Moscow (Russian: Ìîñêâà?, Moskva, IPA: [m?’skva]) the capital of Russia and the country’s principal political, economic, financial, educational, and transportation center, located on the Moskva River. the city’s population of 10.4 million permanent inhabitants within the city boundaries constitutes about 7% of the total Russian population. It is the most populous city in Europe. the city is in the Central Federal District located in the western part of the Russian Federation. Historically, its position was central in the Russian homeland. It was the capital of the former Soviet Union, and Muscovite Russia, the pre-Imperial Russian state. It is the site of the famous Kremlin, which now serves as the ceremonial residence of the President.

Moscow’s architectural and performing arts culture are world-renowned. Moscow is also well known as the site of the Saint Basil’s Cathedral, with its elegant onion domes, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. the Patriarch of Moscow, whose residence is the Danilov Monastery, serves as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Moscow also remains a major economic center and is home to a large number of billionaires and is perennially considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes the world’s busiest metro system which is famous for its architecture. Moscow also became the host of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

City layout

Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River, which flows for just over five hundred kilometers through western Russia. Although Russia is situated on both the European and Asian continents, Moscow, the economic and political center of Russia, is considered a European city as it lies west of the Ural Mountains.

Moscow’s road system is centered roughly around the seat of the Russian government, the Moscow Kremlin. From there, the roads in general radiate out to intersect with a sequence of circular roads or “rings” focused at the Kremlin.

the first and innermost major ring, Bulvarnoye Koltso (Boulevard Ring), was built at the former location of the sixteenth century city wall around what used to be called Bely Gorod (White Town). the Bulvarnoye Koltso is technically not a ring; it does not form a complete circle, but instead a horseshoe-like arc that goes from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to the Yauza River. In addition, the Boulevard Ring changes street names numerous times throughout its journey across the city.

the second primary ring, located outside the Boulevard Ring, is the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring). Like the Boulevard Ring, the Garden Ring follows the path of a sixteenth century wall that used to encompass part of the city. the third ring, the Third Transport Ring, was completed in 2003 as a high-speed freeway. the Fourth Transport Ring, another freeway, is currently under construction to further reduce traffic congestion. the outermost ring within Moscow is the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (often called the MKAD from the Russian Moskovskaya Kol’cevaya Avtomobil’naya Doroga), which forms the approximate boundary of the city.

Outside the city, some of the roads encompassing the city continue to follow this circular pattern seen inside city limits.

By Wikipedia