mines. The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-communist forces. In

9620-406: The Red Army invaded Manchuria and ousted the Japanese from Northeast Asia, contributing to the Allied victory over Japan. The 1941–1945 period of World War II is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War . The Soviet Union, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered the Big Four of Allied powers in World War II, and later became the Four Policemen , which

9768-403: The Russian autocratic state. The destruction of Kievan Rus' saw the eventual rise of the Grand Duchy of Moscow , initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal . While still under the domain of the Mongol - Tatars and with their connivance, Moscow began to assert its influence in the region in the early 14th century, gradually becoming the leading force in the "gathering of the Russian lands". When

9916-476: The Russian parliament culminated in a constitutional crisis which ended violently through military force. During the crisis, Yeltsin was backed by Western governments, and over 100 people were killed. In December, a referendum was held and approved, which introduced a new constitution, giving the president enormous powers. The 1990s were plagued by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus , both local ethnic skirmishes and separatist Islamist insurrections. From

10064-408: The Soviet Union led Russia into a deep and prolonged depression. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including privatisation and market and trade liberalisation were undertaken, including radical changes along the lines of " shock therapy ". The privatisation largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in

10212-523: The Soviet Union. The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought, led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933 ; which killed 5.7 to 8.7 million, 3.3 million of them in the Russian SFSR. The Soviet Union, ultimately, made the costly transformation from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse within a short span of time. The Soviet Union entered World War II on 17 September 1939 with its invasion of Poland , in accordance with

10360-406: The Soviet system, introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to end the period of economic stagnation and to democratise the government . This, however, led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements across the country. Prior to 1991, the Soviet economy was the world's second-largest, but during its final years, it went into

10508-491: The US and other Western countries due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In 1991 Moscow was the scene of a coup attempt by conservative communists opposed to the liberal reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev . When the USSR was dissolved in 1991, Moscow remained the capital of the Russian Federation . Since then, a market economy has emerged, producing an explosion of Western-style retailing, services, architecture, and lifestyles. The city continued to grow during

10656-604: The Ukrainian leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky , offered to place Ukraine under the protection of the Russian tsar, Alexis ; whose acceptance of this offer led to another Russo-Polish War . Ultimately, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper , leaving the eastern part, ( Left-bank Ukraine and Kiev ) under Russian rule. In the east, the rapid Russian exploration and colonisation of vast Siberia continued, hunting for valuable furs and ivory. Russian explorers pushed eastward primarily along

10804-823: The Volga-Dnieper region of southern Russia and Ukraine as the urheimat of the Proto-Indo-Europeans . Early Indo-European migrations from the Pontic–Caspian steppe of Ukraine and Russia spread Yamnaya ancestry and Indo-European languages across large parts of Eurasia. Nomadic pastoralism developed in the Pontic–Caspian steppe beginning in the Chalcolithic . Remnants of these steppe civilizations were discovered in places such as Ipatovo , Sintashta , Arkaim , and Pazyryk , which bear

10952-621: 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 were held back by new walls, built between 1584 and 1591 by a craftsman named Fyodor Kon . In 1592, an outer earth rampart with 50 towers

11100-636: The actual 20th anniversary of the victory in World War II, Moscow was awarded a title of the Hero City . The Moscow Ring Road (MKAD) was opened in 1961. It had four lanes running 109 kilometres (68 miles) along the city borders. The MKAD marked the administrative boundaries of the city until the 1980s, when outlying suburbs beyond the ring road were incorporated. In 1980, Moscow hosted the Summer Olympic Games , which were boycotted by

11248-507: The ancient " Novgorod Chronicle " and made it a propaganda vehicle for his regime. The original Moscow Kremlin was built in the 14th century. It was reconstructed by Ivan, who in the 1480s invited architects from Renaissance Italy , such as Petrus Antonius Solarius , who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marco Ruffo who designed the new palace for the prince. The Kremlin walls as they now appear are those designed by Solarius, completed in 1495. The Kremlin's Great Bell Tower

11396-591: The capital Moscow. In 1612, the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by merchant Kuzma Minin and prince Dmitry Pozharsky . The Romanov dynasty acceded to the throne in 1613 by the decision of the Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis. Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century, which was the age of the Cossacks . In 1654,

11544-441: The city and −30 °C (−22 °F) in the suburbs to above 5 °C (41 °F) in the winter, and from 10 to 35 °C (50 to 95 °F) in the summer. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July, and August are around a comfortable 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often exceed 30 °C (86 °F), sometimes for

11692-501: The city. The plague epidemics ravaged Moscow in 1570–1571, 1592 and 1654–1656. The plague killed upwards of 80% of the people in 1654–55. Fires burned out much of the wooden city in 1626 and 1648. In 1712 Peter the Great moved his government to the newly built Saint Petersburg on the Baltic coast. After losing the status as capital, the population at first decreased, from 200,000 in the 17th century to 130,000 in 1750. But after 1750,

11840-545: The control of the Golden Horde and consolidated the whole of northern Rus' under Moscow's dominion, and was the first Russian ruler to take the title "Grand Duke of all Rus'". After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire . Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina , the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI , and made

11988-839: The country was more often referred to by its inhabitants as Rus ' , the Russian land ( Russkaia zemlia ), or the Muscovite state ( Moskovskoe gosudarstvo ), among other variations. In 1721, Peter the Great changed the name of the state from Tsardom of Russia ( Russian : Русское царство , romanized :  Russkoye tsarstvo ) or Tsardom of Muscovy ( Russian : Московское царство , romanized :  Moskovskoye tsarstvo ) to Russian Empire ( Rossiiskaia imperiia ). There are several words in Russian which translate to "Russians" in English. The noun and adjective русский , russkiy refers to ethnic Russians . The adjective российский , rossiiskiy denotes Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. The same applies to

12136-575: The course of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) . These new outskirts became known as the Meshchanskaya sloboda , after Ruthenian meshchane "town people". The term meshchane acquired pejorative connotations in 18th-century Russia and today means "petty bourgeois" or "narrow-minded philistine". The entire city of the late 17th century are contained within what is today Moscow's Central Administrative Okrug . Numerous disasters befell

12284-450: The crucial Battle of Molodi . The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the disastrous famine of 1601–1603 , led to a civil war, the rule of pretenders, and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , taking advantage, occupied parts of Russia, extending into

12432-957: The destruction during the French occupation, a Commission for the Construction of the City of Moscow was established. It launched a great program of rebuilding, including a partial replanning of the centre. Among many buildings constructed, or reconstructed, was the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin Armoury , the Moscow University , the Moscow Manege (Riding School), and the Bolshoi Theatre . The Arbat Street had been in existence since at least

12580-575: The earliest known traces of horses in warfare . The genetic makeup of speakers of the Uralic language family in northern Europe was shaped by migration from Siberia that began at least 3,500 years ago. In the 3rd to 4th centuries CE, the Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in southern Russia, which was later overrun by Huns . Between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, the Bosporan Kingdom , which

12728-463: The end of March, and warm summers. More extreme continental climates at the same latitude – such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia – have much colder winters than Moscow, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean despite the fact that Moscow is far from the sea. Weather can fluctuate widely, with temperatures ranging from −25 °C (−13 °F) in

12876-571: The end of the 1920s. A new anti-religious campaign, launched in 1929, coincided with the collectivization of peasants; the destruction of churches in the cities peaked around 1932. In 1937 letters were written to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to rename Moscow to "Stalindar" or "Stalinodar". Stalin rejected this suggestion. During World War II, the Soviet State Committee of Defence and

13024-406: The evening, the beachfront comes alive with many small discos offering music, beer and shashlik . The cuisine is predominantly Tatar but Russian and Ukrainian food is also on offer. There are boat excursions, horse-riding and trips to a nearby monastery or to the cognac factory. Accommodation is either in a small hotel or in one of the hundreds of guesthouses run by local residents. It seems as though

13172-494: The expanding city in the later 19th century and was developed into a public municipal park in 1878. The suburban Savyolovsky Rail Terminal was built in 1902. In January 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor , was officially introduced, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor. When Catherine II came to power in 1762, the city's filth and the smell of sewage were depicted by observers as

13320-635: The festival's 2014 edition was held in Zatoka and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (both in Odesa Oblast ). Russia Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia . It is the largest country in the world by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing land borders with fourteen countries . It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country . Russia

13468-481: The first Europeans to reach and colonise Alaska . In 1803–1806, the first Russian circumnavigation was made. In 1820, a Russian expedition discovered the continent of Antarctica . During the Napoleonic Wars , Russia joined alliances with various European powers, and fought against France. The French invasion of Russia at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 reached Moscow, but eventually failed as

13616-564: The first Russian feudal representative body (the Zemsky Sobor ), revamped the military, curbed the influence of the clergy, and reorganised local government. During his long reign, Ivan nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates: Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga , and the Khanate of Sibir in southwestern Siberia. Ultimately, by the end of

13764-586: The first half of the 19th century, Russia also conquered the Caucasus . Catherine's successor, her son Paul , was unstable and focused predominantly on domestic issues . Following his short reign, Catherine's strategy was continued with Alexander I's (1801–1825) wresting of Finland from the weakened Sweden in 1809, and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812. In North America, the Russians became

13912-569: The former USSR. Nowadays, Koktebel fills up in the summer with tourists from Russia and until the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea also from Ukraine and the European Union . Rubles and dollars are readily exchanged in kiosks along the beaches. There is a mixture of public beaches and private beaches with a paved walkway all along the bay. This walkway is lined with small restaurants, cafes, kiosks, and small market areas selling arts and crafts, dried fish, or slices of home-baked cake. In

14060-575: The fringe. Summer dachas are being converted into year-round residences, and with the proliferation of automobiles there is heavy traffic congestion. Multiple old churches and other examples of architectural heritage that had been demolished during the Stalin era have been restored, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour . In 2010s Moscow's Administration has launched some long duration projects like

14208-546: The government, and from 20 October the city was declared to be in a siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and manned antitank defenses, while the city was bombarded from the air. On 1 May 1944, a medal "For the defence of Moscow" and in 1947 another medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" was instituted. German and Soviet casualties during the battle have been debated, as sources provide different estimates. Total casualties between 30 September 1941, and 7 January 1942, are estimated to be between 248,000 and 400,000 for

14356-485: The government, which led to the rise of Russian oligarchs . Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight . The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social services—the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed, and millions plunged into poverty; while extreme corruption, as well as criminal gangs and organised crime rose significantly. In late 1993, tensions between Yeltsin and

14504-554: The largest rapid transit systems in the world. The city has over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, making it one of the greenest cities in the world. The city's name is thought to be derived from the Moskva River . Theories of the origin of the name of the river have been proposed. The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root * mŭzg -/ muzg - from

14652-405: The largest urban and metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent. First documented in 1147, Moscow grew to serve as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow . When the Tsardom of Russia was proclaimed, Moscow remained the political and economic center for most of its history. Under the reign of Peter the Great , the Russian capital was moved to

14800-535: The latter deliberately starved to death or otherwise killed 3.3 million Soviet POWs , and a vast number of civilians, as the " Hunger Plan " sought to fulfil Generalplan Ost . Although the Wehrmacht had considerable early success, their attack was halted in the Battle of Moscow . Subsequently, the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943, and then in

14948-427: The latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва , Moskva , which is a result of morphological generalization with the numerous Slavic ā -stem nouns . The form Moskovĭ has left traces in other languages, including English: Moscow ; German : Moskau ; French : Moscou ; Portuguese : Moscou, Moscovo ; and Spanish : Moscú . Moscow has acquired epithets , such as The Third Rome . Moscow

15096-417: The leading Moscow weather station is situated, is 156 metres (512 feet). Teplostan Upland is the city's highest point at 255 metres (837 feet). The width of Moscow city (not limiting MKAD ) from west to east is 39.7 km (24.7 mi), and the length from north to south is 51.8 km (32.2 mi). Moscow serves as the reference point for the time zone used in most of European Russia , Belarus and

15244-463: The majority of Moscow's indigenous population. The first known reference to Moscow was in 1147, as a meeting place of Yuri Dolgorukiy and Sviatoslav Olgovich . At the time it was a minor town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. In 1156, Dolgorukiy fortified the town by creating a wooden wall; this structure became the Kremlin. In the course of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' ,

15392-632: The meantime, both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror . By the end of the violent civil war, Russia's economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged, and as many as 10 million perished during the war, mostly civilians. Millions became White émigrés , and the Russian famine of 1921–1922 claimed up to five million victims. On 30 December 1922, Lenin and his aides formed

15540-523: The medieval Muscovy state). He began fighting the Tatars, enlarged the territory of Muscovy, and enriched his capital city. By 1500 it had a population of 100,000 and was one of the largest cities in the world. He conquered the far larger principality of Novgorod to the north, which had been allied to the hostile Lithuanians. Thus he enlarged the territory sevenfold, from 430,000 to 2,800,000 square kilometres (170,000 to 1,080,000 square miles). He took control of

15688-508: The moat. Books were sold on this bridge and stone platforms were built nearby for guns – "raskats". The Tsar Cannon was located on the platform of the Lobnoye mesto . The road connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg, now the M10 highway , was completed in 1746, its Moscow end following the old Tver road, which had existed since the 16th century. It became known as Peterburskoye Schosse after it

15836-609: The more recently coined noun россиянин , rossiianyn , "Russian" in the sense of citizen of the Russian state. According to the Primary Chronicle , the word Rus' is derived from the Rus' people , who were a Swedish tribe, and where the three original members of the Rurikid dynasty came from. The Finnish word for Swedes, ruotsi , has the same origin. Later archeological studies mostly confirmed this theory. The first human settlement on Russia dates back to

15984-593: The most powerful cities in Russia. In 1380, prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo . Afterward, Moscow took the leading role in liberating Russia from Mongol domination. In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control, and Moscow became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of Russia and Siberia , and parts of many other lands. In 1462 Ivan III became Grand Prince of Moscow (then part of

16132-579: The newly founded city of Saint Petersburg in 1712, decreasing Moscow's influence. Following the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Russian SFSR , the capital was moved back to Moscow in 1918, where it later became the political center of the Soviet Union . In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Moscow remained the capital city of the newly established Russian Federation. The northernmost and coldest megacity in

16280-589: The north-east. Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky , Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240, as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle on the Ice in 1242. Kievan Rus' finally fell to the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240, which resulted in the sacking of Kiev and other cities, as well as the death of a major part of the population. The invaders, later known as Tatars , formed

16428-620: The obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold Russian winter led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which the pan-European Grande Armée faced utter destruction. Led by Mikhail Kutuzov and Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly , the Imperial Russian Army ousted Napoleon and drove throughout Europe in the War of the Sixth Coalition , ultimately entering Paris. Alexander I controlled Russia's delegation at

16576-654: The official line. The continued internal struggle in the Bolshevik party culminated in the Great Purge . Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a command economy , industrialisation of the largely rural country , and collectivisation of its agriculture . During this period of rapid economic and social change, millions of people were sent to penal labour camps , including many political convicts for their suspected or real opposition to Stalin's rule; and millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of

16724-424: The population doubled from 100,000 to 200,000, and it expanded beyond its ramparts in the latter part of the century. In the middle of the 17th century, 20% of Moscow suburb's inhabitants were from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , being driven from their homeland by Muscovite invaders. By 1682, there were 692 households established north of the ramparts, by Ukrainians and Belarusians abducted from their hometowns in

16872-539: The population grew tenfold over the remaining duration of the Russian Empire, reaching 1.8 million by 1915. The 1770–1772 Russian plague killed up to 100,000 people in Moscow. By 1700, the building of cobbled roads had begun. In 1730, permanent street lights were introduced, and by 1867 many streets had a gaslight. In 1883, near the Prechistinskiye Gates, arc lamps were installed. In 1741 Moscow

17020-495: The power struggles of the principality with lasting success, siding with his brother Dmitry in his bid for the rule of Novgorod . From 1283 he acted as the ruler of an independent principality alongside Dmitry, who became Grand Duke of Vladimir . Daniel has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel. Daniel ruled Moscow as Grand Duke until 1303 and established it as

17168-407: The press ; the country also has high levels of perceived corruption . As of 2024, Russia has a high-income economy which ranks eleventh in the world by nominal GDP and fourth at purchasing power parity , relying on its vast mineral and energy resources ; the world's second-largest for oil production and natural gas production . Russia is home to 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites . According to

17316-536: The rivalry between the two major European empires came to be known as the Great Game . The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists. The reign of his son Alexander III (1881–1894) was less liberal but more peaceful. Under last Russian emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), the Revolution of 1905

17464-511: The rouble. High budget deficits coupled with increasing capital flight and inability to pay back debts, caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis , which resulted in a further GDP decline. Moscow Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia . The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia , with a population estimated at over 13 million residents within the city limits, over 19.1 million residents in

17612-876: The seat of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church moved to Moscow in 1325, its influence increased. Moscow's last rival, the Novgorod Republic , prospered as the chief fur trade centre and the easternmost port of the Hanseatic League . Led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow, the united army of Russian principalities inflicted a milestone defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Moscow gradually absorbed its parent duchy and surrounding principalities, including formerly strong rivals such as Tver and Novgorod . Ivan III ("the Great") threw off

17760-590: The sediments from which the specimen was taken to be Kimmeridgian , but, according to more recent studies, they were formed in the Tithonian age of the Jurassic period. Albian foraminifera and ammonites also known from the Moscow deposits. Fossils of various organisms are on display in Moscow museums, including the Orlov Museum of Paleontology and Vernadsky State Geological Museum . According to

17908-478: The site of many early experiments in manned heavier-than-air flight by Russian pioneer aviators. The local airfield is still known as Planerskoye. The 2003 film of the same name by Boris Khlebnikov and Aleksei Popogrebsky follows the journey of a father and son as they try to reach Koktebel from Moscow. Koktebel was known as a vacation spot for writers in the Soviet Union. It is also famous for its brandy , its hang-gliding and its naturist beach , largest in

18056-533: The sole collector of taxes for the Mongol rulers, making Moscow the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal . By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan . While the Khan of the Golden Horde initially attempted to limit Moscow's influence, when the growth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to threaten all of Russia, the Khan strengthened Moscow to counterbalance Lithuania, allowing it to become one of

18204-541: The state of the Golden Horde , which ruled over Russia for the next two centuries. Only the Novgorod Republic escaped foreign occupation after it agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols. Galicia-Volhynia would later be absorbed by Lithuania and Poland , while the Novgorod Republic continued to prosper in the north. In the northeast, the Byzantine-Slavic traditions of Kievan Rus' were adapted to form

18352-439: The suburbs it is about −8.3 °C (17.1 °F). The temperature difference between the centre of Moscow and nearby areas of Moscow Oblast can sometimes be more than 10 °C (18 °F) on frosty winter nights. Recent changes in Moscow's regional climate, since it is in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, are often cited by climate scientists as evidence of global warming , though by definition, climate change

18500-523: The time Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war was fought between the rebel groups and Russian forces. Terrorist attacks against civilians were carried out by Chechen separatists, claiming the lives of thousands of Russian civilians. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia assumed responsibility for settling the latter's external debts. In 1992, most consumer price controls were eliminated, causing extreme inflation and significantly devaluing

18648-428: The urban area, and over 21.5 million residents in its metropolitan area . The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities , being the most populous city in its entirety in Europe,

18796-615: The wake of Russia's failures in the Crimean War in 1855–56, confidence in the ability of the state to maintain order in the slums eroded, and demands for improved public health put it back on the agenda. In 1903 the Moskvoretskaya water supply was completed. In November 1917, upon learning of the uprising in Petrograd , Moscow's Bolsheviks began their uprising . On 2 November (15), 1917, after heavy fighting, Soviet power

18944-408: The whole population has turned into innkeepers in the summer. Koktebel is nowadays also well known for its jazz festival that usually takes place in the middle of September. It lures the attention of jazz-lovers from the whole ex-USSR. Cast from the festival in past years included De-Phazz , Nino Katamadze , Stanley Clarke , Billy Cobham and many other famous jazz and world music performers. But

19092-461: 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 . As an alpha world city , Moscow has one of the world's largest urban economies . The city is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations and is one of Europe's most visited cities . Moscow has the sixth-highest number of billionaires of any city. The Moscow International Business Center

19240-515: Was Ruthenia . In Russian, the current name of the country, Россия ( Rossiya ), comes from the Byzantine Greek name for Rus', Ρωσία ( Rosía ). A new form of the name Rus ' , Росия ( Rosiya ), was borrowed from the Greek term and first attested in 1387. The name Rossiia appeared in Russian sources in the late 15th century, but until the end of the 17th century

19388-510: Was elected President of the Russian SFSR. In August 1991, a coup d'état attempt by members of Gorbachev's government, directed against Gorbachev and aimed at preserving the Soviet Union, instead led to the end of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. On 25 December 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , along with contemporary Russia, fourteen other post-Soviet states emerged. The economic and political collapse of

19536-462: Was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) at the VVC weather station and 39.0 °C (102.2 °F) in the center of Moscow and Domodedovo airport on 29 July 2010, during the unusual 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves . Record high and average temperatures were recorded for January, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, and December in 2007–2022. The average July temperature from 1991 to 2020

19684-631: Was a Hellenistic polity that succeeded the Greek colonies, was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars . The Khazars , who were of Turkic origin , ruled the steppes between the Caucasus in the south, to the east past the Volga river basin, and west as far as Kyiv on the Dnieper river until the 10th century. After them came the Pechenegs who created

19832-406: Was built in 1505–08 and augmented to its present height in 1600. A trading settlement, or posad , grew up to the east of the Kremlin, in the area known as Zaradye . In the time of Ivan III, the Red Square , originally named the Hollow Field appeared. In 1508–1516, the Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin (Novy) arranged for the construction of a moat in front of the eastern wall, which would connect

19980-435: Was built in 1958 at 37 kilometres (23 miles) from the city centre to the north-west, along with the Leningradskoye Shosse , and incorporated as one of Moscow's administrative okrugs . Moscow State University moved to its campus on Sparrow Hills in 1953. In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev launched his anti-religious campaign . Of Moscow's fifty churches operating in 1959, thirty were closed and six demolished. On 8 May 1965, due to

20128-425: Was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery. Moscow was stable and prosperous for many years and attracted refugees from across Russia. The Rurikids maintained large landholdings by practicing primogeniture , whereby all land was passed to the eldest sons. By 1304, Yury of Moscow contested with Mikhail of Tver for the throne of the principality of Vladimir . Ivan I eventually defeated Tver to become

20276-440: Was dissolved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee . An alternative socialist establishment co-existed, the Petrograd Soviet , wielding power through the democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, called soviets . The rule of the new authorities only aggravated the crisis in the country instead of resolving it, and eventually, the October Revolution , led by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin , overthrew

20424-446: 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 Donskoy , Danilov , Simonov , Novospasskiy , and Andronikov monasteries, most of which now house museums. From its ramparts, the city became poetically known as Bielokamennaya ,

20572-421: Was established in Moscow. Vladimir Lenin , fearing invasion, moved the capital back to Moscow on 12 March 1918. The Kremlin once again became the seat of power, political centre of the new state. With the change in values imposed by communist ideology , the tradition of preserving cultural heritage was broken. Independent preservation societies, even those that defended only secular landmarks, were disbanded by

20720-448: Was found at Kostyonki–Borshchyovo , and at Sungir , dating back to 34,600 years ago—both in western Russia . Humans reached Arctic Russia at least 40,000 years ago, in Mamontovaya Kurya . Ancient North Eurasian populations from Siberia genetically similar to Mal'ta–Buret' culture and Afontova Gora were an important genetic contributor to Ancient Native Americans and Eastern Hunter-Gatherers . The Kurgan hypothesis places

20868-458: Was half Neanderthal and half Denisovan, and lived some 90,000 years ago, was also found within the latter cave. Russia was home to some of the last surviving Neanderthals, from about 45,000 years ago, found in Mezmaiskaya cave . The first trace of an early modern human in Russia dates back to 45,000 years, in Western Siberia . The discovery of high concentration cultural remains of anatomically modern humans , from at least 40,000 years ago,

21016-427: Was officially named Новая Москва (New Moscow). Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River , which flows for just over 500 km (311 mi) through the East European Plain in central Russia, not far from the natural border of the forest and forest- steppe zone. 49 bridges span the river and its canals within the city's limits. The elevation of Moscow at the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VVC), where

21164-408: Was one of a few Slavic ū -stem nouns . As with other nouns of that declension, it had been undergoing a morphological transformation at the early stage of the development of the language, as a result, the first written references in the 12th century were Московь , Moskovĭ ( accusative case ), Москви , Moskvi ( locative case ), Москвe/Москвѣ , Moskve/Moskvě ( genitive case ). From

21312-438: Was paved in the 1780s. Petrovsky Palace was built in 1776–1780 by Matvey Kazakov . Between 1781 and 1804 the Mytischinskiy water pipe (the first in Russia) was built. When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Moscovites were evacuated. The Moscow fire was principally the effect of Russian sabotage. Napoleon's Grande Armée was forced to retreat and nearly annihilated by the devastating Russian winter. In 1813, following

21460-412: Was populated by Finno-Ugrian peoples. From the 7th century onwards, the incoming East Slavs slowly assimilated the native Finno-Ugrians. The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians , the Vikings who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas. According to the Primary Chronicle ,

21608-454: Was surrounded by a barricade 40 kilometres (25 mi) long, the Kamer-Kollezhskiy barrier, with 16 gates at which customs tolls were collected. Its line is traced today by several streets called val ("ramparts"). In the early 19th century, the Arch of Konstantino-Elenensky gate was paved with bricks, but the Spassky Gate was the main front gate of the Kremlin and used for royal entrances. From this gate, wooden and stone bridges stretched across

21756-401: Was the foundation of the United Nations Security Council . During the war, Soviet civilian and military death were about 26–27 million , accounting for about half of all World War II casualties . The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation, which caused the Soviet famine of 1946–1947 . However, at the expense of a large sacrifice, the Soviet Union emerged as

21904-569: Was triggered by the humiliating failure of the Russo-Japanese War . The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms ( Russian Constitution of 1906 ), including granting freedoms of speech and assembly , the legalisation of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the State Duma . In 1914, Russia entered World War I in response to Austria-Hungary 's declaration of war on Russia's ally Serbia , and fought across multiple fronts while isolated from its Triple Entente allies. In 1916,

#965034