City Europe

Moscow

Moscow is the capital city of Russia. It has a red fortress called the Kremlin and a church with bright, colorful domes. Winters there are very snowy.

Moscow, the capital of Russia, grew up on the Moscow River around a fortress called the Kremlin. About 13.3 million people lived there in 2025. Its rings of roads, snowy winters and palace-like subway stations make it like no other city.

First mentioned in 1147, Moscow grew in rings around the Kremlin into the capital of Muscovy, of the Soviet Union and, since 1991, of the Russian Federation. With about 13.3 million people (2025), it is Russia's most populous city and its political, cultural and scientific center.

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Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Discover Moscow

Moscow is the capital city of Russia.

Russia is a very big country. Moscow is its biggest city. A river winds through it. In the middle stands an old red fortress called the Kremlin.

Moscow is the capital of Russia, in the far west of the country, in the middle of the huge, flat plain of European Russia. It stands on the winding Moscow River, which flows into the Oka and then the Volga. About 13.3 million people lived in Moscow in 2025, more than in any other Russian city.

Moscow is the center of Russia's government, and also of its business, science, schools and culture. From above, the city looks like a target: rings of roads circle the Kremlin, the old fortress at its heart, with long straight roads running out like the spokes of a wheel.

Moscow lies in western Russia, about 640 km southeast of St. Petersburg and 480 km east of the border with Belarus, on the Moscow River, a tributary of the Oka and so of the Volga. It sits in a broad, very shallow valley in the center of the plain of European Russia. Its population was 13,274,285 in 2025, the largest of any Russian city.

Britannica describes Moscow as the country's political center and its industrial, cultural, scientific and educational capital, and since 1991 its chief commercial and financial hub. Its plan is a pattern of concentric rings around the triangle of the Kremlin and the old trading quarter, the Kitay-gorod, joined by radial roads; the rings trace the city's growth, several following the lines of old fortifications.

Country: Russia (capital)
People in the city (2025): about 13.3 million
River: the Moscow River, which flows to the Oka and the Volga
First mentioned: 1147

Photo of Kremlin — Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Famous places

The Kremlin is a big fortress with red walls and tall towers.

Next to it is a huge square called Red Square. At one end stands St. Basil's Cathedral. Its domes look like swirly, colorful onions!

The Kremlin is a fortress with red brick walls and 20 towers, built at the end of the 1400s by Italian builders invited by the ruler Ivan III. Inside are old churches and palaces that visitors can tour, and the offices of Russia's president.

Beside the Kremlin lies Red Square. At its southern end is St. Basil's Cathedral, built in the 1550s, whose 10 domes are each a different design and color. Facing the Kremlin is GUM, a huge old department store with glass skylights, and at the north end is the red State Historical Museum.

UNESCO inscribed the Kremlin and Red Square in 1990: the Kremlin, built between the 14th and 17th centuries by Russian and foreign architects, was the residence of the grand prince and a religious center, and it has been the official residence of the president of the Russian Federation since 1991. Its crenellated red brick walls, more than a mile long and up to 18 m high, and its 20 towers date from the end of the 15th century; Pietro Solario built the Saviour (Spasskaya) Tower, facing Red Square, in 1491. Within are the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Palace of Facets and the bell tower of Ivan III.

Red Square has been a focus of Russian social and political life since the late 15th century. At its southern end the Church of the Intercession, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral (1554–60), has 10 domes, each different in design and color; GUM faces the Kremlin, and the State Historical Museum (1875–83) closes the north end. In the southwest, the 16th- and 17th-century Novodevichy Convent, in Moscow Baroque style, was part of the city's chain of fortified monasteries (UNESCO 2004).

Kremlin and Red Square: World Heritage Site (1990)
Kremlin walls and towers: built at the end of the 1400s; 20 towers
St. Basil's Cathedral: built 1554–60, with 10 different domes
Novodevichy Convent: World Heritage Site (2004)

Night view of Saint Basil's Cathedral, Red Square in Moscow, Russia — Photo: Diego Delso, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From wooden fort to capital

Long ago, Moscow was a small town with a wooden wall.

It grew and grew. Builders made stone and brick walls around the Kremlin. Once a big fire burned most of the city. People built it again.

Moscow is first mentioned in old writings in 1147, when a prince held a great feast there. In 1156 its first wall was built: earth banks topped with a wooden fence. By the late 1200s Moscow was the capital of Muscovy, the Grand Principality of Moscow.

In 1712 Peter the Great moved the capital to his new city, St. Petersburg. In 1812 Napoleon's French army took Moscow, and fire destroyed most of it; the city was rebuilt. In 1918 Moscow became the capital again, of Soviet Russia and then the Soviet Union. Since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, it has been the capital of Russia.

The first written reference to Moscow is in monastic chronicles for 1147, when Prince Yury Dolgoruky of Suzdal hosted a "great banquet" there; in 1156 he built its first fortifications, earthen ramparts topped by a wooden wall. In the late 13th century Moscow became the capital of Muscovy, and in 1326 the metropolitan, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, moved his seat there from Vladimir, which greatly raised its standing. Under Ivan III the Kremlin got its brick walls, and new stone walls of 1584–91 enclosed the Bely Gorod ("White City").

Peter I moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712. In 1812 Napoleon occupied Moscow, and the city was almost entirely destroyed by fire, then rebuilt. The railway to St. Petersburg (1851) and the end of serfdom (1861) brought waves of newcomers. In March 1918 Lenin's Soviet government moved to Moscow, and on December 30, 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was set up at a congress in the Bolshoi Theatre. In late 1941 German forces reached less than 40 km from the Kremlin. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Moscow became the capital of the Russian Federation, and Russia's wealth became concentrated there.

Building of the State Historical Museum view from the Red Square, Moscow, Russia — Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Getting around Moscow

Moscow has trains under the ground called the Metro.

Some stations look like palaces! They have shiny walls, pictures made of tiny tiles, and statues. One train line goes around and around in a big circle.

The Moscow Metro is one of the busiest subways in the world, carrying more than 8 million passengers on a normal weekday through 258 stations. Its first stage was built between 1935 and 1937, from Sokolniki to Park Kultury. Many of the older stations are decorated like palaces, with tiled walls, mosaics, statues and paintings.

Most lines run out from the center like spokes. Others go around in circles and link them: one ring is about 20 kilometers around, and the Big Circle Line, finished in 2023, is 57.5 kilometers long. Above ground, ring roads also circle the city, and in winter a channel is kept open in the Moscow River.

The Metro has 14 radial lines running from the center like spokes, the Koltsevaya (Line 5), which circles the center for 20 km and links them, and the Big Circle Line, 57.5 km long, completed in 2023. On a normal weekday it carries more than 8 million passengers over 461.5 km of track and 258 stations. The opening stage, from Sokolniki to Park Kultury, was built in 1935–37; work continued through World War II, when stations served as shelters from bombing, and some postwar stations were built to withstand a nuclear strike.

Britannica notes that many stations were styled like the interiors of tsarist palaces, with sculptures, mosaics and paintings of workers, peasants and soldiers meant to advance the Soviet cause; newer stations are plainer. On the surface, the Boulevard Ring and Garden Ring follow former fortification lines, and the Moscow Ring Road marks a later stage of growth. The Moscow River, once frozen from November to April, now has a channel kept open all winter.

Metro opened: first stage built 1935–37
Metro stations: 258
Passengers on a weekday: more than 8 million

Snowy winters, warm summers

Winters in Moscow are long and cold.

Snow covers the city for months. The city works hard to keep its streets clear. Summers are warm, with sudden rainstorms.

Moscow has long, cold winters. Snow usually starts falling in mid-November and stays until about mid-March, and the city is well equipped to keep its streets clear. The average temperature in January is −10 °C, but cold winds from the Arctic can make it much colder.

Spring is short, and the weather warms quickly in late April. July, the warmest month, averages about 18 °C. Summer rain often comes in short, heavy downpours and thunderstorms. Autumn is short too, and the temperature drops fast.

Westerly winds from the Atlantic dominate Moscow's climate, and precipitation is moderate, about 580 mm a year. Winters are long but much milder than in comparable parts of North America. Southerly airstreams sometimes bring days above freezing, while northerly Arctic air brings sharp drops, often with clear, dry weather: the January average is −10 °C, but temperatures have fallen to near −43 °C. Snow usually lasts from mid-November to mid-March.

Spring is brief, with a rapid rise in late April. July averages about 18 °C, and temperatures near 38 °C have been reached in August; summer rain often falls in brief, heavy downpours and thunderstorms. Smog with sulfur dioxide was common until the late 1950s, when a changeover from coal to natural gas and the removal of some factories helped, but more cars and generators since the 1980s have raised exhaust pollution again.

Average in January: −10 °C
Average in July: about 18 °C
Snow season: about mid-November to mid-March

Living in Moscow

Millions of people live in Moscow.

Many of them moved there from other places. There are museums and a famous old theater, the Bolshoi. One big park has rides to enjoy.

Moscow has grown fast. It had about 2 million people in 1926 and more than 4 million by 1939. After World War II so many people moved in that there was a serious housing shortage in the 1950s. Today about 13.3 million people live there.

Moscow is famous for its culture. The Bolshoi Theatre, founded in 1825, is one of the most famous theaters, and the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum hold famous art. Outside the central Garden Ring there are many parks; Gorky Park, beside the river, is popular for its amusement park, and forests surround the city.

Moscow's population roughly doubled between 1897 and 1915, to 1,983,700, fell to 1,027,300 during the civil war of 1918–20, and doubled again between the censuses of 1926 (2,029,425) and 1939 (4,182,916). Postwar migration created a grave housing shortage in the 1950s, when density inside the Garden Ring passed 51,000 people per km². After a decline in the early 1990s, growth resumed by 1995, and the population is aging: about a quarter is over 55.

The Bolshoi Theatre was founded in 1825; its present building dates from 1856. The Tretyakov Gallery, begun in 1856 as Pavel Tretyakov's private collection, is noted for its icons, and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts has an international collection. Under the Soviets many places of worship were closed or turned into museums; Britannica notes restored churches and revived markets in post-Soviet Moscow. Gorky Central Park, on the river's right bank, is the closest big park to the center, and a forest-park zone surrounds the city.

Photo of Novodevichy Convent — Photo: Max_Ryazanov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Moscow on the map

Find Moscow on the globe.

It is in Russia, in the part that is in Europe. The land around Moscow is very flat. A river curves through the city.

Moscow is in western Russia, in Europe, about 640 kilometers southeast of St. Petersburg. The land around it is a huge, almost flat plain, left behind by glaciers during the ice ages.

The Moscow River twists through the city in big loops. People sometimes say Moscow was built on seven hills, like Rome, but Britannica calls that an exaggeration: there are only a few small hills near the center. The highest ground is in the southwest, including the Sparrow Hills, which give a view over the whole city.

Moscow lies at about 55.8° N and 37.6° E, in the northwest corner of the most developed and densely settled part of Russia. Pleistocene glaciers left thick boulder clays, sands and gravels, into which the Moscow River cut a wide valley in stages, leaving terraces; most of the city is built on the highest, up to 30–35 m above the river.

Relief is slight almost everywhere. Only the Teplostanskaya Upland in the southwest rises more than 120 m above the river, reaching 250 m above sea level, the city's highest point; the river has cut a steep cliff into it, the Vorobyovy (Sparrow) Hills. Centuries of building have left a "cultural layer" of debris up to 15 m deep in parts of the center, and most small streams now run in underground pipes.

Latitude: about 55.8° north
Longitude: about 37.6° east
Distance to St. Petersburg: about 640 km
Highest point in the city: 250 m above sea level

Amazing facts

St. Basil's Cathedral has 10 domes, and no two are the same.

Each of the 10 domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, built in the 1550s, has its own design and colors.

The Church of the Intercession, known as St. Basil's (1554–60), has 10 domes, each differing in design and color.
Some Moscow train stations look like palaces.

Many older Moscow Metro stations were decorated to look like the inside of royal palaces, with mosaics, sculptures and paintings.

Britannica calls the grand, ornate styling of many Metro stations, made to resemble the interiors of tsarist palaces, the system's most striking feature.
Under old Moscow is a deep layer of very old rubble.

Under parts of central Moscow lies a layer of rubble from old buildings up to 15 meters deep, left by hundreds of years of building.

Long occupation has built up a "cultural layer" of demolished buildings and other human deposits up to 15 m deep in parts of central Moscow.
The Moscow River used to freeze for months.

The Moscow River used to freeze from November to April. Now a channel is kept open all winter so boats can pass.

Once icebound from November to April, the Moscow River now has a channel kept open throughout the winter; in places it has been widened to 245 m.

Words to know

capital: the city where a country's government meets
kremlin: a fortress at the center of an old Russian city, such as Moscow
fortress: a strong building or group of buildings made to protect a place
onion dome: a rounded roof that swells out and comes to a point, like an onion
radial: running out from a center, like the spokes of a wheel
mosaic: a picture made from many small pieces of colored stone, glass or tile
Soviet Union: a large country in Europe and Asia, with Moscow as its capital, from 1922 to 1991

Discovery challenge

What is the Kremlin?

What is the Kremlin in Moscow?

What kind of complex is the Moscow Kremlin, at the heart of the city?
- A fortress
- A river
- A ship
Show the answer

A fortress

A fortress! It has red walls and tall towers.

The Kremlin is a fortress with red brick walls and 20 towers, full of churches and palaces.

A walled fortress, built between the 14th and 17th centuries, now the official residence of Russia's president.
How many domes does St. Basil's Cathedral have?

How many domes does St. Basil's Cathedral have, each with its own design?

How many domes, each different in design and color, crown the Church of the Intercession (St. Basil's)?
- 2
- 10
- 50
Show the answer

10

Ten domes, all different!

It has 10 domes, and each one has its own design and colors.

Ten domes; the church was built in 1554–60 at the southern end of Red Square.
What are Moscow's trains under the ground called?

What is Moscow's famous underground railway called?

Which system, begun in the 1930s, carries more than 8 million passengers on a normal weekday?
- The Metro
- The Tube
- The Tram
Show the answer

The Metro

The Metro! Some of its stations look like palaces.

The Moscow Metro, whose first stage was built in 1935–37, has 258 stations.

The Moscow Metro: 258 stations, 461.5 kilometers of track and more than 8 million weekday passengers.
What happened to Moscow in 1812?

What destroyed most of Moscow in 1812?

In 1812, after Napoleon's army occupied Moscow, what almost entirely destroyed the city?
- A flood
- A fire
- An earthquake
Show the answer

A fire

A big fire. Afterward, people built the city again.

A fire destroyed most of Moscow in 1812, and the city was rebuilt.

Fire almost entirely destroyed Moscow in 1812, and much of the city was then reconstructed.
Which month is very cold in Moscow?

In which month does Moscow average about −10 °C?

Which month in Moscow has an average temperature of −10 °C?
- January
- July
Show the answer

January

January! It is snowy and cold.

January averages −10 °C; July averages about 18 °C.

January averages −10 °C, though Arctic air has brought temperatures near −43 °C.

Nearby places

Explore next

For parents & teachers

What children will learn

Locate Moscow on the Moscow River in western Russia.
Describe the Kremlin, Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral and when they were built.
Explain how Moscow's rings and radial roads show how the city grew outward.
Compare winter and summer temperatures in a continental climate.

Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes

Talk about it

Moscow grew in rings around its fortress. Does your town have an old center? How did it grow?
Why might people decorate subway stations like palaces? What would you put in a station near you?
How do you think a city keeps working when snow covers it for four months a year?

Try at home or in class

Draw a target of rings with a triangle in the middle for the Kremlin, then add straight roads running out like wheel spokes.
Make a small mosaic from torn pieces of colored paper, like the pictures in Moscow Metro stations.

Key vocabulary: capital, kremlin, fortress, onion dome, radial, mosaic, Soviet Union

Where these facts come from

Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
Moscow , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: Landscape and climate , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: The Kremlin and Red Square , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: History , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: Evolution of the modern city , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: Post-Soviet Moscow , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: People , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow: Cultural life , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Moscow Metro , Encyclopaedia Britannica
Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)

Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 27, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Picture credits

Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
Photo: Diego Delso, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · source
Photo: Max_Ryazanov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license