Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic and cultural center. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow's history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about 900 square km. The population of the city is over 8 million people.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. The Kremlin andSt. Basil's Cathedral are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, theSpasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country.
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia with a population of 4.6 million people. It is situated on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city’s other names were Petrograd and Leningrad.
The city was founded by Tsar Peter 1 in 1703. Since that it was the capital of the Russian Empire until 1918.
Saint Petersburg is a very important port on the Baltic Sea. It is also a major financial and industrial centre of Russia specialising in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers; machine building, mining, metallurgy, chemicals, publishing and printing, food and catering and many other businesses.
Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a grand European cultural centre. Saint Petersburg is often called “the Venice of the north”. There are a great number of theatres, operas and more than 200 museums in Saint Petersburg. The largest one is the Hermitage Museum which contains the richest collection of pictures and pieces of applied art in the world
