ENCYCLOPEDIA: MOSCOW,
(Rus.
Moskva), capital, inland port, and largest city of the 
Russian Federation (commonly
called Russia) and of Moscow Oblast, E central Russia, on the Moscow R., near
its junction with the Moscow Canal. Moscow, the traditional Holy Mother of the
Russians, has served as the country’s capital (except for the period between
1713 and 1918 when Saint Petersburg was the
capital; see History). Railroads and air routes converge on the city from all
parts of the former Soviet republics. Navigable waterways, including the Moscow Canal, Moscow R., and Volga-Don Canal, make the port directly accessible to shipping from
the Baltic, White, Black, and Caspian seas and the Sea of Azov.
Besides being a Port of Five Seas, and hence one of the world’s foremost commercial centers, Moscow is a leading manufacturing city, with factories providing a major proportion of Russia’s industrial output. Ample supplies of electric power are available, and industry is highly diversified. Among the manufactures are airplanes, high-quality steel, ball bearings, automobiles and other motor vehicles, machine tools, electric equipment, precision instruments, radios, chemicals, textiles, shoes, paper, furniture, and munitions. Food processing, printing, and the repair of railroad equipment are important industries. Several of the surrounding suburbs are large industrial towns.
Moscow covers an area of about 880 sq km (about 340 sq mi) on both sides of the Moscow R. Concentric boulevards, built on the sites of former ramparts, divide the city into several sections, the outermost of which is the residential quarter. At the center of the concentric circles (and semicircles) are the Kremlin, the symbol of Russian (and formerly Soviet) power and authority, and adjacent Red Square, which make up the hub of a radial-circular street pattern. During a reconstruction and expansion plan of Moscow in the 1930s, several nearby cities were incorporated into the city. Moscow’s subway system, famed for its marble-walled stations, opened in 1935.
Situated on a low eminence on the left bank of the Moscow R., the Kremlin (“citadel”), imperial residence and governmental seat, is bounded by a 2.5-km- (1.5-mi-) long crenelated red brick wall that forms an irregular triangle. Originally built in oak in 1340, the wall was rebuilt in stone in 1368. Within the wall is an outstanding architectural ensemble of palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments. Among the notable Kremlin palaces are Granovitaya Palace (1491) and the Terem Palace (1636). The Great Kremlin Palace (1849) is the most imposing structure within the Kremlin. Among the many ecclesiastical buildings are the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Archangel Cathedral, each with five gilded domes, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation (13th–14th cent.), with nine gilded domes.
Other points of attraction in the Kremlin are the Tower of Ivan the Great, a bell tower 98 m (320 ft) high; the Czar’s Bell (nearly 200 metric tons), one of the largest bells in the world, cast in 1735; and the 40-ton Czar Cannon, (cast in 1586. A relatively recent addition to the Kremlin is the Palace of Congresses, completed in 1961. In this huge modern building, which features an auditorium with a seating capacity of 6000, were held meetings of the Supreme Soviet and congresses of the Communist party; theatrical and other artistic performances have been, and are, held here as well.
Adjoining
the Kremlin, at the eastern end, is Red Square, the traditional center of
political life that also serves as parade grounds. At the southern end of Red Square sits the Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed (1554–60), famous for its unique
architecture and varicolored domes. Under the Kremlin wall, and facing the
square, is the Lenin Mausoleum (1924), containing the remains of V. I. Lenin. The elegant GUM
department store (1893) occupies the E side of Red Square.
One of the best-known sections of Moscow is the Kitaigorod (sometimes translated Chinese City, but probably derived from the word kita, a binding of poles used in fortifications before stone walls were built), the ancient commercial quarter lying to the E of the Kremlin. This section is now the site of many government office buildings. Just N of the Kremlin are the Bolshoi (“big”) Theater, an opera and ballet company established in the 1770s. Other theaters include the Maly (“small”) Theater (1756), dedicated mainly to works by Russian playwrights, and the Moscow Art Theater (1898), for modern drama. The S (right-bank) side of the Moscow R. is a residential and industrial section, with several educational institutions around the Academy of Sciences (1725).
Other points of interest in Moscow are the Central Stadium, comprising about 130 buildings for various sports, and the Ostankino TV tower (1967), which contains a revolving restaurant and an observation platform; the tower, which at 540 m (1772 ft) is one of the world’s tallest structures, suffered serious damage in a fire in August 2000.
Old
Moscow’s fortified monasteries include Novodevichiy Convent, founded in 1524,
famous also as the place of exile for members of the imperial family or
aristocracy banished from court, and for its cemetery, where lie many of
Russia’s great writers, artists, and composers. (The grave of Nikita Khrushchev, the only
Soviet leader not buried behind Lenin’s Mausoleum, is also here).
Of
more than 75 institutions of higher education, the leading institution is Moscow M. V. Lomonosov State University (1775), the largest in Russia. About 700 scientific institutions have
headquarters in Moscow. Outstanding among museums are the Tretyakov Art Gallery
(1856), the A. S. Pushkin Fine Arts Museum (1912), the State Historical Museum
(1872), Museum of the Revolution (1917), the Museum of Oriental Art (1918), and
the Central Museum of the Armed Forces (1919). Of note is the Moscow
Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music (1866), which also features a museum (1943)
and memorial houses of great musicians (Aleksandr Scriabin and Mikhail Glinka) and leading
figures of theater (Konstantin Stanislawski).
The State Library of Russia (founded in 1872 as the Rumyantsev Library,
formerly known as the State V. I. Lenin Library) probably ranks second only to
the U.S. Library of Congress in both
size and facilities. The Central Exhibition Complex (formerly the USSR
Exhibition of Economic Achievements) comprises 72 pavilions dealing with
achievements in industry, agriculture, science, and culture.
In
1147, when Moscow began to figure in Russian history, it formed part of the
principality of Vladimir-Suzdal; the date of its settlement is unknown. It
survived two Mongol invasions (1236–40; 1293), and the development of the
little village into a sprawling city dates from 1295, when it became the
capital of the newly established principality of Moscow. Growth was especially
rapid during the first half of the 14th century, a period marked by sharp
expansion of the power and wealth of the principality. In 1325 the metropolitan
of the Russian Orthodox church transferred his seat from Vladimir to Moscow, making the city the national religious capital. It became the national political
capital during the reign (1462–1505) of Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich, who
unified the Russian principalities. The seat of the Russian government was
moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1713.
Moscow has survived many
disasters, including conflagrations, plagues, riots, revolts, sieges, and
foreign occupation. In September 1812, during the Napoleonic Wars, the city
was occupied by the armies of Napoleon. Russian patriots
set fire to the city soon after his entry; the resultant French withdrawal from
Russia led to Napoleon’s downfall. The Moscow populace figured significantly
in the Revolution of 1905 and the October Revolution of 1917. A year later Moscow was made the Soviet capital. Large sections of the city were rebuilt and modernized
after the Bolshevik victory. In December 1941, during World War II, powerful
German armies were decisively repulsed at the approaches to Moscow. When the USSR dissolved in 1991, many Soviet government and Communist party buildings were taken over by the
government of the Russian Federation. One of the worst hostage crises in modern
history took place here in October 2002, when some 50 armed Chechen guerrillas
seized a theater and held more than 800 persons captive for three days; 129 of
the hostages and nearly all the terrorists died when Russian special forces
pumped lethal quantities of an aerosol anesthetic into the theater before
storming the building. Pop. (1992 est.) 8,747,000; (2001 est.) 8,316,000.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: SAINT PETERSBURG,
city, NW Russia, major Baltic port on the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva R. Russia’s national capital from 1713 to 1918, St. Petersburg was also known as LENINGRAD from 1924 to 1991 and as PETROGRAD from 1914 to 1924. It is located at the E end of the Gulf of Finland, on both banks of the Neva R. and on the islands of the Neva’s delta. St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and a railroad center. Canals and natural waterways connect the navigable Neva with the Caspian and White seas and also with the Dnepr and Volga rivers, making St. Petersburg the port of exit for much of the Caspian, Ural, and Volga areas. A deepwater channel in the Neva R. makes the port accessible through the Gulf of Finland to the largest ships. The harbor is frozen from November to April, but icebreakers keep the channel open except during the worst winter period. The city is also a great industrial center, power being supplied to factories mainly from great hydroelectric plants. It is a shipbuilding center, and electrical equipment, machinery and tools, agricultural equipment, paper, furniture, textiles and clothing, tobacco, leather products, and chemicals are produced here.
Italian
and French architects planned the city for Peter I, known as Peter the Great. Elaborate
palaces were built on and near the city’s main thoroughfare, the celebrated
Nevsky Prospekt. The most famous is the Winter Palace (now a museum), a baroque
building, completed in 1762, which was the winter home of the czars before the Revolution of 1917. Other
notable buildings include the Fortress of Peter and Paul (1703), the city’s
oldest building (used as a political prison in imperial days); the Cathedral of
Saint Peter and Saint Paul (1712–33), where all czars from Peter the Great
(except Peter II) are buried; the Cathedral of the Virgin of Kazan (1801–11);
the Cathedral of Saint Isaac (completed 1858); the Summer Palace of Peter I
(built 1714–28), outside of St. Petersburg, in Peterhof (now Petrodvorets); and
the Admiralty Building (completed 1832).
Educational and Cultural Institutions.
The city contains more than 1700 libraries; the largest, the National Library of Russia (formerly the State M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library; 1795), houses more than 31 million volumes. In addition to St. Petersburg State University (1819), educational facilities include research societies for special study, some 200 scientific institutes, and other schools of higher learning. Among the many museums are the Hermitage Museum (1765), housing one of the greatest art collections in the world; and the Russian Museum, with a notable collection of Russian works of art. It also has internationally known concert halls and theaters, including the famous Mariinsky Theater (known as the Kirov Theater in Soviet times), a theater of opera and ballet, and the Pushkin Academic Drama Theater.
The
site of St. Petersburg was originally a Swedish fortress commanding the
approach to the Neva River. In 1703 Peter I captured the area and built the
Fortress of Peter and Paul and the fortress at Kronshtadt. He ordered the
construction of a new city on the site, to be named St. Petersburg after his
patron saint. Peter wanted the city to be westernized, considering it “a window
on Europe.” In 1713 the royal family moved their residence and the Russian
capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Later in the 18th century the population
increased, and the city became one of the cultural centers of Eastern Europe.
During the reign of Emperor Alexander I, the marshes
were drained, and, with the subsequent increase in building space, the
population of the city doubled. The development of harbor facilities in the
19th century resulted in the industrial development of the city.
The
poverty of the factory workers, contrasted with the luxury of the Russian
court, was a prime reason for the revolutionary movement. The Decembrist (see
Decembrists) uprising in
1825 occurred in the imperial capital, and the 1905 Revolution began near the Winter Palace. The 1917 Revolution started with an uprising in the fortress of Kronshtadt,
which guards the harbor, and the Bolshevik Revolution, in October of that year,
began in the capital.
In
1914 Emperor Nicholas II changed the
German-sounding name of St. Petersburg to the Russian name Petrograd, after Russia declared war on Germany. In 1918 the capital of Russia was moved from Petrograd back to Moscow. After V. I. Lenin’s death in 1924,
Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honor. Following World War I and the
loss of the Russian Baltic provinces (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), the importance of Leningrad increased, the city being the only Soviet port near Western Europe. During World War II, Leningrad was besieged by German forces from late 1941
to January 1944. About 1.25 million residents died in the heavy fighting and as
a result of disease and starvation, and more than 10,000 buildings were totally
or partially destroyed.
Rebuilt
following the war, the city was renamed St. Petersburg after the collapse of
Communism in 1991. The city’s palaces and monuments were refurbished in
preparation for 300th anniversary celebrations in late May 2003, at which
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a native and
a first deputy mayor (1994–96) of St. Petersburg, hosted more than 40 world
leaders. Pop. (1992 est.) 4,437,000.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: VLADIMIR,
city, central European Russia, capital of Vladimir Oblast, on the Klyazma R. Located in an agricultural region, Vladimir is a rail junction; manufactures in the city include textiles, canned fruit, chemicals, precision instruments, and motor-vehicle parts. Among the many notable structures here are Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral (1158–61); the Golden Gate (1164), a former city gate; and several old monasteries. The city is the site of a museum of history and religious antiquities, an art gallery, and a teachers college. Founded in 1108, Vladimir was the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal (the leading Russian state after the dissolution of Kievan Rus) from 1157 to 1238, when the city was destroyed by the Tatars. Moscow, emerging as a powerful state, acquired Vladimir in 1364. The city was developed as a major industrial center in the 1930s. Pop. (1992 est.) 356,000.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: YEKATERINBURG
or
EKATERINBURG,
formerly
SVERDLOVSK (1929–91), city, W central Russian Federation, capital
of Sverdlovsk Oblast, located on the E slope of the Ural Mts., on the Iset R.
A major industrial center in a mineral-rich area, Yekaterinburg is also an important road and rail junction with a subway system and a busy international airport. Among the large industrial works located in the city are platinum refineries, copper and iron smelters, and factories producing electrical equipment, chemicals, and heavy machinery. Yekaterinburg's educational institutions include Ural State University (1920), Ural State Technical University (1920), and the Ural State Medical Academy (1931). Among the city's cultural attractions are the Museum of Youth, Museum of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, and Military History Museum. Increased tourism has sparked a hotel building boom in recent years.
The
city was founded (1721) by Czar Peter the Great as an
ironworking center and was named Ekaterinburg for his wife, who became Empress Catherine I. Industrial
development was spurred by the construction of the Great Siberian Highway in
the late 18th century and the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the late 19th century.
Czar Nicholas II and his family
were held captive in the city by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution and were
executed here in 1918. During World War II, industry from
threatened European areas of the USSR was transferred here.
More recently, the metropolitan region has become known as the birthplace of
Russian political leader Boris Yeltsin and the site
where an American U-2 spy plane was shot down in 1960. Violence surged in the
1990s, when Yekaterinburg became a center of Russian mafia activity. Pop. (2002
census) 1,293,537.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: VOLGOGRAD,
formerly STALINGRAD, city, SW European Russia, capital of Volgograd Oblast, on the Volga R. Volgograd, one of the country's most important industrial, commercial, and transshipment centers, is a rail hub and a major Volga R. port and is linked to the Don R. by the Volga-Don Canal (completed 1950s). One of the largest hydroelectric power dams in Russia is just N of the city. Among the main industries in Volgograd are petroleum refining, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of aluminum, chemicals, processed food, farm machinery, iron and steel, and forest products. Volgograd State University (1978) is here.
The city was founded in 1589 as Tsaritsyn, a fortress on the SE frontier of Russia. It was taken by cossack rebels twice: in 1670 by Stenka Razin (1630?–71) and in 1774 by Yemelyan Pugachov (1726–75). With the expansion of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Tsaritsyn became an important port for products shipped down the Volga R. Early in the Russian Revolution the city was taken (1917) by the Bolsheviks. During the civil war that followed it was occupied by White Russian troops for three months in 1919. In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad, for Joseph Stalin, who had been notable in the defense here against the White Russians.
During World War II, Stalingrad, a strategically located industrial center, was a vital German objective. A large German force mounted an assault on the city on Aug. 20, 1942, after a period of heavy air raids. A successful Soviet counteroffensive began on November 19, and on Feb. 2, 1943, the Sixth German Army surrendered, thus ending the German advance into the USSR. German casualties alone totaled more than 300,000, and the Soviet city was almost completely destroyed. Reconstruction began immediately after the war. The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961. Pop. (1992 est.) 1,006,000.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: SMOLENSK,
city,
W Russian Federation, capital
of Smolensk Oblast. Located on the Dnepr R., near the border with Belarus, the city is an
important railroad junction and a commercial, manufacturing, and cultural
center. Products include cut diamonds, electrical and electronic items,
transportation equipment, road-building machinery, processed food, and printed
materials. Notable structures in the city include the Cathedral of the
Assumption (17th–18th cent.) and two 12th-century churches. Smolensk State Medical Academy (1920) and the private Smolensk Humanitarian University (1993) are here. The family estate (now a museum) of the 19th-century Russian
composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is
at Novospasskoye, 112 km (70 mi) from the capital.
Smolensk was first mentioned in
ad 863, when it was a commercial
center. From the 12th to the 14th century it was the seat of an independent
principality. The city was taken by Lithuania in 1408 and was
held by Moscow from 1514 to 1611,
when it was incorporated into Poland. The Russians
regained the city in 1654. Smolensk was badly damaged during World War II, when it was
occupied (1941–43) by German forces. Near the city, in Katyn Forest, thousands
of Polish army officers were murdered in 1940 and buried in mass graves; when
the bodies were found three years later, the Soviet Union blamed the Germans
for the atrocity, but in 1992 the Russian government released documents
indicating that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin had ordered
the killings. Pop. (2002 census) 325,137.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: NOVGOROD,
full
name VELIKY NOVGOROD (“Great Novgorod”), city, NW Russian Federation, capital
of Novgorod Oblast, on the Volkhov R., near Lake Ilmen. It is the commercial
center for a rich farm region, and industries here produce fertilizer,
processed food, furniture, and china. Novgorod retains examples of early
Russian architecture, including the kremlin and the Hagia Sophia (Cathedral of
the Holy Wisdom; both 11th cent.). The city is home to Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University (1993).
One
of the oldest Russian cities, Novgorod was founded as early as the 5th or 6th
century. In 862 Rurik, founder of the Russian monarchy, became prince of Novgorod. In 1136 the city achieved independence from Kiev and, with a democratic
form of government, became the capital of sovereign Great Novgorod. In the 13th
and 14th centuries, Novgorod flourished as a trade outpost of the Hanseatic League and was a
major cultural center. It repulsed Tatar invasions in the late
13th century. In 1478 it was annexed by its rival, Moscow, under Ivan III. Believing that the
residents of Novgorod were conspiring against him, Ivan IV, known as Ivan the
Terrible, slaughtered thousands of the city's inhabitants in 1570. The city
declined as a trading center after the establishment of Saint Petersburg in 1703.
During the German occupation (1941–44) of World War II, the city was
badly damaged. Pop. (2002 census) 216,856.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: MURMANSK,
city
and port, NW Russian Federation, capital
of Murmansk Oblast. The world's largest city N of the Arctic Circle, Murmansk is
situated on Kola Inlet, an arm of the Barents Sea; an international airport
offers scheduled service to other urban centers in Russia and Scandinavia. Murmansk is an important cargo-shipping port, with an ice-free harbor; it also supports a
large fishing fleet and has major shipbuilding and fish-processing facilities.
A nearby naval base serves as the main home port of the Russian nuclear
submarine fleet. Educational institutions in the city include Murmansk State Technical University (1950).
Murmansk was founded in 1915,
during World War I, as a port of
entry for Allied supplies after Russian ports on the Black and Baltic seas had
been closed. In 1916 it was linked by rail with Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg). After the
Russian Revolution, an
Allied force briefly occupied Murmansk, and it was an Allied port of entry in World War II. Economic
problems in the region have contributed to a steep decline in population since
the early 1990s. Pop. (2002 census) 336,137.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: KALININGRAD,
formerly
KÖNIGSBERG, city and port, extreme NW Russian Federation, on the
Pregolya R. The city is the capital of Kaliningrad Oblast, an enclave bordered
by Lithuania to the N and E, Poland to the S, and the Baltic Sea to the W and
NW.
Kaliningrad is connected by
channel with Baltiysk, an ice-free port on the Baltic Sea that serves as a
Russian naval base. The city is linked by air with Warsaw, Moscow, and other
capitals. While it was part of the USSR, from 1945 to 1991, Kaliningrad was a major industrial and commercial center. Among the principal manufactures
of Kaliningrad were ships, machinery, chemicals, paper, and lumber. In recent
years, the city's economy has centered around legitimate and black-market trade
between East and West; industrial enterprises in the region produce television
sets, refrigerators, and automobiles. Amber remains an important local product.
Historic landmarks in the city include the Schloss, or Castle (1255), and a
cathedral (14th cent.). The German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a native of
the city, taught at its university (now Kaliningrad State University), which
was established in 1544.
The
city, founded in 1255 as a fortress by the Teutonic Knights, became a member of
the Hanseatic League in 1340.
From 1457 to 1525 it was the official seat of the grand master of the Teutonic
Knights, and from 1525 it was the residence of the dukes of Prussia until the union
(1618) of Prussia and Brandenburg. Frederick I was crowned as
the first king of Prussia in the chapel of the Schloss in 1701. During World War I the city was the
scene of heavy fighting between the Germans and the Russians. Following the war
it was made the capital of the German province of East Prussia. The city was
severely damaged in World War II, and in 1945,
after a two-month siege, it was occupied by Soviet troops. By agreement among
the Allies at the Potsdam Conference (1945)
the USSR annexed the city and surrounding territory. In 1946 the city's name
was changed from Königsberg to Kaliningrad, in honor of the Soviet leader M. I. Kalinin.
The
status of Kaliningrad city and oblast posed a problem after the breakup of the USSR in 1991, and especially when the only two countries that shared land borders with the oblast, Lithuania (a former republic of the USSR) and Poland, both applied to join the European Union (EU).
Following lengthy negotiations, Russia and the EU agreed in November 2002 that
special transit documents would be required for persons passing through Lithuania en route between Kaliningrad and Russia. Pop. (2002 census) 430,300.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: VLADIKAVKAZ,
city,
SW Russian Federation, capital
of North Ossetia-Alania, on the Terek R. Located at the N foot of the Caucasus
Mts., the city is an industrial and transportation center. The nearest airport
is at Beslan (pop., 2002 census, 35,550), about 20 km (about 12 mi) N of the
capital. Manufactures produced in Vladikavkaz include processed zinc and lead,
automotive equipment, machinery, chemicals, clothing, and processed foods and
beverages. North Ossetian State University (1969) and North Caucasian State Technological University (1931) are here.
The city was founded in 1784 as the fortress of Vladikavkaz, located at the northern entrance of the Georgian Military Road to Tbilisi. The city was known as Ordzhonikidze (1930–44; 1954–90) and as Dzaudzhikau (1944–54). Ethnic violence has claimed hundreds of lives in the Vladikavkaz region in recent years. Russian authorities blamed Islamic extremists for a nail bomb blast in March 1999 that killed more than 50 people in a crowded outdoor market. A hostage crisis at a Beslan school in September 2004 ended tragically when violence by guerrillas and by Russian troops who stormed the school left more than 330 people dead, many of them children. Pop. (2002 census) 315,608.